Hi My name is Vera and i am from the USA, Bucks County Pa

I have tried many times to lose weight but never made my goals.
I need to be accountable for my weight loss and becoming a member of MFP has done that for me. I am 51 years old and have been married for 27 years and have 3 grown sons.

Why I want to get in shape
I have always been overweight but never by this amount. Thinking back when i was young and only need to lose 10-15 pounds, i thought that was such a huge challenge, boy was i wrong. That would of been easy.
I need to lose weight for myself first before I can do it for others. I want to look and feel healthier

My Inspirations
My son's wedding is October 24, 2015, I want to feel good about having pictures taken of me. Just not sure i will ever feel great about a picture.
To shop for clothes without thinking about sizes.
To have my Knees feel better so i can jump and run if I want to.

When i joined MFP in June 2014 ( Took 1 month of for knee surgery in January ) i was at 270.4 pounds today i am at 178.8 almost 92 pounds down. My first goal was to get to a loss of 100 pounds by the end of July. So close i hope i make it. So i am giving myself a second goal. After i hit 100 pounds i want to lose another 30 pounds by my Son's wedding in October.

I wasn't a part of the last group drop 20 by the 4th but very happy to be apart of this new group. I really need the accountability.

I'm Brett from Saint Louis, USA.

I started MFP ages ago. In that time, I've had cycles of "lose 20 pounds, stop caring, gain it back, lose 20 pounds, . . ."
I take an amateur-level interest in psychology, and I consider my past failings a psychological thing. Without going into too much detail, a member of my childhood family was one to overly concern about losing weight, and no reservations were ever taken in letting people know when "they" needed to lose weight too.
My primary motivation (though I would never have admitted it) was to avoid criticism. So when I found success, and with it, praise from others, I had succeeded--Or so my emotional side believed. My mind knew I was no where near my goal, but rarely is will-power enough to overcome your heart when your heart's no longer in it.

At the end of last year I married the love of my life, a new phase of my life started, priorities shifted, things which used to matter stopped mattering, and long-term health became of paramount importance.

January 1: 280
Easter: 246
Today: 237
Ultimate Goal: 208

My exercise is almost exclusively cardio (running), 45 minutes a day, 6-7 days a week.
My diet can be adequately explained in 6 words: "Controlled portion sizes, NO fast food."

Hi! I'm Jia. I have recently discovered MFP and i'm happy to find this group. I weigh 76kg and i wanna slim down in time for my wedding which is at the end of this year.

I'm counting calories and eating home cooked meals. I'm avoiding processed foods. Also trying to workout everyday. I'm quite lazy and i'm trying to motivate myself, so hoping to find inspiration here.

Good luck to you guys in your journey to better healths.

Hi Everyone, I am Michele. I have become overweight due to chronic illness and the medications I need to take to live a somewhat normal life. At my heaviest, I was 240 lbs. I am now at 184. I am short so the extra weight doesn't help. I still have a very long way to go to meet my goal. I am hoping this will help me. Thanks for this challenge.

Hello team of motivators. My name is Stephanie and I just learned about this challenge. I will also be turning 40 in December and would like to enter my next decade healthier than I am now.

My husband and I discovered MFP in August 2013 and by April 2014 I was down from 260 to 181. Then life changes with job and buying a new home we stopped exercising and I've put to much back on, up to 211. My goal weight is 150 and I feel I need a jump start to resume a better healthy lifestyle.

I'm excited to get going and have a new 9 month old dog that I get to take out for daily exercise. I've started a C25k and although I've NEVER been a runner, but with the dog, it's been good for these first couple days.

Along with the dog and my 3 1/2 year old son, I plan to use your motivation and theirs to reach my goals.

BRING IT ON!!

Hi I'm Jessica and I heard about this group from the Facebook MFP group page. I joined MFP in 2011 but due to unrealistic expectations of losing weight, I struggled to lose anything. I've flip flopped back and forth for years until recently (March 30th of this year) I decided NO MORE! Losing weight isn't a band-aid fix it's a lifestyle change.

I took a hard look at my life and realized several things I needed to do in order to change me! I recently quit soda and coffee and now have only been drinking unsweetened green tea that I brew myself and water. I'm trying to eat clean with little to no processed foods and to date, I've lost 22.2 lbs the greatest amount I've lost in my flip flopping days! I'm SO close to ONEderland (215 as of today but highest was 237.2). I haven't had a one in front of my weight since 2005 when my brother (my best friend in the whole world) passed at a young age of 31. This deeply saddened me and I sunk into a dark depression even at one point wanting to commit suicide. Thankfully, I got help and now I'm a completely different person. I'm happier and on my way to a healthier me!

I've been walking every day since March 30th missing only 2 days so far. I downloaded mapmyfitness app on my phone (free) and so far have walked 153.4 miles since April 14th! I wish I had it from March 30th but every day I walk to the grocery store with my boyfriend who is also very supportive of my goals. We buy clean food for dinner and lunch the next day. We've actually saved a ton of money doing this since no more things go rotten in the fridge! I walk about 3 miles on the week day and anywhere from 7-10 miles on the weekend. My goal is to walk 100 miles a month. So far this month I've walked 85 miles! I think I can do it!!

I am a member of a local gym (within walking distance - Yay!) and go there 2-3 times a week for arm strength training. Where I live there are a ton of steep hills so trust me, my walks are anything but easy! When I first started, it took me about 46 minutes to walk ONE mile! Now after doing this for about 3 months, I can walk a mile in around 30 minutes! This may seem slow but if you saw the hills, you might think differently. Haha!

