Day One

Hi everyone!
Thanks for joining me on my re-start. Since I've just made the group today, I'm calling today our day one. If you've been back on track for more than just today, then you can count it however you'd like.
For today, let's start with the simple stuff. Tell us who you are, your success story and what the reason *if you want* for your do-over.
I'm Amanda :]
I've almost always been overweight, but when I started having actual health problems last year (ie. high blood pressure, vitamin deficiencies, etc) I started to question if I was putting my health in jeopardy. At 25, I knew I was too young to take the easy way out, so I started really trying to be successful. Over the last year, I lost about 25lbs. Sadly now, I'm at about a 14lb loss. I know I can be more successful, but summer got the best of me. Family picnics every weekend, a few vacations, traveling for work, fairs, etc. etc. The excuse was always, I'll get back on track next week. Next week became next month and now I really need to get back to where I started.
Anyone else care to share?

Replies

  • WRXymama
    WRXymama Posts: 342 Member
    Hello, my name is Brooke, and I'm starting over :::Hi Brooke::: (in rehab group voices)

    Original Start Date: April 30th, 2012
    Original Starting Weight: 229.6
    LOWEST Weight Reached: 167
    Current Weight: 187
    Goal Weight: 145/150

    Like many others, I have struggled with weight/eating for years. I'm an emotional eater/drinker, and boredom eater/drinker, a social eater/drinker. When I have a bad day and make a slight mistake, I mentally say "fck it" and just go overboard...including creative colunary concotions just to eat (and I mean creative). So begins the downward spiral. I took a "selfie" over this past weekend, beer in hand, and saw my face. It wasn't the same as what it had been a few months back. I lacked the glow, confidence, and (as bad as it sounds) beauty that I was regaining. I had looked so forward to having the confidence to go shopping, which is huge for me because I'm really not a girly girl (work on cars, wear jeans/xl free tshirts)...but trying. Then as I was getting close, I just let it slip further away. I'm tired of feeling like this. Yup, beer and food are awesome, but nothing tastes as good as feeling good about myself. Was it worth it? Maybe...because I will take this as a learning experience, and move forward. Time to kick this pig. Next?
  • MamaDee2
    MamaDee2 Posts: 843 Member
    Hi I'm Dee -
    I too have been overweight my entire life :( I have tried what seems like 100's of diets and lost 1000's of lbs. In June of 2005 my daughter was getting married so in Jan. I started dieting again. The main reason was because I was hoping since she was getting married that one day I would be a grandma. I wanted to be a fun, full of energy to play kinda grandma - not the just sit and watch kinda grandma. I became a grandma 155lbs lighter! Well in 2011, that really fun part of life started - menopause -and I started binge eating due to these cravings for sweets I'd never really had before. Then I lost my job due to a company buy-out and my position was eliminated. Well I had lots of extra time on my hands and I ate a lot. I gained 100 lbs of the weight back. I now keep my sweet grandson and I want to get back to being healthy, feeling better and having loads of energy to play - cause he has loads of energy and loves to play!
  • nlepine84
    nlepine84 Posts: 145 Member
    Hey I'm Nikki

    June 2011 a girlfriend and I started a blog to help motivate us to lose weight. It worked. We both lost around 25/30 lbs and kept it off since then. I worked my butt off Jan-April and lost another 10lbs for my wedding, but had also planned on keeping that weight off as well. I switched jobs (just for a year) in June and since then those 10lbs have crept back on. I am really struggling as I feel as sluggish/gross as I did when I was at my heaviest. I know I am far from that but I am scared that I will put those 30lbs+ some back on before the end of this 1 year contract. I ran 2 half marathons last year and right now i can hardly run a 5km without stopping for a break. This for me, means I'm back at square one.
    I am also an emotional/boredom eater and seem to always be thinking about food. I want to get back to where I was just a few months ago where I could say no to cookies, chips, beer and count all my calories!
  • SarahE721
    SarahE721 Posts: 3 Member
    Hi ladies!

    My name is Sarah and I am overweight, ALWAYS hungry and in need of some friendly motivation.

    I, too, have always had issues with weight and I have a terrible relationship with food. About five years ago I dropped 50 pounds and was the fittest I had ever been in my life. Well, I've been dating my bf for 4.5 years now and have put all of it back on and more. About a month ago I was at my highest weight ever: 208. I knew I needed to lose weight when I overheard a friend of my boyfriend's say 'she used to be hot' about me...

