I'm a Newbie!

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Hi everyone! Once again, I am on a path to lose weight. I have been overweight/obese my entire life,(since the age of 3). I have always had a love-hate relationship with myself. I love that I love life, I hate that I'm fat. I am your typical yo-yo dieter. I have gained and lost 1000 lbs. in my endless cycle of self-abuse. When I was younger, I would dream that by the age of 30, I would no longer be overweight. 30 came and went. In my early to mid-forties, I did diet and exercise to the tune of an 87 lb. loss. A few years later, I gained it all back. Now I'm close to my mid-fifties, determined yet again to get into shape. I have a huge family history of heart attack and heart failure, both my mom and my sister had heart attacks at a younger age than I am now. Last month, at the age of 59, my sister had her second heart attack. At 5'4", 290 lbs, I am headed down that same path. My mom weighed 360 lbs at the time of her heart attack, since then, she had her stomach banded, lost 200 lbs, but suffers bad side affects from that surgery. My sister had a by-pass after her first heart attack 5 yrs ago, she weighed appx. 260 lbs. She lost maybe 40 lbs, better than nothing, but not the success she was hoping for. I DO NOT want to have surgery. I know from my own experience that diet and exercise does work. I have a 20yr. old daughter who is also obese. I'm hoping to inspire her enough to come along this journey with me. I certainly don't want her having all the health problems my family has had. I have never kept a food journal, nor have I joined a support group, so I decided to give this a shot, to see if it can help me along this difficult journey. Yesterday was my first day, I only went over my recommended calories by 104..so for me, a Victory! I do have a back and knee injury which makes exercising tough, but I am going to just start out by walking. Wish me luck, and for all those who battle with me, Good Luck to you as well. GoldieRocks61

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  • crystalnichols395
    crystalnichols395 Posts: 68 Member
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    I am 28 years old and in the same boat as you. I have been with MFP for 3 months now and it has helped me a lot. Exercising can be fun and not boring. Your daughter will want to join in with you when you turn up some music to clean the house. Add me as a friend and we can help each other out.