hey ya'll -

how great to read about everyone and our common goals! Life is certainly throwing us some curve balls but we do have the choice to push back, hard!

I'm Carol, from near Nashville, Tennessee. Native of Kentucky, rabid fan of University of Kentucky basketball. Feel free to add me as your friend if you like.

I've been type 2 diabetic for a long time and had to start insulin this past week. I'm on my way to becoming a daily exerciser and dropping 50 pounds by the end of September. I want to get off this medicine and stop worrying about this disease 24/7. I'm 58, an avid knitter & spinner of yarn, animal lover, wife, Nana to 3 cute grands. Have the same hubby I picked out in 1975. I do office work at a local university to support my yarn habit. It's a half mile walk from the parking garage to my office, luckily enough.

I am using My Fitness Pal to both hold myself accountable and to pay it forward by encouraging others. Life can be so much better when we are healthy and feel good, and we deserve as much of that as we can get. I have always been a comfort eater, addicted to sugary stuff and potato chips, guilty of always having a candy bar stashed somewhere in case of 'emergencies' , no self discipline in sight - but I am changing all of that now while I still can. No more guilt, no more stash, I am free and in the moment now.

I have been gathering friends and mentors here to motivate myself into a new way of thinking and living that is positively the best it can be. So I thank you all for being part of this group and hope I can encourage you as well.

I have been using www.Pinterest.com to search out ideas for meal planning, fitness gadgets, playlists, all that sort of thing - it's a good resource. There's no reason a meal or a fitness routine should ever be boring! By all means, let's share the good and the setbacks, the tasty recipes and the little things that help in the day to day effort.

Let's all get moving so we can feel better, stand / sit taller, and tell tales about how fat we USED to be!

Hello Nashville,
I am type 2 insulin dependent also (insulin for approx 1 yr), the oral meds for T2 damaged my liver & had to resort to insullin. The doc finally convinced me by asking me - why would you not want to take something your body used to make itself? .. been following the DASH method and have reduced my insulin use by more than half in a little over a month. Best of luck to you with your weight loss challenge. Good group here, nice folks. Feel free to add me.

Marni (Canookie) - from Alaska

Hey all, I just got the invite for the group and I'd like to stay to introduce myself properly but I'm currently procrastinating a huge pile of marking that's due for tomorrow >.<

So, for now I will say: hi all, hope you're enjoying your Sunday!

So, following on from the last post! Hi all, I'm Squidge, 27 from Sussex in the UK. I'm a psychology teacher, teaching 6th form (16-18). I'm married, have one cat (Dave), two rats and a dog called Woof.

It's a great idea to get everyone together here and I'd love to make some new friends here - although please, if you're making FR's please have a look at my profile, I don't aim to have loads of friends - instead I aim to have a support network of people with similar interests and sense of humour!

I've been using MFP for almost 2 years now, in fact my 2 year anniversary is in 2 weeks! I've lost 20Ibs so far and am aiming to lose a further 20Ibs, I've been messing about with the same 5ibs for about 8 months now so I'm going through a real psychological process of re-committing to the cause! Guess the one thing I've learnt: the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

We Are The Champions! Great name for a new challenge group of winners!

Hi everyone, I'm Mel, a happily married lady who is about to turn 50 this month. I live in the mountains of the Northwest. Like Jeanine, I retired from teaching this last year and have gained 30 pounds. What is that all about? I guess our careers kept us on our feet and being retired we've become less active. It's time for me to take charge and make a change for the better…
I am now tracking every step and tracking my food intake via MFP. I'm motivated to make my retirement as active as possible. Thankfully, my health is good and I'm up for the challenge. So here is to getting off our bums and losing that weight!

Hello everyone my name is Pam. I am currently at work so I will fill everyone in later.

Hello Champions one and all. Let me introduce myself. My name is Pam and I am an over eater and have been most of my life with the exception of the times I didn't eat at all. Last spring I lost 30 pounds and last summer I gained 25 aaah. If I did it once I can do it again, right? I could go into many excuses for my gain but in the end it is still because I over eat the wrong things.
I am excited to be a part of this group. In 7 months I will be 60 and at the beginning of 2014 I committed myself to lose 48 pounds, Together we can do this. my exercise mainly consists of aerobics by way of zumba. I may not dance very pretty but it sure is fun. Most of the individual in the class are over 60 and laugh a lot.

