Hi guys!

Well, Two years ago I went on a serious diet. I lost 71 lbs in a year with about 4 months in the middle where I was just maintaining. I went from 251 to 180. Then I started dating my best friend of 8 years, and was happy with myself and happy with my life, and just stopped caring. Before I knew it I had slipped back into my bad habits. After a year with my boyfriend and a year of those bad habits, I'm back somewhere around 230...and not happy about it at all. I was down to a size 14, and now I'm almost back up to a 20. I was in Large shirts, and now I'm back in XXL. I feel sick, I feel my rolls when I sit down....I don't feel healthy anymore, and I'm sick of it.

I'm having my tonsils taken out on Wednesday, April 20th, so I've decided that will be the first day back on my diet (since I won't be able to eat much anyways...it will be easier to fight the hunger when it hurts to eat. lol), and this time I'm not alone. My boyfriend will be going on the diet with me. He's around 6'2" or 6'3" and starting off at around 330. We both have a long way to go, but I think doing it together and supporting each other will make it easier. His sister is also interested in dieting with us, and I've sent her a link to this website so she might join and start posting as well. We'll be following the weight watchers flex points program, but we're not going to be paying or going to meetings or anything. My mom went a while back and we have a bunch of the materials just laying around...so we'll be doing it ourselves.

I want to actually make the lifestyle change this time. I would love to become one of those healthy, active people that I envy so much. My only problem is that I've had 2 foot surgeries on my left foot, and one foot surgery on my right foot, and too much high impact stuff is going to lead to more foot surgeries. I'm not sure exactly what exercise I can do that isn't high impact. I used to be a gym rat and go to the Zumba classes and run on the treadmill a lot, but then I had the surgeries, and now running is extremely painful for me, and they stopped holding the Zumba classes at a time that I could attend...so I cancelled my gym membership. If anyone has any suggestions for low impact exercises (videos, specific exercises, or anything really) that I can do, I would appreciate it. I DO have a stability ball, but I haven't seen any videos for stability ball workouts...so if anyone knows of one, please let me know.

I hope that the forum is still as active as it was when I was here before, because I remember being able to get a lot of support from the people on here. I'm going to take the next few days to get new groceries, clean out the cabinets and the fridge, and maybe have one last fast food meal...and then I'll be back and ready to go!

I'm no longer in my 20s but I did have my tonsils out a few years ago at age 30. It definitely acted as a catalyst for me dropping weight; I had been at a bit of a plateau and the surgery and resulting pain helped me drop 5 pounds! It was just the springboard I needed to get to a desirable weight and maintain it. Good luck!

How about the elliptical for lower impact cardio? And lifting weights is great for losing weight too and can have practically no impact. There are TONS of dvds available for weight training, or you could do it at the gym if yo decide to join again.

The forum is VERY active and everyone on here is still as supportive as ever! Good luck!

Do you have access to a gym with water aerobics classes? I did that as my gym portion of a health and nutrition class in college and I really enjoyed it. Besides that fact that the heater wasn't working the WHOLE semester, it was fun.

Would you be willing to get a Gazelle? I looked at one for a long time before deciding against it. But, I have heard wonderful things for people with knee/leg/foot problems or just plain ol' arthritis/fibro/etc.

Is walking long distances painful? If you google walkjogrun there is a website by that name (basically just add .com but I know I can't link it) that allows you to see peoples marked walking/jogging/running routes, the mileage for the route, elevation throughout the route and approximately how long the walk would take. I like making my own walking routes near places I regularly go (work, grocery shopping, weight watcher meetings, etc.). It helps keep me motivated because I know I can come back and track it on a diary and post to facebook. There are all kinds of other apps for smartphones and iPod touch for walking/tracking your walks with GPS. I just started walking a week and 1/2 ago and now if I don't walk a day, I feel grumpy and slow.

Good luck!

Yoga! Get a flow or power yoga video (not a gentle hatha, although there is a time and place for those too) and get that heart pumping. There are even free full-length videos on YouTube for beginners and intermediate yogis.