    I'm down to 200.4 and cannot WAIT until Thursday (weigh-in day) bc I think I finally be below the 200 mark again.

    My goal weight is 140/150, really whatever makes me feel comfortable and confident again. This app on my iPhone has been helping me to keep myself accountable for what I eat, and I feel fantastic after a workout and I enter in my calories burned. I haven't figured out a way to view groups within the app though - am I missing something there?

    Best of luck to you all!
  • Hey, I'm Pinky (not my real name but don't want to be searchable by my real name online).

    I've been on MFP since April, 2012 and I haven't quite got the hang of sticking on the right path. I lost 15lbs my first try, and then gained it back when I fell off track.

    I don't really have any one in my real life to keep me motivated or accountable. It's easy to just bugger off, eat whatever and sit on my *kitten* for days on end.

    I want to change that.

    I want to break under 300lbs and get down to 200lbs to start with. I know I can do it...I need a constant kick in the *kitten* every day ;)

    Well met and good luck everyone :)
  • jailbirdjubie
    jailbirdjubie Posts: 22 Member
    Hello there, my name is Kris!

    I started my day one 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to join this group because I know I'm going to have a hard time staying motivated at some point and thought I could use some support (and lend some support in the process).

    As for motivation, it's helped for me to keep a "body journal" because I'm the type of gal who likes to do creative stuff. I bought a Smash Book at my local craft store and I keep all kinds of things in there to help me stay motivated. I have a picture of myself when I was thin. I've cut out articles from health and fitness magazines on eating healthy and exercises that I may want to try out. I also have pictures of cute clothes from catalogs that I'd like to be able to fit into some day (Boden and Athleta are a couple that I like). I even write down how I'm feeling every couple of days. That way, if I'm feeling down or defeated, I can deal with it then and there, and maybe resist the temptation to grab something comforting to eat. One other thing I have in there is a calendar of the entire year where I check off the days I work out. It's just a fun thing to keep track of and in a couple of months I can look back and see how much I've exercised (I'm a former couch potato).

    All this stuff helps me stay focused on changing my bad habits and forming the new ones that will help me become successful in my weight loss journey. I have 100 pounds to lose, so I know it'll take some time, but I'm ready!

    Once you get that motivation, just keep it going!
  • PandaFit450
    PandaFit450 Posts: 619 Member
    Hi,

    I'm Jules and have a very similar story to you all. I have been a yo-yo dieter all my life - struggling hard to lose the weight/get fit, only to slide back into the bad habits and regain the weight I'd lost PLUS extra. Two years ago I was at my best - healthy, confident and looking good - you would've thought that would have been enough to keep me focussed - but no!!

    So Monday was my 'Day 1' and I actually went to bed feeling 'comfortable' not bloated for the first time in ages!

    I have a 10k run planned for next year with my son - it will be our first time of running together and his first competetive race. I not only want to keep up with him, but I want to try to beat him!! Not an easy task, but I'm determined to give it a go and at least, not embarrass myself or him!

    Ultimately, I want to be that healthy, happy and slimmer person that I was two years ago - she's in there somewhere!!

    Good luck everyone :flowerforyou:
  • handsoftime
    handsoftime Posts: 39 Member
    Hey everyone, I'm Dustin.

    A couple years ago I dropped thirty pounds. Motivated by a bad break-up, and realising that I needed to change myself in order to love myself, I started exercising almost daily. Eventually cravings got the better of me and I cave hard. I binged on burgers and fries for God knows how long. Fast forward to now and I gained all that weight back and then some. I've been back in the game so to speak for almost two months now and I'm steadily losing. I'm almost down twenty pounds! But I'm glad to have found this group since I've been steadily doubting whether or not I can do it again.

    Here's to hoping we're all here for one another! :D
  • Eiracarolyn
    Eiracarolyn Posts: 1 Member
    HI All,

    I am a yo-yo dieter and I have problems with my moods (mild bi-polar) so if life is crap I go to tesco and pick up many lemon meringue krispie creams!

