Hi there! I just recently joined MFP. I'm glad to find a group for 200+ losers. I know that we have a struggle that goes beyond just the norm and it is great to do it with people who are travelling the same road.

My highest weight was close to 400 lbs. I'm 5'9", female... I'm currently at 366. I live in rural Ontario, Canada. I use a lot of tools to help with my weight loss, including Overeaters Anonymous (OA). Glad to be here!

hi Ashley - glad to meet you here. Congrats on all the success -- and starting at the gym! That is great!! And yes, we can do this together. It definitely requires a good support system. Do you have anyone to go to the gym with?

Hi Mike.

I can relate to what you said about being scared to death by the thought of the surgery - I, too, am giving myself one more chance to do it on my own before I resort to surgery.

I'm 43. Highest weight was 39?. When I saw the "9" I couldn't look at the last number. I know I got very close to 400. I lost over 70 lbs and then hit a point of relapse a year and a half ago, and have since regained 50 lbs. I quit smoking at the end of December and once I had hit the 5-6 week quit mark, I knew it was time to look at the weight again. And so here I am. I am feeling motivated and have not once stopped with the action since I started.

I, too, want to live pain free. And, quite honestly, I just want to live. I have missed a lot of years.

I'm doing 1700 calories a day. I have not yet implemented an exercise routine.

Great to meet you!

I'm 47. Married with a amazing little boy that is 6. I don't work full time when Robert was born he was severe clubbed footed ( his feet touch his penis). For the first three years we went to the Dr. 2 to 3 times a week. He has had 2 surgeries and doing great. Played soccer this year. I love flea markets ... so now I have a big Rug Store at the local flea market. My son always ask how I'm doing on my new life style. My husband doesn't want me to change. I find a lot of support on here and My Mom and My Tops group.

I want to enjoy life!!!
I feel it is hard being Fat!!
There is so many things that I miss out on my sitting on the sidelines.
I don't want Robert to be ashamed of me.

Some of my weight loss story.... I have tried 1000 different times...
I remember in 6 grade being 112lbs and in 9th grade weighing 198lbs. As an adult I just keep the cycle going bad choices. I would start a diet and do good. When I was 36... I was 300 and lost 100lbs doing Atkins then I got started eating carbs again and put in back on and more. Then a few years ago I did Nutrisystem weighing in at 345lbs and lost 70lbs. My Parents move next door my Dad was sick and I stopped watching what I ate and went on a seafood diet eating every thing in sight. .My Dad passed and I was around 375lbs give or take 5lbs. I joined the wellness center which has a pool at the first of the year and in the mid January I joined a weight group called Tops so I would have to be accountable for weekly weigh-in and I joined MFP and started logging every thing I ate. My official starting weight is 365lbs on MFP.

As, of today I have lost 22lbs.... I'm proud of myself... This time is different. I know I can change my lifestyle and stay with it. I'm glad I found All of You!!!

See You on the Lighter Side!!
Karen

Hi,

I'm not sure what to write. I woke up Monday, looked in the mirror and Tuesday I was at the gym with a personal trainer. I hate exercising, I hate counting calories... today is a grouchy day. But, I'm here. Because I have to change what I see in the mirror.

Hello all! My name is Beverly. I am 45 and live in Missouri. I joined MFP about a month ago and am just now starting to look at the boards and group. All I can say about this group is Thank God there are others who understand. I don't know what it is to be a normal weight. I was 9 pounds 6 1/2 ounces at birth. I remember starting 3rd grade and weighing in at 106 pounds. I was in the 200's in junior high and about 250 when I graduated high school. My highest recorded weight was 433 pounds in October 2008. I know it went higher, but I always avoided the scales at the doctor's office (and luckily did not have to go that often). I tried dieting off and on since I was a teen. The first few days were great - then a slow downward trend followed by a I'm not going to be able to do this, so why bother?

