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Old 02-15-2013, 12:16 PM   #1  
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Default So I just turned 40...

I guess this is my intro. I've been visiting 3fc on and off over many years, through many different email addresses and user names mostly attached to various phases of my life. I think I started when I was in my mid 20s and newly married. I weighed about 235 pounds and was freaking out because I'd never been so large. Well, here I am 15 years on and I've dieted myself up to 289 pounds. I don't think I'm doing it right.

Many times I have said, "This is it, probably. I am going to TRY...I am going to THINK ABOUT...I am going to START..." but today I woke up and said, "I am going to DO..."

Forty has kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. I have friends my age who look ten years older than me, and friends who look fifteen younger. I have friends who constantly complain about this health issue or that ache and friends who run marathons. At some point I have to choose which I'm going to be before the choice is made for me.

Even though I've always been overweight, I've always been somewhere in the middle as far as fitness - not totally sedentary but not an athlete. I am starting to be one of those aches and pains people, my back hurt, I pinched a nerve, need to take my blood pressure meds, pre-diabetic, why can't I squat down and hop right back up? Why does my knee click when I run, OMG WHOSE BODY IS THIS?!?!?!

*deep breath*

So today I'm changing my life.
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Old 02-15-2013, 12:20 PM   #2  
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Happy birthday, and congrats on deciding to change your life! Hope u find success on your journey.
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Old 02-15-2013, 12:26 PM   #3  
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LOVE this: At some point I have to choose which I'm going to be before the choice is made for me.

Great job - sounds like you're READY ... yay! Good for you!
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Old 02-15-2013, 12:59 PM   #4  
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Welcome TheSecondHalf!! I know what you mean about starting to become one of those aches & pains people... I was finding myself going down that route, too. "Oh, I can't shovel, it will hurt my back." "Oh, I can't help you move that couch, it will hurt my back." ETC

You can turn this around, and we are here to cheer you on!!
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Old 02-15-2013, 02:08 PM   #5  
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I was telling my dad that I feel like an old person because it takes me ten minutes of yoga go get my back right in the morning. He assures me that if I can do ten minutes of yoga in the morning, I do not yet know what it feels like to be an old person.

My mom takes 20 something different medications for all her various issues. She's not terribly over weight, but she's just never taken care of herself and it's wearing on her. I don't want to be limited because of health problems and I do not want to take all those pills.

Thanks for the well wishes, I feel truly ready and determined to have a different kind of life. I feel very much the way I did when I finally gave up smoking - that time, I just knew it was different. This time, I just know it's different. I don't want to lose weight so much as I just want a different kind of life and if I start living that life, the weight loss will follow.
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Old 02-15-2013, 02:11 PM   #6  
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What specifically are you doing to change your life? Are you formulating a plan?
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Old 02-15-2013, 02:13 PM   #7  
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Welcome! Good luck on your plan! I'll be 40 in a month, so I'm right there with you!
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Old 02-15-2013, 03:07 PM   #8  
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to the 40-something board. I hope you find the support & encouragement you need.

Yes, it is better to make changes now BEFORE a doctor or you own body tells you, "Girl, you better make some changes or you are going to have some issues." I didn't think that my body would ever "let me down"...I was wrong. I have the aches, the pains, the grunts/groans in the AM. But my body hasn't let me down, I let it down. I wasn't eating right. I wasn't exercising. I wasn't drinking H2O. What was I to expect? Garbage in equals garbage out.

Being that I am only a few years from joining the 50-somethings...please learn from me. Those wonderful fried foods & sweets aren't as wonderful as being able to walk up a flight stairs or around the block without getting winded. Sitting there on the couch watching tv or at the computer isn't as fulfilling as going out for a walk & seeing nature's program unfold before you. Getting a great night's sleep because your body is content with how you treated it today instead of grunting & groaning to move the next day.

Dearest Second Half, do this for you. You'll be SOOOOO GLAD you did. You feel better, sleep better & definitely enjoy more of life. Remember if you take care of yourself you'll enjoy the years you have ahead of you!!! You OWE IT TO YOU!!!

GOOD LUCK!!! Stick with us! We'll help you! We'll encourage you! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
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Old 02-15-2013, 03:28 PM   #9  
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2nd half, what a great intro post. I'll be 45 in a few months and like you, I know people my age who run marathons and others who live like they're 90. I want to be a runner!

Keep posting here..there is tremendous support. We just started a St. Paddy's Day challenge..think about setting a goal(could be anything - weight, water, exercise, etc) and joining us! I post in that thread every day and it's really helped keep me on track.

