Hello,

I am a 46 year old married mom of 2; step-mom of 2. Three are now in college, and one is just leaving the nest, but our family life is still very busy with 2 going to community college and living at home. I tell my friends i never know what to expect when I arrive home...an empty house or one full of our kids and their friends, and most days I wouldn't trade that for anything. My husband and I are married just a couple of years now, and very active and busy, involved in community theater and keeping up with our family and friends, traveling, camping and our full-time jobs ;-).

I am looking forward to learning and sharing on this journey. I would like to lose 35 lbs. this year. My first goal is take off 15, hopefully within the next two months. I have spent the last ten days tracking, no matter what, even if I felt I ate too much or exercised too little. I am ready to commit to doing what I need to do, which is keeping my caloric intake around 1500, starchy carbs low, gluten-free (I'm gluten sensitive), and a max 2 glasses of wine on the weekend only.

I've been taking kickboxing classes which I love and adding more cardio at they gym 4-5 days a week. Moving forward I will be , exercising daily, even if I can only squeeze in a walk at lunch time. I'm also working at adding a regular strength training component to my cardio. I love cardio, but hate weights. I don't mind doing focused resistance with bands, a ball, and my own body weight...push ups, core, abs, etc. I have a set of dumbells at work and do triceps and biceps on breaks.

I welcome your advice and encouragement, and I look forward to being a regular in this group. I'm beginning to read through the blog posts here and am so glad to find a community of like-minded women!

Cheers!
Liz

Hi, my name is Araina and I joined awhile back, but never stuck with it or bothered to fill in my personal information. Today I completed all that and have MVP on my computer, Ipad and cell phone. I am determined this time and my goal is to lose 15 lbs. (Which I've needed to lose for years now) Was thinking of asking the doctor to refer me to a nutritionist, but this site may be even better. I'm starting menopause and I think I had my final and last period? I'm hoping that by joining MFP I will be able to get rid of my ever growing bloated stomach and other symptoms that arise? I exercise almost everyday, either it's Zumba, Water Aerobics, Walking, etc. Exercise only seems to keep me at the weight I am now. I will not quit exercising, because the moment I do, the weight starts to inch forward. I am looking forward to interacting with everyone struggling with the same issues. Feel free to add me as a friend, share recipes, tips and struggles. I am a good listener and love to learn from others. Wishing everyone much success!

Hi everyone. My name is Gaylene, and I live in Alberta Canada. I am a safety specialist in the Tar Sands, and often work strange shifts and many days in a row (18 12hr shifts when on a shutdown). I have never been slim, but gained 40 pounds after quitting smoking (yay me!), and then another 35 when I moved up here. I joined MFP a year ago, then quit logging and gained back everything I had managed to lose. I re-started my weight loss journey in january, and am down 24 pounds so far. I figure another 40-45 pounds and I should be a much healthier happier individual. I look forward to learning from you all, as there seems to be significant weight loss in this group and I'm finding it much harder work now that I'm on the downhill slide to nifty fifty.

Hi ! My name is Rita. I will be 51 in April. I live in western NJ.

My stepkids are older, grown and gone - I am a grandmother.

I have been kind of stuck at home lately - and I basically live 10 miles from anything! so I am very happy having the MFP community to support me.

I haven't been able to attend my regular Weight Watcher meetings - fighting 5 lbs. I would really like them gone (for good)!

Hi! I am joining after seeing Ms Alice post in the forum today.

I am 43 and on the journey to get as healthy as I can as I deal with being a small business owner, furbaby mom, caregiver, accountant, lawn maintenance and home maker. Many know the drill. I was dx with full blown Celiac nearly 8 years ago after being underweight and once I went GF I ballooned. lol I do lower carb to help with estrogen dominance and it is easier because GF diet made me forgot about homemade yeast rolls. Some days I am so busy that I have trouble hitting the magical number of calories. I really just try to listen to my body. I got hooked on Zumba because I was a dancer in a previous life. I do dvds at home and I also have had femoral hernia repair, so I am slowly adding weights now with the Sentao routine but have to take it easy. I lost 28 lbs last year and took a break from "exercise" because I had to take care of pressing business issues and life. I try to respect everyone's choices as to how they approach their journey and hope everyone finds success and a road map that works for them.

Hello....Saw the group and decided I was in the right group finally. My name is Ann. I live in Oklahoma. I am 48 years old, 5'2", I've lost 90 pounds. I'm here to lose the last 10 and then to continue to log for the rest of my life.
I have been married to my husband for 21 years. We have 7 kids (19years old down to 8 years old). We homeschool them. The oldest is now in college.
I have always been on the "husky" side growing up. I battled my weight losing and gaining...losing and gaining. I gained about 10 pounds per child that stuck each time. I had a late term miscarriage in 2008. I decided I was entitled to be a frumpy, obese mom. I quit trying and managed to balloon to 215. In 2011, a friend mentioned losing a few pounds so her clothes would fit better. I thought it was a good idea so I joined her. It seemed hard at first...but once I started...I never stopped. It took me a year and a half to lose the 90 pounds. Then I found MFP. It makes logging everything SO much easier!
Looking forward to chatting and encouraging!!

