Hi all! My name is Kim & I live in Columbia Missouri. I turned 40 this year. I'm 5'3" and want to loose about 20 lbs. I've lost & regained about 15 in the last couple of years. Not an excuse but about a year and a half ago I had hip surgery. Prior to surgery I was at 145 but with the pain I had I couldn't walk or do much of anything. Its been a long road and I am working through some issues in physical therapy still. So exercise can be tricky but I am trying!

Anywho--I have 4 beautiful children & home school 3 of them while the 4th is already flown the coop to college.

Short term goals for me--move my body 4x a week, get the soda out of my house(serious weakness for Pepsi), get more VEGETABLES in my menu.

Blessings . . . .

Hi my name is Sandra I am from the UK I am marred with 2 grown up children and 4 Grandaughters , that is the real reason for being on MFP Iwant to be fit and healthy so i can be around when they are growing up ,my mum had a stroke as did my grandma so I am taking care of myselfe before it;s to late . I have been on MFP for about 2 months now but been cutting down since June when i turned 61 I then weighed 11 st and my clothes where geting tight and you could see all my bulges so it was time for action so I joined the gym and now go twice a week I do 40 mins In the gym then finish off with 45mins doing Aquafit the days i dont go to the gym I try to do some exercises at home eg: sit ups and exercise bike I starting to see the diference in my shape and have lost 15 1b so far I would like to lose another 13 1b then try maintain my weight. My only fear is I don;t want to put it back on again because I have been here before 10 years ago I got down to 9 st 3 Ib when my Daughter got marred then it gradualy piled back on again that's why this time it's not so much a diet but a way of life .So I will stay on here for lots of help in the future .

My name is Connie. I'm 43 years old and I live in North Georgia. I have 7 children (3 are adopted) ranging in age from 26 to 10. We have 5 grandchildren, 2 sons-in-law and 2 daughters-in-law. I also work full time outside of the home, but Jesus and my family are my first loves.
3 1/2 years ago, my husband and I went on a full-scale health plan and I dropped 56 pounds in 5 months. It was hard work but worth every minute of it. Since that time, I have had 3 knee surgeries (he has had 2 shoulder surgeries) and have allowed that to not only slow me down, but I have put back on about 15 lbs.
I work in an office, sitting for about 8 hours a day. My husband does most of the cooking and cleaning since he gets home a couple of hours before I do. (He's a keeper!! )
I seem to be good at starting a weight loss plan and being all excited about it for a little while, but I get discouraged and distracted way too easily, so I desperately need a good swift kick to keep me going. :bigsmile:

My name is Mary, 47 yrs old, happily married with 3 grown children (the baby is 19) and 3 grandchildren.
I have gained and lost my entire adult life the most I have lost was 50 pound with weight watchers so here I am again trying to lose 100, I was trying to lose 100 back then but only made it to 50. I have a few goals along the way, my husband and I are taking a cruise in March for our 29th anniversary so I am hoping to lose as much as I can before then and our oldest daughter is getting married next fall so I am hoping to have reached my goal before the wedding.

I love to cook and sew, I have never enjoyed exercise but am really working on changing that.

You can also do a cake mix plus one can of diet coke. Don't ask me how it works, but it does. Doesn't taste like normal, but isn't bad, and surely has less calories, though I don't know how many, nor could I restrict myself to 1/12 of the cake... :P

I'm 44, separated for about a year. My kids are 7 and 9, I can't even think about grandbabies yet. I'm 5'6" and was a normalish weight through my mid twenties, ~140-150. After that started packing it on slowly, maybe 5 pounds a year till I was 35 and started having kids, was 180 for a long time before the pregnancies. gained and lost 37 pounds both times... then inexplicably started gaining weight after my youngest was about one. Was up to about 221 when I started MFP in July 2012. Lost ten pounds the first couple months... then holding... now trying to get more serious again and reduce further. Was 209 today. My pear shape hides a lot of it, fortunately.

No history of dieting or up and down for me, just a slow steady upward trend, except for before I got married taking phen/fen, went from 180 to 140... then back up a couple years later... tried seattle sutton food went back down to 145 again... back up after stopping the food to 180. Used to be able to stay at 180 with little effort, now I'm counting and logging carefully to even approach that number. le sigh.

