29 y/o woman looking to lose 135 lbs, looking for buddies.

Hi there, I have been tracking for about 3 weeks, but am just now introducing myself officially on the message board. I am 29 years old and from BC, Canada. I am 5' 7.5" and currently about 271 lbs, aiming to cut that weight roughly in half. My weight loss goal incorporates building some solid muscle, as I used to lift weights and love being strong (without getting to a point of looking like the male lead singer of an 80s hair band). I despise the word "tone," when it is used as a verb, because I've heard it used too often as a buzz word for people afraid of their own muscle mass:huh:

I have a disability, in the form of Fibromyalgia (which these days, based on the latest neuroimaging studies, is pointing to some craziness involving abnormalities in the CNS: brain, nerves, spinal fluid, etc. Essentially, it's my brain overreacting to stimuli with a LOT more body pain and fatigue than what a person without it would experience). I also have a bad mid-back, which to lesser degrees can cause me some frequent low-grade nausea, and to greater degrees can cause a massive, ribcage-engulfing pain. Fun times! I do believe that losing the excess weight and strengthening my muscles will relieve my symptoms, maybe even kick this thing into remission, but it will be hella difficult... so a support system is a must!:bigsmile:

On the bright side, I am also a culinary arts grad, which allows me to concoct (when I have the energy and the funds) some tasty, healthy dishes, which I just might share the recipes to. I'm trying to eat more such things and stop being such a junk food junkie. I'm also available to offer some culinary troubleshooting for my friends' culinary adventures.

So yeah, anyway: looking for new friends from the "100+ Club", both near and far from their goal, similar age group (25 - 40ish), similar gender, similar height. Mostly. Exceptions are welcome. Bonus thing in common: if your body shape is an "hourglass with most of the sand at the bottom," like mine, then great... you can totally feel my pain about tree-trunky legs!:laugh:

Lina