I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone who's taken the time to post here for me. You guys are really great!!

I'm not looking for anonymity. Anyone who knows me IRL knows that I'm not about to B.S. anyone and there's always room in my circle of friends.

Thanks so much for making me feel so welcome!!

Hi Ruth Ayn,

I'm 5'11" too, and I think 180 is a pretty realistic goal weight. I listed mine as 175 because it seems like it would give me a good BMI. I think once I get close to that goal, I'll probably adjust the ideal up or down.

Welcome!

I think 180 is realistic, too. I consulted a few resources from the USDA and various military organizations and was more than a little discouraged when I saw what my "ideal weight" was supposed to be. I've read anywhere from 130 to 140 for someone my age and my height. That's ridiculous if you ask me! I've been married for 7 years and I looked my best during that time at 220, but I didn't always feel my best.

My short-term goal is to get below 300 and stay there. So far, I'm bouncing in between 310 and 313 pretty consistently. I know it's just a matter of getting some exercise, but that's really hard right now. (I know that's an excuse.) I'm hoping that the work of physically moving into the new house will put a fire under my you-know-what to get me going.

Oh, moving.. what a pain. Hopefully the new house makes it worth it. Moving boxes and furniture definitely counts as exercise!

This will be our first home. My husband and I have been married for 7 years. We met and married while we were freshmen in college and spent the first 4 years in college housing. We went from apartment to apartment after that. In January, we both took new jobs and fell in love with the area, so we decided to start looking. We looked at four houses and made an offer on the fourth the same day we looked at it. Now, we're only 6 days away from closing!! It's a beautiful house and is ideal for us - it's only a half mile from work for both of us...a huge plus for incentive to walk/bike to save on gas.

1/2 mile... oh that would be so nice. Right now I'm about 1 mile away from where I work, but the traffic is bad and it's a huge hill, so I ride the bus.

My boyfriend and I are moving apartments soon (we hope) to be closer to his work. He currently drives 45 minutes or more to get to work. The only problem is that I am still job hunting and doing some temporary work about 1 mile away from our current apartment. If I get a job it may be far far away from the new apartment, and if I continue to do temporary work it will be 45 minutes commute for me! Oh well, he's done it for 2 years, now it's my turn.

You've made me jealous. I really want a house. Hopefully I'll get a job soon and we can settle permanently somewhere. There's no way I'm just going to buy a house with only one of us employed! Oh yeah, and there's no way I'm buying a house without at least a marriage proposal, but I think that may be in the immediate future

Congratulations - in advance! You'll have to keep me posted on when the big questions is popped! I was so surprised by my proposal that I could hardly say "yes" I was crying so hard.

Buying a house is a huge commitment - I think it was harder to sign the mortgage papers than it was to walk down the aisle! It was time, though, and now that it's so close, I'm finding more excuses to buy the home decorating magazines and to stop at Lowe's for ideas. It's super exciting, but nerve-wracking as well.

I am also excited about being so close to work. I used to cycle all the time, but stopped doing it when I got married and subsequently gained weight. Now that we'll have a house and a garage, that's the first housewarming gift I'm going to give myself.

I can sympathize with your boyfriend, though, and his commute. My last semester of school, my husband had already taken a job 3 hours away from me. I moved back in with my parents so I wouldn't have a 3 hour drive, but I still had an hour and a half one-way, five days a week. It was brutal! So, I think I've earned this much shorter commute.

Good luck with your job search! What do you do?

We've lived together for 3 years, and he moved 500 miles to follow me, so I think we both feel there is no "question" to pop.

We bought a ring this weekend, so it's official! Yay!

Oh, about the job: I have an MS in physics. So what do you do with that? It's the question of the day. I'm looking at jobs in electrical engineering, design engineering, and application engineering mostly. I have an interest in medical physics, though I have little practical experience, so I keep an eye on those types of things as well.

What do you do? I'm assuming from your name that you're some sort of engineer

Sorry I'm late to chime in. Welcome to the group!!!

~Dee

kittymuse: CONGRATULATIONS!!!! It's wonderful news that you made it official!
Physics is a tough field, but it's broad enough that I'm sure you'll be able to find a job you like. I don't know much about the medical field at all, let alone medical phsyics, but if you've got the drive, I'm sure you can find an employer who will look past any lack of experience. Good luck!


newfiedarling: Thanks so much! And no one's ever too late!

just wanted to say hello and introduce myself....I am a professional lifelong dieter who has probably lost and regained at least a half ton...almost literally...anyway I'm at it again even though I had promised myself that I'd give up after my last successful weight loss.

I'm 58...mother to 3 grown sons with wives.....and grammy to 2 delightful little boys...I love to quilt and read and travel.....Once again I find myself in the position of needing to lose another whole person....and I'll be more than appreciative of any support you all may be able to offer.....

I tend to be a "glass half full" kinda "gal"....but just have messed up this weightloss thing so many times its hard to maintain a positive outlook. I have been VERY lucky to escape many of the disasterous side effects of lifelong obesity though I have a very bad family history and know that I really need to take care of it soon......My doctor has been pushing for bypass surgery but I'd really rather give it at least another try this way...

Thanks and I look forward to meeting you all....

Baby Steps

It's great to have you here!

You'll definitely find what you're looking for here with us


Linda