Hello, my name is Ashley. I'm 22 years old and live in Seattle wa. I've struggled with my weight since hitting puberty. I've lost around 30 lbs so far (my weight flunctuates). These last three months I have been stuck weight wise. I hope to continue my weight loss to live a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Stephe, 50 years old from Cleveland Ohio. I'm looking to lose 20-30 pounds. Get off my meds. I'm not sure I can make 9am saturdays, because it's my sleep in time. I'll try though.

Hi! Im Ali, I turn 18 in two weeks and I started using MFP 2 weeks ago. Ive been eating healthier and exercising for about 2 months now, and I have lost 22 pounds! I started out at 242, and wanted to lose 100. I'm a homebody until I can find a job, so ive been trying different work out videos, zumba is fun! I mostly walk my dogs for exercise though. Its nice to meet everyone

Im Madisona nd am 20 years old from Atlanta. I have about 150 lbs to lose. Probably won't be checking in till after 9 on Saturdays because I like to sleep in however I am excited about this group, I lost the most weight when I was on WW and going to meetings at 9am

Ok. No shame. He I go....
My name is Laurie, I currently weigh 320 and hope to lose 100+. I am a sahm of 3 boys under the age of 5. I live in Ontario also.
I started my journey April 2 and have lost 10lbs. I eat so much better and go to a fitness studio 3/4 times a week. I can see and feel a big difference. I've tried dieting and fads before but for some reason I feel like this time IVE GOT IT!!
I am not perfect and often have bad days but I'm only human.

So Hello everyone. I am Sarah. I am 37 next month. I am in upstate NY. I am 5'2" and 353 lbs. as of 5/20/14 I have lost 29 lbs. from my heaviest weight of 382 lbs. I have tried losing weight with different methods since age 10. Herbal supplements. Over the counter pills. Prescription medications. Slimfast diet. ETC.. I am sure you all get the picture. I have done Richard Simmons programs, Tae bo, etc...to no avail. I kept gaining weight. I have a few issues, so some medications I have been on have contributed to my weight gain yes. How ever, it has also been my poor eating choices and lack of exercise that have also gotten me to where I am. I developed diabetes. For the past couple years all I have been on is pills. But as of 4/9/14 I had to begin insulin, as my sugars have been out of control and my a1c high. since insulin there has been great improvement. The insulin combined with eating better and exercise have helped. 10 lbs have come off since January. Yes my weight loss has been slow. But it's still weight LOSS!! To aid me in weight loss and due to my other co-morbidities such as sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure...my doctors suggested and explained at length, bariatric surgery. Weight loss surgery. (WLS) So with that said, and a long story short....I started this journey in January. My surgery is August 7th. Was July 2nd. But I had to change it. I am getting the gastric sleeve. You can look it all up online. I am getting the surgery b/c my weight loss attempts have failed, or not produced enough results and I have developed too many issues. The sleeve is not only to be used as a tool for weight loss, but it will aid in getting rid of my co-morbidities. This is no easier road than the one any of you are on by any means. But it is the best choice for me. I have 223 lbs. to lose to get to goal weight. I figure within 2 years I can reach my goal. I wish you ALL luck!! I am here to answer any questions or be there as an ear if you need to vent or need support. Message me anytime!!! Thanks for allowing me to share!!

Sarah

Hello everyone!

I'm not currently following the WW plan, though I have in the past, but I am here mostly for support aspect. I read the intros and thought this would be a good group to join after getting the invite from Sarah.

Lets see, about me. When I was 20-22ish I weighed my most at 417lb. When I realized how much I actually weighed I actually did start going to WW and I got down into the 300's and promised myself I would NEVER see 400 again, and I never did. Between then and now doing various things to lose weight I got down to 317 and was so proud of losing 100lb (this was a few months ago actually). Life kind of kicked me in the butt for awhile though and I ended up gaining some weight and so I started a couple of weeks ago at 342 and have lost 8lb my first week so far (tomorrow is when I weigh in so I may have lost more, but TOM atm so not expecting much ).

I have a lot of reasons to lose this weight but health is the big one. I'm 30 years old right now and I want to be around for a long time. My boyfriend (of 5 years) and I haven't really been able to get our life together started because of money issues so I want to be able to be healthy so that when we do finally get married and such we can actually think about having a family.

I'm always in for supporters/supporting and friends so add me if you like!

edit: I wanted to add I might not be able to make the 9am meetings to post on time because I am on the west coast so that is about 6am my time and I don't have a job right now so there's no reason for me to get up that early lol I'll try to post when I do get on though

I am 25 and have a 3 year old daughter. I started at 240 and became very angry at myself for getting so high. I have always embraced being a thicker girl but I am only 5'3! I started in January and have lost almost 40 lbs. I am hoping to see onederland by the beginning of next month. My goal is 165. Still technically overweight for my height but I work in a place where I lift heavy bags all day and have a ton of muscle. I just want less fat. I have been tracking food and using my elliptical for its real purpose. For the first year after my husband bought it, my daughter used it as a jungle gym. I am excited to try and get on here and chat but I am from San Francisco California so timing may be tricky depending on my work schedule also. I hope to connect with a few people and get inspired!