Hello Ladies!!

My name is Mary - I'm 42. I live in Upstate NY and in the heart of the Fingerlakes wine country....:))))

I have 1 husband, 2 daughters, 1 cat who thinks he's a dog & 1 dog who thinks she's a cat. I work full time and my girls are 11 & 13 ....teenagers.............

I have struggled with my weight for most of my adult life ( after my 1st 11 pound daughter was born ).
I have been on weight watchers, shake diets, atkins, juicing diets, etc etc etc.

Recently I turned 40 and decided I am NOT dieting anymore but embracing this new lifestlye of healthy eating. Unfortunately I 'forgot" to add exercise until recently and WOW what a difference. When I turned 40 I was 258lbs and at 42 (w/o exercise) 248lbs. In the last few months I joined my local YMCA and have been exercising 4-5 days a week for 30 minutes and OMG I've lost 8 pounds in 3 months. I just weighed in at 240- So I've learned that exercise ALONG with healthy eating is key.

Come over to the Menopause group Mary! We can relate, promise!

Come over to the Menopause group Mary! We can relate, promise!

Thanks for the invite! It looks like there are several, which is the "best" one?

:flowerforyou: Hi Ladies,

My name is Cynthia. I live in Naples Florida. I turned 46 on March 7th and weighed in at 289 lbs.
I have decided to make the rest of my life the best of my life. Can't stand the site of myself any longer. I could also do quite well without the pain in my knees/feet/hips from the extra weight I am trucking around. I play tennis 4 x's a week I stand 5'10 and have a large frame, but that just doesn't cut it anymore.
I am fat.
Hoping to get healthy again and feel better about myself.
Cynthia

:flowerforyou: Hi Ladies,

My name is Cynthia. I live in Naples Florida. I turned 46 on March 7th and weighed in at 289 lbs.
I have decided to make the rest of my life the best of my life. Can't stand the site of myself any longer. I could also do quite well without the pain in my knees/feet/hips from the extra weight I am trucking around. I play tennis 4 x's a week I stand 5'10 and have a large frame, but that just doesn't cut it anymore.
I am fat.
Hoping to get healthy again and feel better about myself.
Cynthia

Welcome Cynthia, from another Newbie to the Group. I know what you mean about being able to get by carrying extra weight when you're tall.... until you CAN'T cut it anymore. There's only so many bigger sizes left to go! When I hit the 2X, I knew I was in big BIG trouble.
I'm very impressed by your playing tennis... good for you!!
Jayne
Jayne

Hi my name is Lauren and I'm here to find ways to en find healthy ways of making tasty foods for get togethers and when going out to eat

Hello Ladies! I just joined yesterday. I don't have a lot to lose (been there done that years ago - my profile is public) but I would love to finally gain some confidence! Sadly, I have very little :frown: I have been reading tons of posts and then found this group. I am so excited to have finally found some like-minded women! If you read my bio, you'll see I moved across the country fairly recently, and have not really made friends yet. I am the mother of 2 daughters aged 25 & 27 and one son who is 21. I also have a granddaughter who is 8. They all live so far away and I miss them terribly! :sad:

But, I will prevail! I have to remember that this is "ME" time now!
Thanks in advance everyone, I know I'll find some inspiration here!

Cheers! :drinker:
Sue

I am Andrea. I will be 41 in May. I am " back on the wagon" getting healthy. I live in Vegas and own a PR/Social Media company. I work hard, play hard.

We don't have any children. We do have two dogs however. Both rescues.

I am on goal to lose 168lbs!

Hi all!

My name is Bridge. I live in Portland OR. I am 4 lbs into my plan to lose 51 lbs. I'm 43 and have found that my body does not respond the way it used to. I've been creeping up in weight for about 7 or 8 years, and minor adjustments just don't cut it anymore. I work from home and weave in as much activity as I can to my day so that I can dine, drink, and shrink! In my heart I wish that it were possible for me to just eat clean whole foods, listen to my body,s hunger and fullness cues, and settle at a balanced weight that I can be happy with, but that strategy just hasn't been working. I have been dealing with dying and ailing parents over the last couple of years too, which certainly seems to bring on the stress eating! As well as lots of visiting with family, and more eating! I am absolutely loving MFP. I am a sucker for a new project! As much as I have always hated exercise, the direct link between the moving my body and the access to more food is really a motivator. I suddenly can't get enough of it! Just bought a treadmill tonight in fact! I am a woman on a mission and there's no turning back now!