Today marks my 74th day of logging in MFP which truthfully I cannot believe has happened. I love the support of you all through the MFP site as well as the Facebook group which I only recently joined. When I was a member in 2011 I kept to myself and logged occasionally not really taking anything seriously. Now I cannot believe how motivating it is to read what everyone's doing in my news feed. Watching others struggle with the same issues I have helps me to see everyone here as REAL people that have REAL struggles. We are all in this together! I hope to get to know each one of you and wish everyone success!

Currently, I'm running a challenge that intersects with this one (started May 17th and ends August 29) to lose 20 lbs by the end of august and I can tell you from experience, challenges like this one REALLY work! We've lost collectivelyl 521.8 pounds in only 5 weeks! If you had asked me a year ago to participate more in MFP and talk to total strangers about personal issues I would have said "yeah right". But now that I am here sharing this for the world to see, I cannot tell you how elated I am to be on this journey with you! Let's do this!

If anyone would like to add me, please feel free to. I love to support others during their weight loss journey and I'm sure I could use the extra support as well.

Hello my fellow challengers.... My name is Eunice and I live in Woodstock, GA. I have struggled with my weight for the past 16 years (since I had my daughter, gained 80 lbs in my pregnancy with her and have since been unable to loose it). I currently weigh 205lbs (I can't believe I have disclosed this, but I know we are all here for the same reason) and my goal weight is 140-150lbs.

I am tired of being tired all the time.... my back hurts, my knees hurt, and my feet hurt ALL the time. I used to be pretty active and I get tired going up and down the stairs now. I also have a happy very active 3 year old boy and I feel I don't have the energy to keep up with him. I don't want to feel like that anymore. Our goal is to go to Paris in 2017 (my daughter's graduation gift and our 20 year anniversary gift to us). I would like to be able to sight see and walk and (dare I say it....) wear a bathing suit without feeling ashamed.

I became a member of MFP a few months ago but have not been consistent. I can really use all the support I can get.... I know we can do this..... TO LIVING LONGER AND HEALTHIER!!!!

Thank you for having me here and have a Blessed Day!

Eunice

Hi, my name is Donna and I am from Jane Lew, West Virginia. I am new to My Fitness Pal. This will be my first Challenge. I currently weigh 292 and I should be 125! I have a long way to go. But I want to make the change. I know it is not going to happen over night. It didn't come on over night, it is not going to come off over night! I know it take many small steps. I know there will be some set backs, but I am not going to let them get me down! Thanks for the challenges!

Hi – I am Carl and judging by the other folk in this group and the one before it – I have been just playing at losing weight and it is time to get serious about whether I really want to lose 15lbs this time round or not. I do.

I practise Ashtanga yoga and am around 20lbs overweight. I am 164lbs currently and would ideally want to be around 140lbs. That weight, although it doesn't sound a lot, makes a load of difference when it comes to the style of yoga I do, so there is my incentive.

Looking forward to returning to my ideal weight range this year and by the help of this group.

Hi everyone. I am Lillian from Saskatchewan, Canada. I have been on MFP for a while. My doctor says I should weigh 145 pounds ...but I am not sure that will be so good. My personal goal is 165 and currently at 174. Joining this group for the accountability.

Hey everyone, my name is Melissa. I had my 2nd child almost 14 months ago. Losing the weight the 2nd time around is much harder! I was in the Drop 20 by July group, but didn't do so well. I've been having a hard time with eating a lot of sweets at night. I exercise quite a bit and if i didn't, I'd gain weight for sure. I'm getting married August 1st and I'm trying to lose at least 5 pounds by then. I've done well with not eating at night or eating any sweets for 4 days now. My goal is to lose 17 more pounds. That puts me at 150 and that's where I feel the best. i'm hoping to lose at least 10 pounds with this challenge.

Hi! I am a stay-at-home mom to three kids and babysit two others. I am currently training for a half marathon (Sept 26) and trying to slim down for a bridesmaid dress (Sept 4). I started PiYo last week and hope it helps with my strength and flexibility. I dislocated my shoulder two years ago and have lost a great deal of upper body strength since that injury. I had lost the weight three years ago, but gained it all back and then some, so I'm excited to have these goals and this challenge to get back to where I was. My biggest obstacle is food. I am home all day so snacking is much too easy to do. Hoping the weekly weigh-in keeps me focused!

Hi! I love these challenges, though I didn't do so well with the July 4th one LOL! I am looking to lose about 10 lbs before Labor Day, which would get me pretty close to my goal. Looking forward to getting refocused!

Greetings! I'm excited about this challenge. My birthday is in July. Signing up for this challenge is my birthday gift to myself. I'm aiming to drop 15+ pounds. Looking forward to the accountability and support!

Hi everyone! I started out at 191 lbs (5'3", 39 yo) in March 2015, but am down to 157 as of today (GW 120-130). No great mystery as to how I got fat - eating too many calories (especially fast food) and not exercising. Since starting MFP, I've changed my lifestyle significantly. I now prepare nearly all my meals at home (occasional meals out with friends) and exercise 5-6 times per week. I've completed the C25K program and am starting the 10K trainer on Monday. I've signed up for several races over the late summer/fall including my first 5K on 8/1, various 10Ks in Sept/Oct, and a half marathon in November. Who would have ever guessed that I love to run?!?! Good luck to all with your goals!