Hi. Thanks for the invitation to join this group. My name is Julia.I was born and raised in Maine.I retired in July of 2009 and my husband and i moved to Arizona! (talk about a big difference) he got tired of shoveling snow and being in the cold.
I too have done WW and was very successful with it. That was when i was still working,and it was easier. I managed a convenience store and the job was very physical.After i retired of course i slowed down and the weight seem to find me again. I am currently doing the NS program and love it.I find it much easier to log food/exercise etc on this site than the NS site.
I am glad to be here with so many wonderful people. Look forward to interacting with you all.
Julia.

Hello My name is Lawanda I am 42 years young, i want to lose about 50 pounds, stay healthy, and teach my kids better eating habits. Im new to not just the group but MFP as well. Feel free to add me as a friend. I need the motivation and the accountability and willing to do the same.

Hi, My name is Teresa and I am 51 years old. Don't hate me but I have always been little and have had no real weight problems. Then I became middle aged!! My weight continued to creep us every year and I finally have enough when I was 15 lbs overweight and nothing fit. I am now on a low-carb diet. I've lost five pounds and can't seem to lose anymore. I'm going away this weekend with my friends and I don't want to gain anything back....very worried! Loosing forward to getting to know everyone. Have a great day. More later because I am off to work.

Hello to all! My name is Rosemarie & I am from Pittsburgh PA. I will be 60 in 2 days, happy to be able to say that as I am a 12 year survivor of Breast Cancer & never thought I would see a birthday such as this. Yahoo!

I am married 41 years (same guy, he is amazing) I have 2 grown kids, son 40 and daughter 38. I have 5 grandkids 3 boys, 2 girls. I have 2 dogs (cocker spaniel & border collie) and one cat. I work full time.

I was Dx with thyroid problems (Hashimotos disease) and pre-diabetes last year. My wonderful endocronologist suggested I check out MFP. I joined this summer & so far have lost about 12 lbs.

This site sounds terriffic & I am looking forward to many new friends & encouragement along my journey to get healthier & lose more pounds. :flowerforyou:

Hello Ladies!! I am 51...wow, when did that happen? I live in the beautiful state of MICHIGAN. I love it here. Grew up here, joined the military and have recently...well, to me...have made it back home again.

I have joined the group hoping to get advice on many things. I joined last December, and decided it was time to get back in shape. Especially due to my age. I am 5'3'' and have lost 36 lbs. so far. I love it when I put on a pair of jeans that I didn't even realize were tight at the time, and have them sag on me.

I have started to excercise again for awhile, then stopped due to stressful situation. But I really need to get back to doing that again on a regular basis.

Looking forward to being a part of this group!!

I was just added to the group but I am not sure what to tell you. I have been on MFP for a long time but I come and go because I lead a very busy life. And I never know what I will be doing one day to the next.

Here are a few things I do: teach high school computers and business, give samples at Wal-Mart, sell lia sophia jewelry – www.liasophia.com/elainepeiffer , bookkeeper for my husband’s three businesses, grandmother of 4, active in church, lead (WL)2, hockey tennis football mom. Just to name a few.

I have been diagnosed with a tumor in my brain near or on my pituitary gland. I have conic pain from a child hood accident that
happened when I was seven.

I have been over weight since I started having children and I am now 8 pounds from my first short term goal and have another 65 to go after that.

I am not sure how much I will post unless I can add this to my ipad old os or on my phone some how because I am not at a computer very often I unless I am working on other things.

Thanks for the invite and I hope to get to know you all more in the upcoming weeks.

Hello everryone. My name is Odalys and I am 51 years old. I am 60 pounds overweight. I have being trying to loose weight since january and I loose some and then gain again. I hope this time I am able to stick to the plan. I heard about the 3 days diet and will start it tomorrow. Anyone heard about it?

Hi! I'm Jana, a 53 yr. old American now living in Canada with my wonderful hubby of 13 years and our three kids: 2 from my previous marriage, ages 23 and 20, and our daughter together, age 12.

I am a full time writer. I do mostly freelance work and have authored 2 books: one is a self-help book for women, like me, who are dating or married to a former widower (<--for whom I also run a message board), and one is a family humour book (<--on which my syndicated column is based). I pen a blog here on MFP called "Laugh Therapy".

I am also a part-time grief counsellor and lead bereavement recovery classes two nights a week.

I started MFP in mid-Sept. and am thrilled with it and the people who I have befriended. My only issue is that I have two very damaged knees and find exercise difficult.

Add me if you like...I can never get enough friends, esp. those who like to laugh.

Greetings! I hail from Kamloops, BC in the Central Interior. We had our first snowfall last night -- it was so quiet, peaceful, and serene looking out the window this morning. Pleasant surprise: my son appeared at my doorstep as I was getting dressed to shovel the driveway. Why? Because he was checking to make sure I really was all right, and second, to shovel my driveway. What a great way to start the day.

