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  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,392 Member
    Hi! Thanks for the invite to this group. I write on another thread with a few people I've gotten to know on MFP and it's nice to meet more people in my stage of life. My name is Jenny and I'm 51 years old. I am a speech/language pathologist in the public schools working with toddlers and their parents to facilitate their development. I'm married (for the second time) and have 3 sons ages 24, 23 and 17. The oldest is a commercial fisherman in Alaska, the middle will graduate from college on the 5 year plan in May and the youngest will graduate high school and go to college next fall. None of them are married and no grandchildren in the near future. I have a cat, love to knit, read, hike, go to movies and get together with friends.

    I joined MFP in January of 2011, lost 17 pounds and have gained a few back. It's always been an up and down battle for me. I did not have a weight problem until I went to college and ate dorm food, partied, etc. Then I had 3 children and never lost the baby weight. When they were young I tended more to my family than to myself and didn't exercise or eat healthy. My struggles now are that I am inconsistent in eating healthy and exercising. I don't like the word diet but prefer to look at this as a life journey of learning to make better choices of what I eat and stay active doing many activities. I also want to enjoy my life and not feel total deprivation from foods I like.

    I do have arthritis so some days are a challenge to exercise due to how I feel. I try to persevere through it knowing that moving is better than not. Currently my exercises include biking, walking, and aqua jog class. In the winter I will walk to my Leslie Sansone videos. I'm planning to add lap swimming and possibly yoga but not sure yet.

    I look forward to sharing recipes, activities and other healthy ideas! Oh yeah, I grew up in Indiana and Michigan but live in a suburb of Minneapolis now. I've been here over 25 years.
    Jenny
  • deeschange
    deeschange Posts: 186 Member
    Hi Ladies,

    I'm 44. I have two kids ages 25 and 9.

    One of my short -term goals is to move out of the "obsese" category.....just a few more pounds and I;m out of there.

    I hope to slowly change a lot of things in my life due to the positive changes that will and are occuring as a result of shedding the weight.

    Looking forward to chatting with you ladies.

    Hailing from Maryland

    Dee
  • Malteaster
    Malteaster Posts: 75 Member
    Thanks for the invite. I'm Anne and I live in Derbyshire in the UK. I have two children, a son who is 21 and has just moved back home after university, and a daughter who is 19 and away at uni. I am 53 years old.

    I have been losing and gaining the same 20lbs for the last 15 years, and it is getting harder to lose it. I had got it under control until my mum got ill and passed away almost 3 years ago. Her appetite was poor so we prepared her calorie dense food, and ate it to keep her company. I gained 25lbs and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast.

    I have spent most of this year researching diets, and I am trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible, and to cut down on white carbs. I need something that is easy to fit into everyday life.
  • mercinursi
    mercinursi Posts: 17 Member
    Hello all! My name is Debbie, I am 53 and live in Bonaire, Ga. I have had weight issues all of my life and am now wanting to lose for me. I am the mother to 5 kids, with ages ranging from 20 to 5. We always have all the wrong food in my house, although I do try to control it. My husband probably has type 2 diabetes, but refuses to go to the doctor, so that is one more thing I try to control at home. DId I mention I am a Public Health Nurse?

    That said, I am excited about joining this group and having someone to encourage and share ideas with.

    Debbie
  • vilmafraguada
    vilmafraguada Posts: 26 Member
    Hi My name is Vilma and I live in MN...I'm 57,married with three grown kids. I love to cook, dance and anything fun and exciting!
    Love to travel as well. My big food challenges are pasta (LOVE) and bread (double LOVE) so I've become best friends with spaghetti squash :). I'm very disciplined about exercising ( interval training/treadmill/turbo sculpt/kettleball & Traci Anderson Metamorphosis). I'm very short (5') so losing weight is a challenge...I have lost 10 lbs since I started and have at least 10 more to go but I'm determined and believe MFP does work.
  • adianeschu
    adianeschu Posts: 491 Member
    Hi, I'm Anita 53 yrs old. Lives in Iowa Mother of two daughters, both are out on there own. No grandchildren yet! Married to my wonderful husband for 32 yrs. and one dog (Titian) which his name fits him. I work for a husband and wife team that are Optometrist. I am a certified tech and have worked for them for 12 yrs. In my 30's my hormones started changing and so did my weight. Same as most I would gain and then loose. I have been a lifetime member of WW for 20+ years. I know it works but need something more motivating. I started with MFP in July I havent lost alot since then but I have figured out ways to losse that are working for me now. This is a awesome site. Thanks for the invite.

