Hello Everyone

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I just signed up today and I wanted introduce myself. I'm 45 years old and have battled my weight all my life. Back in October 2009 I was approved for weight loss surgery. I even had a surgery date. But I realized I couldn't go through with it, I have to do this the right way. I'm not saying that surgery is wrong, I just felt it was wrong for ME.

So far, I've lost about 30 pounds and have about 55 more to go to get to a comfortable goal. Once I get there I'll reevaluate the goal.

I hope to meet loads of new people on here and learn a lot of great ideas for getting the weight off and KEEPING it off!

Take care everyone.

Replies

  • blondie76
    blondie76 Posts: 552 Member
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    Welcome!!
  • BrenNew
    BrenNew Posts: 3,420 Member
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    Hi Terri, and welcome to THE best site on the web! :flowerforyou:
    Between the easy to use food counter (which by the way is SUCH an eye opener!) and all the wonderfully supportive members, you WILL be able to lose the weight that you want to, AND, it'll "almost" be easy doing it! :wink:
    I recommend logging ALL your foods BEFORE you have them, rather than later, as it tends to lead to better food choices. (not to mention you'll know if you've got enough numbers left to have a night time snack, like I ALWAYS try to do!) Some people also like to weigh and measure some things, such as meats, rather than just estimating and possibly being WAY off! :noway:
    Don't go making the mistake that if you have LOTS of numbers left at the end of the day that you'll lose even faster, because that DOESN'T happen. Feel free to read any info about the site in the "help" section at the top of the home page. And also under "Community", then "Weight Loss and Healthy Living", then "general diet and weight loss help", and then check out the first few threads. They'll REALLY help you understand how MFP works. :smile:
    Before coming here, I had tried just about EVERYTHING out there, including hypnosis, TWICE, and nothing really worked until MFP! :love:
    Just the word "diet" would make me cringe and set me up for failure. :grumble: It meant depriving myself of all the "good stuff" out there, and as a result, I'd only last just so long, (maybe a few weeks if I was lucky!) and then I'd "cave" and go right back to eating all those "goodies" again! :embarrassed: :cry: But, MFP ISN'T a "diet". :noway: It's a "lifestyle change". :smile: (When I first read that, I said "Ya, SURE it is!", thinking that it WAS just another diet. :grumble: But, it wasn't! :noway:)
    The main reason that I've managed to lose the weight that I wanted to is because I HAVE been able to eat "real/good" foods. :bigsmile: (Not Slim Fast or any other easy, quick, fad "wacko" diets!:noway: ) Through MFP I learned that I just needed to "work for it", through exercise, and watching my numbers (MOST of the time! :wink: ) As long as I do that, I CAN occasionally have stuff like Chinese food, a double cheeseburger, pizza, and even homemade ice-cream! :love:
    As far as exercise goes, it doesn't always have to be awful. :noway: For my exercise, I walk almost every day, (weather permitting!:wink: ) I also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria") :love: :happy:
    It's free, (unlike a gym!:grumble: ) fun, :smile: and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
    I also have Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too! :smile:
    So, to make a LONG story short, make good food choices, eat in moderation, get some exercise, and you WILL lose the weight that you want to! :smile:
    MFP REALLY, REALLY, DOES work! :love: :happy: Give it a chance, and it WILL work for you too! :smile:
  • brookiedawn
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    Welcome!!
  • beesingh
    beesingh Posts: 13 Member
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    Hey, welcome, you have done an awsome job so far, keep it up and you will get great motivation from everyone on the site. x
  • CalGal1965
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    Bren - Thank you so much for all the information. It really is helpful to know that there are people out there, just like me, who have had success at this. I'm sure I'll be asking loads of questions. Thanks again for all the helpful hints!!!:wink:
  • CalGal1965
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    Thanks for all the welcomes everyone. It's really nice to see such a wonderful group here. I can't wait for all the progress!!!
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    BrenNew said it best, only thing I will add is that I am glad you didn't go through with an elective surgery that didn't feel "right" for you. I have known too many people who had lap band or more permanent procedures and because they were not willing to change the eating habits that got them to the point of needing to lose, they ended up with unsatisfactory results.

    Good luck with your quest to better health and better fitness.