Hi everyone, I am new to this site. I have never been online with a support group. I am 30yrs old and weigh 450lbs. In joining this site I am hoping to find inspiration to get motivated towards weightloss. Everyday I wake up and want to get started and know in my heart that I have to or else, but for some reason I don't. I just recently graduated from nursing school and I can't even work yet because of my weight. I know that most of you ladies know exactly what I am talking about, I haven't really had the chance to talk to anyone near my weight. All my friends and even family are thin. Even my two sister are thin. I have a very supportive family, and my husband is great, however even with all the support from family and friends I have not been able to get motivated. I know it is all up to me, and I have to do it for myself, but the motivation is just not there. Any suggestions are appreciated. Congradulations to all you ladies that are on the right track to losing weight. Jeana

Zelma you look so beautiful and happy, not that you weren't before, but you can see the happiness now. You are truly an inspiration to me, when I see your before pictures I see me. I also got married in a dress I had to settle for because putting on a traditional white gown would have been unrealistic, not to mention look awful. You have every reason to be so proud of yourself, you did it!!! Keep it up. Thanks for sharing your story. Jeana

hello jeana.. you have come to a great web site for support. isnt that zelma amzing? she is so inspiring. as you can tell i have a little slip lately but the main thing for both of us is to make a start .. and then committ to it heart and soul and i can tell you it is dang hard but zelma and all of these people are living proof it can be done!

Jeana~Welcome!! I have recently started getting more active with the group again. And this is a great support group. Everyone here is so nice and will try to help you with any suggestions or questions you have.

I don't have much to post today. I think I am starting to get a cold. I hope not. I just feel so tired. But I am going to try to at least walk 10-15 minutes today. I also bought a few lean cuisine meals. I tried one and they seem to be good. We usually just cook and make our dinners. But my husband works shift work and that would be something quick for me to just pop in the mircowave. Well I hope you all have a good day!

Michelle

Jamila - I would faint these days if I lost 5 lbs in a week! Keep up the good work and understand your weight loss will slow down but as long as you keep working towards your goal, you'll get there.

Jen - As for firming creams, I think they help minimally. I figure I need to put lotion on anyway, might as well put something on that will help even if it is just a little.

Girls, I posted some pics to the pic page, a few pics of me in my wedding dress and then another pic of me with my fiancee a few months ago.

Luan – Good to see you!

Nightkatt – Your lambs are so cute! Thanks for posting those pics.

Kim – I definitely wouldn’t worry about the pizza etc. For me it is all about improvement. We aren’t going to go from eating not so great to perfect all at once. In fact I don’t think we can ever expect perfection (and the definition of perfection could also be debated). I want to be able to eat anything I want in moderation and I have pizza from time to time. However I am much more picky about the pizza I do eat and I always have a salad with it so that I don’t eat as much.

Zelma – I don’t think that your wanting to look at your own photo has to do with vanity (ok that might be part of it). But, it reminds me of when people hang their college diploma on the wall. Your picture represents your amazing journey, which encompasses a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual journey. It embodies hope, determination, hard work, sweat, tears and so much more. It makes total sense to me that you want to keep reminding yourself of your amazing accomplishment.

Patti – Good for you for getting back in the game! You can do it!

Jeana – Welcome! That is very tough that you can’t work at nursing yet. I saw you posted on the LAWL boards – I don’t know if you are doing a structured plan, but if not one of the best things to do is start small. I lost my first 10 pounds just by cutting out sweet drinks and making somewhat better choices (the chicken sandwich over the burger, not eating ice cream every night for dessert, etc.) Instead of fixing a day and saying “as of this day forth all things will change” sometimes it is easier to ease into a new lifestyle. There is no beginning or end to this – it is every choice we make every day.

Nelie – Your dress is beautiful! And you are very pretty. You and your BF look very happy together.

Today was my normal weigh in day, but I ended up having Chinese food last night so I am postponing until the weekend. I am happy to report an NSV. I have been feeling like my body has been changing and I can feel myself getting stronger. For the past several days in a row I have been able to take the stairs to my apartment like a normal person – not one at a time. My knees are feeling better and my leg strength is definitely improving. Hopefully soon I won’t be panting when I get to the top either! I can’t believe tomorrow is September already. This year is flying by!

nancy congratulations on the NSV !

Well my official weigh in this morning has made my day I almost make it to my secret wish of TwoTown ... but it looks like that will be next weeks target instead ... even tho the ticker says 300 its actually 300.9!! I am so happy ... that means in the 6 weeks I have lost almost 23 pounds!!

I got dressed this morning and my pants are getting baggy so I am thinking of getting a cheap pair or two to tide me over ... I dont expect to lose that much again in the next 6 weeks, but after the crap few weeks I have had personally Im just elated that it hasnt got me off track altogether And TOM is still visiting me too (grrrr).

