I'm new and in need of friends to help motivate me :)

Good luck. I am 5'3 also. You will love your new journey. I will add you.

You can friend me! I can help motivate you. I have been doing this for coming up on 3 months and have lost 23 pounds. It is difficult when you start but gets easier as you go along. Walking is a perfect start to exercise... 30 minutes a day for as many days as you can go but should be at least 3 days a week. If I can do this anyone can! I am a food addict but the fun thing about this is you can eat what you want but you have to just watch your calories. Once you start losing you will get addicted to losing weight and looking for low calorie foods.

I'm fairly new here too:) Welcome and good luck..I find tracking food is the only way I can control overeating...I pretrack so I know what I "can" eat for the day...and when I'm finished dinner, I floss and brush my teeth and find something else to do. I know it's not always that simple..if it were, I wouldnt be 183. I'd like to add you:)

Hey, I just sent you a message! I am 39 years old and I am from Maine!! I am a Physical Therapist and am usually giving the motivation to eat right and get into shape but a serious illness this winter left me deconditioned and 10 pounds heavier! Good luck to you with your fitness goals and I look forward to being a part of your journey with you! (and if you have a little extra money (($99)), invest in the fitbit....it syncs wonderfully with MFP and the data it produces also helps to keep me motivated)

Welcome! I am 5 foot 3 also and have a similar ultimate goal weight. Sending you a friend request:)

Hi Lori, Add me too. I live in New Zealand and started with MFP on Monday just gone. Tracking everything I eat is making me very aware of what foods to eat and which ones to avoid. I have increased my exercise to "everyday" and I am loving it. I too am 5ft 3in. Cheers Sonya

Welcome. im fron New jersey as well. feel free to add me

Hi Lori, Welcome :happy:
you (or anyone else) can add me if you like,
I'm committed to this and would like some new friends here to make the journey better along the way
Thanks,
Andy

Good Morning Lori & Welcome To MFP:):) Here To Support and Encourage:):) A Great Place to start a healthy journey!!

Hi there! Feel free to add me! I love seeing others succeed in their weight loss. This is a great place to be

Add me on! Motivation within yourself and from others is key! Good luck!

Welcome Lori! I've only been on here 2 weeks but already loving the tools and support available here. Definitely add me- I log every day. I'm 5'4" with SW: 211 and shrinking my way down to 140-150 range. I've found the daily food journal to be my biggest motivation for staying on track and it was such an eye opener when I learned the caloric value of foods I used to eat with complete abandon (like cheese pizza!). I managed to find a walking buddy in my own neighborhood and treated myself to a cute new pair of athletic shoes and workout pants so I feel pretty even when I'm sweating my way up and down hills :-) I figure the journey is 50% diet and exercise and 50% mindset. I'm changing the way I think about my body and now I make it a point to look in the mirror and find something to praise about myself. It really helps me to appreciate the journey!

Hi, I am new, well not that true actually, I tried this before but wasn't so committed. I just re-started today so it is nice to have someone else new to this as well. I am short as well, 5ft 1inches, my objective is to be within my BMI healthy range, right now my BMI is 29.9 which for my height is .1 short of obese. I have been struggling with my weight since I can remember, and just would really like to have some freedom from the ever present feeling of being overweight, and tired of always feeling like the biggest one in the room amongst my friends. I need to be healthy and take care of my heart, heart disease runs in my family. Last February 14th the hospital where I work was having a "heart healthy " day, where they took our blood work and sat down with us to do a summary of our health and weight etc. Well it turned out that I was the youngest employee (who did the tests) with the worst numbers! My BMI was obese, like I said earlier, my triglycerides were high, my LDL was high, HDL low... you get the picture. Since then I have increased my exercise and do feel healthier, but my eating sucks. I am addicted to sugar, and eat way too many calories. So to make a long story somewhat short, I need structure to my eating and need help to control my eating, I am really hoping to be successful for once and for all. I have realized that if I didn't devote so much time to worrying about my weight and appearance I would have a lot more time to focus on things that would add more pleasure to my life. I would really benefit from having some friends to encourage me as well!

I'm new here too. I'm 5'4 and 159lbs, and my goal is 135. I've been successful before, but now that I'm 36 years old, it's so much harder. I could lose weight lifting a heavy book! I did bikram yoga for a long time, but I recently injured my back. So now I can't do it or run for awhile. It's frustrating because I get such a good workout from those two, and I can't do them right now! I've been walking, doing the recumbent bike, and core exercises. Another problem of mine is that I enjoy going out with the girls and having a few drinks. I don't drink sugary drinks, but it adds up. I drink a ton of water, take daily vitamins, rarely eat sugar, don't eat processed foods, and eat lots of veggies. Yet I'm struggling. There are days when I eat too many calories and there are days when I've eaten only 700 calories. I don't know what to do.