A lot to lose & over 40? Lets start a group(20 memebers max

Hello all!

Sitting at work, just finished putting in my lunch (which was very good, I must say!! ) and wanted to send a quick 'hello' to this great group!!

Can't wait to read thru all the earlier posts and see 'wazzup'!

:happy: :happy: :happy: :drinker: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Thank you for sharing Mollie! I know it can be quite dificult to tell strangers personal things. I have a hard time with this too. :blushing: But here's a little about me: I live in Souther California, home of 'the happiest place on earth" HA! I have beautiful 10 year old daugher who is VERY athletic and whom I am doing this for (aside from myself, of course!). I am married to my very supportive husband, and have a 10-year old step son. Although I was never skinny growing up, I was never thin either. I didn't exercise, didn't care what I was eating and steadily gained weight. but I gained significantly when I got on Depo birth control shot. I know this may not be the case for everyone, but I KNOW this is the cause of most of my weight gain. I would sit there and eat and eat and eat and I remember thinking "how can I still be hungry??" and continue eating. I was out- eating my male co-workers. Of course I wasn't helping myself by chosing high-calorie/high fat foods and sitting around all day. Not sure what 'snapped' inside my head, but it finally did and I decided I didn't want to look like this anymore. I have lost 24lbs to date, but it has been a difficult road so far, and it's far from over!

Hi all,

I am jolene or just plain jo. I am 52 years old. I have 5 children and 5.9 (expecting #6 anyday now) grandchildren. My husband Dave and I hit the open road in our RV around 8 years ago. We been acrossed the US several times. We are in Clewiston, Florida at the moment. We spent the last 4 years in California managing KOA's. Oddly enough, we managed the park we are in here in florida 4 years ago and hired the current managers. They are quitting to travel and we are wanting to stop traveling, so we are back! haha funny how that worked out.
I joined MFP with 3 of my daughters and 1 son at their urging. They have come and gone and come back again. I've stayed. I have joint issues. Right now it's my hips, but I have knee problems and the bottom of my feet mostly. I began this journey for pain relief and it worked. I didn't know exercise would make me in a better mood. That was a bonus. Can't wait to get to know you, new friends!

I’m 42 yrs old & have been married to my husband for 13 yrs & we have a 10 old yr son Dakota. I’m the Claims Technical Manager for the Chartis Little Rock office. We handle workers’ compensation claims. My job is extremely sedentary but very mental (sometimes it causes me to be mental LOL). My doctor has been on my case about losing weight for years but I think he finally gave up on me because he doesn’t even mention it any more. I have high cholesterol that I take meds for & I’m very grateful no other physical health issues. I’m overall a happy person & find humor in practically anything. I love to laugh.

I’ve started & stopped tons of weight loss and exercise programs. I’ve lost a lot of weight…but it always seems to find me & brings a few extra friends as well. It seemed like nothing really worked. I saw the scale continue to creep up. The turning point was when I got on the scales last summer & saw that I weighed the same as when I was 9 months pregnant. I just couldn’t stand myself any more. How could I get to this point?!? I didn’t have an answer.

One of my employees told me about MFP. She found it while looking through apps for her new iphone. I checked it out & loved how simple it was to use. You just type in what you ate & it did the rest. Finally something I can do without much effort I thought!!! When I started using the app, it turned into so much more for me. It has allowed me to gain more control in an area that I’ve never been able to control before – my eating. I will actually plan what to eat. I’ve stopped to think about whether or not to eat something. I’ve changed the type of things I buy at the grocery store. I’m not a health nut by any means, but I am more health conscious.

The next challenge I had was exercising. I get home around 6:00 then it’s helping with my son’s homework, cooking supper, cleaning the kitchen, laundry & whatever needs to be done. I’ve already worked hard all day so I want some down time as well. The evenings were out. I’m SOOOO not a morning person, that’s not even an option. I checked out the gym upstairs in the building where I work. It was full of people who were a lot thinner than me. I was intimated of course but determined. I signed up in August & started going. It was hard for me at first. I would only make it a couple of days a week. I would only walk on the treadmill because I could plug in my headset & watch TV. I loved it because I didn’t have to interact with anyone else. I also went at 1:00 when there wasn’t a lot of people there. I would miss a week here & there but kept going back. At the first of December, I rec’d a certificate for a month of free Group Personal Training. One of the instructors (Barrett) had been talking to me for a while trying to get me into Group so I thought I’d try it. I absolutely fell in love with it & joined. They also started a yoga class which I tried & really like, too. Now I go to the gym at least 3 days a week, often 5 days during my lunch hour. Believe me – I NEVER thought I’d say those words!

