Welcome!!! Please introduce yourself!
Options
Replies
-
Hello! I sort of introduced myself on one of the other threads, but I'll say hi here as well.
I'm Vicki, 27 years old lifelong Kansas girl. I am married and have a 4 year old son. I'm hoping to have another, sooner rather than later, and that is one of the MANY reasons I'm trying to lose weight.
I work about 45 minutes from my house (an office job). Between the commute, spending time with my son before he goes to bed and sleeping myself I have a hard time making time for exercise. Just a week or two ago I started a new routine that is getting me to the gym 4 times a week. Lets hope it lasts!
My biggest struggle has been sticking with the program. As others have said, I tend to do really well for a couple weeks and then I have one bad day that snowballs into 2 months of just eating whatever. I just can't let myself do that anymore. I'm currently at 406, down about 25 from my highest weight. I can't WAIT to break into the 300's
0 -
Pandorian - Exactly my perdicament. I wouldn't have a problem working at Mc Donald's, except that I am schooled and trained for so much more. I am afraid that I will take a job at Mc Donald's and something better will be offered to me. I have a weird guilt about taking a job and then leaving it at the drop of a hat... maybe I am weird? So far it hasn't been a real issue, McDonald's has not offered me a job.
Allsmile -
I am also trying to lose weight, so that I can have a child... not sure that this is going to be an option for me, but I want to be ready if it is.
Even if you can't get to the gym, just playing with your son is exercise. : )0 -
Hi, my name is Jennifer. I am 42 years old and currently live in Wales with my 18 year old son and near my boyfriend. I am originally from Edinburgh in Scotland. I have always felt absolutely huge even when I was young and a relatively small uk size 14. After my son was born I never lost the body weight, and slowly gained as I became more and more depressed. I currently weigh 237lbs having lost 15 since January 2nd, in what has to be the final time I try to get my eating - and my life - in order. I have struggled with emotional eating my whole life and am slowly learning to find other outlets for my rather intense emotions.
My boyfriend suggested this site for additional support after I joined BLC in January. Because I have intense panic attacks when I go out, I am generally unable to leave the house, so I need as much help as I can get as I am very isolated.
This is far from the first time I have tried to lose weight for good (!) and the last time I tried about 18 months ago I got into a good place with my diet and exercise but then picked up a serious knee injury - could barely stand for about 4 months and lost my mojo. Now at 42 I know if I dont do it now, not only will I never do it, but I will lose what little chance I have to have another child with my (younger) boyfriend. I am aiming at the moment for 154lbs but hope to get lower eventually.
At the moment I am finding the eating plan quite easy, but have been overtraining and am exhausted - need to change my routine.
Thank you so much for letting me join the group. I surely hope that 2012 is the year we all see our lives change permamently for the better 0 -
Jennifer -
I am glad that you chose to join the group! Everyone here is friendly and there is no judgement. : )
It must be a tough life to not go out often, due to panic attacks - do you have idea where the fear stems from?
I look forward to cheering you on towards weight loss, while we share the day to day experiences!
Katie0 -
Hi, my name is Lorie and I'm a stay at home/ work from home mommy of 2 handsome lil boys. I've been married to the love of my life for 17 years. He has never seen me at a healthy weight. He married me heavy and stuck with me heavier yet. I am now at my highest weight ever of 350 ish? Last I was at the Doctors it was in the 340's but their scale is different than mine so you just never know. I struggled with 11 years of infertility after 2 ectopic pregnancies (one of which almost killed me) back in 1996. I was devastated and fell into a deep depression that caused me to become bulimic. The binge eating went on for about 15 years on and off until my husband joined the Marine Corp in 2002 and we became foster parents. Right before my hubby got out we decided to go through IVF at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and we got pregnant with Ian the 1st try. 3 months after his birth I was pregnant again without any assistance. Not only did God answer my prayers, he showed me his incredible sense of humor. I have struggled horribly with weight gain since my now youngest (who is 3) was born. I actually lost weight during both pregnancies though so I cannot contribute it to baby weight
I do binge eat, I do not purge (for lack of a better term~fear) I know what I have done to my health and I need to change before I cause irreversible damage. I recently was diagnosed with hemochromatosis which is a blood disorder where the body stores too much iron. I am scheduled to see a hematologist in March to get treatment. That being said this and many other things have caused me to seriously consider what I'm doing to my body. I am scared to leave my 2 precious boys without their mommy and that is why I'm here. I want to be healthy and feel good. I am tired of feeling achy all the time, squeezing behind the booths which was horrifying and embarrassing on so many levels. I cannot enjoy amusement parks because of my size, my kids can't ride with me because I'm too big to fit in a lot of the rides. My 4 year old is starting to realize that mommy is bigger than most mommy's and though it doesn't seem to bother him I think he knows it bothers me. I cry a lot because I feel like I'm letting them down. I want to be the beautiful, healthy mommy and wife my guys deserve and I want to enjoy the life God gave me. Hopefully MFP will help me get there 0 -
Lorie -
You came to the right place. Everyone hear is open, honest and very friendly.
