I'm officially the fat girl...
 

yep; that's what I thought when I saw a picture of myself taken last weekend - my shame is now my avatar - and my motivation to do something about the gradual weight gain that I've been ignoring for the past three years. :o

I never had a problem with weight when I was younger but now that I am in my mid forties that's all changing - and fast! I knew I was gaining weight, and like an ostrich I stuck my head in the sand and even though I was buying larger sized clothes I still didn't face up to the fact that I was now 'the fat girl'. This picture is what bought it home to me. This picture is what will finally make me change my ways.

I don't know what I weigh at the moment - despite having a perfectly good pair of bathroom scales sitting idle in the en suite - I simply cannot bring myself to step on the darn thing. Maybe tomorrow I will be brave. Today however I am brave enough to say that things have to change, that I have to do something about the weight I am carrying and my poor health. Today I start. I hope that in this community I can find the friendship and support that I need for this journey and in return I hope that I can provide the same for others, who, like me are starting or travelling their own journey too.

welcome!! this is a great place and you will find all kinds of support groups and challenges to keep you going!

Hi Bindi! :welcome: I'm proud of you for taking this first step. It's a really big step! You're going to find lots of support here and you will lose the weight! So browse around and jump right in! Good luck!

You're not the fat girl! You are doing something about it! WTG joining and good luck on your journey :)

:wel3fc:!

Thank you everyone for the friendly welcomes and encouraging words! I've already spent several hours browsing the forum and am becoming motivated by the stories that some of your members have told. I am also impressed by what seems to be such a close knit community; there are some lovely words written by equally lovely people on this forum. I look forward to getting to know some of you. :)

Welcome, and good luck in your journey! :D

Welcome!! I look forward to seeing more of your posts and thoughts on the forums!

What do you see as your biggest challenge? I'm in my 40s as well and am flabbergasted as how much more difficult it is or that I'm making it at this age.

I think my biggest challenge so far has actually been accepting the size that I am now. I was never a big girl when I was young and weight has up until the last few years has never been an issue for me regardless of what I ate and did or didn't do. If I gained a few kilos it was easy to drop them and keep them off in a week or two. Now it's a totally new ball game.

In the future I am sure that I will face lot's of challenges but I suspect that my biggest one will be training myself to not just shove food in my mouth without thinking about what it is and whether I really need it. Old habits die hard, especially if they are habits that have been there for a lifetime.

Thank you for the welcomes. :)

Welcome to 3FC and good luck with your journey :)

Bindii!!! I welcomed you on another thread, but I'll be sure to welcome you on your own intro thread too.

Girl, I'm in the same boat as far as age, for sure. (late 40s here, will be 50 in Feb '14) YOU CAN DO THIS and anyway we can help we will! I'm so "pro-3FC" I'd PAY to be here (that says alot for a message board)
Looking forward to reading more of your posts!

The scale is just a number for reference. When you lose weight alot of times the scale doesn't move in number, but your clothes sure know you are losing weight. I was just posting on my NSV (non-scale victory) post in MINI-GOALS, that even though I'm not quiet at the 25# lost mark that I'm down a full 2 pants size (even 3 sizes if you count my new super comfy jeans I got).

You will be rejoicing here soon and sharing more stories with us. We are non-judgemental-- if you feel like venting, feel free-- have at it- we are all in this together- and support each other and LISTEN.

:hug: MrsKevin (aka: Suzanne) in Illinois, USA

Oh that was lovely! Thank you!

I can see that I'll be spending a lot of time here, and hopefully all of this good will and optimism will rub off on me. :)