    In 2011 I started Uni (as a mature student) and this motivated me to loose some weight, so I started the cambridge diet. I lost 2 stone on that (dropping to 12st) before becoming bored and extremely hungry so I joined weightwatchers instead. Initially I put on half a stone but then managed to get it off and maintain for a few months. This was fab, I felt brilliant and motivated to keep going.

    However in June 2012 my husbands cancer came back for the third time and I fed my feelings, anxieties and f*** it attitude with sugary loving food.

    A year down the line and life resembles some form of normality and I am now depressed because I am 15 stone (although lost 1lb today) and cant fit into any of my clothes :(

    So I am using this and following the 5:2 way of life. so far I am maintaining my weight but I have lost an inch from different areas (although this is after 3 months). Onwards and upwards - or hopefully downwards in the dress size department!
  • GemmieH
    GemmieH Posts: 55 Member
    Hi Everyone, I'm Gem.

    I am a boredom eater. I started my MFP journey in September 2011 and lost a total of 32lb in 18 months.

    I was very chuffed with myself but then I had my one year annivesary in July and a holiday in August and I have well and truly fallen off the wagon since then. To be honest I have been too scared to weigh myself that I don't even know what I weigh now but I definately know my clothes are feeling tighter.

    Since may I have been following the 5:2 diet but I have been bad with this for the past month and plan to get back on this as well as starting up the gym again. I hope that this brings me back to me lowest soon so that I can work on getting to my goal weight. Would be very happy to achieve this by Christmas.

    I need a kick up the bum, please help me!
  • brittanykira
    brittanykira Posts: 220 Member
    Hey there,
    My name is Brittany and I started using MFP September 2012, after an ex told me that if I don't lose weight I will die. I just kind of looked in the mirror one day and literally felt disgusted with myself. I had put on 50 lbs since high school, mainly due to my relationship and feeling comfortable, yet when it came time to be back into the single game, I knew I needed to change my body and my opinions of myself. I had been doing awesome until about May of this year, which I was down 45 lbs. People actually started to tell me how confident I was, which is the last word I would ever describe myself as, but took a summer break, put on 15 lbs, and am now ready to go at it again. I am looking at losing another 50lbs, on top of the 30 I already have gone. I just started the last year of my 2nd degree so trying to fit eating healthy and exercise into my busy school schedule is harder than I thought. I really need more supportive MFP friends. When I did this last year, it was their concern and support that really kept me motivated and would love that again! So we can support each other :) Looking forward to achieving our goals together! :)
  • tilagarza
    tilagarza Posts: 35 Member
    Hi, everyone my name is Tila.
    I have had many of the same struggles as everyone else. I have always had to fight to be thin/fit. It has never been easy. When I graduate HS I lost "the baby fat" so to speak and although it was hard and alot of working out. I was able to maintain it for 10 years. Since then I have gained about 50+ lbs, which may not seem like a lot but for someone who is 4'9 I am now considered obese. It's scary, I hate it, I feel it with my age, I feel it in my bones, my health, my skin, my sleep...everything seems like a struggle! I can not tell you how many times since then that I have been excited to loose weight! I have set up work out plans/ schedule, I have done workout video's, joined online work out sites, I have made my post boards with inspirations, I have set up a list of goals, my whys, my rewards. the whole nine yards. I have read books about health and fitness. I have joined weight lost challenges. It seems like I have done it all. The closes I came to loosing all the weight was in 2010 when I was in a weight lost challenge at work we were all doing P90X. I lost about 23lbs, I was at 115 lbs. I was so close to reaching my goal weight. I even won the challenge. Needless to say I've gained it all back plus some. I really can't even tell you why!!!! Since then I have struggled. The truth is now I feel like because I have tried so often my mentally is "why try, I'm just going to fail" I'm affraid to try because I'm affriad to fail. (with a big sad) But here I am again!!! So I guess there must be some little part of me that still has a fight left!!!! I can get an Amen for that!!!!
  • Hi All,

    I hav ealways been 'chubby' for the most part, and have had months that ive been able to maintain being a normal weight. i guess my love of food wants to show itself on my body. My mom told me about fitness pal and i think it would be a great motivator to help me reach my goal of losing about 25lbs by December? Thats 3 months from today... i guess helping seeing what i put in my body and how my workout helps will help me put things into perspective for me. Best of Luck to y'all :D
  • Hi all, I'm Alexis :)