    Anita :flowerforyou:
  • Hi everyone - thanks for the invite!
    I'm 59.75 years old and live in the San Diego area with my husband and 19 year old daughter who's the youngest of 4. I'm a quilter, enjoy cooking and taking fitness classes at the university where I work. Needless to say I'm the oldest student! I live in the San Diego area now and lived in Minnesota till I was 18. I've lost 36 pounds and would like 14 more before I turn 60 in January -haha not happening but forging ahead regardless. I'm focusing on healthy eating and look forward to sharing and learning with you all. I've made the cake mix/pumpkin recipe many times (spice cake mix) it's delicious.
    Bye for now...
  • loadsandloads
    loadsandloads Posts: 353 Member
    Hello all! Thanks for the invite. I don't post a lot on forums but will try to participate.

    I'm Sharon, 55 and live in Orlando, FL. Originally from Indiana and took a plunge and moved here in 2000. I love being here! I'm married (6 years in November) have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren. Oldest daughter in Chicago, son in Indiana and youngest here in Fl with me.

    I don't know how it was messed up by I signed up to MFP in April of this year, started tracking food just fro curiosity and was hooked. I'm down 52 lbs and hope to lose another 8 by Thanksgiving. That will put me half way to what I believe to be my goal.

    I've been big my entire life. I'm sick of it. I don't like how I feel and look. I won't ever be a model but I'd like to go places and not always be the biggest person in the room.

    I love to crochet, sew, cook and have become somewhat addicted to exercise.

    Ask any questions you like. I love this site and what it has brought to me!

    Sharon
  • kimiel51
    kimiel51 Posts: 299 Member
    Hi! I'm Kim. I'm 52 and the mother of two grown daughters; one living with me and hubby. I'm a stay at home wife and love getting new cooking ideas. I'd like to lose about 20 lbs in a healthy way. I'm so excited to be joining this group!
  • thecazstewart
    thecazstewart Posts: 131 Member
    Hi there

    My name is Caz, I'm 54 and I live on the south coast of England just 2 minutes walk from the beach.

    I've been calorie counting and exercising since 2007 and have dropped 5 dress sizes in that time. However, the final 10 pounds remain stubborn to go, so I'm doing everything possible to "surprise" my body into giving up those last pounds. I'm fasting once a week (I did twice a week for 9 weeks but my weekly calories were getting way too low) and just this week my lovely husband and I (he's an ultra runner) have decided to give up carbs for our evening meal so it's either fish or steak with a plate of vegetables). It's going well.

    ! I'm eating an average of 1100-1200 per day based across the week. This is great because each non-fast day I'm eating what I actually fancy as long as I'm within my limit. I rarely go over. I have a sweet tooth and I must admit, this is my nemesis.

    I work full time and I enjoy power walking, running and attending a weekly Bootcamp where the average age is 28!

    Menopause has slowed things down too. I'm also a group member to the final push before the end of the year, which gives us weekly exercise targets to reach, which are hard to fit into a full time work routine!! But I'm trying!
  • jiz35
    jiz35 Posts: 64 Member
    Hello everyone, I'm Jane.

    I'm a bit late positing my intro but better late than never, I'm 51, been married to my husband for 14yrs this month, no children, nor any pets.

    Originally from Scotland but been working overseas for a long while (met my English husband whilst working in Bahrain). Now actually living in our house in Paphos, Cyprus, so that's exciting as even though we have had the house for 10yrs we have only used it for a couple of weeks every year until now. Presently between jobs so I haven't any excuses not to get into that lovely pool outside my door.

