Gamer Girl with 150 lbs to lose!

I've been on here for a bit now and thought I'd take a little time to say hello! I've been fluctuating within the same weight range for several years now without ever going over a certain amount. While I've always known that I obviously needed to lose the weight, I felt comfortable with the way I was. However in the last few months my body is beginning to tell me it can't deal with it anymore! The biggest issue I'm having is my hips and knees are starting to hurt, and I'm afraid of what that may mean for my future!

So I'm really starting to try and make some changes in my life. I'm in a period when I'm really rather burnt out on the games I play. (WoW, Diablo 3, not to mention an assortment of single player games.) At the same time I have some friends starting their own diets and exercise routines. Also my office is starting a "Biggest Loser" competition that I've signed up for. So with everything going on right now it felt like the right time to make some changes!

I'm not planning any drastic changes to my diet yet. I'm not necessarily even tracking everything I eat. However I am starting to calculate what's in some of my favorite meals so I can take a closer look to see what I need to change. And while I'm not tracking everything I eat, I'm still becoming very conscious of what I am eating and what I need to change. I'm a picky eater and I have a tough time changing my diet. I'm also an emotional eater. All together it makes it difficult for me to make drastic changes, so that's why I'm approaching my diet slowly and planning to make small changes over time.

The biggest change I want to make right now is exercise. I've got some things in mind that I can do around the house to work out. But here too I have to be careful. I'm morbidly obese and I've been extremely sedentary for a long time, so even the smallest exercises wear me out fast. Having said that I'm also looking into joining the YMCA so I can participate in some of their water exercise classes. Here again I have the benefit of getting a discount through work. The regular cost of joining wouldn't be too bad for me, but getting that discount is even more motivation. They've got two classes I'm considering joining. One is a regular water aerobics class. The other is a "Wellness" program designed for people with physical limitations, designed to help gain strength, flexibility, and endurance.

Aaaaaanyways!! Other then mentioning the games I play I haven't said much about myself! I'm 34 years old and live in southwestern Oregon. I love it here, and one of my motivations is that I want to be able to start spending a lot more time outdoors going on hikes and stuff! I love all things Japanese, and one of my hobbies while I'm at work is to make origami. I make tiny origami cranes about 1.5 cm across that I've then given to a bunch of people at work. heheh I work in a call center for a major gaming console manufacturer. I LOVE my job and the people I work with!

I also suffer from depression and some anxiety, which is a big part of my weight and my struggle to make changes. A year and a half ago I was unemployed and didn't even feel capable of working part time. I started making little changes in my life to overcome my depression, taking better care of myself, getting out more, etc. Those small baby steps lead me to feeling more confident about myself, and over the course of a year I was able to reach a point that I actually got out and started working full time! I count myself lucky with the job that I found, and want to hang onto it as long as I can!

My experience with overcoming my depression by taking baby steps is the approach I'm taking with my health. It's helped me understand what works for me and what won't work for me, so I'm doing my best to start myself out on the right path that will lead me to success!

Thanks for "listening" to my rambling, and hope to get to know some of you better too!