I also have never been athletic nor enjoyed exercise of any kind. I don't mind walking, but its not like I want to spend time doing it, at all. I know this is a mindset I really should change, have been unable/unwilling to commit to doing so though.

First goal... (seriously the first weight loss goal I've made in my life...)... to get under 200 by 2013.

hmm I'd really also like to stop shopping in Lane Bryant and Avenue.

Second.... to get back to 180, which was a weight which I considered fairly 'normal' for me, and maintainable, even if not ideal.

Beyond that... well we'll see. If I could accomplish that much I'd be very pleased.

Edit: Wait... the weight gain after my kids was not inexplicable... it coincided with a change in my sleeping habits that is now well ingrained. While I'd slept 8-9 hours a night all my life... past 6-7 years I only get 5-6 ish, perhaps an hour or two extra on the weekends. THAT is what is doing me in, I'm pretty sure. It is not the kids keeping me up, but games and things online. I found late at night when everyone else was sleeping, was the only time I could get a little 'me' time in, and started choosing it over sleep, and now I'm hooked. This is something I've been working on steadily, it is really difficult to chase myself to bed on time though. Sounds ridiculous, I know.

Hiya!

My name is Megan, I'm 49, a native San Franciscan now living in the SF 'burbs. Married mother of two girls, aged 12 and 13. I'm a writer (unpublished) and stay-at-home whatayacallit, I clean my own house, love to cook, adore a nice glass of wine (or three), and am crazy about my two big dogs. I have a great big mouth and tend to put my foot in it on a regular basis, but am quick to acknowledge when I've been an idiot and am not afraid to apologize.

I gained a total of about 30 pounds when I had my kids, and never was quite able to get rid of it all -- or keep any portion of it off for very long. As I approached 49 (this would be last February), I realized that I was going to be one of those dowdy old fat ladies if I didn't do something serious RIGHT NOW. So I made a commitment to exercising every day. About a month later I joined MFP. Nine months later, the 30 pounds are almost gone and I'm feeling pretty good. Of course my neck still bears an alarming resemblance to a *kitten* and my butt sags in a way that I'd never have imagined, but I look pretty good in clothes and that's about all I can ask for as I barrel toward 50. Aging is not for the faint of heart.

All in all, this journey has been one of the most beneficial of my adult life. My husband an I are re-bonding in a lovely way, walking the dogs together every night, going to the gym together on the weekends and hiking when the weather permits -- I hadn't anticipated that perk. Great timing as our girls get ready to start high school -- they'll be gone before we know it!

I'm immensely grateful to the friends I've made here, and look forward to making many more!

Hi my name is LaNita-I am 55 years young-married, live in small town in mountains of Colorado-5 children (3 boys-2girls)-all on their own-34 oldest soon to be 22 youngest. 7 grandchildren (4 girls-3 boys). Work full time as housekeeping director for property management/vacation rental company. We have 3 dogs-1 cat.
I have struggled with my weight my whole life (except when I was on "diet pills" I mean legal speed.
I started this path in Feb of 2010-I went with a friend and decided to step on the scale AAAAHHHHHHHH 308-really???????? How in the world did that happen? I decided to make a few changes-2 months later I joined Curves, when I joined Curves my weight was 288, so in 2 months I dropped 20 lbs. but really only changes I made were giving up soda and exercising 3 times a week. In Jan of 2011 Curves added Curves Circuit w/Zumba and I found my passion_I always loved to dance but never associated dancing with fitness_(I know crazy huh). I have since learned to eat healthier, taste what I am eating, know what I am eating and give myself the time to lose the weight (I didn't put it on overnight-more like 50+ years and so will not expect to lose it overnight. )
I was keeping a hand written food journal but a friend suggested this site and I love it-lots of support and knowing that everyone on here are going through the same issues that I am., have many of the same thoughts and problems.
So far I have lost 92 lbs-down to 216 lbs-several years ago I would have never believed it could happen to me. My goal weight is between 135-145 so looking at loosing another 70+ lbs. It really is nice not having to buy 2x-3x clothes-one of my greatest pleasures (so far anyway) My next one will be to post some before and after/maintain pictures.