    As my husband says I have been dieting almost continuously since we met! It's true. This time it will work though. I have had some sessions on 'positive mind programming' (weightloss hypnosis) and am finding my tastes have changed (was told they would), It is working for me. So far 21kg down and around another 15kg to go.
  • RILEYRED
    RILEYRED Posts: 647 Member
    Hi, I am Peggi, and I was invited to join the group, and when I hit "accept" the name of the person who invited me was gone, so could you please let me know who you are again? Thank you ,and thanks for the invitation. I will be 60 on Friday, married, I have 2 sons, and 5 grandkids. I have always yoyoed with my weight and my health is not the best, so losing weight is extremely important to me and keeping it off is even more important. I look forward to meeting all off you. Red
  • cookn_mama
    cookn_mama Posts: 228 Member
    Hello and thanks for the invite! My name is Melissa and I am from Dodge Center Minnesota. I am divorced and have 3 kids. One is 21 and expecting her 2nd child, one is off to college at UofM Morris and she is 19. Finally, my son is 15 and very active in sports. Am looking forward to the empty nest syndrome!
    Irronically I cook for a living!! I am the food service director for Taher, Inc. at one of the local schools in SE MN. What better group for me to be in!! I'm a lunch lady.
    I don't ever remember being under 200 lbs. I have been doing MFP for some 85 days and have lost 23 lbs!! I love this site!! My bmi is 36 and want to get to 27. Doctor loves my progress and is very encouraging. Goal weight is (dr says 170) I say 180.
    Look forward to being supported and supporting others on this journey!!
  • SabrinaNorton70
    SabrinaNorton70 Posts: 17 Member
    Good afternoon, Im Sabrina. I am a single 42 year old mother to two adult sons. My oldest is 20 living in southern ca. My youngest is 18 still here but doing his own thing. I had RNY in 2005 so it has been 7 years since my surgery. I have an extra 20 pounds that I would love to lose and love to have support on this journey!
  • ryansgram
    ryansgram Posts: 693 Member
    Hello ladies,.
    My name is Kathy, i live in Pa. Divorced mother of 3 grown daughters and 1 grandson.
    Like everyone else, i struggled with my weight all my life. A year ago i weighed 212 pounds. Then i found out my husband was cheating for the 4th time. I lost alot of weight due to all the stress. I'm now divorced, living alone and i love it!
    I now weigh 128 and trying to maintain for the last couple of months. But thats really hard when you're a sugar addict and you work in a bakery! But I'm trying to eat healthy and only buy healthy stuff. You can do that when you live alone.
    Thanks for inviting me to this group. I'm really looking forward to it.
  • Hello ,Im a single mom who finds herself so busy workin a 40 hour week job ,careing for the house,with struggles and repairs around every corner here in beautiful Iowa I dont have a regular eating pattern ,and three boys that feel house work is not part of their agenda .Thanks to My wonderful daughter I began daily participation on this site.I am beginning to see my faults lol. I dont drink soda but I am a coffee drinker,and pleased to say I've lost nine lbs just by logging my daily intake and seeing what i have to do to burn them off love it Please help and encourage me to one day be able to maintain I have a dog named sniffers and hes fast we love hiking down and up the great mississippi river :flowerforyou:
  • nemrut
    nemrut Posts: 397 Member
    Hello, and thank you for the invitation to joint his group. My name is Anne and I am 65 and planning to retire in December after 25 years of teaching at a community college. I've always struggled with my weight and the pounds had really crept up over the past 10 years. I joined MFP in May after my son told me he had lost weight using this site. Since then I have lost 21 pounds (and pretty much my entire wardrobe!) I've reached my second goal, but I'd like to lose 3 to 4 more pounds before going on maintenance, since I tend to put on a few pounds in the winter months. We'll see how that goes...

    Since I have been pre-diabetic for the past 10 years, I really appreciate the ability to track my carbohydrate intake on MFP. Although I have tried to avoid processed foods for some time now, the past month or so I have been moving towards a more primal diet and I've found that I am feeling a lot better and can control my food cravings much better.

    I try to exercise every day and my husband and I either walk, hike, or bike on most days. I have recently had some severe arthritis flares, so that has slowed me down a bit. The inflammation in my wrists and hands has left me unable to put weight on them so I have had to give up my yoga class which has been hard for me to deal with. I am looking forward to having more time to focus on taking care of myself when I retire and hopefully I will be able to find some new exercise options.