My dad is coming early today to take us up town to do some chores and get some things for my daughter for school today (she has a cooking exam), so Im going to be rushing around which is good cos my hunny is coming home today (YIPPEE)

Jeana - Hi there and welcome to one of the most inspirational and supportive sites I have found online There is no judgements here, just constant boosts every time you slip or have a bad day. Its a case of if you have a bad day, just learn from it and move on .. tomorrow is another new beginning So dont be shy, start gabbin! Oh and dont set large targets to start with ... sure have an ultimate goal at the back of your mind .. but to start with, just focus on 10-20 pound lots perhaps?? And not necessarily on a time limit either! Huggies and have fun and congrats on your new beginning today

Kim - no beating yourself up .. hun you are doing fantastic ... and I personally think that to save you from binging (which is something I would do) its better to treat yourself to a few of your old foods in the early stages than going without completely and making your system crave them which just makes your job all that much harder. The way I look at it .. if you are going to cheat at least enjoy the moment, dont regret it, otherwise that slip was a real waste instead of an oops to learn and move on from ... Huggies

Zelma - Hun I have that pic that is in my profile thingy on the side in my room and there are another 3 different poses in the lounge ... its not vanity that made me put them up.. they are the first pics where I have felt anything but an ugly duck so I want to remind myself of what I am, in a positive light .. rather than my usual negative one .. and when I reach my goal weight I am gonna be definitely posing for more and they will be BIG pics to hang on my wall. I mean .. in peoples homes, they put family photos, so why shouldnt you have pics of you in there too .. youre part of the family Be proud of them hun, you deserve it!

Patti - Huggies and great job jumping back on in

Crabapple .. the lambs are calling .. I gotta get going, will catch up with everyone else again later ... oh and the lambs ... I heard about a couple that had a bunch of orphan lambs to rehome and thought I would like one as a pet ... but then I thought it would get lonely so secretly planned on getting too (my hunny still thought we would just be getting one lol) ... its just a bonus that they will be cheap lawnmowers in a couple of months rofl.

Huggies and OP days everyone!!

Thanks so much to everyone for welcoming me to the site, and to answer your question nancy no I do not have a structured plan. I have alot of emotional issues along with my weight, as i'm sure many of us do. Just being able to talk to all of you ladies and admitting to myself that I cannot ignore it anymore, and that this is a very serious problem that needs to be delt with is my first step. Admitting all of this not only to myself, but to others is really hard for me. My next step is going to be to sit and really think about a plan that will work for me, and is not unrealistic. Again thanks everyone for being so nice and helpful, and please feel free to give any suggestions. Jeana

nightkatt keep up the good work! i have crept back up over but i am recommitted again after one week of being ill and grabbing fast and easy and then one week of the so whats i am getting back on the band wagon.so i know how excited you will be to get in to twoville and i hope i get there AGAIN with you!

Jeana......you've definitley come to the right place!

Jeana - Welcome to a wonderful place! I truly hope that you find it as comforting, welcoming, friendly and understanding as I do.
Thank you SO much for the lovely comments. I am so glad that I can be an inspiration for others. My goal now is to show people that it CAN be done. I have no idea what the final trigger was to get me to do this, but I just suddenly realised that it 'wasn't an option' anymore. From that point on, I started making small changes to my lifestyle until now I can hardly remember what life was like before healthy eating and regular exercise. As others have said, maybe just plan to make small changes at first. The weight won't pour off you, but then again, you don't want that to happen anyway. Slow and steady wins the race.
I look forward to seeing many more posts from you and please ask as many questions as you want. We are all here to support, encourage and offer whatever advice we can.

Nancy and Katt - THANK YOU! Both of you have put some reasonable perspective on my 'thing' I have with photos at the moment. I truly was beginning to worry that my big head was getting a little out of control. You have made me realise that there is a lot more to this than vanity. I suppose that if awards were handed out for weight loss then I probably would have won one by now. Seeing as there aren't awards, then my photos are my awards and I am displaying them with pride. Of course, the compliments don't hurt either.lol
Thank you both again. What you have said has probably been stated by other people before, but seeing both of your posts at once just struck something inside me and made me see it more clearly.

Well, I'm off to get ready for work. I am reading to about 300 kids this morning as I registered us to take part in a National Simultaneous Storytime. Thousands of kids around Australia will be sharing the same book at the same time, which sounds like fun. I have our Kindy (4 years) to grade 3 students coming to listen to the book, which is about a baby orangutan saying good night to all of his body parts before he goes to sleep. It is really sweet. I have asked the kids to bring their favourite bedtime toy and to wear their slippers and dressing gown. I will also share other 'bedtime' books. It is a cold and wet day today, so that should be perfect.

Oh... the cold and wet won't be perfect for our senior classes, who are having their sports carnival today. The juniors had theirs on Wednesday, when it was lovely and warm and sunny. Today we are expecting showers and 80F, which may be warm for some people, but it is quite cold for us.

Catch you all soon.

Take care,

Zelma

Zelma - did you find out if you won or not yet?

Luan - We fly over to Sydney for the luncheon on Sept 19 and we are called the night before to let us know who the winner is. I am being given a wonderful lesson in patience.