Welcome to 3fc!
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Old 02-15-2013, 03:44 PM   #10  
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Thanks, natamars! I have a new friend who wrestled his life back from depression and obesity at 40 and his happiness is an inspiration. I don't think I'll ever have the interest in fitness that he does (there is no Ironman in my future, I just have zero desire) but I have a whole new perspective on what's possible.

MrsTryingAgain, I can relate to your whole post. It was a big wake up call for me when I jumped up out of my chair one day and made a dash down the hall and...oh, wait. I didn't. My BRAIN told my body to jump up and run down the hall to get the phone, my body stood up slowly, took a few steps to work itself out, and proceeded at a slow, cramped pace till I got there and the phone had stopped ringing. I thought girl, this is not your life! God blessed me with a healthy body and I've spent 40 years running it into the ground.

Happy early birthday, Eagle River Dee!

newleaf, I have a pretty detailed plan. My first plan is to spend some time every day planning, journaling, and focusing on the kind of life I want and how I can get there. I realize I drink way too much Diet Coke and I never ever get enough sleep so I'm chronically exhausted. Exhausted people don't make good choices. I've learned a lot from past attempts at weight loss and I know what works for me and what does not. I'm writing it all down, I'm keeping track. I am my new project.
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Old 02-15-2013, 04:38 PM   #11  
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TheSecondHalf you sound really committed, which is awesome! And you write really well, which is a bonus! I loved your description of running down the hall to catch the phone...

Last April, I decided to make health & fitness my job for my 47th year -- sort of similar to your decision to make it your project for your 40th year. It has worked out really great; I am hopeful that it will be the same for you. Happy Birthday!!
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Old 02-16-2013, 02:26 PM   #12  
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If you enjoyed the description, the actual event would have been very entertaining. I can only imagine the look of confusion when my brain realized my body was just not following commands anymore.

I feel really committed. I feel less like I'm doing some horrible thing because I have to and more like I'm really lucky to have a chance to turn my life around.

And I've gone a whole day and a half with no Diet Coke and no one has gotten stabbed or even spoken to harshly! WINNING.
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Old 02-16-2013, 09:45 PM   #13  
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Today I woke up with one thing on my mind: Izzo's salad. I don't know if Izzo's Illegal Burritos are everywhere, but they're really good for fresh salads. I love them. They are massive so you can easily get one and split it among your family as a side or it's a generous meal for two (most often I get one and have half for another meal). It's kind of hard to figure how many calories might be in it so to be on the safe side, I decided to eat conservatively all day and leave myself a big chunk of calories for my salad (I don't get dressing, just piles of vegetables, extra lime and cilantro and pico!!!). Good plan, right? Makes sense, doesn't it?

All was going well till I got home and found a huge bag of chips in the bag! Tortilla chips! FRESH. DIE. I love tortilla chips and some day I hope to be one of those people who can eat a reasonable number with salsa and get on with my life...but that day is not today. I know myself.

I have been staring at that bag for like, two hours. All through the evening and everything I've been doing, that bag has been on my mind. My daughter is finally in bed so I have two seconds to myself and of course, bee line for the bag. I opened up, I ate a few, and then I thought...WOMAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING???

I threw it out. It's in the trash, opened and poured out so I won't be tempted to rescue them. I mean, I've never done that before but who knows what can happen when a girl is left unobserved with a bag of tortilla chips. I can't decide if this means I'm crazy or brilliant. I know it means I'm not finishing that bag of chips. This is probably not a reasonable way to go through the rest of my life, but it's a reasonable way for me to get through today.

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Old 02-17-2013, 10:02 AM   #14  
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Brilliant, you are brilliant! It's all about choices...I've never heard of Izzo's before, but I see they have a website and a really great nutritional info calculator. And those yummy chips...are almost 700 calories, yikes! The salad looks fantastic, I love Mexican-style salads.

Welcome, happy birthday, and congratulations on making this your decade of health!
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Old 02-17-2013, 12:31 PM   #15  
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SecondHalf I can totally relate. I have thrown open bags of Jelly Bellys away, and also open bags of candy corn. I always think that "this will be the time" that I won't devour them, but it just is never so... Its funny how everyone is so different. An open bag of chips?? Meh.

And, I can relate to your comment " I feel less like I'm doing some horrible thing because I have to and more like I'm really lucky to have a chance to turn my life around." That's exactly it. When I was approaching 47, I wanted to be able to look back at 48 and say, "This is the year I turned things around." I think that's one of the beauties of being older, you really can see things in time perspective like that, or at least for me -- I'm able to do that now, when I couldn't younger. And so here I am, at the dawn of my 48th birthday, exactly 2 months from now, and I have totally rocked being able to say that 47 was the year I turned things around.

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