I can relate to the restaurant booths and still hate to have to squeeze into them, and then spend the whole dinner worrying about how I am going to get out without being noticed... I have been limited by my weight and have had enough!
I am not religious, but I whole heartedly believe everyone should know that their weight does not correlate to their self-worth.
Decide what will bring you joy and happiness and work towards that.
I personally can not wait to have children, I definitely feel that I need to get my life together and lose the weight before I do - that way my children may never have to deal with the same body image issues that I have.
Good luck and I look forward to sharing this journey with you!
Katie0 -
Hey everyone!
My name is Lynn & I'm 42 from Michigan. Everyone has echoed the sentiments of my life...been overweight all of my life, tried to lose weight (most successful was a 51lb loss in 2005) and need to do something before I'm bound by disease.
I am the mother of a 4 year old & as an older mother I must embrace the fact that my daughter needs me. Although I believe that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. When it's my time, I sincerely don't want it to be because I failed to take care of myself.
I pray that I can be encouraging to someone in their journey & pray much success to each of you!0 -
Hi!!!
My name is Melissa. I live in Wisconsin where bigger is better right? Ya... No! Anyway, I think I'm adopted because my parents are tiny and short as is the rest of my family and then there is me. Haha. 5'8'' and bigger than ever. I'm at 368 now, (was 384 at one popint) and want to get under 200 lbs because I honestly can't remember when I saw the scale under 200. I set my goal at 180 because I remember weighing that in 5th or 6th grade in gym class one time. Eek.
I've been marred for over 11 years already. I married my high school sweet heart. We lived in sunny San Diego for several years where we had our first boy, now 9. Then we moved back to the woods of Wisconsin to eat cheese and I gained a lot of weight. From there we moved to Bosnia, (yes the one in Europe) for a year. I felt my best there, eating all local fruits and vegetables. Of course though I ate chocolate so while I walked everywhere and felt great I never lost much weight. Then I got mad and left and left my husband there because we Americans like privacy, and moved into a house just around the corner from my parents. Stupid, because then mom and dad were bringing food over all the time that was always terrible and I was greatful daughter and ate it. A few years later my husband came home and he had been eating terrible food while he was working in Iraq and I cooked all his favorite things for him everyday. I got pregnant with our second baby boy. The doctors freaked out because I was 345 lbs and did tons of tests. Oddly enough our insurance didn't cover them. So were left broke and 7 months pregnant. Turned out II was healthy and I was able to birth at home with the greatest midwives around and they kept telling me I was extremly healthy for my size. Crazy, so that meant I didn't have to hurry up and lose weight, right? Well I stayed 355 lbs until I stopped breastfeeding and added up a lot of pounds since.
Anyway, I enjoy a fairly active lifestyle, but my husband wants to go backpacking this summer on the Ice Age trail and lets be honest, my frame pack isn't going to buckle. Nor would I be able to survive the 10-15 miles he wants to plan per day with the hills. Eep! I can't keep telling him and the boys to go by themselves because this is something they want to do as a family. And by golly I really want to go too. I live for that sort of thing, I used to do it all the time. And camping in a tent in a crowded camp ground just isn't the same.
Please feel free to friend me.
