Hi all, I'm Donna and thanks Alice for the invite.
I'm 56 years old and have been obese for about 30 years. I lost 48 pounds about 9 years ago for my daughters wedding but was not able to get below 203. Try as I might I was stuck there. After many months and the wedding I just gave up. That really was the only time I have ever tried to lose weight. My great girth just never really bothered me all that much. I started MFP May 14th of this year when I found myself at 245 and very unhealthy and unhappy. Everything was going wrong with my health and I knew I had pushed it as far as I possibly could. I was on a very short walk to major health issues and my demise SO I care very much now and am working hard to try to reverse all the damage I've done. In May I was only able to walk on the treadmill 6 to 8 minutes at 1 mile per hour and had my heart pounding around in my chest. Taking a shower was way to much for me, I would be so winded. I have moved very very slowly and steadily increasing exercise and all activity and stopped all the bad eating habits of the past 50 years. It's been 5 and 1/2 months and I'm walking 3 to 4 miles 6 days a week and I'm in c25k w8d2. I had to do weeks 1 & 2 twice blew threw week 3 and had to do week 4 twice. I've been able to do weeks 5, 6, and 7 in the one week. I lift weights 3 days a week for 45 to 60 minutes. I feel wonderful and I've been able to get to onederland for the first time in 30 years. I live in Belmont NC. I have 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren. A fifth one due any day now. So I'll have 2 grandsons and 3 granddaughters.

We all have the strenght to do this. Good going everyone, and don't forget to drink that water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone and thanks for the invite to the group Alice:) This group is specially designed for me lol. I love to cook and eat of course but now I"m doing it the healthy way. My name is Angela and I'm 47 years old. I've been doing mfp now for over 600 days and I love it! I have lost the weight and am keeping it off by logging my food everyday. I also found I love to exercise. I sure wouldn't have guessed that would ever happen! I cook all the time and I'm always looking for healthy recipes. I made a delicious spinach tortellini soup tonight and it was healthy and low calorie:) This is a lifestyle change for me and not a diet. Look forward to getting to know you ladies better. Good luck and here's to a healthier us!!

Hello and thank you for the invitation!

I live in Walnut Creek, CA in the SF Bay Area. I am a 62 year old widow. My husband passed away 4 years ago after 32 years of marriage. I have one daughter. She is 34 and is an administrator of a special education school. She is married and I have 3 grandpuppies. Hope for grandchildren one day!

I retired two years ago and have dedicated my time to getting the weight off and getting healthy.

Like some of you I have purchased every diet book and tried many diet plans over the years. I could tell you the history of WW since I have joined many times since 1969. Last year I did much research and decided that eating plant-based (vegan) was the way to go. I started in September 2011 with a 21 day Vegan Kickstart. After one year I feel better than I have in years. I have lost 44 lbs (30 since joining MFP), my skin and hair are in terrific shape and I have so much energy. I was so surprised to find out how easy it was. It does take some planning but the resources are out there. I also had to learn to avoid vegan "junk food" too. My non-vegan friends have been very supportive.

I am using every tool I can to get the weight off and to build a healthy lifestyle. I love MFP and I also use a Fitbit. I do not use a HRM as I am on meds for my heart and my rate is slowed. I am a Kaiser health plan member and have a wellness coach and a nutritionist that they have provided.

I work out now 6 days per week for at least one hour and I aim for 7 hours of sleep each night. This month I have added meditation and am working on eating mindfully...

So when I lunch, I lunch plant-based.

Hi, thanks for the invite. This group is awesome! My name is Skyla and I'm 47 years old and live in Ohio. I have 2 grown children and 1 grandson. I lost 45 lbs with WW about 6 years ago. Needless to say, I gained it all back. I joined WW in Jan and MFP in Feb of this year. I've lost 25 lbs since then. Lately, I've fallen off the wagon and have gained about 8 lbs back. I love to cook, but the sad thing is I love to eat. I just got back from vacation this past weekend and decided that there will be no more excuses. I love to walk. I walk a lot. I also do some home videos which I love. I'm so glad to be a member of this group. I'm sure I will find tons of motivation and support, and I hope I can also motivate some of you.

Hi! I am new to the group. Gladly accept the invite!!! :happy:

I am in my late 40's approaching the big 50 within 2 years. I am married to my best friend, who is supporting me in my getting healthy journey. I decided it was time for a change and one of my close friends introduced me to MFP. So far I have enjoyed the support and feel safe in this space discussing my challenges and celebrating my victories.. This is taking me out of my comfort zone. I am sharing my diary...sometimes I am good, other times I am not so good. But the bottom line is I am doing this for me. I have decided to make a change....this is the first step.

