Hello, everyone.

I am a recently diagnosed type2 diabetic who, at 5'7" and 220 pounds, really needs to lose a lot of weight. Just ask my doctor! In addition to all the other great benefits of getting down to a healthy size, I would be able to reduce the amount of medication/insulin I need and I really want to do that. I decided not to wait until Jan 1 to start all this, so I will begin an improved eating/exercise regimen tomorrow. (You have to start on a Monday, right?)

To begin with, I will keep my calories to 1600 or less and try to keep the carbs at each meal so low that I don't have to use insulin to compensate. MyPlate will be a big help in keeping track of both. Additionally, I am going to start ramping up my activity level from its current level of nothing by walking outside or on a treadmill at least 5 days, and learning how to do some kind of at-home strength routine 3 days a week. Oh yeah! and I need to start drinking water instead of diet pop.

My main question today involves "support." My doctor was very firm that "support" could make a huge difference in my success at this and mentioned WW, forming a walking club and this forum --- but I'm not sure what she meant exactly. My husband has been very supportive of my emotional rollercoaster since the diabetes diagnosis and will help me with cooking/exercise as much as his work allows. My son is emotionally supportive but lives at college. The rest of my family --- the less said, the better.

Long story short, I guess my question is: what kind of support do you receive from participating here at 3FC?

Thanks for listening!

Welcome. You'll find that this is a great support group. Take a few minutes and read some threads. You'll see that 3fc members are a great bunch. Mostly women, mostly committed. Sometimes "off plan," Mostly on. There are challenges you can join. You can ask advice. You can get a gentle kick in the butt when needed. It's like a family with all the good stuff and none of the bad.

It looks like your first line of support is already in place - your husband and son. We are "back-up." there is no physical support - we can't meet over healthy meals! But we can cheer and pat backs with the best of them.

Great job in deciding to start right now. You have a month until the holidays throw a monkey wrench into things - and in that time you can see substantial weight loss and maybe the push you need to stay on plan over the very trying days of family gatherings filled with lots of great food.

There are groups for members dieting with obstacles, and groups that are age based. This section of the forum is based on members who want to lose (or have already lost) about 100 pounds. Everyone is welcome, though. You'll find that particular "problems" face us in a particular set of circumstances - this is where I got help when I was trying to lose. Now I find the friendships important to maintaining the loss. I think you picked a great place to jump in. Your plan sounds sensible, too. Good luck. I hope to see you around!

Lin

Welcome! Your plan sounds like a good start, though be wary of under-feeding yourself initially, it can make cravings and ravenous hunger worse than just eating a slightly higher calorie level and losing more slowly.

Also, if you're a diabetic, do consider a plan like Atkins or Dr. Bernstein's, which will give you superior control over your blood sugar as well as lessening cravings. Poke around the boards, there is a lot of excellent information and support here

I love 3fc b/c it's a place where you can say how you REALLY feel and don't worry about being judged. Sometimes I can't share how much I don't feel like working out to my skinny friends who are already in shape and don't need to lose a pound, b/c they just don't understand. I definitely can't talk to them about the fact that Im pre-diabetic.

Here you find a lot of people who GET what you're going through or who have been there and can give advice. Whenever Im feeling lazy or down, I can come here and talk to others and it always makes me feel better! Also, you can share your accomplishments here and get praise and advice that keeps you going!

Quick question: how are you tracking your calories/carbs? I use an app on my phone called "MyFitnessPal" or "LoseIt". A lot of people here use these apps as well and Ive found tracking my food everyday has helped me be a lot more successful w my weight loss this time around! Check it out if it sounds like something youre interested in

Support on 3FC for me was vital because I didn't have the support for my weight loss goals in real life (mostly my fault because I didn't tell people I was planning to lose weight). The kind of support I've gotten here ranges from advice for when I'm stuck, encouragement, motivation, joining challenges which keep me on track, staying accountable to people, and just generally having people who get how hard this journey is and won't get bored with me going on ad nauseum about it. Unless someone is doing the journey with you or has been through it, it can be a little hard for them to understand how exactly to help without getting on your nerves.

Thank you everyone for the welcome! I have been lurking for a few days and it was the responses I saw on other threads here that convinced me this was the place for me.

LinJbr: I hope you're right about getting some control in place before Christmas. I don't know how your grocery stores are, but mine put out the Christmas goodies before Halloween. Sheesh! Thanks for pointing me at the obstacle boards. I will definitely be checking out the threads on the diabetes one.

Arctic Mama: Interestingly, my endo doc pointed me at both Atkins and the Berstein Solution. As you might imagine, I have a bit of a steep learning curve at the moment in understanding how to handle the diabetes, so I will definitely look into these sources of info. Thanks for the tips!

ASaladandaDream: (such interesting names!) I never thought about how nice to might be to talk to someone who understands why its different to exercise at 220 than it is at 120 --- good point! I am trying MyPlate to keep track of calories and carbs. As for that pre-diabetes thing? Please use me as the bad example and don't let that condition go to full-blown diabetes. Trust me --- you really don't want this. Thanks for the good ideas!

ToastedSmoke: I am beginning to get the support idea --- my husband really does try to understand, but he has been 175-180 his whole adult life eating whatever he wants and he can't really understand how hard this can be. And you guys deliver kicks to the behind? LOL I will certainly be needing some of those! Thanks for taking time to explain.

I have been feeling overwhelmed since I was diagnosed, but now I am starting to feel like I am in charge again, not the disease. A lot of information, some planning and some positive activity have made a heck of a difference in my attitude. And there is soooo much info on this site!

So, again, thanks for the welcome. (A dancing carrot? Really?)



ROFLMAO! I do like that!

Sounds like you have a great plan in place! Good for you. And yes, there is a lot of support and encouragement here. You can do it.

Welcome Winterstorm! I think it's wonderful that you're starting now and not waiting until Jan. 1st.

For me the strongest element of support at 3fc's was seeing that I was not alone in my struggle with weight. I loved the 100 lb forum immediately and it's still my favorite place.

I wish you all the best with your goals.