Thanks for the invite Samantha. Seems the age and pounds sneak up on a lot of us. I bought p90x a couple of years ago only to never use it. I finally made the decision to get started and set November 1st, 2011 as a target start date. Lets just say I'm attempting it, with some modification. I know there is no way I can keep up at my age and weight, plus occasional problems with gout. Everything I read emphasized you have to do both; diet AND exercise. One week down and I lost 16 pounds. I am excited about that but I know that a pace like that will definately not continue. Having lost weight before I know you tend to start off fast then the plateaus will come. Anyway, while poking around on the beach body site, I came across a video of a fella named Jeremy Yost, who lost a bunch of weight and I found his video to be very motivational. He has a website at jeremyyost.com that has some videos of his journey and it was on there that I found out about myfitnesspal. He highly recommended using something like this and after playing around on it for a little bit found myself hooked. Another site I have found very interesting is fit2fat2fit.com. Pretty interesting story there. Anyway,,, so much for my introduction - Here's to a successful journey!

benefielddan, Can we call you Dan? or Ben? 16lbs, that's great. I start off quick too when I'm watching. This first 4 lbs was in a few days of not pigging out. Yes, it slows down but I hope to maybe lose the first 20 fast. I like The Firm tapes. Note I said tapes...that's how long I've had them. Back in 2002 I would work out with them for 50 minutes. I have to watch my knees and my stamina is down so right now I do an average pace on my Gazelle machine working up to at least 30 minutes.. It's easy on the knees and I can watch TV.

Hi MamaDee2! You're now just Mama to me.

I was in a support group for years back in 2003 and a few of us are still in touch. I may invite them to join too, I see them on facebook now but would rather not have these 2 worlds meet. My old work buddies and classmates don't need to know HOW out of shape I am even though I see them often. Some things are just personal, ya know?

Yes Dan is what I go by. I know what you mean about the facebook thing. Not sure I'd want to mix the 2 either. By the way - I'm still trying to figure out the ropes on here so I'm not sure if using this "quote" thing is the proper way to reply or not.

Dan, for some odd reason we woke up this morning and the signature thing has changed. I can't even find where to add my other ticker. I'm relatively new also to exploring this site. If I stumble upon how to do the signature, I'll report back.

I just did some research and I guess we were only supposed to have one ticker and many people were including two tickers. I was one of those offenders but just did not know. If you go to Settings you can set your weight loss ticker. I did a search for tickers and that's what I found.

Welcome, Marilyn. I look forward to learning more about you in the future here in our little group.

Hello all.

I'm Maury. Turned 50 in June of this year.

Upon hearing the doctor's strong words about not living long enough to "be there" for my daughter, and my subsequent divorce (about a year ago) I decided to get fit after years - decades - of bodily neglect. I was at BMI of 35.1 ("obese") about 18 months ago. My goal was to reach a "normal" BMI by my 50th, which I did, I'm happy to say. (Start weight was 224 about 18 months ago, 50th birthday weight was 159, current weight is 151. I'm 5'7").

For me, the single most beneficial element to losing the weight, and getting generally fit was taking up racquetball (and of course, MFP for caloric tracking). I tried a bunch of stuff, but for me, racquetball "clicked". I'm no natural athlete; As a matter of fact, I've never participated in any sports in my entire life, until this. At first, I was completely spaz-o. I practiced alone, and even then I embarrassed myself at how pathetic I was. I'm no champion now, but I can play "reasonably", and I enjoy it tremendously. I play 5 times a week, with a regular bunch, in a wide age range from late 20's through mid 70's.

Like Dan, I tried p90x. I did it for about 3 or 4 weeks, and then stopped about a month ago. It was hard, but enjoyable - just took too long. I clearly noticed a pretty significant change in my body, though I couldn't nearly keep up with the demonstrators. I don't think I could have kept up with them at any age. I will try "supreme 90" shortly, it is about 30 mins a day (or so I've heard), as opposed to about an hour (or more).

I know that many here are aware of the benefits of getting leaner and fitter... I had high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, and a host of other ailments, including eczema and frequent respiratory issues. I am happy to say that they are all gone. BP is normal, blood sugar normal, cholesterol normal (just barely) other lipids - normal. Skin has cleared up, chronic cough - gone. Resting heart rate went from nearly 90 to high 40's. (Sex life is vastly improved, but that's likely due to the divorce... haha)

My doctor tells me that I've added 20 years to my life expectancy. I think that he really means that I stopped shortening my life expectancy by 20 years.