Quick unsolicited advice that you can totally ignore if you want to- but it sounds like with your "one last fast food meal" and a looming start date are preparing to leave your life behind and enter boot camp ^_^. I subscribe to the belief that a lot of folks here do that this is a lifestyle commitment of nourishing the body rather than entering into a punitive diet phase. For me it helps me stay on track to feel like I am gaining health, balance, and a love for delicious nutritious foods, not sacrificing a life of pleasure. Fast food, pizza, and ice cream all have a place in my 'new life', just a smaller one.

Again, everyone has their own methods and mindsets for dieting, so I definitely don't want to cram the one that works for me down your throat. You've obviously got what it takes to lose weight and get healthy so if that works of course go for it. Just sharing what has helped me navigate through the inevitable challenges of gettin' healthy. Best wishes for your journey!

fatburner - Thanks so much! I have definitely been hoping that having my tonsils out will help me lose some weight since I'll be in so much pain that I really won't want to eat. I know the first week of a diet, you're generally very hungry, so I figured that would be a good time since I'd be very hungry anyways, but not be able to eat much of anything. That way my stomach can shrink without me really being tempted. lol

tiffany - I know that everyone says ellipticals are low impact, but I tried them at the gym and they hurt my foot almost as bad as the treadmill. Whenever I put any pressure on the ball of my foot, that's what hurts. The bones that go to my toes grew differently, and some of them are lower then others, which causes these large points that point down in the bones around the ball of my foot, which makes bumps on the ball of my foot. When I stand on the balls of my feet its almost like those bones are trying to stab through my skin. I've had to have one on each foot corrected already, and now there is a 2nd one on my right foot that's getting pretty bad. I can't even walk around barefoot it hurts so much.

MrsD - My gym offered water aerobics classes, and I always wanted to try them, but they were offered at a time where I was at work or on my way to work. Work is about an hour away from my house and I work from 7am to 7pm monday through saturday. I also work on Sundays from 9:30am-1:00pm....so it was hard to find classes around the schedule I've got. Also, walking is painful sometimes, it depends on how much I've walked so far in the day. By the time I get home from work though, my feet are absolutely killing me...because I'm on my feet almost all day. I used to want to walk, I actually wanted to train for a marathon, but I don't see that happening anymore. I don't know what a Gazelle is, but I'll look into it.

indiblue - I've tried yoga before, but I was just so confused and I couldn't follow the instructor. Is there a simple video that explains the different moves and things that I could start with? lol. Also, I do plan on changing my lifestyle, but for me it's particularly hard because I am extremely addicted to fast food. I crave it, it gives me a high, and I come down and crash and want that high again and crave it some more. The last time I was on a diet, I was doing so well...I had been almost a year with little to no fast food, but for 2 days the power was out at my house and I didn't have a way to cook anything so I was eating fast food because I couldn't afford anything else...and I couldn't stop. I just gave up on the diet and started eating fast food again. I'm one of those people who has been known to occasionally have fast food 3 meals a day, but not often. It's the thing I'm going to struggle with the most, and I know if I don't give myself a last meal I'll say to myself "well I didn't have a last meal, this will be it"...but if I give myself that last meal, it's got that word "last" in front of it...and it just seems more definitive. It makes it easier for me to avoid it for a month or two until the cravings start to get easier to fight.

It is sooooo good to see you back on here...

I've gained a few pounds (about ten) but I work to take them off and every few weeks I gain them back and then I work them off...It is hard to maintain...it is hard to be normal... I have been hanging out at 147-159ish for a while now.... and I'm happy but it is hard to know the number could be lower and it is so hard to actually get there

Good luck to you, you have done it before and you know what works

Cycling is extremely low impact, and great cardio. I always am drenched when I leave a cycling session. You don't even need to have a gym membership. You could set up a bicycle with a stand so you can bike indoors.

Haley - it's great to see a familiar face! You look fabulous, and I cannot wait to get to that point.

luposlipaphobia - that's actually something i've been looking into. I'm thinking about training for the ms150 with a friend for next year. =)