Hi everyone, I so need a group like this. I am a 52 year old mother of 4 girls. I have always dieted and stayed in shape until a few years ago. Now to my dismay I am 50 (ugh) pounds overweight!!!! I am desperate to lose this weight as as my daughter is getting married in the fall. Hopefully we can all help each other reach our goals and get healthy.
Take care,

PS This picture was taken 25 lbs ago...hope to get back there in the near future

Hi there, I'm Carol, 55 years old, way overweight, I am a night shift ICU nurse, a walker, a mom of 1 son who is in flight school, and I am married! Glad to see this group start. Feel free to friend me!

hi all! Sorry to not get back this am , kids in from Oklahoma and grand from Atlanta. So much fun but crazy.
I am 55,birthed 2 babies and inherited 3 more. Been thick and thin through thick and thin.

Hi I am 50 with 80lbs left to lose. I have been working at it pretty hard. I just finished Brazilian butt lift. It is a great workout. It is so hard to lose weight as you get older. Almost impossible. But I am determined to do it. 30 some odd years ago I was a Marine, then life happened, I started gaining about 10lbs a year, after 10: years I am a big fluffy gramma trying to keep up with the little ones. My parents both died in their 50's and I don't want that happening to me because of weight issues and all the health problems that come with it.:flowerforyou:

55 year old in Alberta, originally from Bermuda. Living now in Edmonton.

Overweight my entire life (in fact obese for most of my life, even as a child) i always believed what my mum told me, that our family was 'big boned' and we were all just doomed to be overweight anyway. (yes, she died in her 60s, prematurely imo, due to weight related health issues).
Interesting to find out that i really am not big-boned afterall *L*, but it took losing this weight to convince me.

In 2010 my blood pressure (which had skyrocketed to 181/100 when husband and i ended our marriage , had been under control with meds at 120/80 for 10 years) seemed to set itself to a new (higher) normal, 130/80... 10 pts higher than it had been for years.. despite little change in my weight.
i was not happy with that, though after a year of tracking it Dr informed me was perhaps simply a result of my aging.
That, along with finally getting on a scale at Drs office and finding out that my weight was then 242 (and i KNOW it had been even higher than that, by quite a bit, just a year before), i decided enough was enough... i could no longer live with blinders on about my own responsibility for my own health as i started reaching my senior years.
No more waiting for a better time, no more waiting for life to start... no more taking for granted that there would even be anyone around to take care of me if i ever needed it, healthwise.

Fact is, i have few pictures even of myself with my kids when they were little as i hated the way i looked so much i rarely let myself be in a picture, even with them How pathetic is that?

I always knew how to eat properly... healthy... just chose not to. Food was the one thing i loved that never let me down when i needed to feel pleasure.

the magic key for me was finding mfp and the right tool to keep me motivated... logging in and tracking my foods *S*
as simple as that... being perfectly aware of exactly how much i was consuming... overconsuming.

Last month my Dr (who now calls me his star patient and says he is SO proud of me!) (no one ever told me they were proud of me, i started crying when he said it)... decided that with next checkup he likely wants to starting going with a lower dose for my BP meds... (as my normal now is 117/79) yay!!!!!!

i feel younger, more alive, and more ready to 'get out there' and DO something, embrace life, try new experiences, open myself up more for letting new people into my life, than i ever have before.. ever!!

Better late than never indeed *L*

Note:
i became a grandmother for the first time in summer 2011, and that baby will be the first person in my family who will never have known me as an obese person!

This January (2012) i was offered an exciting job opportunity (assistant showroom manager at a high end bathroom renovation company here in the city), a position where i need to dress well and look good, confident, well put together, every day.
2 years ago i would not have even considered going in to speak to the owner about working for him as i would have felt too self conscious about how i looked, knowing also that i would be in a constant struggle just trying to find something to wear every day!
Not this year.. this year already so close to my goal weight, i walked in with complete confidence in my appearance. i did not feel out of place because of the way my body looked.

i finally feel as if my body reflects who i have always felt like i was 'inside' *S*.. a crying shame i waited so long to finally BE me, but.. here i am world! *S*

i gained a little over the winter, simply because i let myself be a little less vigilant... kinda gave myself some time to maintain awhile, give my system a bit of a rest, and now firmly back at it again as this is the year i will finally be able to say i am NOT overweight. Never been able to say that before, not even once!

This is 'my' year.. and i intend to enjoy it!