I am a mother of 4 and grandmother to 9 with another one on the way. Two of my children and 4 grandchildren live within walking distance, one lives across town and one 1900 miles away. Last year my husband and I celebrated our 40 year anniversary. I was fortunate to be a stay at home mom and now I work at our local community college as a software trainer.

Thanks for all who have joined if there is anything I can do for you please let me know.

It was a grey day in July 2012 here in England. OH decided we should go into town and buy some dog bicuits and call at the local coffee shop for a coffee and a muffin. Great idea. I am always up for that (the muffin, not the dog biscuits).

Off we go. I am walking round and suddenly I caught sight of someone in the shop window. Just for a second I register a very round sort of person. But wait, no it can't be. I am not that big. This is not me. Very near to tears I keep looking at myself in the various shop windows. I look awful. I still have the muffin though. I think now I need two. I do use common sense though and stick with one.

On arriving home feeling very down I go upstairs to take a very critical look at myself in the mirror. No, I am not that big. Now don't get me wrong, I am not slim but I am not that big. I have seen photographs of myself but the camera always adds 10lbs so I have been told. So, it must be the shop windows that makes me look fatter than I am. I take a pair of trousers out of the closet, hold them up and gaze critically at them. These do not fit the size I think I am. They are far too big for me. But no, they fit. Depression sets in. Now I can either stress about it, or I can do something about it. But I have tried so many times to lose the weight before and if I am lucky, last one day.

I have a bright idea. There is an app for everything and being a bit of a gadget freek maybe I could make this fun. I find many apps, one of which I download and start playing with. No, this is not for me. Too complicated. I would never stick with it. Then, there it is. Myfitnesspal. I download it and start to play. Soon I am addicted to it. But wait, what is this? I can make friends with people. We could help each other along the way.

Most of the friends I made then are still with me and they are the best friends anyone could ever wish for. They have got me to where I am today. I am so very grateful to them for everything they have done to encourage me.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I have gone from being a person who didn't see a fat person in the mirror to a much slimmer, more confident and contented me who may not look the same to herself in the mirror as she does to everyone else, but at 62 years of age and a UK size 12 and US size 8 I am happy with the way things are going.

I still go out and have a coffee and muffin or shortcake biscuits and eat too much chocolate at weekends but now I know how to control the weight and I am now a very happy bunny.

Anyway, that is my story. My name is Jean and I am 62 years old. I need to lose about 19lbs and I am hoping this group will give me the push I need to get it done.

Good luck to everyone.

Good morning everyone

My name is Cheryl, but at the moment my handle name of Humptydumpty suits me rather well! I live in the UK and I work in mental health. I seem to have spent my life on a weight loss journey, many ups and downs on the way. Many of you I know will no exactly what I mean.......

Well here I am again 56lbs to lose!!! Oh my goodness it kinda seems impossible, but, I have already read some inspirational stories on MFP, wow! and double WOW!!! And now finding all of you, yes Champions is such a good name. I thank JP for starting this group and I thank each and everyone of you, because I know you will be there as I take each step into a fitter slimmer world.

Regards
Humpty x

Hiya!
I turned 59 in Oct., and have been on MFP for a little over 3 years. I lost 65 lbs in about 18 months, then sort of stalled out, gained a few, and would like to drop another 10. I've increased exercise over time, but have also increased calories which obviously isn't working.
I burn 300-500 cals most days, walking dogs, gardening, jogging a little, dancing in the living room, doing jumping jacks and even kickboxing on occasion.
I teach guitar and piano, I drink a little wine almost every night, and I love to cook. And eat. Oh, how I love to eat, lol. Lately I've been snacking at night and simply must get a grip on that issue!
Great group here! I'll check in as often as possible. Wishing everyone a wonderful journey!
jb

Greetings from Germany -- where the food and drink are great and I've got the extra pounds to prove it! I've been logging food eaten through another site off and on for some time but I heard about mfp and wanted to try it out for a bit. Notice that writing down what I eat daily seems to at least help me make better choices… Cheers to all and best of luck reaching your goals here.