I hope to encourage others and have a good time while losing the weight. Please feel free to add me as a friend.

Peace and love to all on this journey! :flowerforyou:

Hi All, just joined the group tonight. Lost 14 pounds since I joined MFP since July with about 60 pounds to go until I hit my goal weight. Lately, I haven't lost any weight (for about a month). My goal is to lose 1 pound a week. I need to get back on track and I think this group may help me. I've been following Choose to Lose and thought I was on my way to my goal...now I'm a little discouraged. Part of the reason that I think I've slowed down is because the last 3 weeks have been crazy busy at work - I have one more week of craziness then I think I can return to giving my diet the focus it needs and deserves.It's been so busy I haven't had time to track my calories consistently during the day and then too exhausted at night. And I also need to get back to exercising consistently again.

Personally, I have a 16 year old son and I'm a single mom - have been for the last 7 years. Not unhappy being single, probably because I've been so busy being a mom and supporting my son and myself. I like my down time, my quiet time. Lately, however, been starting to want to get out there again but don't want to date until I lose enough wait to not feel embarrassed undressed!

I also want to be healthy. Just with losing 14 pounds, I feel so much better. I even climbed the 3 flights of stairs up to my office today - haven't felt like doing that in a looong time. I think I can do this but I've failed so many times through the years in losing this weight that I'm scared that I might fail again.

Looking forward to learning from you ladies! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Hi Alice and all
This is a great group. I feel honored to be so close to you all in this virtual world!
I am Marcia, 48 years old, married, one son (13). We currently live in Bellevue, WA.
I've joined MFP 60 days ago (logging every day ). I found MFP as a Fitbit application. I've been using Fitbit since May and it has been helping me to learn more about myself.
In 2008 I did the Dukan Diet, when I lost 50 pounds. I reached 155 pounds at that time. I was able to keep my weight for about 2 years, when my symptoms of menopause intensified. I got back some weight and I am now 179.
In July-2012 I started the bio-identical hormones treatment, and I am feeling great (I am going to a Naturopath doctor). Together with vitamins, fish oil I got back my energy.
Even if controlling calories, the weight is flat.
Started the 30 Day Shred exercise about 23 days ago, feeling very well.
I really think that the participation in MFP and now in this great group will promote great experiences sharing.
Let's keep it running
Marcia (marciat100 because my goal is to live 100 years healthy and lucid)

Hello Dahlings! Here's the lowdown:

54 yrs of youth
5'2" of energy (sometimes)
mother of 2 grownups (tall dark and handsome)
wife of father of 2 grownups (tall dark and handsome)
sometimes artist
semi-retired homemaker
retired equestrian
aspiring golfer
trying to keep the balance (post menopause)
sniffling nose (first cold of the season, ugh!)

Thanks for the invite.
where's the wine?

Hi, my name is Holly and thanks for inviting me to the group! I am 45 years old, originally from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. I have lived for the past 20 years in Germany where I am married (to a German), with two very cute little girls, 8 and 9.
Professionally I work in personnel development - I do a lot of corporate training which means I have to get up in front of groups a lot. I usually really love it - but every now and then I have that special event that scares the pants off of me - feeling good about myself and looking good can only help in such times.

I went on my first diet when I was seven years old (Weight Watchers). That is kind of weird, I know, but my Mom (who was a model) and all three of my sisters were naturally very thin and lanky. I was not. By today´s standards I don´t think anyone would think I had a serious problem - cause, well, it is kind of extreme for a 7-year-old to WANT to go to Weight Watchers. But it did teach me a lot about eating healthy and watching portions. WW, then, was totally different. Everything was weighed and very strict with was allowed and not allowed.

I really didn´t have any weight issues the rest of my life. I mean, of course, I was always dreaming about being thinner, occasionally actually trying to lose weight - but nothing drastic. Then I had kids and put on about 20 pounds. The interesting thing was that immediately after I had had my second daughter, I actually looked pretty good. It was then the stress of having a newbord and an 18-month-old that really drove me to the cookies. I put the weight on AFTER the pregnancies.

My eating habits changed. I would eat what was on the kids plates. I NEVER made time to exercise. I was a little frustrated. And, well, that is how those 20 pounds stuck around for 8 years.
I joined MFP in about April 2012. I had a really big event coming up and thought "if I could only loose a couple of pounds in the next two weeks...". Well I did and realized how truly "easy" it was if I really wanted to. Since then I think I´ve lost about 10 pounds, Not really sure because I have a thing about scales. But I look pretty good now, I think, and many have noticed the changes.