My first wake-up call came on March 17, 2005. At a routine doctor's visit I weighed in at 417 pounds. I thought "That can't be right, I'm not over 400 pounds." Yup, I was. Then the doctor told me I was prediabetic. I think I was in shock the whole day. I had high blood pressure and had been on medication for it since 1994, but my cholesterol and everything else had always been okay. My solution? I switched from regular sodas to diet. I drank a minimum of 6 - 8 glasses a day and just knew this would keep the diabetes in check. So I made my change and continued along. In 2010 blood work showed my cholesterol had become high. I received a postcard from my doctor saying to call the office with my pharmacy number so they could call in a prescription for me. I was livid!! Call in a prescription for my cholesterol being high? This was the first time! What happened to the talk about trying to control it with exercise and diet? No way did I want another pill ... I was taking four now for my blood pressure. So, I ignored it. Yup. Flat out ignored it. But it set in the back of my mind for a year. I finally realized that the doctor had no reason to expect me to lower my cholesterol on my own. I wasn't doing anything about my weight or diabetes, was I? Thoughts kept going through my head about changing my life. I thought (again) that I would try on New Year's Day. I know now I wasn't ready to start then. Sometime late March 2011 something clicked in my mind. I was totally 100% committed to doing this. I no longer thought I could do it, I KNEW I would. I started my life style change on 4 April 2011 weighing 399 pounds. I honestly expected to weigh about 450 and had purchased a new set of scales that would weigh over 500 pounds. I decided to count calories and set a goal of 1800 calories a day. I cut out the fast food (4-5 times a week) and sweets and cut out or way back on my weaknesses - pasta, bread, rice, potatoes and meats (I knew I wouldn't stop at a 4 oz serving - a steak was 16oz in my life). I can't believe with the changes I made how easy it was to stay below 1800 calories. Most days were about 1500 calories. The weight started falling off. I wasn't able to exercise (unwilling really) because I couldn't breath.... I lost my breath walking down the hall at work. In September I returned to the doctor. High cholesterol ... gone! Diabetes .... gone! High blood pressure ..... still there, but dropped three of my four medications. By October 2011 I had lost 100 pounds, so gave myself a gift. I joined a gym in November and got a personal trainer. I love it. To date I have lost 153 pounds. My current goal weight is 169 pounds, so I have about 80 pounds to go.

Sorry this is so long, but I feel myself in each introduction I have read and wanted to share. I KNOW everyone can do this. I am lazy ~ extremely lazy, and if I can succeed, anyone can. I truly believe that if you set your mind to it, you WILL do it.

Some of the statements I read above make me cry, because I relate so much to them .... I remember thinking the same thing over the years ....

"I am not living - I am watching my life pass me by"
"Excuses... my life has been full of em "
"I have been fat all my life"
"I am scared of starting something new. I am afraid of being seen, and I am afraid failing."
"I was simply mortified by the fact that I knew I would never fit in an airplane seat and might be asked to purchase two tickets. "
"I hate thinking about the fact, that I did this to myself and that there is no instant fix. "

No, there isn't an instant fix, but their is a fix ..... me.

I'm new to the friends thing on here, but would be happy to have anyone add me that wants to. Weight loss and good health is a long journey and it would be great to share with people who have been where I was and are working towards the same goals as me.

Hi group! My name is Diana and I weigh 338lbs right now. I am working towards getting out of the 300's for good right now, and then I want to lose another 130 pounds after that. This is an overwhelming amount of weight to lose without medication or surgery but it's what I want. I will not spend my 30's obese and uncomfortable! Anyway, nice to meet all of you!

I'll do a shout out to all who have joined recently and remind y'all to keep hydrated during these hot spells (at least here it's hot) don't hurt yourself exerting too greatly in the heat.

Great motivations to keep us all moving forward though. Keep at it.

My name is Lydia, and despite the smile you see on my profile picture, I am scared to death. I feel my life slipping away from me with every bite I take. I know I am eating myself into an early grave. Suicide by food, I guess you could call it. I don't want to die yet. I have to much to live for...if I could only be able to physically move to live again. But as I'm pushing 450lbs, it's so hard to even imagine living a full pain free life. If I don't make some drastic changes in my life right now, this moment, I know that I probably won't be on this Earth with in another 5 years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bring any one down or make any one depressed or to even pity my situation. All I'm doing is putting into words how severe my situation is, mostly for my own eyes to see. I'm the type of person that looks at myself in the mirror and doesn't see the 450 pound woman staring back at her, but i can feel it when my feet swell so much that I can no longer wear shoes other than flip-flops. I don't see the weight on me, but I hear the snickers and comments from people passing me by. I feel the embarrassment of having to ride in one of those motorized carts to go shopping because my knees can no longer support my weight.

Yes, I'm scared, but now that I have found this group, I see a glimmer of hope...and support.

Hi my name is Michelle.

I'm 35. I've been married 12 years this September and we have a 12 year old son.

My weight has been a struggle for me since I was 16, though I have always felt fat, being 325 lbs now I look back and wish I could shake that girl who hated her body.

I have dealt with depression since I was in my early teens. The depression has only increased with the weight and I am now at a point where its a struggle to leave the house which has had a negative impact on keeping a job. In May I started therapy in hopes that I could get out of this fog. The therapy along with medication has helped a little but I keep getting caught up on my weight, how I feel and what I think other think of me.

I can't even have a conversation with my own mom on skype without being embarrassed by where I have let myself get. My husband and son are being neglected because I just don't have the energy to face daily life and I sleep all day or veg in front of the tv or computer.

I'm tired of giving up and I'm determined to make a change and get myself in order and I hope to be able to share my highs and lows with people who understand.

My name is Tom and I currently weigh 482 pounds. I have lost 55 pounds since I started my program on June 15, 2012.

At 46 years old, I now have a bad back, 2 bad knees and high blood pressure. I have been unable to work for quite a while.

