Hello I just wrote something on another one so im gonna post it here lol too.

Hello!!!
So glad to find this group
I am 42 years old, I have two boys but they are grown men now 21 and 23, married to a nice, kind, and loving man also. He was in Army and decided to go back to finish up and retire he is in NG now.

My story is..I have always been chuncky and big boobed as a younger person i was raised in group homes foster homes and you name it there i was put on diet pills by one of my foster moms at the age of 12, the more i was told stop eating the more id eat. I ride my bike for exercise and take my allowance and go get a chicko stick or snickers before going home!! lol I have no clue why,

I got up to 173 pounds at 5 foot tall when i was 21 i had my kids and still fat. I smoked and one day i was afraid of dying out of the blue i was havinn panick attacks. I wanted to be around for my children i would look at ther little bodies and think wow God made this little body he made mine and i have abused it. I started reading alot of fitness advice I did ESPN fitness pros Something clicked it took two years but i lost 70. I kept it off for along time..I recently gained back in 6 years 50 pounds....

I cant stand it i cant beleive i let myself do it. I have worked full time, i joined the military at age of 38 to see if i could i did, but that put on 10 pounds!! Not muscle either. Any way My real mom an i still had a realtionship all through my life She was my life so after i had turned 18 i stayed around her as much as i could and now the past year i took care of her and i gained another 10 pounds it is liek every year i gained more. MOM was a smoker so was i, i quite three months ago... She died of COPD in my home with me with her, She had RA and diabetes. PAD, heart congestive failure, Degeneritive disk dieasese, osteoperosis, any thing you can think of she had... I lost her in Novenber of last year, I miss her so much she was my life... I am exericing not just for me but for her, I still cry everyday for her.

I have taken care of everyone all my life and now it is time to take care of me. Getting back to me..taking off this fat suit, being me again is what my goal is. I want to be healthy and live life with zest. I dont want to spend time in bed like she had to. I run and i cry thinking of how much i miss her, but as the wind blows when i run i can feel the sun shine on my face and if im crying i close my eyes i can feel the sun drying my face i imagine it is her whiping away my tears. I know she is with God she has to be she suffered so much pain all her life, well sorry opps enough of that..

I hope to get to know more people who are having a hard time losing and know what i feel like, this second time around is reallly harder then the first time i lost it!! must be the Age thing.

I'm Patti. I'm 44 and have 5 children, 4 boys and a girl (the youngest). They range in ages 24 down to 9! I live in Houston, Texas. I never had a weight problem until I had my hysterectomy 4 years ago. My body started changing and I was faced with a new way of thinking about food and exercise. I'm super busy- I work at a Jesuit high school in addition to having the kiddos at home. I'm lucky if I can sqeeze in 3 workouts of 30 minutes a week!

I think you can make this topic "sticky" so it stays at the top of the threads list. Thanks for starting this group!

Great idea!!

Hello. I am a 46 yo Mom to 4 kids ages 15, 14,10 and 5. I have been overweight most of my life. I started gaining weight in the 3rd grade. I went on my first diet at age 13. It was a starvation diet and as soon as I stopped the diet I gained back everything and more. In my 20's I went on another starvation diet but added exercise. I managed to keep the weight off for several years as I was living by myself, going to aerobics 4 times a week and walking the days I didn't have aerobics. After I married my husband and had kids I found I didn't have time for exercise and started gaining weight again. I got to my heaviest ever during my last pregnancy. When I was 3 months pregnant I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. 5 years later the doctor says that my thyroid is steady and I need to lose weight. I started on MFP at 209 and I am down to 186. At 5"1' the doctor told me to try for 135-140. So my goal is 135. I am trying different exercises out to see what I like. Right now I am doing EA Sports Active on the Wii and Leslie Sanson's Walk At Home video. I plan on being on MFP the rest of my life. It is very easy to get off of a program and to gain weight back.

Cindy

Mom2h....so sorry to hear that. We are here to support you!!

