SO happy to be here!

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Good morning/almost-afternoon! I was just clearing out my "Favorites" on IE and I came acorss this one that I saved as, "Important, Read ASAP." Well, that ASAP took 4 months but I just completed my registration and started my food diary. I had NO idea this site offered so many helpful tools! I have no doubt that this is going to be an amzing success with the help of the tools on this site and the support of this community.

I want to give a little background info... At 18, I left home for college weighing only 100 pounds. Even at a height of only 5'3", that was a bit too small. I was at the gym every morning at 6 a.m. before school and ate just enough to get by. Well, you've all heard of the "freshman 15" but what about the "freshman 50"?? There was no easy gym to get to that I felt comfortable with and no one telling me what I could and could not eat so after my first year of college, I weighed 150. I slowly gained a little more until graduation, where I was 170 pounds. To make a long story short.... 2 pregnancies and 6 years later and I was then at 280 pounds. Yep, almost THREE times my starting college weight.

I decided a couple of years later that enough was enough! I joined a gym and started working my butt off, literally. I lost 90 pounds and was starting to feel GREAT about myself. It had taken me over a year of 5-6 workouts a week, 2-3 a week with a trainer, to lose the weight. My eating habits were still not great, which is why I lost it so slowly. When I reached 190, due to other complications, I went through a divorce and over the last few years, I have gained back FIFTY pounds. I am really embarrassed by it. I have very few clothes that fit and a closet full of cute stuff that has been hanging there for 3 years. I'm getting remarried in 4 months and, while I know I can't lose as much as I'd like, I want to at least be 25 pounds lighter and eventually get down to a healthy 140. Even though I have gotten lazy, food is my major problem. I know I'll have no problem getting back into exercise. Exercise gives me such a mental boost that I am really looking forward to it. I am so thrilled to have the food tracker, as THAT is going to be the tool to my success!

I'm looking forward to getting to know others here and support you all through this life changing journey we are taking TOGETHER! Thank you for reading my story and I can't wait to read the others here and get started on this!

Jenny (My user name, "JennyWennyPooPoo" is a nickname my grandad gave me when I was 6 and my famiily still calls me that, even though I am 36.)

Replies

  • JulsDiane
    JulsDiane Posts: 349 Member
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    Welcome and good luck :flowerforyou:
  • shandy32
    shandy32 Posts: 193 Member
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    Hi and goodluck x
  • karrie198
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    good look i too am also new to this and i am hoping to see some results
  • Shelly081
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    Glad your here...welcome and the best of luck to you ;)
  • urnewbuddee
    urnewbuddee Posts: 53 Member
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    welcome to the site! you're right, we ARE all in this together. MFP is a wonderful place and has fantastic tools to lose weight and get fit. I hope you enjoy it!!! friend request on the way :happy:
  • cecebon
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    Welcome, and Good Luck!!
    I have found the app for my phone is a tremendous help. I put everything that I eat and drink into it immediately, and have found that to be the very best way to stay on track!!!
  • K3LLYSU3
    K3LLYSU3 Posts: 56 Member
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    Good luck Jenny. You will do it again. I love this site too, the food journal is what helps me the most! You can add me as a friend & we can help each other, I have only been here 2 weeks or so, but I have been down this road 100 times only to fail. But this time we will succeed! Kelly
  • NicholasMongold
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    good luck!
  • swany59
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    Ok I read your story and had to laugh not in a negative way because some parts of it sounded like me. I'm Sue and I just joined this today. I was what I thought heavy in school 150 pounds. Now I look back at that and I would love to get done to that. I have no idea what I really weigh, but I know I'm over 200. I got this site from my niece. Two of my nieces are dieting and I have jumped on the band wagon. I have no will power. Joined and also tried losing on my own and with weight watchers many times. I worked an project a few months ago and the weight melted off, but then I got a new job and now it's all back. ERRRRR... Had an interview yesterday and noticed that my suit that normally was big on me well guess what is tight. So here I am. My incentive now is I have a wedding in June and would like to wear this dress I bought, but in order to do that I have to get some of this weight off. In additon I don't want to buy new clothes, so I need to get back to my old size to get into my other clothes. I'm running out of clothes to wear.
    Anyways I really rattled on. Wellcome and look forward to any tibits anyone gives out here.
  • JennyWennyPooPoo
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    :happy: WOW! Thanks so much for all of the welcoming and supportive replies!!

    Ok, so it's 3:20 and I only have 610 of my daily 1,200 calories left. Holy moly, I must have been comsuming well over 3000 calories a day before starting this!! Even though I am already at 590 for the day, I have cut back *drastically* from what I would normally have eaten at this point. Like many people, I not only eat out of boredom, I am an emotional eater. I've always dreaded losing weight but I'm actually excited, thanks to this site and to all of you. Thanks, again!!

    :heart:
    Jenny
  • jennymac1972
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    good luck..i have put weight on since i stopped smoking after 25 years!!! i am fast approaching 40 and need to sort myself out before i get there..i hope this site works for you..i have only been on a few days and the food diary calorie counter has really helped me....for the first time in over 20 years i went for a 4 mile run tonight and really enjoyed it....