Hi I'm Melissa! I'm fairly new to this whole program, I started at 170lbs. and my goal is 125lbs. I have a lot of support from family and my boyfriend who is also trying it out, but it's nice to have support from people who are going though the same thing.

Hi, I'm Amanda. I weigh 290. My short term goal is to lose 15lbs by August 2nd. I have a wedding to go to the 10th. I've always had weight issues and my friend suggested I use this to help me lose weight. I had a motivation buddy but he got wrapped up in work so I am looking for new ones

Hi - I'm Sandi - I need more support than the average bear. I have family and friends who are huge supporters but are in their own sense 'skinny' as compared to me at 5'11" and 290lb. While I have been told I carry my weight well (all in my butt) I want to be healthier for the long run not just the diet run. I get down on myself a lot but really try to stay positive.

I am open to new friends and love the support. I have an open diary you can view.

Thanks!

hi!!! i put the wrong address in IT"S dylantoby@hotmail.com would love to hear from many !!! we all need support!! please put diet pal in the subject box so that i won't delete it !!!! love to hear from many!!!!

i looking foward to being 120lbs by the ened of the year currently weigh 171

I am Lindsey and I am also looking for motivation!! My big goal is to lose 77.6 lbs. My Wedding is this August so I have been trying to diet and exercise and would like to lose weight before then. I need all the encouragement and support I can get as well. Please feel free to add me as a friend & follow my blog!

I am just like all of you and want the encouragement and motivation on the days I do not want to go work out or when I am struggling with food. I am sure we have all been there when we just give up and quit... I know for me personally, I am good for a week or two and then I just quit and have to start up again. Although I have a lot of support, I feel like I have done this so much that I feel like they are just like, "Oh here we go again" I want to prove them wrong but most importantly I want to do it for myself this time!!

..So please please post how much weight you lost, tell me when you go work out, etc. etc. These are the things that get me motivated and makes me want to go above and beyond

Hi, I'm Morgan! I would love to be part of a support network and, truthfully, need a little help staying motivated as well. I'm a life long dieter and have been yo yo-ing the same forty pounds for the past ten years. I've decided to finally do it right, get healthy, and avoid the crash diets. Good luck to everyone! Cheers!

I've always been really interested in Zumba but have never tried it. I'm a little embarrassed to go to the group Zumba classes at my local gym. It always seems like everyone in classes is always way fitter than me and it makes me a little self conscious.

But you really like it? What's your instructor's name?

Hello ladies!

So here is my intro:

Paula, 56 so a lot of wisdom...lol
I have had issues with food/weight my whole life.
As I have always said - I do not have a normal relationship with food...I abuse it, emotional eater, (especially AT NIGHT right before sleeping). This is the PROBLEM that I have turned back to the last year.

After having my four sons in (7 years), gaining more weight with each one and not losing the previous amount...I ended up at 228#. I spent the next three years losing 87#. It was a time when "FAT" was horrible for you...ALL FAT. So I eliminated it from this ridiculous regime I made up for myself. Not the right way to lose weight at all. I would lose some then stop for a while (interesting this time frame I did not regain), then I would get the drive to hit it again. I got down to 144# (5' 9.5"), exercised religiously, and LOOK and FELT FABULOUS. I stayed like this for a decade...A MAJOR MIRACLE in my life and my immediate family who all have the same problems with food and gaining weight
.
Well, I remarried, and after the marriage (for some reason he really held it together prior to getting married), found myself married to a gentleman who is bi-polar. The EXTREME case...I could write a book and wish I had kept a journal and pictures of the insanity that was my life at that time.
Anyway, after coming so far and being in the, I believe 5% of people who lose weight and keep it off...(in my case 10 years)...broke down and ate for my sanity...I had endured so much in the previous 10 years...but this was beyond anything I could even imagine. I knew what I was doing was not helping me deal with the person and how I was going to be able to get away from him...very scary and unreal things...whole new experience I would not wish on a person I could not stand...

So, when (it was years later so I could get my investment back - money used to restart a business he had previously)...I weighed 252# more than anytime in my entire life.
I tried many different programs and diets...I just could not muster up the inner strength I had previously in my life and tackle this problem again.

I paid cash for a lap-band procedure (not covered by insurances - or most of them - 2007)...the procedure was a miracle for me...FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE I WAS NOT HUNGRY!

NIGHT AND DAY AND MINUTE BY MINUTE...HUNGER was always something I struggled with. I don't know if I have a higher amount of GHRELIN...the substance in your stomach that tells your brain that you are hungry...because I could eat a full meal and an hour later be just as hungry...

The lap-band reduced being HUNGRY by 95%! Seriously...for once in my life I could do something and not be hungry and always be fighting the urge to eat something...I liken it to men (I worked in Urology for many years - so testosterone) and the effects it has on men...they- what think about sex how many times in a minute??? Well being hungry all the time to me was the (testosterone) response I dealt with day in and day out.

So with my lap band I could easily eat the right amounts of food and did lose 120# in 1 1/2 years.
I have done great for five years THEN with my back problems and having to resign from my job I loved I have gained 25#.

I have done so by eating the wrong foods (why a lot of people don't do well with lap bands). You can eat a ton of cookies, milkshakes, etc
.
So this is the EMOTIONAL eating coming into play...I EAT EVEN THOUGH I AM NOT AT ALL HUNGRY
.
I want to get myself and my body and health back. Paula

Hi all! I am new to MFP and I currently weigh 160 at 5"4'. Weight has never been a big problem to me but since i started college i gained the freshman 15. My ultimate goal is just to feel healthy. With my bone structure and all 130-140 seems to be a good fit for me. I would love to gain some friends to help with motivation. Add me as a friend or shoot me a message