Hi my name is Pam. I am 41 years old. I live in Winter Haven,FL. At this current time I am 265 pounds, I have 105 pounds to lose. I have struggled with my weight ever since my first child in 1990. I lose it and gain it again. I have 4 children, 4 step children, and 5 grandbabies. It's become very depressing to look at myself in a mirror or to have my picture taken. I realized that I am the only person that can take this weight off and I am bound and determined to do that through MFP. Instead of setting a goal, I am setting many goals. I have only been back on MFP for 4 days. During this time I have followed my plan perfectly. It's not usually hard to do the first week or so but then that's when I really need some friends that understand what I am going through.

Hi Girls

I'm Cleo, I live in snowy cold Canada. On my second (and hopefully last) marriage, been married for 4 years and I have 3 girls, 16, 11 and 17 months! Yes, it's crazy, I know. I'm heading towards 40 and HAVE TO get in better shape.

I am 285!!! How the hell did that happen??? I am not in a huge rush to loose the weight, and I hate the idea of dieting. So really I am just trying to eat better, get active and change my lifestyle, it sounds more doable to me than a diet! hahaha

I would like to loose 20 pounds by my 39th birthday, which is about 10 weeks away. I have a hubby who is supportive of us both getting healthier. He is a sugar junkie like me but that bugger never gains weight! So as a family we are going on this journey, I look forward to getting to know everyone better.

Hiya Ladies! I am Jenny, and I live in Florida.
I'm 29
Married (6 years). No kids, but have been trying to get pregnant for 6 years. We're going to be continuing TTC while I lose weight, but plan to look into adoption within the next year or two if we still don't get pregnant.

Starting Weight: 280
Goal: 150 at first, but will likely go a little bit lower -- depends on how my body looks/feels @ 150.

I've been overweight since I was a kid. In High School, I was a size 18. When I got married, I was a size 18/20, and in the past 6 years I have gained 50+ pounds. I've tried to lose weight here and there, but I never got past the first month. Now at almost 30, I refuse to ever have to start over again. In the past month I have lost 12 pounds. I thought I had lost nearly 20, but I never realized using a scale on a carpet can affect your weigh in! It was a disappointment, but I'm not going to let it set me back. Just means I have more of a reason to work hard!

My biggest motivation is one I mentioned above -- I want to be a Mom. There is nothing I want more. We've been trying to get pregnant since we got married 6 years ago, and the first few years of TTC were the hardest. On my wedding day, my sister told me she was pregnant. I'm still a little irritated that she couldn't pick a different day to tell me, but I understand she was excited. After she had the baby, my sister in-law announced she was pregnant. After she had her baby, my sister announced she was pregnant again with twins. And, as if they were planning this, after the twins were born my SIL announced her 2nd pregnancy. I love my nephews and niece (my sister has 4 boys, my B/SIL has a boy and a girl), but it was still hard. I keep dreading that a day will come where one of them announce another pregnancy. It makes me sounds so selfish, but it would break my heart.

So, I'm really hoping losing the weight will allow us to get pregnant. If it doesn't, we'll be adopting. But no matter what, biological or adopted, they will be our children and I'll love them more than anything in the world. I want to be happy and healthy for them!

My name Is Marissa and I am 28. I live in Northern California.
My current weight (as of 1/1) is 264.2. My goal is 150, but I will re-evaluate when I get closer.
I work full time at a desk- up to 50 hours a week and I have an Avon business on the side. I'm very busy!
I am currently dealing with some back issues, with pain in my hips and legs as well.. I am waiting on the results of my MRI, but in the meantime I have a hard time bending at the waist (to pick something up), lifting, or being on my feet for more than a half hour or so. This has made it extremely frustrating add I feel even more sedentary than usual.
I am restarting my weight loss journey, just moved to MFP from another site. I know that tracking works for me, so I'm excited to get back in the groove!

Hey and howdy from Oregon!!!

My name is Dani. I'm 37 years old, and have pretty much always been the chunky girl with the pretty face. In my life, I am blessed to be celebrating 20 years of marriage to a wonderful man, who continues to love me unconditionally and fully, regardless of my weight (and in spite of my wacky wit). I am the mom to the two grooviest munchkins I know, ages 14 and 13. We have a houseful of 4 dogs and a lizard, and endless chaos. But I love it!!!

And now, this year, I have promised myself to love me. To work on making me the duckiest me I can be. I am a type 1 diabetic, who hasn't always taken the best care of myself. I have spent many nights in the hospital due to absesses, dealing with dka, and other health related issues. I have had enough. No more nights away from my family for health and weight-related issues. No more lazy days because I just don't have enough energy to get out and have fun. NO MORE EXCUSES!

Looking forward to giving this program a whirl. I tend to do best when I hold myself accountable for intake and actions. And I am looking forward to giving ya'll support. We can do it!!! Yes we can!!! (Yikes, Bob the Builder flashbacks. )

Hello from very cold NoVA!

I'm Patti. 27 years old And found out about this site off Yahoo! I am hoping I will be successful with this site.

Im looking to get rid of my unwanted other half. The last couple of years have been really bad and I've taken it out on food....badly. I'm a mix of emo and boredom eater. I have a gym membership that I got for my birthday and I think I used it... 5 times?