You can probably tell that I feel quite good about my weight loss, and general fitness improvement. Indeed, I do. For those just starting out, I can tell you, through personal experience, that for many, if not most, it is do-able. It isn't easy, but it is simple. Simply expend more calories than you consume, and exercise. Every day.

OK, off to see a show tonight!

Hello everyone, my name is Linda and I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I am a meeting attending member of Weight Watchers who has been at my goal weight since 1998. I use this site to maintain my weight and on occasion lose a few pounds that I regain.
I've been married for 21 years and have two daughters, one 18 and the other one is 16.

Good luck everyone on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Hi -

Deb from Seattle. I just got back on the wagon after a few months of self-pity. Thank goodness it only cost me 5 pounds this time, usually my self-pity is much more pound-intense!

Anyway - I am just starting out and making an exercise plan. My body hits plateaus quite easily, so I thought I would do cardio for a week, then strength for a week, etc. As far as dieting, I usually stay within range for most days, then have one high day just to keep my metabolism from wacking out.

Any suggestions on either of these plans would be great!

Hi John,

I don't know if this will help you or not but when my mother-in-law lost a lot of use of her arm and leg she went to an accupuncturist and got mor mobility back. She even walked better. Picked up her feet insead of shuffeling along. She did pass on the herbs that were supposed to help with nerve stimulation but they might help you. Sometime a good narualpathic doctor cando more than the regular doctors. Good luck in your progress.

Hi John,

I don't know if this will help you or not but when my mother-in-law lost a lot of use of her arm and leg she went to an accupuncturist and got mor mobility back. She even walked better. Picked up her feet insead of shuffeling along. She did pass on the herbs that were supposed to help with nerve stimulation but they might help you. Sometime a good narualpathic doctor cando more than the regular doctors. Good luck in your progress.

I have heard of many cases of folks who were in pain that they could just NOT get rid of... no matter what they tried. And, acupuncture was a last resort. Worked very well for everyone I knew. I think it is a great thing to try!

Hi John,

I don't know if this will help you or not but when my mother-in-law lost a lot of use of her arm and leg she went to an accupuncturist and got mor mobility back. She even walked better. Picked up her feet insead of shuffeling along. She did pass on the herbs that were supposed to help with nerve stimulation but they might help you. Sometime a good narualpathic doctor cando more than the regular doctors. Good luck in your progress.

I have heard of many cases of folks who were in pain that they could just NOT get rid of... no matter what they tried. And, acupuncture was a last resort. Worked very well for everyone I knew. I think it is a great thing to try!

Thanks Everyone

I actually received acupuncture back in the mid - late 90s for the original injury to back and leg. I got some decent results. Since 2004 when heart attack turned my life upside down I hadn't realy thought about accupuncture. Thanks again for your suggestions

HI everyone
My name is Maureen & I will be 50 in June. I'm back to MFP after a few months of absence.

Hi, I'm Anne. I have been a member of MFP for over a year, but haven't really used it. I signed up bcuz the app was free on my iPod. It's very inspiring to read your stories, about weight loss, BMI reduction, goals, and activities. I have been controlling my pre-diabetes with diet, although not losing much weight. I lost 15 and gained back 10. (Although my dr. told me there's no such thing as pre-diabetes, it's like being a little pregnant.) However, I did manage to lower my A1C (average insulin control) back into the normal range of 5.6, down from 5.8, and do not need to take medication.

Now I am ready to fully commit to my healthy goals of weight loss, regular exercise and good nutrition.

Thanks for starting this group. And, thank you, everyone, for joining and sharing.

HI, I'm Jeanine from Australia.
I'm 54, married 36 yrs and grandma of 5.
Even though I seem to lose some and then gain some of it back I keep going and this site has really help keep me focused. I noticed even when I might have had a a whole week or more of no loss I seem to come back to dieting again which doesn't usually happen with me.
I continually read the success stories for inspiration and I also find that just reading the challenges, even in these introductions, that many face every day makes me realise I have it easy really. It's a good kick of inspiration.
I faced a lot health issues this year and during that time this site was recommended to me, I'm so glad.
Thanks to all you MFP ppl for being so inspirational.
I know this is going to take me a very long Time but I think this time I can do it.