Hello everyone!! My name is Shannon and I am a 32 year mom to 10 month old twins. Years ago I lost 60 lbs and got in great shape. I kept it off for many years, but unfortunately I had problems conceiving. After a year and a half of fertility treatments we finally succeeded after our first round of IVF. Here I am now 80 lbs overweight and very frustrated. I would ultimately like to get to 150 lbs or less and in great shape for myself and my children and husband.

I am learning to clean eat and would like to start with at least 20 minutes of activity at least 5 days a week. I am the type of person who needs people to kick me in the butt to keep me accountable. Tough love tends to be what I need!! Any tips and motivation is greatly appreciated.

Looking forward to meeting you all and feeling better about myself.

Hi! My name is Cheryl. I am currenlty 100 pounds overweight. I am 5'2" and 218 pounds. (was 220 last Wednesday, off to a great start). I am trying for a third time to lose half of me. In 2013 I was trying to the max, working out mad hard, parking the farthest I could everywhere I went, nothing but salads and fresh veggies and fruits, and I gained weight. I went to the docotor to find I have PCOS, Poly Cystic Ovarion Syndrome, which made me insulin resistant. This meant my body was storing eveything I ate as fat due to being in starvation mode because my cells would not absorb glucose, causing my body to overproduce insulin and testosterone. I was put on Metformin to correct this, but my body could not handle it. I became too sick to function, and therefore I had to stop and weight watching was useless.
For my second attempt I started a PCOS natural diet, something meant to correct PCOS without medication. That lasted a whole month. It was too stringent and I do not have the self discipline.
So, the weight kept coming. Bringing me to 220 pounds and size 22. I met Peter, my now fiance. He accepted me, loves me and supports me in everything I do. We have been trying for over a year to have a baby. PCOS makes that next to impossible without medication, but I went 3 months without a period and we got super excited, only to find my PCOS had gotten worse and now was affecting my cycle. I found a new doctor, and we got my cycle going again....for over 30 days. I ended up hemmoraging twice and going to the ER barely escaping blood transfusions. My new doctor started me on an extended release metformin and did a D&C surgery on February 12th. I have not only tolerated this extended release, but now I feel better than I have in years. I decided it was time to give Peter a wife he can be proud of.
We are getting married October 10, 2015 and going to Puerto Rico for our honeymoon. I have 7 months to either have a rockin beach bod, or a plump preggers belly. Either way, weight loss is not just for the vanity for me, but the health.
I have experienced things in the last few years with my weight gain I am not proud of. I have learned to yawn to hide being super out of breathe from simple everyday tasks, such as climbing stairs, mounting my horse, having sex, walking too fast....I now have to lift parts of my body to wash under folds of fat, I have to powder those same areas to prevent smell and sores. I have a hard time finding clothes I feel comfortable in, let alone pretty in. I feel the shame and looks of people looking at me and Peter together wondering what such a nice looking, well built man is doing with such a fatty. I avoid having my picture taken, I cant ride roller coasters cause I am too big, airplane travel is a embarrassing and uncomfortable....I am embarrassed my my flabby arms, my bra imprint, the red marks on my belly from pants being too tight, not being able to tie my shoes without great effort. The list goes on and on. I dont want this for myself anymore, or for Peter, or our future children.
This time I am not only motivated for the reasons listed above and others I havent even shared, but because now my life and future is more promising than ever and I have so much to live for. So, lets talk about my goals.
Short term, I want to get off my blood pressure and cholesterol medications by being more active and eating healthier.
Long term, I want to lose about 2 pounds a week until I get to a size 10. My weight is not as important to me as my pant size, but to have a number to aim for I am putting 130 as my goal.
My fears: Losing weight but having excess skin, My family and friends being annoyed at my lack of free spirit I had when it came to eating, and my tendency to be inconsistent.
SO, I know this is a long entry, but this is essentially why I joined this group. I need people to remind me of why I am doing this, to understand and share in the struggles I am trying to escape. Peter is healthy and an ideal weight. He loves and supports me no matter what I do, and even though he cheers me on, he will always be the loving, supportive man he always has whether I succeed or fail. He does not understand the tears when I get frustrated and feel ugly. I need people who know what this is like, and who will know the right things to say to keep me going.
I have 88 pounds of weight and a thousand pounds of pressure to get off me. I am excited for the journey and grateful you guys will be on it with me.