Hello Everyone! My name is Megan, I am 22 (23 in 22 days!) I have been heavy for the majority of my life, but this past winter was the highest weight I have ever hit, with the scale reaching 252! I have lost about 15 pounds in a month and a half. I hope to lose 100 lbs total by June 16, 2015 (my 23rd birthday). Good luck to everyone and I am glad to be a part of this group! feel free to add me as a friend too!

Hello! My name is Stefani, I live in southern Washington state, and I'm 24 years old. I've been overweight my whole life, and although I certainly didn't LIKE being fat, it never actually bothered me enough to do anything about it before now. I happened to have a doctor's appointment the day before Thanksgiving last year, and the scale there told me I was 348 pounds. I was really shocked by the number, and I knew that with Thanksgiving the next day and Christmas coming up soon after, I had to actually start paying attention to what I ate to make sure my weight didn't get any more out of control.

December was still a rough month, so I consider my official weight loss start to be January, and as of this morning I've lost 33 pounds since then. I hope to have lost 50 pounds total, and therefore also be just under 300 pounds, by my birthday on July 31st. I don't think I've been under 300 pounds in over 5 years, so it's a very big goal for me! Just 16 more pounds to lose in 9 weeks.. I think I can do it!

I'm afraid the chat time is no good for me either, though. That's 6am my time, and I often work until 10pm on Saturdays, so I cannot be getting up that early. Sorry!

Hi everyone, my name is Jill. I live in western Massachusetts. I am married (4 years with him 11 years), I have a 7 year old daughter, and I am a 911/Police dispatcher. I was not always overweight. In high school and college I played a sport EVERY season so I HAD to exercise and with this I could eat almost what I wanted. However AFTER school I continued to eat, but not exercise. Needless to say, that equation NEVER works out. Then I got pregnant and the downhill got steeper. After that I lost about 75 lbs and was VERY close to my goal, then I let it go for some reason and it was a steady climb back up. I weighed in last year and was at the weigh I was when I was 9 months pregnant with my daughter (and NOT pregnant). I was devastated and then I knew I HAD to do something.

I am now on track trying to get myself back to "healthy" again. I had a blot clot/chest pain scare this year and it made me do a lot of thinking. I also have diabetes that runs in my family, and that is another thing I do not want to deal with if I can prevent it.

I used to follow WW, but am no any longer. I cannot afford that right now. However I am VERY glad to be invited to this group (thank you Sarah) for accountability reasons. Cant wait to get started!!

I wish you all the best!!

Hello, I am Jenny and I am from Yorkshire, UK.

I am 32 and weigh 311lbs which really does frighten me! I want to lose weight so that I can start living again. I hate not being able to go on long hikes, ride horses and other outdoors things with my hubby and two beagles.

I love junk food and white wine, in fact at the moment I live for it and I know this needs to change.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone over the weigh ins :-) x

Hi. I've been on MFP for about a year and a half. I am 5'2 and creeping up on 40. At my worst I was about 55 pounds over my healthy BMI range. With a boost in activity and monitoring my eating I have managed to burn down all but the last 10 pounds. I've been stuck with those last 10 pounds for over 4 months. I am in several challenges on MFP but they are not focused on the scale. I like the idea of this group because I am dangerously close to frustration overload! (Add to this frustration is that my real goal is to weigh in the middle of my healthy BMI range in the middle of the day with clothes on.....and currently my weigh-ins are first thing int he morning with no clothes.)

I have one kiddo who likes to hijack my schedule with sporting activities, a very stressful job managing a domestic violence housing project, several pups---lovingly named my "pup"arazzii. I am trying to clean out my life both to de-clutter and also to support a more simple and thankful life. I am currently obsessed with air plants and moss balls and terrariums. Always a lot going on---so I am hoping that this group gives me cheers when I move in the right way and encouragement when I have setbacks and stalls!

Hello Everyone,

My name is Alyssa and I have been overweight since puberty. I have hypothyroid and I think that probably started my weight gain. However, I wasn't severely overweight until college. I weigh 263 now, started out at 265. I want to get to 150, since that was my weight before I started college. I know it's going to be a long journey, but I think with this community I may have a chance. Unfortunately weight loss surgery isn't an option for me as I have a bleeding disorder that makes any optional surgery out of the question, so I know that I need to lose this weight now, before it becomes even harder as I age. I'm looking forward to the meetings, I think they'll help.

Hi everyone!

My name is Marlee! I'm so excited to be meeting with you every week! This was such a great idea Sarah!

I began my initial journey in January, after a few weeks of monitoring what I ate and exercising I fell of the wagon. After not being able to fit as many workouts in as I thought I needed, I started to beat myself up and then eventually just gave up! Laurie I completely get what you're saying! I feel like THIS IS IT! I'VE GOT IT this time around! I've promised myself that I'm going to give myself a bit of a break when it comes to fitting exercise in, as long as I continue to watch what I'm eating and seeing progress! If I'm too hard on myself, too soon, I'll just end up giving up! (and that's not an option!)

I re-started this journey last weekend when I stepped on the scale and it showed 268 lbs!!! I was horrified! Since then I've lost 6.8 pounds (probably all water weight! Still progress though!)

I actually just booked my wedding dress consultation for August 11th of this summer! My goal written down is to get to at least 245 lbs but that date BUT I'm really going to be trying to get down 50 lbs by then, if at all possible.

My long term goal is to be down to 165 lbs by my wedding on August 8th, 2015!!

WE CAN DO THIS!!!!