[Rowan Bailey]

I have been struggling most of my life with my weight. I have spent years in therapy, personal transformation work, mediatation, co-dependency blah blah blah, and now I am left with the greatest obstacle left....why I just cannot seem to lose the weight...AND KEEP IT OFF.

This is incredibly frustrating since I began my own business which now takes care of me and a staff of three and a partner, I have accomplished so much! but I can't seem to deal effectively in this area.

I weigh more now then ever, I turned 40 weighing more than 200 pounds on a medium 5.4 frame it is becoming an intense burden. My 40th birthday was the last time that I spent with my divorced but close parents. My father died suddenly on February 22 of a heart attack. I arrived at the hospital and he was already gone.

I will have every excuse in the world to not do what I know I have to do, it has been inspriing to peruse the message boards and see how much work and effort goes into this process and to find others working hard...I am hoping that this will rub off on me.

Thank you to everyone who is sharing so much of themselves here and I hope to continue to be inspired by all of you who are working so hard and bring that into my life in a very positive way.

[ginya]

Rowan,
you seem pretty together and know all the typical buzz words like "find the place within youself' bla bla bla...so I aint gonna go there. You know what to do, ****, we all do...but you just got to get to that place where you say 'enough!'! I hit bottom at 46 and was a total mess. I was in pain constantly, looked like **** and was miserable. Every moment of my day was spent feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't handle the weight thing. I am also in business and have become quasi successful, people come to me for advise and information and I am good at what I do, but food had some wierd control over me that nothing or no one else had. I know I needed to be accountable to someone else. All acheivers (like yourself) need to proove to others that they can do it. It is what we do best, take charge and handle situations. So, because I know that about myself, I joined a weight loss clinic. I knew I would be weighing in every week (3 times a week acrually, ugh!) and would have to admit my failing..and that I would not do! I grabbed the situation like I would any other project and will work it through in the same manner. This is what works for me, I certainly wouldn't expect it to work with any one else. Since Jan. 20th I have lost 90 pounds. I have a long way to go and it has not been easy. I guess what I am trying to say is, you know what works for you, you know what motivates you, its just a matter of figuring out how to establish that into a healthy living plan (not diet, they don't work) I have a study, somewhere, that states people are more likely to lose weight and keep it off if they have support, so you have that here! There are other things you can incorporate into your plan, but again these are all individual to your life. I could neer take up jogging...sorry, my boobs are just too damn floppy...and because I have some wierd form of MS I get fatigued easily, so working out at the gym is not something I can do easily, but I can still walk so I walk 3 miles every day. I reward myself ever 10 pounds and make the best of a bad situation with good healthy food. Fresh fruit and veggies, expensive de-calf coffee, fresh fish etc...do I miss the fried food...every damn day! But I am in this for my health, vanity is secondary. And, I will tell you, I enjoy finally being in control of my life. OK, I'm done, somebody wanna help me down from this soap box???

[ellis]

Rowan, I think that's the problem for most of us. We're waiting for some magic formula, and it just isn't going to happen. It's hard work, and I think we have to just knuckle down and get on with it! I've been trying to lose weight for years, and finally this year I'm making a real effort, and it's paying off. Good luck, and welcome!!
And I'm so sorry about your Dad.

[mauvaisroux]

Welcome Rowan!

Sorry to hear about your dad Rowan. My dad has angina and my mum had breast cancer but survived it. My mum hasn't been well of late either.

Part of my motivation to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle is because of my parents illnesses I want to try to care of myself now so I will be in better health when I am older.

You sound like you have a lot of good things going in your life and are very successful Maybe you could sit down and write a list of why you want to lose weight and the benefits that would come with losing weight - sometimes just seeing things in black and white helps to get you started.

[Lidian]

Hi Rowan and welcome!

I was so sorry about your dad...my mother passed away 4 years ago next month and since her last couple of years, coinciding with having 2 kids under age 3, I put on a lot of weight and have had the hardest time getting it off - I think the first year I started trying to lose weight I lost 5 lbs (in a year) and then promptly put it back on, so I totally understand what you were saying in your post. I am still not happy about how hard I have to work to stay at a reasonable weight (I am 5-5) and that I will have to work hard for the rest of my life - if I want not to gain weight again. Ugh. But one day at a time - wherever one's at. And right now I am up about 3-4 lbs from my vacation, which is not great but at least I KNOW. (I used to go for years without knowing but still worrying! knowledge is power!)

Anyway - welcome again and look forward to chatting with you on the threads-

Lidian

[Rowan Bailey]

Thank you for your support, I look forward to spending time here on the boards....I appreciate the kind words.

[squeaker]

Welcome Rowan!

[dentrassi]

WELCOME ROWAN!!!!! Lots of good people here.

[sflake]

Welcome Rowan, I am new to this board myself. From what I can tell so far, there is a great deal of suppport here from these beautiful gals.