Hi, I am Karen and I joined MFP just over a year ago, I lost 20 lbs then gained it back plus more. If I want to be around for my children I really need to get this weight off for good. My big problem is I love my junk food, chips, chocolate, fast food, anything bad for you is probably my favorite. I need to lose 70lbs. I also have high blood pressure and am on 3 pills for that and I would like to be off of them. I have now found out I have a heel spur, I have heard to them before but sure didn't know how painful it is, at times I can barely walk and for me that is the exercise I do most. I have always seemed to help others than myself and it is time to do this for me. In December I will be 50 and would like it to be a great birthday

Well hello all. Thanks for the invite. I am 51 years old and I've been using MFP for a little over a year now but am still not to active on these groups or boards yet. However, I do want to amp up my focus again. I have lost 37 lbs to date. I first found a really awesome zumba class . A drop in style class meaning I only pay when I go. The only New Years resolution I've ever made and kept annnd I succeeded toooo. I resolved to never miss a wednesday class and I am still not missing them. It's great fun, I've met new friends and I feel awesome. It's led me to other activities I otherwise may not have even tried. I love this healthier lifestyle . However I need aall the help I can get as far as being held accountable goes......food, that's my issue and evenings is when I like it the most. ugh. Anyway that's a little bit about my current state. I'll get back here soon. thanks again

Hi All, I'm Dee Dee,

I'm 35.. About 8 years ago I gained a little over 30 pounds in 1 month from an undiagnosed underactive thyroid. I went from 170 to around 200. 2 kids later I'm still hanging around the 210 mark. I didn't gain much with each pregnancy so I was able to take that weight off pretty quickly. Now with my thyroid in check.. I have no excuses... I also have no support. I've been a MFP member for about 2 years and never engaged anyone to help. I'm pretty sure that's why I'm still 210 and want to weigh 150.

Goals

60 pound loss through a healthy relationship with food and exercise
40:30:30 nutrition
Become the active person I used to be
Set a good example for my kids
Stop being the fat girl

CW 210
GW 150

Long term goal 140

Hello to all,

Kenny, thank you for creating this group and for posting a link to find it!

My name is Sharon my weight loss journey began in April '12 with 100 lbs. to lose. I began following a low glycemic eating plan, cut out all processed foods, grains, soda, sugars etc. In the beginning I was quite active and lost on a steady pace. Made it down to 140 from 205. But...

My work schedule changed and with that I was stuck behind a desk for 12 hrs. a day (unable to walk at breaks and lunches any longer) and my weight loss came to a halt. I kept eating healthy and more or less maintained my weight for about a year and a half or so.

Now for the first time in 3 yrs. I'm struggling. The holidays this year I allowed a nibble here and there. Now I'm facing an extra 15 lbs. and finding it so hard to stay with my clean eating. I began with clean eating not only for weight loss but also because any sort of grain I eat makes my joints hurt and causes so much inflammation.

To be accountable I suppose I need to state that for the remainder of March, I will eat only those foods on my eating plan (no tastes or nibbles ) and drink my recommended ounces of water each day.

SW 205
CW 155
GW 105 (yup, I'm short)

Hi everyone,
my name is Celia and I am a busy teacher with 3 children of my own. I've been battling with my weight for the last 6 years. I'm soon going to be 47 and really need some motivation to make this a continuous journey, rather than stop and restart habit I've fallen into. It is hard enough to find the time to work out plus I have the added stress of living in a 2 bed flat . As there are 5 of us in my family getting the front room to work out is a bit of a juggle, to say the least. . I hoping that this group will help me. Thanks for the invite and link:-) .
CW 176
GW152