Glad to meet you all!

I will be turning 41 in January and have 5 children. Our oldest two are adopted and are currently 15-boy and 20-girl (we adopted them at 3 and 8). Our natural born boys are 7, 11, and 13. I've gained weight steadily starting in college and got to my heaviest weight after my second son. My husband's weight hasn't changed since we've been married (17 years!) but I have steadily increased-he has tried to help me lose weight and a few years back I lost my first 20 lbs because he would work out with me everyday! I've realized though, I have to do this on my own, as soon as his schedule changed I quit my routine! Now, I am determined to get healthy and stay healthy! I have always been athletic and love to work out, hike, bike etc my problem is eating. I also love to eat! MFP has really helped me become accountable for exactly how much I am consuming! I have come across this quote quite a bit in the last year- "it is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise" and never believed it until recently. I had been consistently exercising 5 days a week from October 10 to May 11 and lost no weight! I started MFP in May and have lost 32 pounds without changing my exercise regimen.

I think that is a wonderful thing adopting!! I am sure they are happy you have adopted them. Good luck on your healthy life style!!

Hi Everyone!

I'm Lynn... thanks for the invite Alicia!!!! I've been overweight most of my life also... it got worse once I had my kids... I have 3 - 21, 19 and 14. Two are away at college - well mostly away, they go to college in state and come home a lot!!! So I have had a lot more time to myself. So I thought I should start dating again!!!! mom2rh - I know what you are going through... my ex and I divorced 6 years ago... and I am just starting to get my life back together. I NEVER thought I would be single in my 40's. But there is life after!

I joined mfp a year ago but didn't really start getting involved and really logging things until the beginning of this year. My highest weight was about 212. I am down to 158 right now... I'm 5'4" and would like to maintain at 140. I started walking and then running, and now I run about 4-5 times per week anywhere from 2.5 to 4 miles per run, depending on how I feel.

I did meet someone a year ago on match.com! Our families have actually know each other for over 20 years.. in fact, my youngest son is named after his cousin's son - just because I liked the name!!!! And the nicest thing is that he met me and liked me at a higher weight... thinks gravity and gray is good! Gotta love that!!!

Thanks for making this group!!!! BTW, anyone starting menopause? I thought my periods were out of whack because of the running, but I think after 9 months of running, it should level off... but my periods are about every 3-4 months now. I just got my period and now I remember why I was on the pill for so long... just feel like crap and it's heavy... no hot flashes yet though... anyone else?

Hello ladies. I am 41, I have 2 grown step children, a 16 year old son, and we have custody of a special needs grandchild who is about to turn 10, he has been with us since he was 1. It has it's challenges, but it is so totally worth it. You will never meet anyone that can love like that kid can. My husband and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in December, marrying only 24 days after we met. I work as a loan processor for a bank and am learning to ride a motorcycle, very fun. I love my family and my God. So thankful to have found MFP. Good luck to all of you in each of your journies.

Hello! I am Maggie, 42 year old mother to six children (21 year old boy, 19 year old girl, 13 year old boy, 10 year old boy, 8 year old boy, and 6 year old boy). I've been married to their dad for almost 22 years. I've been overweight pretty much my entire life and it sure clouds how I look at myself and people around me. I've tried on and off for years to lose the weight, but usually gave up at some point. On June 16 of this year, I started again and have not given up. I've had my ups and downs and have lost about 27 pounds. I still have more than that to go. I'm floundering a lot and looking for some motivation to not give up. Tthe giving up seems to sneak up on me...a mistake here, a mistake there, and next thing you know, I've gained the weight back. I don't want to do that again. I had a birthday a bit over a month ago and my mother and aunt bought me new clothes...it was very exciting to find out that I had lost quite a few sizes there! I'd rather not go back into my larger clothes and feel like I can continue to go down in size. I just need to get through the plateaus I seem to hit frequently. Looking forward to getting to know you all!