[Chiema]

Hi all!! I am new here and I am so desperate to lose some weight. I went on a diet (again) last January. It was not a great diet I lost 20 lbs. Then in June I went back on a diet (The Atkins Diet). It worked as long as I was very strict. So in January I weighed 345lbs. Now I weigh 295lbs. So as you see I have made some head way but for the past month and half I have been VERY BAD!!

The reason I went on a diet (again...) was because my husband is in the National Guard and was sent to Iraq. I wanted to change and look different because I owe him this. He loves me for me but sometimes I am uncomfortable around even him. He weighs about 200lbs. There is a big difference.

So here I am. With the coming up holidays and my husband coming home in the middle of January I am now a little desperate for some more support. I have my mother but her support is not as effective as I had hoped. She was suppose to go on the diet with me but didn't. So does anyone have any suggestions that can help me? Thanks

Sandy

[Misti in Seattle]

Hi Sandy

Yay I get to be the first to say !!! You have come to a great place for support and encouragement.

Please join in the chat sessions, most of which take place in the numbered threads... currently at #1060 but that changes rapidly. You are also welcome to check out our Exercise thread where we each set a goal and try to make it for the month.

I look forward to getting to know you. And congratulations on all the weight you have lost!

[Nightkatt]

Hey there Sandy .. WELCOME ON IN!!

You have done great so far .. and Im sure your hubby will be proud of however well you do and will just be happy to be home I know what you mean about being a bigger than your hunny .mine has lost weight and gone down to 175-185 pounds!! Mind you he is 2" shorter than me lol .. but still .. that is like 100 pounds different and its a little uncomfortable when we go out sometimes cos I keep thinking people are looking and wondering why he is with me when Im so much bigger than him etc .. silly of me cos I know he loves me ... but its still one of those feelings one tends to get when we are the sizes we are

This site is the best non-calorie fix I can think of .. (thats one of the phrases one of our ladies uses for this place) .. its a good distraction to come in here to post or read when you are battling an urge to binge ... or when you have had a bad day .. or a good day ... having a place like this with women (and some men lol) who are going through the same problems and issues make it so much easier to do things because you dont have that feeling of being alone.

Check out one of the numbered threads and just jump right on in .. sometimes it takes a while to work out who everyone is .. and the threads do tend to zoom on occasion lol .. but they are fun and friendly .. a great place for support when you need to vent .. a place filled with ideas and wonderful words of wisdom .. so I really hope we see you over there.

As we have all learny exercise is a BIG part of this journey ... and so to help challenge ourselves there is the exercise thread (a new one each month) which is pinned to the top part of the 300+ area ... set yourself a challenge for minutes to exercise .. it doesnt matter how big or small .. the idea is to start moving and incorporating it into your everyday life ... then keep track of your progress when you do the exercise by posting in there and adding on to the group minutes (aiming for group total of 20000 a month to try to reach 200,000 minutes of exercise for the year! .. so EVERY minute counts ).

Most of all .. HAVE FUN!! I know there are going to be minutes, hours, days .. weeks or months even .. where you will have stresses and things that can set you back .. but as long as you can learn from those .. learn the triggers and then find ways to cope instead of going to the food cure lol .. my challenge for everyone on here is to find something to laugh about every day .. its great exercise .. so it has to be a REAL laugh ..

Another helpful thing for some of the ladies on here if they arent on any particular plan .. is counting calories .. I use Fit Day (www.fitday.com) for mine .. I bought the program for my comp but you can use it online for free .. and because I dont want to "cheat" and binge (which in the past I have done because I am feeling deprived lol) I make sure to include a snack treat block of calories .. what I mean is that say the calorie intake each day is 1800-2000 .. I will put a block of say 200 calories aside for a treat ... so that no matter what I eat that is good on my plan if I get the urge to have something sweet and chocolate or savory and high in cal . I can have it without going over my daily intake limit .. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING FOR EVERTYONE lol ... there are some that just cant have anything cos it makes them crave more . ... so this may not be a good thing lol .. its only an option.

Drink plenty of water ... dont eat too low amount of calories a day or you will end up starving your body (the bigger you are the higher the cals you need) and then when you hit a plateau you cant lower your cals any further without really starving yourself.

Good luck hun .. and I hope to see you in here often

Love & Laughter!

[Chiema]

Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate both of your enthusiam in losing weight. It is a real comfort to be able to talk to other women just like me.

[AmmiUK]

Hi and Sandy. Glad you found us here because you won't find this kind of support anywhere else

Are you happy with doing the Atkins diet? I think the best way to lose weight especially when you have a lot to lose is to be on a diet that doesn't leave you feeling hungry or resentful at not being able to have certain food.

Other things that work for me are setting mini goals so that the journey doesn't seem so very long. Work out regularly with regular changes of what you do to stop boredom. Having an exercise machine or type of exercise you LOVE makes one heck of a difference. I have a Gazelle Rider and it really is fun to use. Drink plenty of water, have a load of low fat snacks in the house and most of all come here LOADS. The inspiration from all the wonderful people here and the accountability makes a huge difference.

I look forward to giving you loads of to celebrate as you lose the lbs.

Hugs,

Ammi

[Crittle]

Hey Sandy. Welcome. I am in agreement with Ammi about dieting. I was doing something similar to Atkins and I couldn't do it any longer. I am eating healthy now and just watching my portions. But this is an awesome web site. I just joined last week and love it!!
Crystal

[Chiema]

Thanks for making me fell so welcomed guys! I rally appreciate it. As for the Atkins diet, it has been working for this time. The hard thing is trying to get past those cravings. But I'm sure we all have that problem.

Let me ask you all a question. Lately (the past two weeks) I get extremely grossed out being around other people that are eating. It is actually making me lose my appetite but only when I'm around other people. Does that seem normal to you all? I mean I guess in the long run it's fine that I'm not eating as much and not hungry. I just thought that it sounds a little weird. As most of you already know, my husband is in Iraq and I fear his return (in two month) in the way of eating. He is a LOUD eater. How am I going to be able to eat in the same room as him. I know this all sounds absurd but I was just wondering all of your imput in the matter.