This is my last chance

Ethan,

I am right there with you. It is hard but, it can be done. I am a mother of 3 and in living a very unhealthy lifestyle I am not only hurting myself but my children as well. So, I am going to do my best to stick to it and set a good example for my family. I am 32 years old but feel 60. So, today is as good as any.

Baby steps are always a good start and always remember every little bit counts and every positive thought can or will result in something positive.

I am here for you!!!

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Nice to meet you,

Zoraya aka (friscoaries)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Welcome to MFP! You can do this - be sure to check out the link above - best explanation of how to set yourself up for success!

Hi Ethan:
You can do this. This site will help count every calorie you put in your mount, and count every calorie you burn from exercise which will save you a lot of tedious time and research. The site will also tell you how many calories you need a day. Make sure you have a phone with internet capabilities, so you can document you calories even when on the road. It really works. I treat my calories as money, and when I get low on calories I just make more by exercising and you get you "eat back" whatever you make "exercise" a day. It will work, you will see. If you have questions regarding what exercises work, and what food to eat, feel free to write, and I will answer. Good Luck

308 to 205. I, for one, have your back.

Ethan- Welcome and best of luck. I was in the same boat four months ago (seems like yesterday!) and have found the MFP logging approach to be fantastically helpful for me. I use the barcode scanner on my phone a lot and also now have a Fitbit device to measure my steps and calories _and by golly this new approach has really transformed my motivation and way of thinking. I am astonished that it is working. I have gone from 206 to 178 in just 3 1/2 months, that may not be as fast as some people but good grief, that's 15% of my body weight lost in a pretty quick span! And I feel ten times better about myself. Best of luck man, you can do it.

Not your last chance.
You have a new chance every day.
Add me. I'll help keep your *kitten* in line ; )
I had 90lbs to lose too...now more like 65.

Can I recommend considering clean eating and purchasing a fitbit? I LOVE my fitbit. It inspires me to get up and move every day. There are goals on the site (10,000 steps, 5 mi, climb 10 flights of stairs, activity levels, calories burned). It's very satisfying to meet these goals each day. But it is pricey - you can get it on amazon.com for just over $90 - IMO if it is the thing that pushes you to success, it's money well spent.

And there is a clean eating group on MFP but basically the idea is to cut out processed food and try to eat food as close to nature as possible. It's easier for your body to process natural foods than the ones that contain a lot of chemicals, dyes and additives.

Feel free to add me as a friend. Good luck on your journey. You can do it this time!

This is NOT your last chance! i know how you feel, though. I've been promising myself I would be "thin" for 25 years, now. In the last 7 years I have gained and lost 50 pounds - twice. I got to the point where I thought I really didn't care. Problem was, I did. I was eating to stuff all the feelings away. Eating to calm myself. Eating to fill lonely hours. Eating cuz it tasted good. Exercise? Too hard. Then last winter I started having chest pains. Thought I was close to a heart attack. Went to the doctor and had lots of very expensive tests. nothing. it was stress, and nerves and gerd all rolled into one. Then I saw another doctor and now I have diabetes Type 2. Given meds. I was so angry at myself I refused to take them for two weeks. Then got into some counseling and started to talk to someone I really trusted about how I feel about myself and about how I look and she is helping me come to grips with loving my body and myself. So - you have to ask yourself. Do you want to lose weight for others or for yourself? Do you want to stop feeling guilty because you eat so much? do you want to stop hiding food? do you want to stop finding excuses to do everything else but take care of yourself? Then stop. start small. MFP has helped me to monitor the food I eat which helps me to really think about it before I eat it. it shows me the result of what I eat in terms of calories. It shows me the nutrition breakdown.

Don't think of this as dieting. If you diet you will not be successful. You need to change your relationship with food. Food is fuel for your body. Start there. Listen to your body and eat when it seems it needs fuel. Eat protein at every meal. Complex cards, avoid fat if you can. you can eat normal foods. skip the sauces and cheese. skip the fries and eat fruit. make sandwiches with bread thins. be patient with your self. Ely's sugar free fruit pops are the best after dinner. go for a walk before you eat. skip alcohol - it usually makes you more likely to eat. relax. this isn't a life test. it's a new way of thinking about food. I promise you, if you relax and take it one day at a time you will be fine. don't go for huge fast loss. its unsustainable. change your approach to food. and you'll be fine. sorry about punctuation. I've got 65 more pounds to go.

Ethan...Every new day is a new opportunity to get it right because life can only be lived one day at a time! So forgive yourself for your past failures with food and keep moving forward... always trying to do better and to learn from past mistakes....You are not alone...This process is slow (and aggravating) for anyone who is seriously trying to lose weight...And I know that you probably don't believe this...but at your young age you have an excellent opportunity to learn the importance of "watching what you eat" very early in life. You can do this if you just don't give up on yourself.