    My weight slowly crept up beginning in high school and before I knew it I had reached an all time high of 209. That was a few years ago. My life changed in 2010 when I ended my four year relationship, went back to school, got a new job, and reached out to make new friends (which is something that's never been easy for me). I dropped down to 133 and I was ecstatic! I loved my body and received a lot of compliments. I contribute the weight loss to being busy and being single. Last year I made another big change-moved four states away, got a new job in a new city, and began a relationship with a fantastic dude. No longer being single and on a single person's schedule, my weight began creeping back up to where it is now-149. I'm still proud of my weight loss, but I've been extremely uncomfortable in my "skinny clothes" and feel myself being bitter and miserable. I'm having a lot of trouble staying motivated and I'm hoping I can get to a healthy place :)


    Original Starting Weight: 209
    LOWEST Weight Reached: 133
    Current Weight: 149
    Goal Weight: 135
  • tizztam
    tizztam Posts: 17 Member
    Hello, I'm Tammy

    I have struggled with weight issues since I was a teenager. The summer of 2007 I start my weight loss journey and went from 252 pounds to 200. I kept it off four three years, and then I got depressed and changed jobs. I have gained much of it back. I travel alot for work and find it difficult to stay on track. But when I look at myself now I know I need to stop the gain!

    Hoping Joining this group will help me get back on track.
  • ICOZA7
    ICOZA7 Posts: 33 Member
    Hi Everyone! I'm Vanessa. I'm really glad I found this group because it describes me to a T!

    I'm 26 years old. When I was 20 I gave birth to my son at 244 lbs (64 lb weight gain).
    When I was 22, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 180 lbs.
    By the time I hit 25 I weighed in at 256 lbs.
    At 26, before this last summer, I had inched my way down to 210 lbs, but as of today I'm sitting around 235 :(

    Apparently, I am a chronic "fall-off-the-wagon-er".

    I'm ready to buckle back down and kick this weight. I'm ready for another baby, but I want my body to be in a healthier state than is is currently. My goal is to lost about 50 lbs by February when I go on vacation and then make a vacation baby :)

    Anyway, nice to meet you all and here to motivation and the desire to stay on track and get ourselves healthy! :drinker:
  • Hi I'm Jayne.
    I just can't seem to get the weight off. Its very frustrating, but I always end up quiting and then gaining more weight!!! I want to stick with it for once in my life. I am a food addict for sure.
  • missmacsays
    missmacsays Posts: 681 Member
    I cannot believe how many awesome people joined this group. This looks like we've got a great start already as each of us faces a lot of the same challenges and has a lot of the same reasons for falling off the wagon. Also, it seems everyone has a goal in mind. With that said, I'm switching to a new post for day two :] Welcome all to this group and let's all work together to keep our motivations alive!
  • Hi! My name is Dianne. I started trying to lose weight when I stopped smoking a couple years ago because I packed on about 50 lbs. I originally lost around 25/30 lbs but I am slowly putting it back on because I have gone back to my old ways of eating and not exercising. I need to get back in my old routine but it's hard because we moved and my work hours have changed, there is more tempting food where we now live and I just can't seem to get motivated. Today is my new Day1 and I have to stick with it now. I am at 196 and would like to be no more then 145/150. That was my pre 4 babies weight. Part of the problem is I really don't have the money to go out and by all the healthy foods so I am just trying to lower my calorie count the best I can. I am hoping this group will help motivate me to lose the weight I really want/need to lose!
  • tnwombles
    tnwombles Posts: 6 Member
    Hi Everybody!! I am brand new to MFP as a result of putting on weight that I worked SO HARD to lose in the first place. Yesterday was the last straw for me so I am counting yesterday my official day 1. At my heaviest I was 240 and my lowest was 135. I am 147 now and would love to get back to 135 before a cruise in January. I have done every diet you can think of with some results but mostly just went back to my old ways and gained more than I originally lost.

    For the first time in my life I feel somewhat healthy and just can't let myself get higher numbers on the scale. I want to nip this in the bud and get my butt in gear. Thank you all for your support and I can't wait to see some awesome results from everyone!!

