Hi all. I'm Stephanie and I'm 52. I have a wonderful husband and a 22 year old son. We have a mini-schnauzer named Nick and a kitten that adopted us a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Tupper. I work as an advertising clerk at a small town newspaper. I love to read and since I have such a poor memory, I can read things over and over again. Really into Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore and (believe it or not) Harry Potter books. I don't have a whole lot of hobbies but I do like walking my dog during the summer mornings. Winter is another thing.

I have been on diets for most of my life, constantly gaining and losing. A couple of months ago my husband finally got heavy enough that he was willing to make a lifestyle change and that has led to success for both of us. I started out at 198 lbs. at 5'7" and am now 167 lbs. Same height although I might be shrinking. My goal is to get to 158 lbs. although sometimes I fantasize about 147. Not sure if that's in the cards for me. My husband and I are doing South Beach and he does most of the cooking. We are both feeling much better since starting this.

I really hope that both of us will not only lose the weight we need to, but stick with this much healthier lifestyle. Part of what is helping us is that our son is away for the summer. This allowed us to make a big change in our routines without a 3rd party bringing in tempting items that don't fit into our current diet. Our son is coming back home in a couple of weeks and I'm a little worried about that. It's easy to stick to South Beach when there is nothing tempting in the house. Son might have to change how he eats as well.

I love this place. Especially the recipes in the South Beach section.

Hello all, I'm a former member of 3FC who's been gone way too long, and am now returning for the final push to get my life and weight under control. I'm 69, a retired graphic artist who now teaches senior fitness and also does encaustic art in my spare time. I thought teaching fitness was going to be a part time endeavor, but I'm working almost full time and loving it. You would think that I would have my weight under control with exercising with people every day, but the last ten pounds has eluded me these last few years; I am determined to finally lose them. I have two kids on opposite sides of the country, no pets, and love my life other than the frustration of not being in control physically.

I was busy doing art shows for the last four or five months, so neglected my own routine, but am now pushing to firm up my muscles and eliminate the overlying fat deposits (Ugh, that sounds awful). I have downloaded the ap for my iPAD, loseit, and am hoping that tracking every day and writing down everything I eat will make a difference.

Don't have time to read everyone's postings right now, but will make a point to do so tonight. So glad to be here.

Hi,

I joined last February, but abandoned the effort. I have started back up again and feel I have the motivation I need to stick with it.

PERSONAL INFORMATION: I just started Paleo today with my son. He is in college and has gained a good amount of weight. I'm worried about him. I wanted a low carb diet, but after a good deal of reading, I have decided Paleo would work for both of us. He likes the foods and I think low carb will help me lose. I am trying not to have as much fat as he does, but I am cooking for him, so I am eating the same, just a bit modified.

DIET / EXERCISE REGIMEN: I'm 5'2". I hope to lose 50 pounds in 100 days. In addition to Paleo, I am also following 100 Days of Weight Loss manual. I've purchased the book for motivational reasons. The author does not much care which weight loss regime you follow, only that it is sound, and you stick to it. As far as exercise goes, I play tennis about three times a week, sometimes more. I am hoping to add water aerobics and time spent at the gym in addition to my weekly tennis games.

SPECIAL HOPES / ASPIRATIONS / ACHIEVMENTS / CHALLENGES: Two of my very good friends have had to have knee replacements. Another two have had hip replacements. These are friends from tennis. They are active, but they are overweight. I know I cannot keep playing tennis injury free unless I drop weight and that is my most pressing motivation for weight loss. Tennis brings me great joy and the people I have met through it are some of my closest friends. I would be very unhappy if I had to give it up. There are the other reasons as well - don't want to be put on BP or cholesterol meds, want to be able to wear some of the clothes in my closet again, etc. etc.

That is my story and so begins my Paleolithic Weight Loss Journey.

Hi all I am a new member and really don't know how to navigate around yet. I am an Activity Director for a resort in the lower valley in Texas. We are getting things ready to start the winter season. I am 66 years old and have steadily put on weight and it needs to go away if you know what I mean. I am in good health and want it to stay that way. I am so glad I found this sight.

