New and a Little Lost

I joined a while back but only recently started using this site. The food and fitness diary part of the site is simple - no problems there. It's this area here I'm a little confused over!

How is it that people get and give support - is it just through their blogs here? I've checked out a few and it seems like people have tons of friends, so I wonder folks keep up?

To explain, I'm not new to online message boards, and I've actually made a few very close friends on other boards in the last 10 years. (Not health or weight loss boards, but others.) And while those friendships still thrive, they've mostly moved to FaceBook because life these days offers me limited time online. I have actually tried to "break in" to a few other message boards to get/give weight loss support, and I end up feeling like an interloper!

I can see that people here form some very strong bonds, so I'm just wondering how best to navigate the board to actually get to know people; realistically, on weekdays, I'll only be on once a day, and that probably won't be until the evening. Thoughts anyone?

By way of an intro, I'm female, turning 50 in a few months, married, have one child at home, and once just launched. I have about 80 - 90 lbs. to lose, and some health challenges, but nothing that remains serious. Looking forward to meeting people!