disappointed

I know just how you feel about 12 yrs ago I lost 105 lbs I kept it off for about 4 yrs then I got fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome , also thyroid troubles. Due to meds, being sick, depressed, in pain all the time and having no energy I put all of it back on . Now I am starting over again trying to loose the weight. I just started about 3 weeks ago. Feel free to add me as a friend we can motivate each other.....

I think I understand how you feel.

I have always been a heavier person. In high school I was usually around a size 18. When I was in college I hit a top weight of about 230 lbs (size 22) I had a reckoning with myself and started working out and seeing a dietitian to improve my eating habits. I lost over 40 lbs (size 14/16) and felt amazing. After meeting the man who would eventually become my husband, I think I got comfortable and lazy. In the 9 years that followed I was consistently gaining weight. In addition, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Following the diagnosis I was afraid of working out or over-exerting myself because in many MS patients that can lead to symptom exacerbation or attacks. I eventually realized that my life with MS was not really much different and it has stayed very well controlled. Despite that knowledge I didn't add back in much physical activity. Last August it really "hit the fan" for me, so to speak. I weighed in at 280 lbs (size 26) and was so shocked and disappointed that I had let myself go so far. There was no way this was not effecting my health and well being and I had another serious reckoning with myself. So, I got a gym membership and started to push myself to see how far I could go in a workout without a possible attack. I was both surprised (and in some amusing way not surprised at all) to see that I could kick myself in the butt really hard with a workout and have virtually symptom increase whatsoever. Since then I have started down that long road again to lose weight and get healthier. I started exercising 5 days a week, but wasn't really adjusting my diet very much yet. I had lost about 20 lbs from August to December. After Christmas I got an iPhone and started trying out calorie and exercise tracking applications. I used Calorie Count for a while but later switched to My Fitness Pal and have been here ever since. At the moment I am down 63 lbs and counting, aiming for a size 12. :happy:

Am I happy that I have had to do this twice--the second time being much longer and harder? No. But life has a way of throwing us some curve balls. I have learned so much about myself on this journey over the last year and if it hadn't happened then I wouldn't have grown as a person like I have. I am lucky to have an amazing, supportive husband who, even when I was at my heaviest, never said anything about my weight and always made me feel beautiful. And bizarre as it sounds, if it hadn't been for being diagnosed with MS, I never would have started taking better care of myself and getting serious about my health.

You CAN do this! Be strong and if you have a day when you are doubting yourself, I have a feeling there are many, many people here that believe in you (including me.)