I am 52 years old. My husband and I have been married for 23 years. We have a 20 yo son who lives at home and attends college. We have an 18 yo daughter who is away at college. We live on a small farm of 9 acres with a 150 yo small house. We have chickens, 3 horses, a German Shorthaired Pointer named Ceilidh, ducks, and LOTS of barn cats. I was a special education teacher before I had my children. We homeschooled our children through high school. I now tutor other homeschoolers. I like to read historical romance fiction. I like to knit, sew, and cook. We live in central MD. I was born and grew-up in MS.

I am 5' tall and as of a week ago, I weigh 146#. I started on the IP diet in August and am still on Phase I. I would like to get down to 115#. I did Weight Watchers on-line many years ago and lost about 15 pounds. My heaviest weight was in August at 173#. I was small and skinny my whole life until I had my children. We did IVF to conceive and with all of the meds I put on 10#. I gained 69# with my son because I was pregnant with multiples whom we lost except for our son. I lost down to 120# when I got pregnant with our daughter. I gained 35# with her, but kept it all for all of these years. Three years ago I had pneumonia that was treated with steroids which I gained 18# with and developed high blood pressure.

I am looking forward to doing outdoor activities that my husband and I once enjoyed before children. That is my motivation for losing weight. I also want to able to keep up with grandchildren someday. A month ago, I was able to stop taking medicine for my high blood pressure. Yeah!

I can't believe it has been 2 years (or more) since I last checked in with 3FCs. Still working on the slow (very slow) but steady weight loss that I started back in 2005. I have added 2 sessions of aqua aerobics to my regime and really enjoy that. Will turn 64 in the morning and have battled weight problems since I was 12. I've been as low as 137 (in 1989) and as high as 313 (in 2003)...I weighed 148 when I graduated from high school.

We have 3 grown sons and 5 incredible grandchildren. The 2 oldest 14 and 12 live in Ohio. We live in Mass and share a home with our other 2 sons and the 3 younger ones....R is 5 and has Down Syndrome, the twins (boy/girl) are 4 and our granddaughter has autism. I have cared for my grands since they were born when I took a leave of absence from my teaching/nursing job,

I am taking a break from losing weight for now...though maintaining requires me to stay aware of what I am eating day to day.

I plan to go back to the low carb IP diet after New Years with a goal weight of 149 I am 5'6 and currently weighing 163.

My husband of 30 years is very supportive and works to keep fit and also eat healthy. I have a daughter and a son in their late 20's who are the joy and pride of my life. I have been semi retired for 2 years but am searching for a fun and interesting part time activity/work. I love to garden, read and walk in the woods with my two boxer dogs. I plan to live half the year in Costa Rica and as soon as my husband retires, we will make this dream come true.

I had lost 30 lbs on the IP diet in the past year and half so am hopeful I can do more to get to a healthier weight. Low carb diets help me with some other health problems like arthritis and high cholesterol- both improved while I was on the diet

I walk my two boxers every day at least an hour. If I have more time, I walk more as they need a lot of exercise.

Thank you for this forum. You all really inspire me and it sounds like I share a lot more in common. I will keep checking in and hopefully you won't mind a post now and then.

Keep the faith and good luck to all of us!!

Hi, I'm Annaido (Ann). Being 53 is often a surprise to me. Much of the time I don't feel that age. Losing weight and being fit is a real challenge these days -- it is just not as easy as it used to be. That sucks. I am married with 3 adult kids and 7 grandkids. I teach high school science. We have two border collies and a whiney house cat, plus a bourbon red Tom turkey and assorted chickens. I love listening to audio books on my commute to work and frankly it is a real stress buster. My favorite book is Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver although I listen to all sorts of audio books.

I need to lose 40 lbs and re-educate myself about food. I am a terrible stress/emotional eater. I need to find ways to fit workouts into my schedule. I like yoga and spinning classes, zlong with Zumba. I know I need to do weight training too. I try to stay with clean eating and whole foods with local meats and dairy but when I am stressed I am drawn to junk foods, especially at school and on my commute.

I am dismayed to be this age but at the same time and grateful. Most of the time I feel good and do look younger than the age. Others, I feel really discouraged by it. Like I said, it is just not as easy as it used to be!