Awesome work all!
Glad to be in THIS environment. MFP is pretty darn neat and I've recommended it to my mom too.

I'm 50 (as of June 2012) and over by 50 or more pounds. I live in Coquitlam, BC Canada.
I've been a single mom as of 2004 and did childcare to stay afloat and continue being a stay at home mom for my kids.
Well, they are 10 and almost 13 now and I need to focus on my HEALTH. I want them to have a healthy role model, learn more about nutrition and what we put into our mouths and how it affects our moods/health/self image.

There are heart problems in my family, both sides. Mom just came out of triple by-pass, and she's been doing the Healthy Heart program for years. She's not even overweight by much.
My kids are young. I need to be around for a good long time still.

I'm here to kick butt and take names!

Hello everyone! My name is Sheila, I'm 53, have two grown children & 5 grandchildren. Most of my life I've struggled with weight...I was always the "chubby" one. I topped out @ 310lbs. In 1982, on my own, over the course of 4 yrs, lost 150 lbs by eating basically whatever I wanted, but smaller portions...drank a ton of water, and did nothing crazy but was active. (I was younger then!) I basically stayed at this 160lbs until ,20 yrs ago when I was diagnosed with RA (rheumatoid arthritis) Its a nasty autoimmune disease that flares and wanes. It is extremely painful, and limiting during a flare, and causes permanent disfigurement to the joints.Its been a constant battle with Specialists and I've been basically a guinny pig for the Pharmaceutical companies....there is no cure, so they just try different "cocktails" of drugs for treatment. Unfortunately one of the drugs is Prednisone...a steroid. I've yo-yo'ed on mega doses on & off for over 10yrs. It has ..as it does with everyone who takes it.this long..put around 40lbs on me.I have also been diagnosed with Crohns Disease. Lucky me! This also requires Prednisone as treatment. It can restrict my eating during a flare, but I'll adjust. I have accepted that as long as I am taking this drug, I will find it extremely difficult if not impossible to lose weight. My Doctor even told me that. He said " I'll be shocked if you lose anything so dont be discouraged...concentrate on how you feel, and that you're more aware of what you're eating instead" I joined MFP to do just that. Change my lifestyle & be more aware. Well, I've lost 3 lbs!! And inches!!! It was a slow go at first, but its working! I called my Dr. to tell him....and he was so proud...he sent me flowers!! He's a great guy. It may take me longer than most to lose, because of the steroid issue, and limited mobility at times, but I'm determined to see this through. Glad to have found all of you...Stay positive, lean on & learn from each other. Thanks for listening..T.N.M aka Sheila {:o)

Hi! I'm Laura and have struggled with my weight all my life - never terribly obese, just borderline and always wishing and working to get to ideal. Right now I'm 185 pounds and would love to weight 130-140 and keep it off, be healthy stay on goal. My knees have been "popping" along with other bones in the last few months, and while I've always been a pretty good exerciser, I've had some knee pain (mainly coming up from seated or squat type positions) and that has made me feel old.

I'm going to start the 30 Day Shred again today (had success a couple of years ago) and hope that doesn't make my knees nonfunctional! Also going to try to log everything - find that when I estimate what I've eaten, then log, there's usually a nasty surprise and I've eaten more than I think. My problem is binge eating at night after being "good" all day.

Hubby has about the same to lose as me, so we are in this together. Have great marriage (34 years - mere children when we married :-) ), a daughter 24 and a son 20. Love my two Siberian kitties. I'm a court reporter and enjoy my job, although it is very sedentary and not good for calorie burning. I'll be 55 Easter Sunday. Hope I'm successful and by Fall 2012 I'm well on my way or at goal!

Hey all - I just turned 52 and have been getter heavier and heavier since I stopped doing Atkins many years ago. I have a long way to go and want to loose fat in a way that is healthy and sustainable.

I eat clean, I don't drink, I try to get to the gym. I lost 6 lbs the first week, then went up, and now - not much happening.

Well, I didn't get this big overnight, so I'm in it for the long haul. Eventually my hard work has to pay off. Thinking about going to an Endocrinologist for my hypothyroid, but my copayments are very high!

Friends are welcome!

Hi, everyone, I'm Kate and I'm 59. I have about 90 pounds or so to lose, and have had the same weight to lose for several years. Lose ten, gain it back, over and over and over.

So I decided to stop going solo and try a group setting. Anybody looking for a weight loss buddy? I try to log in every day!