I use to think 300lbs was the worse. Then it was if my pants size went past 28 I'd be humiliated to have to do something. Unfortunately I am way past 300 and past a 28. But I have no persistence. I dieted once when I was 21 and I dropped 50lbs like that. But it seems ALOT harder to get back to that mind set.

I don't want to be thin. I want to be healthy. And not appalled at pictures that are taken of me.

So this year is the year to do it. I'm logging calories, detoxing with apple vinegar (which is the nastiest thing in the world) and jumping on the treadmill.

Here I come 2013... Ready or not!

I am Becki. I have been married for 17 years. We have two sons, five dogs and five cats. It is very busy here.

My initial starting weight, this time, was 335. I am currently 305. My ultimate goal is 150.

Hi, I am Kim from Canada!! I am 42 years old and have two lovely children, aged 8 and 6. I have been married for 20 years and my husband is very supportive and has used this site as well. I want to lose this weight for good. I am currently 257. My highest was 268.
I am back on this site as taking a long long break. Not good. I had lost over 30lbs when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I was so good, i never cheated, and I exercised everyday. I didn't go on a "diet". I just ate properly and exercised. Then I went back to my old ways and the weight came back. I stopped testing my blood sugar and the weight kept on creeping on. I am disappointed with what has happened as it was in my control to stop it. I decided I am not going to dwell on it, I will just kick it in the butt and get rid of the weight and manage my life properly.
I have a very fortunate situation where I can work from home so I don't have any excuses now. I don't have the long commute, the long hours or the job stress. I am grateful for that and feel that I can now become in control of my life and organize myself and my family to a happy, successful and healthy 2013.
My goal is to lose 2lbs consistently and be down 24lbs by Easter. I will be visiting my family then. That will be a significant weight loss and will set me up for success. We are also planning a trip in April to California so would like to be under 230 for that trip. If I set my mind to it, I can do it!!
Good luck to everyone and I would appreciate all the support and I will in turn support you all as well!

Hi, I'm Sharon. I live in Michigan and I am 65 years young. I want to lose 110 lbs, not to be more beautiful but to be healtier. I have a wonderful daughter and am very happy in many aspects of my life...except for my weight. I am hoping to find some pals to do this with! Want to spark that something inside me to push me forward.

Lets do this thing!!!

Sharon

Hello to all. My name is Doretta and I will be 43 years old in just a few days. I am somewhat a newlywed (8 months) and have 2 boys 24 and 14. I am originally from Dallas, Texas but now live in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I have always been the "thick" girl and eventually became "REAL thick" lol. I never really had any issues with my weight and my doctor used to say I was really fortunate. Although I was obese my health was excellant. However, my doctor said as I got older it would catch up with me and it did. Last year I started having health issues that although they may not have been directly related to my weight, they were exaggerated by my health. I hit my highest of 300 pounds and knew it was time to change. I have lost 23 pounds just by changing my eating habits and I have added going to the gym. Looking forward to hearing every one's successes rather great or small! Hoping to get to 165 over time!

Hopefully, you can find a pen pal here that "clicks" with you.

Hi, I am Besta and am 61. I am at an all time high and put on almost 18 lbs in 6 mos. It is stress. I am former military with rampant PTSD.

I have joined a gym and have decided that this is it. I am going to commit one full year to a do over on myself and hopefully one full year will be enough for behavior modification. I am also going to commit to visiting the community once a day to let everyone know how I am doing (whether you want to know or not LOL).

I am making my weigh in Monday mornings.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had kidney failure at 5 mos, my first stroke at 8 mos and following her birth 39 strokes and when she was 9 mos old had 2/3 of a kidney removed.

I am not trying to one up your story, but I am telling you that everything is a day at a time. When I had a headache or was stressed I would ask my daughter for a hug and it would go away. I promised myself that I would take 2 min morning noon and night to tell her how much I loved her and what a gift she was to me. When I felt the world crushing me, that intentional 2 minutes with her fought off the dragons.

I did the school at night and read biology homework to my daughter for her night time stories. When I switched to accounting, she would quiz me on terms. We did our homework at the table together. I was a single Mom for 27 years. You can do this Marlee. Let your love for each other be your strength and incentive. Being a single Mom just means you don't have to share her

I am Retha Groenewald and I live in South Africa. I need to lose a lot. I would love to loose about 100 lbs and become fit again. The exercising is very difficult for me at the moment. I begun walking the dogs.

Kim, 37, Melbourne Australia .
Just for you guys I will work out pounds

Current weight 253
Goal weight 163
Lost 60 pounds last year and honestly if I lose another 50-60 I will be happy.

Hello Group!
My Name is Brianna
I am 30 years old
I live in Buford, GA (my "home" is in MI)
My current weight is 251, (I was 240 before Christmas)
My goal is 155
I am a mother to two beautiful babies (5yr old boy and 3yr old girl)
I have been with my husband for 14 years and he is still the love of my life. I want to be a healthy Mom and a sexy Wife! I have a hard time saying No to food and have been an overeater for as long as I can remember. I will start a diet in the morning and by dinner I have gone off the deep end. It takes a lot of hard work and busy work to keep me from walking down the path that got me here in the first place. I can't wait to have a picture taken of me where i don't look sloppy. Please feel free to add me as a support, and I will do my best to support you too!