Ann

Hi,
I’m April. I’m 56. I live in Alaska with my family. I’m a wife, a mother, and a grandma now. I weigh way too much. I’ve been on Weight Watchers since October 1, 2012. I’ve lost 9 and 3/4’s pounds since I started. It’s kinda slow but it’s been steady. I have a heart problem that causes my water weight to fluctuate quite a bit so I weigh myself daily and then after I have seven days of data I average the numbers to get a final number to log. I find that this method is more accurate for me as I can fluctuate as much as five pounds in just a few days. I’m doing the Weight Watchers plan online without the meetings. So far, so good. I have a reclining stationary bike that I use for exercise and I am starting to use a hula hoop too. The hula hoop will take some time to become comfortable with but it is interesting. I’ve been on every diet and have even gotten a lap band. None of these has ever worked very well for me. I am pleasantly surprised that Weight Watchers is working as well as it is. In the past it hasn’t and I’m laying the recent success at the door of unlimited fruits and vegetables. It has really made it very workable for me. I’ve been thinking about joining this group for sometime now. I guess the commitment of checking in and writing seemed like too much for me. I think I need to do this though because I need the support. I want so much for this new way of life to work for me. I need to release this pain and unhappiness that I wear around my stomach and my hips. Thank you for being here and being a source of inspiration. I really appreciate it.

Welcome Signey ~ come join us on one of the threads in the section below here. The Golden Girls is one ~ lovely bunch of ladies ~ very caring and supportive.

Hello All! I am looking for motivation and like minded individuals to motivate me!

Personal Information: I am 52 1/2 yrs old. My mother died when she was 53 so I am sort of freaking at that age! I have four grown kids and 7 grandkids and work full time at a school full of kids too! I was on course with my weight loss until my divorce from a man I loved and respected for 18 years. Then on top of that both of my grown daughters got divorced and CPS put their children in my custody and we are all doing well but being kept very busy by them!

Diet/Exercise? Well, since I have four kids living with me and I work full time and am diabetic and TIRED I just haven't settled into the routine that will allow me to exercise and diet. I have found myself eating things I never imagined I would eat! I started on a clinical trial for high dose insulin so that allows me to eat whatever and my blood sugars won't stay up. Add that to my chaotic life and I am gaining at a slow but steady pace. I have worked my way from 185 back up to 202 now. I really miss biking. I used to keep in shape (and lose) by biking 30-60 miles a day...once I went 100 miles in a day!!!!!

Hopes and aspirations: To lose 47 pounds, get fit, start biking and find another love!

Welcome Mumina ~ come join us on one of the threads in the section below here. The Golden Girls is one ~ lovely bunch of ladies ~ very caring and supportive.

Hi, I farm with my husband, have a teenage son, a dog, three cats and chickens. I enjoy watermedia painting, gardening, rock n roll music and learning new things.

I'm 5'6" and weigh 156. In 2013 my goal is to lose 15 pounds and more important is my goal to maintain within a three pound range for life.

I have a daily goal of 10,000 step min per day which includes my morning exercise and however I want to move to get to daily goal. I intend to restart a food/calorie journal starting Jan 3rd.

Welcome workinglikeadog.... I hope we get to hear more from you. We love to have more people around our table. Sounds like you will fit in just fine here!

Hi, my name is Rhonda and I just joined today.
I'm your average over-weight divorced 53 year old, with two grown kids, 3 grand kids, 4 dogs and a cat. I run my own dog day care and board dogs and cats.
I love to go to movies, kids movies are my favorite. NCIS is one of my favorite TV shows. I read a lot, mostly mysteries. I do some glass fusing work in what little spare time I have. I love to bake and every summer I have a backyard garden that I do a lot of my canning from. I'm not as healthy as I would like to be, but also lack any motivation what so ever when it comes to taking care of myself.
I thought I would take the next week or so, up until New Years day to get use to this site and learn where everything is...I've already started a blog today, my first ever, so not sure how well I'll do with that. Hoping to make friends on here and to also help motivate others after I figure out how to motivate myself. Thanks to all of you who help and guide me and others.