Hi my name is Laura, but on here I go by Tigress since there are so many Laura's. I live near Augusta, Ga, I'm 56 and retired. I like to cook, do cross stitch and make wire sculpture jewelry. This is my busy season with Art shows, and I don't want to gain weight. I am a diabetic and want to eat healthy to keep blood sugar low. I have 3 stepchildren and 12 cats, 3 indoor and 9 outdoor. I feed a feral colony that lives on my covered porch, so I am the neighborhood cat lady.

I tried zumba, and don't like the changing of steps so often, I like walking and swimming best. Tigress

Good morning, ladies! My name is Deborah, Alberta born and raised, with siblings in Canada and the US. Here's a quick bit of info about me:

My age: 58 :noway:

Grown children: 2 :happy:

Grandsons: 2

Husband: 1

Dogs: 2

Birds: 1


If you came to my home, you would see that I have almost EVERY book ever written about weight loss and dieting (they take up two complete book shelves), as well as EVERY diet plan. :ohwell: I have joined too many online diet sites to even remember, a few of which are WW, Sparkpeople, My Net Diary, Lose It, Start your Diet, My Fit Tracker, eDiets, South Beach Diet, The Zone, etc. I have physically belonged to WW and Jenny Craig as well. :blushing:

NONE of them have helped me to any great degree. Over the years, I have come to realize that this is a journey of a lifetime and I'm done saying things like "maybe this time". :noway: The $$ spent is crazy, but worse of all ~ what this whole diet industry is doing to us emotionally is absolutely devastating. There were times I thought I would LOSE my mind, everything about food and dieting kept whizzing around in my head until I thought I'd go nuts! :grumble: :sad:

I have never enjoyed physical activity and need to find some motivation for same!

Glad to be here!

Deborah:flowerforyou:

Hi ladies, My name is Shelly. I am 43. Have one kid (21) who doesn't need me much anymore. I work full time in a dental clinic and live for the weekends to spend time outdoors with my husband . We live in WA state and had an amazing late summer and fall here. Got to go hiking, biking, kayaking, and 4 wheeling, but now the rain is here. Boo! Planning to get through the winter with Zumba class, a Snowshoe Breast Cancer Walk, and walking my dog (even though he walks terrible). I have gained about 20 pounds in the last year and a half and want to be in better shape for all the activities I like to do, my cloths don't fit, and for a trip to Hawaii in March. I love to drink wine, cook and look on Pinterest a lot for new ideas. I still eat everything I always have, just less of it!

@ Kitsada - wow - you sound like me at one point - under 200 by 2013 is very do-able - friend me if you wish some support from a "Grammy".
Best of luck!

Hi! I'm Theresa, from North Georgia. Have been on MFP for almost a year and have lost 44 lbs so far. Really wanted to get below 200 before my 50th birthday in January... not happening, I'm 236 as of this morning (I'm 5'7 1/2 - yes def adding the 1/2!). Continuing on :-).

I am single, two grown boys, one in college and one on his own. I have a giant poodle named Murphy that I write about often as he is a hoot!! Also have two cats, drive me crazy :-).

Am becoming more active as the time goes. Love exercise when I get started, just never seem to get started :-(. Had a serious ankle injury 6 years ago that has hindered my walking but is finally getting better! I walked yesterday, even up in the mountains, and have no issues today other than soreness - yay!!! Would love some more friends, especially over 40 as things are a changing with the body, but so far for the good!!!! Except the eyes, dark circles, crepiness creeping in (I know that's not really a word but for those of you going thru this will know exactly what i mean!). Feel free to add me as a friend :-).

Hi! I'm Kelly. I'm 45, married with 2 kids (12 and 15) and live in Knoxville. I've recently lost 40 pounds and am thrilled to finally fit into a size 6 for the first time IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!! I love new recipes and workout tips---I go to a group bootcamp style class with a trainer 3x a week and run the other days. Would love to hear any advice you have about fitness, food, and life after 40!

Hello Everyone! I'm looking forward to the group! I'm Sylvia and live in Alabama. I've gained and lost weight most of my adult life. For the past couple of years, I've noticed that losing weight is harder than ever. I've been on MFP for about 2.5 months and have been seeing a slow but steady weight decrease. Sometime it seems slow, but it is steady.
I enjoy cooking, walking, and reading. I work part time as a graduate student and hoping to get my Ph.D before I'm 50!