    I am enjoying finding out about all of you and look forward to getting to know you more.
  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
    Hey. thanks for the invite. I'm Angela, 40, married, no kids. We have a cat that lets us live with him here in San Antonio. We just moved here in June from Atlanta area. Before then we were in Baltimore (thank you US Army).

    I joined MFP to help keep myself accountable in regards to fitness. Recently, a thought crossed my mind that I may want to try to lose a little weight, but if I think about it, it doesn't work, so I am just going to stick to fitness.

    I love to cook and grew up cooking good, fattening, country food. I don't bake much, but can throw down a big *kitten* dinner that will make you slap your mama. I don't take caloric shortcuts when I cook as I believe folks should just eat in moderation. The last few years we have started eating cleaner, so the fried chicken never hits the table any more. :(

    I like to motivate people as it tends to help me as well.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Hello and thank you for the invitation. My name is Jackie and I'm 47 years young. I've been eating healthy and exercising (consecutively) for a little over a year. I'm happily married to an amazing man who is also a personal trainer. I work full time for Penn State as a Purchasing Agent, I job I love and hate at the same time.

    I love the community of MFP and my friends here are truly the best, could not do it without them :)

    I try all sorts of things in regards to nutrition and my last ten pounds just keeps coming and going. I eat high protein, high fat and lower carbs. And I enjoy a "cheat window" every Saturday in which I indulge my sweet tooth but from Sunday to Friday I stay on track.

    I'm a work in progess
  • MelanieAG05
    MelanieAG05 Posts: 359 Member
    Hello....I am 39 but knocking on the door of 40 in January 2013....I hope I can join this group. My name is Melanie and I live in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. I'm married and have a 6 year old son from a previous relationship and a 19 year old step son. I adore my husband and love him to bits and I want to look good for him (even though he seems to think I am sexy whatever I look like!).

    I need to lose about 20lbs to be in a healthy BMI range but I'm not so fussed about scale weight but more about body fat percentage. I work out A LOT ...... strength training, running, cardio training, kettlercise classes, body pump and body combat. I love fitness classes and I'm looking into becoming qualified to do it myself.

    Looking forward to being involved in this group ladies!

    mel x
  • crudd123
    crudd123 Posts: 244 Member
    Hi, I'm Cathy, 52 and married. I have two daughters 23 and 21 both in college. I've been trying to lose weight for about 2 years now. It's been difficult as I take some meds that cause weight gain. It's not an option to not take these meds I have to. I started 2 years ago wearing a size 20 women's jean and now I'm wearing a 16 women's jean. I walk alot. This summer my friends from church and I were walking 3 miles in the morning and 3 miles in the afternoon. I am dropping sizes and toning up but just can't get the scale to budge. My doctor gave me some phentermine and I tried it for a month but it kind of made me crazy so I quit taking it. I will continue exercising and trying to eat right though it is discouraging not to see the scale go down. I'd give anything to be below 200 by January but after talking with my doctor I realized it may not be possible. I go for my physical in December so I'm excited to see my numbers from blood work as I have never ever exercised so much in my entire life. Even when I was younger I would just diet and lose the weight-no exercise. I work part-time driving a school bus for special needs kids and I love it. Glad to be a part of the group!Cathy
  • Hello! Thanks for the invitation! My name is Lisa and I'm 47. I hit menopause about 2 years ago and wow what a body change. I was one of the lucky ones eating whatever I wanted (as long as it was balanced and low sugar) for most of my life. Then all of a sudden I put on over 10 pounds. I'm petite and have been 105ish for the last 10-20 years, so that was a big change.

    A lot changed in my life these past 2 years too as I've been working out regularly now and have built some muscle too. Also after being single for practically ever my boyfriend and I have now been together a year and a half. We just combined households so we're both cooking a lot more than we did as singles. He's lost over 60 pounds this past year and is a coach with Beach Body. We do the P90X and Insanity workouts, and I also do the Brazil Butt Lift ones every now and again.

    MFP has really helped me to get a handle on exactly what I was eating, and to help me to ignore those horrible 'Menopause Munchies'! Looking forward to reading through and posting when I can.
  • Hi ladies,
    I'm Meg, and I'm a robust 47. Life is chaotic but good. I have been married to my Mr. Wonderful (he really is!) for 23 years, and we have 3 teenage sons who are always hungry. ("Mom, what is there to eat?") I work part-time as a high school math teacher and often substitute teach on my days off.