Here is to our future and losing that 200 or more pounds!!!0 -
Melissa, I'm in wisconsin too, so is Katie. We all wish that bigger was better LOL! And more healthier, but alas, it is not so. My friends and I go camping every summer around the Long lake area close to the iceage trail. It is so beautiful and last summer I said I wanted to hike it also. (What the heck was I thinking!!!!!:noway: ) Anyway, we CAN DO THIS!!!! I wanna show up all my friends little kids who run circles around me! I have a good feeling about this group and I think this time is "the time" that I really stick to it and reach my goals. Im here to help if ya need anything. THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU!!!!0
-
Hello all! My name is Tanya. I am 28 years old from Pennsylvania. I am currently a full time cashier at a gas station. I have just signed up to this site today. Looking forward to meeting new people on my journey to become thin for the first time in my adult life.0
-
Hi Rachel507 and Katie!!
Yes, we go camping at Long Lake too. I love the beach there, during the week though. We can so backpack this summer!!! I know we can. We've got a date set to camp at Buckhorn where our site is over a mile walk in and on some river. I'm nervous already because while I know I can do it, it's the going to and from the site several times a day that scares me. We never stay at our site for long.0 -
Hi there! I just recently joined MFP. I'm glad to find a group for 200+ losers. I know that we have a struggle that goes beyond just the norm and it is great to do it with people who are travelling the same road.
My highest weight was close to 400 lbs. I'm 5'9", female... I'm currently at 366. I live in rural Ontario, Canada. I use a lot of tools to help with my weight loss, including Overeaters Anonymous (OA). Glad to be here!0 -
Hello everyone!
My name is Ashley and I am from British Columbia in Canada. I am 25 years old and started MFP on February 16th 2012. I also started going to the gym everyday. I have already lost 18 lbs and 7 inches and I couldn't be happier with myself. I have a lot more weight to go and I feel like I can finally do this! Its my time. I would love some support and new friends so please add me! We can do this!!0 -
hi Ashley - glad to meet you here. Congrats on all the success -- and starting at the gym! That is great!! And yes, we can do this together. It definitely requires a good support system. Do you have anyone to go to the gym with?0
-
My name is Mike. I am 43 years old, though I don't feel like it. I started this year off at 454 pounds. My long term girlfriend decided that this year she wanted to do the weight loss surgery and asked me to go to the doctor appointments with her. I went to an orientation session and it scared the crap out of me. I decided that I would give it one more chance before resorting to surgery.
I have been heavy all my life. I was chubby until age 13. From then on I was fat. After college I became morbidly obese. 3 years ago my wife walked out on me and my 2 kids after 12 years of marriage, for another man. At that time I fought my grief by changing my life. I started eating better and exercising. I was able to get down from 467 (my heaviest) to 411. Part of what drove me was the feeling that I would never find any one at my size. That drove me until, well you guessed it, I meet someone. She has become the love of my life. She is also obese as you probably guessed from above. She accepted me for who I was an never pushed me to lose. Slowly over time, my good habit fell away and I stopped exercising. It took about 2 years but I have put back almost all the weight I had lost.
With the weight came the back and ankle pain to the point that I need Vicodin and Aleve every day to function. I restarted with MFP in January and have been adding more and more exercise each week. I am up to 5-8 workouts a week. I get up at 5am Monday through Friday and do 50+ minutes of cardio on the treadmill. 3 Days a week I am planning a second session in the evening with weights and lite cardio.
I love to eat and I love bad foods. I have set a goal of 2000 calories a day and I don't eat my exercise calories. I want to live pain free. I want to go anywhere and do anything without being afraid.
Thank you Katie for inviting me to this group.0 -
Hi Mike.
I can relate to what you said about being scared to death by the thought of the surgery - I, too, am giving myself one more chance to do it on my own before I resort to surgery.
I'm 43. Highest weight was 39?. When I saw the "9" I couldn't look at the last number. I know I got very close to 400. I lost over 70 lbs and then hit a point of relapse a year and a half ago, and have since regained 50 lbs. I quit smoking at the end of December and once I had hit the 5-6 week quit mark, I knew it was time to look at the weight again. And so here I am. I am feeling motivated and have not once stopped with the action since I started.
I, too, want to live pain free. And, quite honestly, I just want to live. I have missed a lot of years.
I'm doing 1700 calories a day. I have not yet implemented an exercise routine.
Great to meet you!0 -
Welcome!!!
I have chills after reading the newest posts here... let me first say - you guys are awesome!
There are so many times I am reading and can find the parallels between my life and the words that I am reading. This is the first time that I have seriously made a diet and exercise changes (at the same time) and have reached out to others with similar challenges.