I’ve noticed that I don’t lose weight as easily as a lot of people of MFP but I don’t let that discourage me. I find inspiration in their successes & know that I can do it, too.

Christy

Now I go to the gym at least 3 days a week, often 5 days during my lunch hour. Believe me – I NEVER thought I’d say those words!

I’ve noticed that I don’t lose weight as easily as a lot of people of MFP but I don’t let that discourage me. I find inspiration in their successes & know that I can do it, too.

Christy

me too Christy..HATED exercise. Now I don't feel right if I don't. I don't lose weight as fast as others now. I've been stuck for months now. It's hard to see others dropping weight when you are not.

Hey, I found you guys! I guess the first thing you guys need to know about me is I am really "dah" when it comes to computers. This is the first time I've been on a site using message boards, and threads, and whatever, so bare with me. I am really happy to be a part of this group. I can't wait to get to know everybody better and to cheer each other on when it's good and be there when things aren't so good.
My name is Charmaine (Mainey). I live in Ontario, Canada. I have been married to my wonderful husband for the past 25 years this Oct. and we have 2 sons 22 and 24 who both still live at home. I've been heavy my whole life, but not near as heavy as I've gotten in these last few years. I've lost large amounts of weight before, more than once but I always seem to gain it back plus some. Recently I've been having some health problems: underactive thyroid, arthritis, sweelling in my lower legs,etc. My Dr. has recently suggested W\LS but I really don't know if that's the route I want to go. Still undecided. No matter what I decide I want to start losing the weight now and I know you all will keep me motivated!
Don't really have much more to say right now, which is unusual cause I'm usually pretty chatty but I do look forward to hearing more from all of you!

It is just not fair! It is midnight already here and I am only just getting to log on!

Wow you all have been busy haven't you? I want to read all about you all in details to get to know you. I just can't do this now as my poor old brain is so tired I need to hit the bed.... but I will tomorrow.

You have all been on my mind, happy eating and think positive!

Back soon....................! (well tomorrow!) lol!

Yes, I suffer from back pain, which is one reason why I am trying to lose weight. I have had 2 different doctors tell me that if I lose 50 pounds, my back pain will go away. I hope they're right. I take a large dose of vit D, which seems to help. I also feel that walking helps, and alternating movement with rest. :flowerforyou:

Exercise and weight loss cured my knees for the most part. I am having some serious problems with my hips/lower back. Exercise doesn't seem to make a difference.
My old boss swears sit-ups cured her back problems. She does like 200 of them everyday. I remember sit-ups from my younger days and I've been kinda of putting off doing them. I dunno if its being sore or just not wanting to do them haha

Okay so I couldn't sleep.................. So decided to get methodical! I had a peek at everyones profile, yes I read about you all (not saying I will remember everything!).

I hope no one minds me putting together the list below (based on tickers) (based on list from our bigmama of members). A quick list of what each of us have (currently) as our target weight loss, plus what we have achieved already. I thought it might be good to see who is sort of where we are, whose is starting out, who has made big steps already who can give us some tips and hints on how it is done! I hope no one minds being listed. Let me know if you do and I will edit and humbly apologise! Hope I have copied everyone down correctly as it is late and I am far from perfect! lol!

Members list as per Bigmama:
Key: 'target' = the total amount of weight we want to loose

bigmama - 125lb target of which 30lb already lost
milesbackwards - 87lb target of which 13lb already lost
Mollie - 103lb target of which 40lb already lost
Jojo - 120lb target of which 9lb already lost
Katz - 150lb target of which 35lb already lost
akaDumbo - 165lb target of which 76lb already lost
Malias - 185lb target of which .....just starting the journey
Hopeful - 102lb target of which 18lb already lost
themommie - 105lb target of which 61lb lost already
Karenleona - 182lb target of which 79lb lost already
Christyrussell - 101lb target of which 28lb lost already
Claudia - 76lb target of which 24lb lost already
MJ - 234lb target of which 34lb lost already
gabbygirl - 69lb target of which 31lb lost already
CV - 160lb target of which 46lb lost already
Cass - 214lb target of which 29lb lost already
leadvocalchick - 124lb target of which 29lb already lost
mainey - 145lb target of which.... just starting the journey
ShellyBrew - 144lb target of which 45lb already lost
jjustjo - 116lb target of which 48lb already lost

Just to make it clear, this is not so we can complete or see who gets to target first, I have prepared it to get an overview of where we are all starting from so we can see how similar we are, how we can support each other on the long journey ahead.

Now must sleep as 1.15am in the UK, night all!