280, well 286 or so is just so close to 300. I remember being 149 and thinking if I got over 150, I would just die. And then I was 195 forever and thinking there is no WAY I'll let myself get over 200. And now here I am. I have got to draw the line somewhere.

Is ANYONE else trying to put the breaks on the 280s and start getting closer to 200 than 300? I would love to share encouragement with someone close to my weight range.

I am in the same boat you are sweetpea and I belong to a group called the 280 ladies. It's a wonderful forum here with women in, or started in the 280's, and are striving to reach wonderland. If you go to my profile and click my posts, you should she the forum, "280's to onderland". Please feel free to join us, we are a wonderful group. Good luck with your goals! I hope to see you around the forum!

I started out at 287 lbs - at only 5 feet tall.

Back then, I made my *main home* 100 lb club, in fact I still hang out there a lot.

I think you will find MANY people with your numbers and similar ones. It is chock full of support, encouragement, advice, and camaraderie. There is much to gain from being there amongst people who are at all different stages of this journey. Please take a look, pull up a chair and get comfy.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/100-lb-club-55/

I'm right there with you. I remember the days when I was unhappy with the way I looked at 170 (I'm 6'1" so 170 is ideal for me). I think ultimately this is why I gained so much weight...I could never be happy with my body and was always dieting. I never learned to be happy with my body and how to maintain my wieght.

I had a similar revelation recently. I found pictures from camp when I was a teenager. I always thought of myself as horribly fat but in the pictures, I'm exactly the same size as all the other cheerleaders. My friend that I thought of as being "the pretty one" was actually bigger than me in the hips and thighs. I had no idea. I always thought of myself as horribly fat so I know a lot of times my thinking was, why not have fast food at midnight? I'm already huge, what's one more hamburger. I hate how much of my life hinged on this wrong headed thinking.

Thanks for the info on where to look for more people in my weight range. I'm heading over!