I started this group on a whim, because I knew that I had a lot of weight to lose and I knew that I couldn't possibly be alone. Additionally, I realized that I needed accountability from people who would understand the unique challenges that arise. This group is a sactuary for me... a place where I can voice the questions, comments, and concerns that no one who has 20 lbs to lose would understand.
I am from Wisconsin - Sheboygan to be exact... I know of several Ice Age Trails in the area, and was curious if either one of you lived relatively close?? Once the season changes and it isn't so mushy outside - maybe we can meet up somewhere for a hike???
mdawson - You are certainly welcome. I hope that everyone feels that this group is as much mine as it is yours. Invite anyone that you see struggling with the same issues. Even if they do not have as much weight to lose, as long as they have solid intentions of changing their lives for the better.
I am also in my last ditch attempt to lose weight, before I consider surgery... Honestly, I know several people who have had the surgery with varying results. The majority lost a substantial amount of weight, but can only eat small meals of specific foods. (No sweets, no soda...) Personally, I love food. The idea of eating small meals of bland food, scares me more than exercise. Then there is always the potential to re-stretch your stomach, if you are not following the proper diet - which would eventually lead you back to where you started. I think this fact means that by having the surgery, you still need to learn the self-control. I might as well learn all of these things without the surgery. I am hoping that I can learn these things without surgery.
Of all of the first-hand surgery stories that I have heard... maybe 10 in total - there has only been one that scares the living crud out of me. A girl that was in my art class in college had the surgery. I will mention that she was one of the original 8 participants as test subjects, when the surgery was debuting. Whether it was because the surgery was in its infancy or whether the doctor made a mistake - the girl has had nothing but health issues since the surgery. The pills that she has to take daily, the bodily functions that do not work correctly, the limitations and the shorter life span - all tell me, that I need to try harder to lose this weight on my own.
I was off on a tangent there - but what I am getting at in a long round-about manner, is that we can do this!! It may be a longer harder journey to start, but it will pay off! If we were to get the surgery, it may be an easier start - but we may pay for it on the back end.
Stay strong, and be confident that you are all capable of whatever you set your mind to!
I think that this is my longest post to date.
I think of you all as family and appreciate what you contribute!
Katie :flowerforyou:0 -
I'm 47. Married with a amazing little boy that is 6. I don't work full time when Robert was born he was severe clubbed footed ( his feet touch his penis). For the first three years we went to the Dr. 2 to 3 times a week. He has had 2 surgeries and doing great. Played soccer this year. I love flea markets ... so now I have a big Rug Store at the local flea market. My son always ask how I'm doing on my new life style. My husband doesn't want me to change. I find a lot of support on here and My Mom and My Tops group.
I want to enjoy life!!!
I feel it is hard being Fat!!
There is so many things that I miss out on my sitting on the sidelines.
I don't want Robert to be ashamed of me.
Some of my weight loss story.... I have tried 1000 different times...
I remember in 6 grade being 112lbs and in 9th grade weighing 198lbs. As an adult I just keep the cycle going bad choices. I would start a diet and do good. When I was 36... I was 300 and lost 100lbs doing Atkins then I got started eating carbs again and put in back on and more. Then a few years ago I did Nutrisystem weighing in at 345lbs and lost 70lbs. My Parents move next door my Dad was sick and I stopped watching what I ate and went on a seafood diet eating every thing in sight. .My Dad passed and I was around 375lbs give or take 5lbs. I joined the wellness center which has a pool at the first of the year and in the mid January I joined a weight group called Tops so I would have to be accountable for weekly weigh-in and I joined MFP and started logging every thing I ate. My official starting weight is 365lbs on MFP.
As, of today I have lost 22lbs.... I'm proud of myself... This time is different. I know I can change my lifestyle and stay with it. I'm glad I found All of You!!!
See You on the Lighter Side!!
Karen0 -
Karen -
This is an on-going challenge and I am so glad that you are a part of it!
I look forward to getting healthier with you!
Katie0 -
Hi,
I'm not sure what to write. I woke up Monday, looked in the mirror and Tuesday I was at the gym with a personal trainer. I hate exercising, I hate counting calories... today is a grouchy day. But, I'm here. Because I have to change what I see in the mirror.0
