HI, I'm Chris. I've traveled this path before, perhaps I'll give it another shot before I die. My environment as a child led to me being malnourished at 5'10 tall and 75 lbs. Upon getting my freedom at 18, it took me three years to balloon to 360 pounds, and another 18 years to blow up to 380 pounds! Things were going well six years ago. I got down to 300 pounds after a breakup, but we got back together and my weight started creeping up again.

The veins in my legs are finally shot. I'll always have to wrap them to avoid edema and pitting ulcers. I'm trying to lose weight now since I'm afraid of dying and I'm having health problems that I don't think I should have at this age. To put it mildly, I'd like my feet to be visible instead of just my toes. I’m at 380 pounds and my goal is 210 pounds, still overweight, but dad bod status.

For now to start, I'm trying to walk more to build up a tolerance in my back to being upright more and help my legs pump the liquid out of the tissues, hoping this will allow me to walk around the gym to lift weights. I'm trying to stick to a 2300 calorie diet while also juggling macros, lower carbs, higher protein, higher fat, including denser lighter natural foods such as kale and broccoli, as well as including natural fruits into my diet for once and getting comfortable with natural sugars. Almost like a return to the basics of the somewhat healthy food they exposed me to as a kiddo at school lunch, except with an adult twist on the recipes.

I'll be real. I don't know what to expect from putting all this here. It's probably just cathartic to write this all out. Plus, what I've been doing has obviously not worked for long term before. When I eat more healthily, counting calories, making my macros, and working out every other day for an hour. I can drop about 8 pounds a week continuously for 4 months or at least that's what happened 6 years ago and no I'm not starving myself... just healthy, fresher foods are much more filling and nutrient packed, 6 meals a day and I am stuffed on 2000-2300 calories a day XD.

I guess, I'm saying the last part as an acknowledgment that I know I can do this, if I can find some way to stick with changing my life for the better. So for now, I'm free falling. No support, no friends, no family. Just fear spurning me onwards. Let's hope I don't become fearless eventually XD.

Welcome, Chris! I wish you all the best in adopting a new lifestyle.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »

Welcome, Chris! I wish you all the best in adopting a new lifestyle.

thank you ^^

Hi Everyone!! I will be 72 in May. Three years ago I lost 60 pounds but with the pandemic I've put 40 pounds back on. Now I'm paying the price. My knees and hips ache and I'm always tired. So it's past time to get back to a healthy diet and stay within my calorie limits so I can get this weight off and not hurt so much. I would like to lose about 90 pounds. I guess I keep thinking I can do that eating sweets when I know that isn't possible. I'm hoping with some encouragement from this group I can get the weight off and make it a permanent life style change. I want to be healthy and active.

Thank you for the welcome and encouragement Yoolypr!! My first two days have been good. Now I just have to keep my head in the game. Life is too short to live it unhappy.

Do stick with us Timberlan! It’s doable. We have several members who have lost over 100 pounds. Most of us are works in progress while others are working on maintaining their weight loss. Lots to learn here! Jump into the discussions.

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this group, but not new to losing 75+ lbs. I've used MFP intermittently in the past, but mostly for the food diary. This time round, I'm going to try to lean on the community aspect a bit more because I know it's also a big contributing factor to success.

In 2009, I started a big weight loss journey, and it was really successful. It was a combination of a complete overhaul of how I was eating - I became a fairly dedicated "clean" eater - and upping my running/exercise. I discovered that clean eating was pretty effortless and enjoyable overall, and I truly grew to love my regular 5km runs.

In about a year, I lost 75 lbs and stayed there for five years with little fluctuation. In 2015, a seven-year rollercoaster ride began with multiple moves, jobs, deaths of family/friends, and then my mother's illnesses intensifying to the point of me needing to move in with her and my dad suddenly at the beginning of the pandemic to become her full-time live-in caregiver while working full-time remotely. The combination of all of this resulted in a slow gain of about 10 lbs per year from 2015 - 2020, and then added 25 lbs per year in 2020 and 2021. Sadly, after fighting hard for years, my mom passed away earlier this year. So, here I am, still working through grief while being acutely aware of how unhealthy I am while I stare down at the scales: 300.2 lbs. My highest weight ever. I need to find my way back to me again.