    -T
  • joyincincy
    joyincincy Posts: 228 Member
    HI everyone, my name is Joy and I began to gain serious weight when I returned to college about 8 years ago. Worst case scenario really: started back at college at age 28, gained about 40 lbs in 1 1/2 years, and have had a hell of a time losing it, especially since I have turned 30 and now am looking at my 36th B-day this January. My current weight right now has remained around 191, but I am hoping that will change with next week's weigh-in. In the last 30 days I have gone to a more whole foods diet and have returned to yoga, doign it at least 3 times a week. I have lost (what I gained back over the summer months) about 9 lbs in the last 30 days. I have no doubt that much of that was only the initial water weight related to too salty of foods and alcohol. Oh ya, that is also something that I have gotten in check, not drinking as much. In fact, over the weekend I had some alcohol but that was the first time in over 2 weeks, and I can say for a fact that the 3 lbs I lost over those 2 weeks was directly tied to that, maybe not completely, but definitely related.

    My biggest issue right now, I hate exercising, especially when it is hot and humid out. I don't mind walking but not when I can't breath b/c the air is too thick. It reminds me of the days when I was a smoker and had a hard time breathing in that crap. I also suffer from chronic pain in my back and sciatica. So very intensive exercise tends to be very painful, however, I do like the challenge, too so it is a love-hate relationship. I made it to day 36 out of 64 of the Insanity workout just before summer but had to quit when I severely turned my ankle. I will admit, that deflated my desire to exercise and I am still struggling to get back into that mode.

    So glad Amanda started this group! I hope we can inspire each other:) MY goal weight is 135, but I will need to reevaluate that as I lose b/c my goal is not just being skinny but being healthy overall.
  • Hi Everyone,

    My name is Denise I gained weight after giving birth to my 3 girls. I was tired of not feeling good about myself and decided to do something about it. I started losing weight in January 2013 and was down 15 pounds before having a medical issue requiring surgery. Surgery was completed at the end of July and I'm now healed but gained back 13 pounds of the 15 lost, so I'm here now starting back at square one.
  • beccalabgal
    beccalabgal Posts: 49 Member
    Hi Everyone!

    Thanks so much for starting this group! I'm in the same boat as many of you!

    I'm a pretty positive person, but am feeling a bit defeated at this point. I'm a foodie and an emotional (angry, happy, bored) eater. I've always been/felt overweight. I lost about 50 pounds, getting to within pounds of goal, in 2002. It crept back up, and with two back-to-back pregnancies, I topped out at 278 pounds at full term. I've lost much of the weight, but had some health issues last year that at first caused some very unhealthy rapid weight loss, followed by steady, depressing weight gain. My husband is very supportive and accepting of me at any size, which is good and bad, since he doesn't stop me from digging into the ice cream. . . :) Right now I have about 80 pounds to lose.

    Every week, I feel motivated to get back on track, and make this happen! After a few days of behaving, the scale is moving in the right direction, and I allow myself to derail. I just can't seem to make the decision on a daily, hourly basis to be successful in weight loss. With three kids (6,5 and 18mo), I want to be healthy enough to keep up with them, and don't want to pass on a warped food relationship to them!!

    I enjoy encouraging others and am pretty faithful to logging, so feel free to add me as a friend!
  • carlsoda
    carlsoda Posts: 3,429 Member
    Hi everyone!

    What luck to find your group! I'm recovering from a back injury which derailed my healthy eating. I was feeling sorry for myself since I couldn't sleep, couldn't walk, couldn't exercise and gave into too many pretzel m&m's!! Well I'm doing better now but still giving in too easy to those dang pretzel m&m's! Timing of this challenge is so perfect as I'm just starting back exercising again: elliptical, biking, walking and limited weight lifting. I'm currently at 155 lbs and need to get back down to 145 so my clothes will fit better and then to my final goal of around 140 lbs. My plans are to eat TDEE minus 20% and not count any exercise ~ 1,400 calories a day. Exercise in some form or another most days. Finally stay motivated with a group like this one :) Thank you for starting this group!!
  • missmacsays
    missmacsays Posts: 681 Member
    Thanks everyone new for posting! So excited to have you all here and I hope this group helps you guys to keep on track. If anyone wants to add me to keep each other motivated through daily food diaries/exercise loggings, please feel free :D
  • Curvimami
    Curvimami Posts: 1,851 Member
    uhhhhh, im back at day one. smh. :ohwell: I think im good to go this time. Wish me luck :embarassed: