[TyraBoots]

SO I am mentally gearing up to getting the bulk reduced. I am 20st 8lbs. I have a 3year old that I am now having trouble running around after. Also I think I may have sleep apnoea as I wake suddenly gasping for breath.
I absolutely detest being this heavy, it affect my life so adversley. Yet even after attending an obesity clinic, I still CANNOT get my finger out and do anything about it.
Anyone else been in the same boat?

[Mazarin]

Yes and I am still rowing.... I've been saying for years I would do something, and this year things where going very well, but then I got a bad bout of depression and went down hill....

However I have met some many + people here at 3FC and there is so much support so I am making 2006 my real chance, as I am happier than ever right now and got a lot of things resolved that I hope I can finally get my weight sorted...

[veggie]

My heaviest was 20st 7 one new year My brother who is much thinner has sleep apnoea I could not stand to sleep with one of those machines I tried a sleep apnoea machine mask on once it was horrible. Tyra, I hate being this heavy too I am the fattest at fat club and have yo yo ed for 10 years.

[kykaree]

I was over 19 stone at the beginning of the year. Now I'm 14 stone 7 pounds.

It's really hard to face getting the weight off when you have so much to lose, but you'll have so much to gain just by losing a bit of it!

I still have about the same amount as I have lost to go before I reach anywhere near goal weight. But already I have loads more energy, confidence and am generally happier not lugging all that weight around. Not to mention the nicer clothes I can buy in stores other than Evans!

The biggest change for me has to be that I have been positive and open about my situation. I tell everyone who'll listen how fat I am (I did at the beginning) and what I was trying to achieve. Everyone I know has taken ownership of my weight issues, I get emails at work asking me how I'm going, people at the gym compliment me on every little new change in my body shape, it's fabulous!

You will do it, but you have to really want it, and you have to work at it, everyday, it's not easy, but it's incredibly rewarding.

[coley144]

Yes! Had a bigger boat that you though. You can do it. The only thing I've learn so far is that you just have to keep going..and going..and going...

And then your boat gets smaller! Hey maybe one day we'll both be there on our tiny rafts!

[Mazarin]

Oh dear I think I am the heaviest.... @ 24 stone some pounds....

I am determined to lose at least 5 stone next year! I don't care how long it takes!

[tranquility]

I've come to the conclusion that dieting is very like stopping smoking, in that you need to tackle the reasons for overeating/eating the wrong things first. I've become obsessed with food since having started dieting years ago and now refuse to go on a 'diet', which is why I want to try the GI diet to try to change my habits permanently. I've started adopting some of the foods but will start in earnest after the new year.

It's very hard, we all want a miracle cure, but we all also know that we are the only one's that can do it for ourselves. You have the power in you to do it, it's just finding it first

[Dippy Chip]

I don't think it matters how much weight you need to lose - the fact that we're all here, committed to doing something about it, and willing to offer support to others that are in the same boat (that poor overloaded boat!) is the most important thing. It may take some of us years to get to goal, but as long as we keep chipping away at it, we'll get there in the end, and have some fun along the way.

I started back in the middle of March with 7 stones to lose. Not as much as some of you, but still a pretty hefty weight for someone who's only 5'1" tall. Now, I've lost almost 4 stones, and I'm over half way. I don't care how long it takes me to lose the next 3-4 stones, 'cos I'm already feeling like a new woman. You don't just feel the benefit of weight loss when you get to goal, you start feeling it almost from the outset.

And losing weight and seeing the scales drop can be quite a heady, exciting feeling - I'm not all that sure I'm going to enjoy maintenance, so I'm damn sure I'm going to get all the pleasure I can out of the loss part of this journey!

All the best, Janey