I'm restarting everything. A return to what worked while trying to be kind to myself for straying so far. Back to eating clean which works for me, and I actually enjoy if I'm not caught in the storm of emotional eating. Will be working on the emotional stuff and my coping mechanisms. Back to moving my body - slowly at first, with the goal to get back to my 5 km runs.

Funny story: I started a challenge last year here on MFP, but I never received any notifications that anyone replied to the thread. At the end of last year, I checked out the boards for the first time in months, and I discovered that not only did someone find - and accept - my challenge, they proceeded to lose 100 lbs over the course of eight months, as per the challenge goals. You can imagine the look on my face when I discovered this thread of someone successfully following my challenge - thrilled for them, but in total shock that I never knew someone was up for it.

All this to say, I plan to create a similar challenge, but I'll just have to figure out where to house it here on MFP. I call it the "2.77 Club" because as long as you average a loss of 2.77 lbs/week, you will meet a 100 lb loss by December 31st. This is my goal, and I understand that this may be too aggressive for some, but if I'm doing things in a healthy/balanced way, this is a doable for me.

So, that's me. I'm here, I'm back, and I'm looking to rely a little more on the community aspect of MFP. I look forward to connecting with others who are starting or restarting their health journeys and cheering each other on along the inevitable ups and downs. We got this.

Hello new losers! @mrsjenfrank , @bulfrognz , @DaddyHertz and @Timberlan127 .

Welcome to Larger Losers. I've had a busy few weeks so have been a bit slow to respond and introduce myself.

I hope your wills are still strong and you are finding your way around the archive of information and the threads of the Larger Losers group. I know it can be a bit overwhelming - but I promise you it is worth it.

The wonder and glory of this group is the understanding and support you will find when you are on a mission to lose a significant amount of weight. Despite how fantastic it feels when things are going well and you are on top of the world thinking "Yeah - I got this beat" - it can still be a very long (life long), sometimes lonely and challenging road with lots of bumps. And those little hamsters in our heads can really play games with us.

After losing 115 pounds and getting into the "normal" BMI bracket for the first time in decades, I have found myself on a particularly bumpy stretch of road the past few months. This group has helped me keep faith and stopped me from straying too far from the path that I desperately want to stay on.

I hope you stick around - and can't wait to hear your voices, stories and experiences on the threads.

We will learn from each other and that will make us even stronger. Strong enough to stay the path.

Welcome! Do read the older posts. Lots of good information there and much silliness too. Jump into the discussions.

Yikes science girl! Glad you're getting better! Come on down. Tell us about your bunnies 🐰🐇😘

Welcome, Charles. Thank you for the reminder of how careful we must be - I'm sorry you have to do this again. But, you know how. Maybe if we all stick together for the rest of our freakin' lives we'll keep our weights at a healthy level.

I'M BACK

Hello all! My name is Erika, I am soon to be 32 years old, and I am getting back on MFP for the first time in quite some time. A few years or so, honestly.

I have been overweight since I was about 5 years old and I have struggled with eating disorders throughout my life, in addition to all the countless times I have tried to lose weight.

I am in a much healthier place now with my relationship with food, but I am now the heaviest weight I have ever been and would like to start being mindful about my eating habits and make healthier choices for myself.

I am currently looking to lose about 114 lbs. but might go for another 50-70 lbs after that, but that's tentative at the moment. I am first and foremost concerned with my health, rather than my weight or measurements, therefor I am attempting the "slow and steady wins the race" approach this time around 😅

I am currently at 314 lbs., so I am aiming for a goal weight of 200 lbs. But again, I may end up making that goal weight 150-130 lbs, but I'm going to see how I feel at 200 lbs first.

Anyway, it's great to be back here! I'm looking forward to focusing on myself for a change, rather than putting other people first, like I have always done in the past. It's been a long time since I have had the motivation for this and I'm really excited to finally have it again.

I am looking for friends on here and accountabilibuddies, so feel free to say hi and add me as a friend!

We got this! 💪