I love MFP cause it keeps me in check. I love to read the success stories too. I´m looking forward to this group...

Hello! Thanks so much for the invitation to join the group!

I'm Mary, 45 and from Southern Wisconsin. My husband and I have 2 wonderful daughters, and I have worked from home since our oldest was 6 months old. It's a challenge balancing everything; work, household, helping out at school etc., but it is so worth it.

I've been a member of MFP for about a year and a half, and recently reset my ticker as kind of a kick in the pants to get myself going again. I have lost about 65 pounds since the before picture in my profile was taken, with 30 of it being lost last year. This year I have made a lot of progress in fitness, but not much in weight loss.

Looking forward to being a member of the group!

Hi ladies, thank you for the invitation to the group! It's been fun reading through everyone's posts here!!

I'm a married, 43-year old SAHM to two sets of twins. My big twins just turned 8 and my little twins are 5. Life is chaotic...but fun!

I never really enjoyed working out until last year when I joined a gym and began working out with a personal trainer. She taught me that lifting weights does NOT bulk you up and I fell in love with it. I lost 32 pounds during the 6 months I worked out with her. But then I had to quit the gym and the holidays fell upon us and I got lazy. Ended up gaining back 20 of those pounds!

In March of this year, I finally got back on the wagon again and started Jillian Michael's Body Revolution. Completed that...loved it!!! Then I began ChaLEAN Extreme and loved that even more!!! Now I'm on my 2nd round of JMBR and also doing Shaun T's Rockin Body for cardio. He's a blast and I actually look forward to my work outs!

I would love to try Zumba, so that's my next goal!!

I'm focused on building muscle and losing fat. I don't starve myself and I eat clean 90% of the time.

Looking forward to getting to know you all better!!

Hello, Everyone. And thanks to Alice for inviting me to join this group. My name is Donna. I am 60 years old and an RN living in Tennessee. I am married with two adult daughters, one grand daughter and triplet 8 year old grandsons (a great source of exercise!) I joined MFP several months ago with the goal of losing about 30 pounds. I got off to a bad start in that I was stuck in a really bad plateau and couldn't get out. Finally (and slowly) I started to see a little progress. I lost 4 pounds over a three month period, then went on a week long trip and failed to follow the program. In one short week, I not only gained back the previous 4 lbs. but added 2 more extra pounds. So......here we go again. Although I lack self-control, I have plenty of determination (if that counts for anything). I look forward to getting to know you better and welcome anyone who would like to friend me. This looks like a fun group!

I enjoy gardening, swimming, & breeding tropical fish. My hubby & I also enjoy vacationing on cruise ships & snorkeling together.

My name is Malvary and you can probably guess from my on-line name that I do genealogy and I'm also a lace=maker and lace teacher.

I live in Otawa, Canada (the Nations Capital). I am formerly from England, but have lived here for half of my life.

I have severe food allergies and find cooking a chore as I can not often follow a recipe without having to find something to substitute or leave out, probably changing the taste and texture of the item completely.

I lost quite a bit of weight with WW, but I put quite a lot of it back on. I lost more than my ticker shows when I first joined MFP, so I corrected it to reflect actuality.

Not sure how much I'll be able to offer on the menu side of things but perhaps I can offer encouragement to others (and to myself). I do not enjoy exercise, although I try to get my DBF to the mall at least 3-4 times a week to get him walking following a knee replacement surger, heart attack and heart surgery all within 4 days. We went today to one of the follow-up sessions offered by the Heart Institute on the ABC's ofr reading the NI information on food labels. Most important thing was to make sure that you realise that the info is for a specific serving size not the the whole package.

Hi! So glad to be invited to the group! My name is Karen and I am 45. I live near Pittsburgh, PA with my husband, our 11 yr old son, and our 8 yr old daughter. I am 5'1.5" and my weight has fluctuated in a 40lb range since my kids were born. I have noticed in the past few years that my attempts to lose weight both on my own and with weight watchers have been successful for a few months but then I gain back the weight plus more. I recently had to start taking cholesterol medication. I'm not sure exactly how much weight I would like to lose; I am most concerned with improving my health and being a good example for my family.

I am looking forward to exchanging support and ideas with everyone. I enjoy cooking and baking especially trying to make healthier versions of family favorites. I work part-time as a physical therapist and try to be as active as I can in the schools/activities of my kids.