I have been married to my sweetheart for 24 years and I want a lot more years with her. At my largest (that I am aware of) I weighed 537 pounds. I have been a "semi-professional" dieter most of my life. I have tried everything at one time or the other. Everything that is except portion control. Being addicted to food, I realize learning portion control is probably the toughest way to go but it is working out well so far.

I wanted to do lap-band but my wife's insurance company doesn't cover such "cosmetic" surgeries. I got tired of waiting for them to change their minds and I am now taking charge of changing my eating habits.

I weigh every Friday on the loading dock out behind the post office because I needed a scale that would go up to my size. The folks at the post office are always very encouraging when they see me come up. I have 180 folks following my progress on my facebook page also.

I have a long way to go in my journey so I broke my weightloss goals up into managable chunks. I first wanted to get to 499 pounds. I succeeded in that goal on July 9th, which was on a Monday and yes I know I only weigh on Fridays but you have to cut me a little slack... I was dying to know and Friday was soooooo far away. LOL

Once I hit 499 (for the first time in at least 3 years!) I have set goals of 25 pound increments. I find having a closer goal keeps me from being discouraged. I hope to hit my next goal either this coming Friday or the next!

That is enough for now. I am glad I found the forums and groups section on MFP!

Hello, My name is Steven and I am 24, I currently weigh in at 437 last time i visited the dialysis center to pick up my aunt. I have been on multiple diets in my short lifetime and it seems that I tend to always lose interest and I make up excuses for myself such as money problems or a busy life and the sad part is that I actually convince myself into these lies. I am unemployed and I am starting to attribute it to being as big as I am and the employers not taking me seriously because of my size.

So I have decided to finally try and lose my gut to get somewhere in this world before it is too late for me; career wise and most importantly health wise since diabetes and heart problems run strong in my family. I came upon this site looking at tips for exercise for people over 400 pounds and I found this site.

I have been told my ideal weight for my size is 170 to 180 but realistically I would love to hit 200 to 210. I want to be able to sit in a folding chair without it breaking, be able to go to the movies and sit comfortably with my family or friends without feeling like I am moving into their personal space and most of all I want to get rid of the dark marks that have formed on my skin.

I'm V. I'm 31, single, no kids. My highest weight was 405 pounds, that was back in May 2012. I've lost 40 lbs so far. I have always been fat. In my late 'teens I lost 60 pounds, which got me down to 150 - my lowest-ever 'adult' weight. But I only kept it off for about six months before gaining it all back and more. Since then I've just gained more and more each year. I have hypothyroidism which I sometimes think was caused by crash dieting in the past. Who knows. I also have high BP and high cholesterol. And possibly other scary things I don't even know about because I'm so afraid/ashamed to see a doctor.

I want to say that I decided to make a commitment to lose weight because I'm tired of feeling miserable and having a crappy life. But the truth is that I've been miserable for so long it's like I'm used to it. The REAL reason I decided to do this was because I began to feel like I was literally dying, like my body couldn't take anymore. I may have accepted feeling miserable and alone for my entire life, but I can't accept being straight-up DEAD!

So ya, I joined MFP and have logged every single thing I've eaten since mid-May. Hi everyone. I'm shy and don't post a whole lot and my food diary is private.

My name is John and I’m a Morbidly Obese Guy. I got on the scale Monday and I was 447 pounds.

I CONSIDER MYSELF A FOOD ADDICT!!!

I am a compulsive and emotional overeater.

I Consider myself a food addict!

For most of my life food was, what I thought, my dirty little secret.

Food has been my best friend, my comforter. Food was always there for me. However, Just take one look at me and everyone knows… it's no secret.

I’m 50 years old, I have 4 Children.

Right now if I don’t do something to address my obesity, many experts say I have a very good chance of not make it to 60.  As of today that is 3,400 days.  Not a long time huh?

Right now, I'm a slave to this disease.

I'm not in control. I'm out of control. I want to be in control.

I'm not living life, I'm just watching, the gift, which is my life go right on by.

They say, Life is like a roll of toilet paper…. The closer you get to the end the faster it goes.

Why is this the one thing in my life that is kicking my backside?

I wanted to come together here and motivate each other.

Please feel free to friend me and hopefully we can help each other out.

Oh hell, I'll post. I have been too embarrassed to participate in any of the groups or forums. I have been using MFP off and on for a long time,but not taking advantage of the community features. It became especially convenient when I downloaded the app on my phone-I had no more excuses.
I am 36, live in Los Angeles. I weighed 560 at my highest. Now I am 510. I have a wife and 16 year old step-son. Bad knee. Low energy. Not very active.
I started this latest journey of weight loss back in February; kicked butt for 3 months, now in a holding pattern for the last 4 months. My wife and I watched a bunch of Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Editions over the weekend and it reinspired me. I thought it was amazing that there was a whole program for people who have as much weight to lose as I do. I am also pleased to find this group that also has the same goal to lose a large amount of weight.
Thank you for listening. I look forward to seeing everyone succeed.