Hi, all. I turned 35 in February, and decided that I really needed to get in shape...again. I have 4 boys (16,15,9 &3). I quit smoking in early October, and by January, I could tell that I was breathing a lot better. Right around my my birthday, I decided that I really wanted to look on the outside how I felt on the inside. I can picture myself all nice and toned, wearing some of those size 5's in the tote under my bed.
My 3 year old was a massive surprise! I was 31 when I found out I was gonna have him, 32 when I actually did have him. Yeah, childbirth is definitely for the younger! I thought it was gonna kill me half the time. My back CONSTANTLY hurt. I ended up going from about 140ish to 195. In the 3 years since I had him, I sat at 184.
I got a gym membership a week after my birthday, on February 13, and a little notebook to write down my gym activities, and keep track of my weight in there, too. My first entry in my notebook is Feb 14, 184.3 lbs, 38 minutes of cardio (treadmill and elliptical), and 5 different leg strength exercises. The incline on the treadmill stayed level for the first couple of days, then I managed to get it up to 3. That was a pretty difficult workout! Now, I currently weigh 168 even (as of 30 minutes ago), and my walking speed is 3.5 mph, and I can kick that incline up to 13 for 10 minutes straight! I am now also able to run a little bit. Not a lot, but I can run for a minute straight and only take a one minute walking break before I do it again. I'm insanely proud of the accomplishments I've made in only 6 weeks. My goal for April is to lose an additional 10 lbs and start a C25K program. I would LOVE to just have the ability to run a 5K!
Good luck, everyone! I KNOW we can do this!

My name is Mike. I started MFP (again) on January 4th this year and I was 311 lbs. I have lost 50 lbs so far, which is normal for me. I tend to lose the first 40-50 very easily. I think I've reached my first plateau and have been stuck at 261 for a several days now. The trick is to keep doing what I've been doing and not get discouraged. My goal weight is 200 lbs.

After losing 50 lbs, it's amazing how much I'm NOT craving a lot of things. I'm a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg freak and they're everywhere with Easter only a few days away. I haven't wanted any of it. I live in southeastern Louisiana and it's crawfish season! I survived my first crawfish boil this past Saturday. I ate some crawfish and fixings, but actually listened to my body and stopped when I started feeling full. I was completely satisfied with what I ate and actually did it without drinking a beer. (I still don't know how the heck I ate crawfish without drinking a beer...it's kinda sacrilegious!)

Name: Mike
Age: 40
Height: 6'3"
Starting Weight (4/1): 261
Goal Weight (4/30): Under 250

4/1: 261
4/8:
4/15:
4/22:
4/30:

Loss/gain for the week:
Loss/gain for the month so far:

Struggles or successes of your week: My plan is to keep hitting my calorie goal every day, keep drinking water, and keep exercising at least 4-5 times per week. We always have a crawfish boil Easter Saturday with family and friends. My struggle for the week will be to stay disciplined like I did at my last boil.


Best of luck to everyone!!!

Hi everyone! My names Hollie and I live in South Carolina. I'm 27 years old. I've been on MFP a couple times. A couple years ago when I was deployed I used it with great success. Now here we are 3 years later and I've had a baby and the weight is harder to get off that ever before. Currently I'm training for a full marathon that is in December. I've been doing my best to stick to 1400 calories a day and running 4-5x/week as well as walking my dogs and a home DVD every once in a while. Please don't hesitate to add me!

Name: Hollie
Age: 27
Height: 5'5"
Starting Weight (3/31): 165
Goal Weight (4/30): Under 160

4/1: 165
4/8:
4/15:
4/22:
4/30:

Loss/gain for the week:
Loss/gain for the month so far:

For this coming week I'm going to focus on positive thoughts and reminding myself I can do this because I'm worth it.

Name: Heather
Age: 34
Height: 5'2"
Starting Weight (3/31): 197
Goal Weight (4/30): Under 192

4/1:197
4/8:
4/15:
4/22:
4/30:

My goal for this week is to move more and continue eating as well as I have this week. Easter candy will be a struggle for me as I have a real sweet tooth. Have great week everyone!!!

Hi everyone! I'm Chandal! I'm 25, I live in Michigan and I have a 5 year old daughter as of yesterday! I'm still coming to terms with that fact lol.

I had a MFP account awhile back but I never used it like I should have on a regular basis. I've always been overweight my whole life. When I had graduated high school, I had actually lost around 60 pounds and weighed 180, without much intentional effort. I had just started walking my dog daily and stopped drinking pop. About a year after, my boyfriend and I decided to have our daughter. I had only gained 10 actual pounds through my whole pregnancy, once it was all said and done and I was back to normal. Then I got lazy and ate poorly because I always felt crunched for time and made excuses. I very quickly gained weight until I stepped on the scale one day and saw 250lbs and my daughter was just a year old. I started watching everything I ate, made almost everything at home (even our bread) and started exercising about 5-6 days a week. I got back down to 200lbs in about 6 months! I felt awesome! I kept that weight for about a year and half. During that year and a half, I became a single mother, moved twice and still managed to keep it! About 3 years ago I fell into a depression though, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't get out of it because my surroundings were the cause. I gained 65 pounds and hit my heaviest weight I've ever been. I finally was able to remove myself from the situation though and I've buckled down!

I work at a hotel with a very nice gym. It's not your typical hotel gym with a treadmill and a couple dumbbells. People actually come in off the street and get memberships. And because I work here, I get a free one! So I have NO excuses! I started this new trek back in August of last year. I did really well for a short time and lost about 15 pounds. Then winter hit and I got lazy again. Although I didn't gain, I didn't lose any more either. So in January, I picked myself back up and started working at it more.

My short term goal is 65 pounds. I've currently lost 36 pounds! 40 pounds is my next mini goal and it's SO close! I've started doing cardio about 4 times a week and a combo of cardio and strength training on the in between days. Sundays are for Yoga. I found that I really enjoy running. It clears my mind and in my little world of chaos, it's something I have complete control over. I can turn on my music and the rest of the world is gone for a short while. I've been eating better too. I cook for the family usually and we certainly don't starve. I don't cut out my favorite foods, I just find alternatives and substitutes! My boyfriend is amazing and has been more than supportive through this so far. He tries to come up with new and exciting ideas too and is willing to eat anything I cook, not matter how weird he thinks it might be lol (for example, spaghetti squash mac and cheese!).

Just because we fall down at times, doesn't mean we can't get back up and keep on trucking! I wish you all the best of luck on your new journey!

Hi all, I'm Katherine. I've been at this since the middle of May last year and have lost over 56 pounds so far. I still have 14 - 50 pounds left to go. Per my doctor, 200-210 would be an ideal range for me. However, a 'healthy' BMI would put me at 174.

I haven't been my current weight, 224, since the start of junior high and am currently wearing 10-12 pants and L shirts.

My goal is to lose at least 5 pounds this month, although a business trip next week will make that challenging- it took me two weeks to get back on track after a recent vacation.