    I'm tall with an hourglass shape and lots of muscle (think broad shoulders and "big German legs," as my petite mother likes to say). I love to stay active, and enjoy Turbo Fire, Zumba, strength training, and, when the weather is cool, walking. I try to eat well, but I am a realist and understand that some days, well, things just don't quite come together for me...

    I broke my arm badly in a clumsy fall up the deck stairs (yes, UP the stairs - i'm unusually graceful!) this past March. While I sat feeling frustrated and restless for two months on my ever-growing butt with my arm (in a cast up to nearly my shoulder) propped on a pillow, I swore I would take better care of myself in the future. So, when the cast came off, I started working out most days. I started eating better. I am happy to say I am down 22 pounds since that time, 15 since I joined MFP in late June. I'm aiming for slow, steady weight loss, which is a good thing, since my 47 year old body refuses to be rushed.

    My "new attitude" means I will never diet again. I refuse to do today anything I am not willing to do for the rest of my life. Instead, I move in fun ways, eat "real" food, preferably of the reasonably healthy variety, and just try to take care of myself. I welcome friends with a positive outlook (no mopey Eeyores, please) who can encourage, inspire, and uplift (but not nag that I didn't eat many veggies on a day when I already KNOW I didn't eat many veggies). Life is good, and I want to enjoy every minute of it!
  • mamaomefo
    mamaomefo Posts: 418 Member
    Hello All,
    I am Elaine, and I just had my 58th birthday. :smile: I have been on MFP for 7 months and have lost 5 pounds. I have had a slow start because I think I was eating to many calories... I think I had determined my TDEE wrong and just couldn't get the numbers correct for my short self! :ohwell: Also, I had just lost 10 pounds prior to joining here. So I have just in the last week reflected on my logging and calorie consumption totals. I have decreased my calorie intake and will see where that leads me. I love to exercise...swimmimg, walking outside, and on the treadmill... so that is not a problem with my lack of weight loss.

    I am married to my best friend and have been since 1974. We have two children, I call them children...but they are grown and gone. My son has blessed us with 4 grandkids, the loves of my life...and our daughter has given us two granddogs! We love them all!!!

    I live in North Carolina between the mountains and the sea! Anything else you want to know, ask!
    I'll answer as best I can. Thanks for inviting me to be a member of this group!

    Elaine
  • chadacre
    chadacre Posts: 14 Member
    Hi there. I'm Lesley from England. I was recently 59 although most days I do not feel it! I have been married since 1975 and have two grown up children. I became a granny recently which is a fantastic feeling and I look forward to getting to know my grandaughter. I stopped work last year after surgery and life is good! Recovering my fitness after surgery has not been straightforward but I am getting there. I exercise every day as I know it helps my mind as well as my body. I like walking, swimming, pilates and gardening. In an ideal world I would like to get to 68kg but would settle for 70kg as there is more to life than watching every calorie in my opinion.My main focus is to maintain my fitness and firm up and pilates has been particularly beneficial. I eat loads of fruit ,veg and pulses plus a little meat and fish and I really enjoy creating new dishes for us.
    Looking forward to following the group.
  • ajrjaneway
    ajrjaneway Posts: 20 Member
    Hi, my name is Alice and I live in Illinois, in a suburb of Chicago. I am 54, happily married, mother of one 14-year-old daughter who just started high school this fall. I love to cook, especially to bake, but I had a such a rotten kitchen until 2010 when I finally got enough money to remodel. What a difference! Slowly but surely I'm learning how to cook yummy healthy meals for my family and myself. I've been with MFP since May and I've lost 15 pounds. I've never been terribly overweight, but I had gestational diabetes and my dad has diabetes, so I want decrease my chances of becoming diabetic. My blood glucose had been slightly elevated the past couple of years, but this last check-up it was 83! My doctor was thrilled with my weight loss and has reduced my cholesterol medication, woo hoo!

    I work in the office at my church, although I worked for 15 years for Bell Labs as a software engineer. I enjoy my job now because it's a LOT less stressful. I take care of the computers, along with general office work. I like the people I work with and the work that we do.

