New Here!

Today is my first day on myfitnesspal. I thought I would introduce myself and see what happens.

My name is Sheila, I live in Calgary Canada. I am 45 years old and have been married for 15 years. From the time I was 19 until today, I have been overweight. First due to a pregnancy, then due to depression, and it just spiraled out of control. My highest weight ever was 302. That number freaked me out. I knew I had to do something otherwise I would die.

I began a diet of 1 cup of food per meal (3 a day). I tried to keep the foods towards the healthy side, but really I ate what I wanted as long as it fit in my cup. I stopped drinking soda and switched to water or water with lemon. I ate very little carbs, I watched my fat intake, and I tried to eat more salads and veggies. Most people think that switching to a cup of food per meal is drastic and that you could not get enough food in, but honestly, I was basically never hungry. Your stomach will shrink down and after about a week to two weeks, you can barely eat more than a cup even if you wanted to.

I didn't exercise much due to a car accident I had. Messed up my back for almost a year, but now I am getting back into walking. Here in Calgary the weather is very crappy in the winter time, so I go to different malls around town and walk between 30 to 45 minutes 3 times a week. However, it is summer(ish) now so I walk around my neighborhood or when we go out shopping, I make sure we walk around for at least 30 minutes, and recently, we have been going out almost every day. When at work, I purposely park on the 5 level so I force myself to walk the stairs. Now I only have to go to the 3rd level to get to my office, but every little bit helps. Plus I work in a hospital, so I walk sometimes all over the hospital.

On November 30, 2010 I weighed 291 pounds. Today at my weigh in, I weighed 225 pounds. I have been pretty happy with my weight loss so far, but I have a goal of 140 pounds. I still have a ways to go.

Well, that is my abbreviated story. It is nice to meet everyone.

Sheila