Might As Well Say Hello

I have posted a few responses, not really intending to get sucked into yet another message forum and community website. But I have found myself getting drawn in mainly due to the tons of great info out there and the fact that so many people are supportive and helpful to the other members on this site. Support is so awesome to have, and so is having people who can relate to what I am doing. My skinny-minny husband, who has eaten anything he wants his entire life and never gained a pound, simply does not relate to my struggles with weight and cannot for the life of him understand what I am feeling. I give him kudos for trying though, and for being a loving guy who sees the beauty on the inside of me and who has repeatedly told me he cares most about my health and not about my looks.

That being said... I need to find some souls out there who can relate to what it is like not to be able to see your feet. So here is a little about me:

I am a 39 year old female, starting her journey to lose 133 pounds (though doctor says 100 is enough, I guess I disagree!). I have been overweight most of my life, but have been morbidly obese for the last 14 years or so. I started to have health issues and wanted to set a better example for my two sons so I began my journey on May 7, 2012. I only wandered over to the community recently. I live in the Pacific Northwest, my name is Pat. I am the proud mama of two beautiful boys and am a stay at home mom, which I discovered has given me a lot of time to snack - yikes!

I am not a member of a gym yet, having recently started a newspaper delivery route that involves just over 4 miles of very fast paced walking 6 days a week and on Sunday, I do a notch over 6 miles of the same with about 20 or so intermittent staircases that I run up to deliver papers at apartments . So 7 days a week, I am literally forced to exercise and frankly, I love it. I have always said I wished I could have someone whose sole job was to come to my house and kick my fat *kitten* out of bed in the morning to exercise. Now I have that in the form of a job whose income I really need to help my family make ends meet. That sense of responsibility, of obligation to someone or something else, for some weird reason motivates me in a way that I have not been in the past. In addition, I am on MFP and logging away my calories with brutal honesty.

I spent the first week of May observing my eating habits without changing a thing, just to see what I was really doing to myself. Then, after a week and the initial shock wore off, I really started focusing on changing my eating habits and finding good healthy recipes, low fat, low carb (I am now type 2 diabetic) and now the walking newspaper route has kicked the weight loss into high gear.

I know it will not last forever, but the job will also help spring for a gym membership to my local LA Fitness, where in a month or so, when the aches and pains subside a bit, I will start strength training and take it to yet another level. I am not well educated about exercise, having been a certified couch potato for many years, so I have really found the community helpful.

My starting weight on May 7 was 279.8 and I am currently 265.2. Working my way there and getting so damned inspired by you folks on MFP.

See you out there!

Pat