I have been here for 100 or so days and am making great progress! Lost 14, 4 to go to reach first goal (Christmas). Second goal of 15 more by Easter. These are totally doable!!

I sometimes lack in motivation, well, no, not sometimes: really, a lot of the time!!

Looking forward to what the group produces and what my contribution will be.

leska

Hello all!

My name is Carrie (age 55) and I live in San Diego, California. I am trying to lose over 100 pounds to be healthier and enjoy more activities. I've been on MFP since August, but didn't start getting serious posting my food/exercise until the last few weeks.

I've lost six pounds but have a long ways to go and was hoping to receive and give motivation through groups. I'd also like to find a group of ladies in my area who face similar challenges and want to pursue healthy outdoor activities.

Hello to the Ladies Who Lunch and thank you so much for the invite! I have been reading up on posts today and I think you are all wonderful women!

I am a 40 year old married mother of one teenager - a girl- and am trying to get myself back into shape both physically and emotionally. It's funny how we put our lives on hold while we are doting on our children, only to wake up one day, look in the mirror, and not know the person staring back. I didn't like that feeling. So now, here I am.

I am exercising, trying to eat right, and hopefully going back to school to finish my degree and work on my master's degree in the next few years. In a nutshell, I am trying to find me, or reinvent me, whichever is necessary.

Cheers to all of you!

Hi - thanks for the invitation! My name's Christine. I'm 63 years old, born in the UK, but have lived two thirds of my life in New Zealand (migrated when I was 21). I now live in Auckland with my 3 cats.

I'm many years divorced. I have 4 adult children - boys (well, men!) aged 38, 36 and 33, and a 30 year old daughter. My eldest and his wife have two sons and my daugher and her partner have one daughter. It's been a busy couple of months for grandchildren, with my younger grandson and my granddaughter both arriving within 7 weeks of each other. I work a 9 day fortnight as a remuneration consultant - love having every other Friday off!

I'm 5'7 and over the years my weight's fluctuated between 140 lbs and my highest weight of 235 lbs, which I reached just before spinal fusion surgery last year. I'd signed up for the MFP phone app in Jan 2011, but never used it - then I found the website just before last Christmas and got hooked. I'd already lost the first bit of weight by the time I started seriously in Jan '12, but since then I've managed to drop to my current weight of around 172 lbs. So all up I've dropped around 63 lbs. My goal is to reach a 'normal' BMI of 158 lbs, but would love to get down to around 150. We'll see.

This is the first time I've lost weight without 'dieting' - i.e. reducing my food intake dramatically to achieve a quick loss. I eat around 1400 - 1500 calories a day, so I never feel deprived. The only thing I did do that was dramatic was to cut out alcohol, which had become a crutch during my years of back problems and various other issues. (I swore off for 365 days - my time is up as at midnight on New Year's Eve, not that I'm counting down, of course!)

Looking forward to yet another support group here! I couldn't have got as far as I have without MFP!

Hi, I'm Kathy. I'm 57, today, actually. Since 2007, I've lost about 65 pounds, the last 35 on MFP in a little over a year. I'm a retired teacher and a tutor at a community college. I live in North Hollywood, Ca. I have been married for 35 years and have three grown children and two lovely grandaughters. Oh, and I have 2 beagles, or they have me.

Thanks for the invite! I am Pat, 54 years old, married with two grown stepchildren, two lovely Jack Russell Terriors, and a fish named Freddy... we live in Houston, TX.

I have had to lose 20-30 pounds each decade begining in my 20's. I weighed 139 in 2003 when I got married. Last December (2011) I was playing in my church's brass ensemble for Christmas Eve and got a bad shooting pain in my hip ... I weighed the next morning - 174 pounds! At 5'8" and small framed, that put me out of a healthy weight range.

I googled for help and found the book "the Menopouse Makeover" and "The Dukan Diet". I signed up for on line coaching as I was determined to make a life style change. The weight came off, and my activity/exercise level is up. I enjoy life with out an aches now, at 131 pounds and holding. I realize that each and every person is unique in their quest for a healthier lifestyle, but I believe logging intake and activity level is part of my forever healthy lifestyle. I am inspired every day by the community of discussions, blogs and groups on MFP and am really glad I joined MFP.

I don't quite fit the group's typical criteria, but since I was invited to join the group I will pipe in!

My name is Lauren. I'm from New Jersey and just got married in October.

A little about me: I'm 24, my family is the most important part of my life, even if I have no children of my own yet. I am here mostly for health reasons. I have hashimoto's thyroiditis so I try to monitor my nutrition to limit any fluctuations. Because of this, I try to follow a mostly low-carb diet and struggle with my weight!

Some of my hobbies: I loooove cooking. I enjoy crafts and sewing. My favorite is cross stitch. (I need to get working on my husband's Christmas stocking! - Most likely will be ready for next Christmas - sigh)

Thanks for inviting me! I look forward to the camaraderie.

Lauren