    I have several hobbies, which keeps lots of plates spinning! I do genealogy, astronomy with kids, and singing semi-professionally. I love Star Trek, old movies, reading, and gazing at the stars. And I'm enjoying the science and experiments that are cooking!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I love eating, cooking, and, actually, most things. I've been lucky in that I've never gotten too far overweight, but, at mid-life, have noticed a sudden DROP in metabolism that chunked on 15 pounds in addition to the pound a year I've put on since I was 30.

    I've lost that 15 plus 10 more with MFP and still managed to eat well and enjoy myself. I have never dieted before (am I the only 53 year old woman in the US who can say that?)

    I've decided to drop another 14 pounds and get down to where I was when I graduated from college and got married. All these body simulators say I can do it by January. Here's hoping they are right! I'm feeling optimistic.
  • Merithyn
    Merithyn Posts: 284 Member
    Hello, all!

    I'm a 42 year old mom to Carter (18), Jackson (18), Jeremy (17), and Riley (13 and my only girl). I'm also 13 years post-surgical-menopausal. I live in Central Illinois with my amazing husband, Max, and three of the four kids. The eldest two have graduated from high school and are now going to community college. Carter moved up near Chicago to go to school by his dad's. Jackson stayed closer to home.

    I'm a big fan of making food from scratch, and I absolutely love to brew. As an example, today we had homemade pizza with homemade sauce and crust. While we were making that, I also made 5 gallons of laundry detergent, a half-gallon of cranberry vodka cordial, bottled two cases of Ginger Spiced Beer and 1.5 gallons of hard cider. Tomorrow, I'll be making homemade Greek yogurt, bottling two gallons of mead (honey wine), and brewing 5 gallons of Spiced Cranberry Mead. (I'm not an alcoholic, I promise. Most of what I'm making now won't be ready to drink for anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year or longer.)

    I also do a lot of historical crafty stuff. Right now, I'm in the process of making a pair of 13th-century leather shoes. I'm also taking a pottery class, where I've made a 13th-century cooking pot and tumbler. I love to hand-sew, crochet, do bookbinding, do carpentry work, and generally putz around craft stores.

    Three months ago, I started running by starting the C25k. Yesterday, I ran (and walked) my first 5k. Due to a variety of health reasons, I'm taking it very slow and enjoying it as I go. When I started on MFP, I was hitting the gym far too much. Now, I go to the gym on occasion, but mostly run, walk, or do big projects around the house for exercise. It's taken me six months to lose 24 pounds, and I'm about halfway to goal. I'm never going to be a salad kind of girl, but I'm learning portion control and ways to make my favorite foods healthy as well as tasty. I've chosen not to give anything up while I work on getting to a healthier weight, so instead, I'm working on knowing how much is enough. If I go over my net calorie goals, it's a decision, not a mistake.

    Looking forward to getting to know all of you, and to learn all that I can from you!

    Much love,
    Meri
  • seehe
    seehe Posts: 946 Member
    Hi-thanks for the invitation. My name is Susan and I live in Tucson, AZ. I am happily married and have a wonderful 24 year old son. Early this summer, I made the commitment to myself to do whatever I needed to do to live a healthier lifestyle. I gave up smoking, gave up drinking Coke, took a year off of work, and went to Canyon Ranch to educate myself on nutrition and everything else I needed to know to lose weight in a healthy way and to improve my lifestyle. I have learned so much, and am motivated to be healthy and happy :smile: I have found MFP to be very helpful on my journey with all of the great support I've received from other members as well as the accountability factor of the daily tracker.
    I look forward to getting to know you and following the group.
  • Hi, learned of your group from one of MFpals...thanks for having me.:happy: My name is Dawn and I live in Plymouth, NC. I am 44 and very happily married to an incredible man, Steve and have no kids...therefore no grandkids. I've been working out on a regular basis for about 3 years now and have been on MFP since late April 2012. I love it here. Lots of support and no judgement while still keeping things real. I love God, I love my husband, I love my family and I love our life. I don't however love my body...so trying to do something about that. I'm 5'...always short...and stumpy... I've lost 22 pounds since being on MFP and am praying for a few more. Each day is a new day to move forward. I look forward to all that I can learn and share here! :flowerforyou: Thanks again!