Today's my birthday and instead of feeling 37 when I got out of bed this morning I felt more like 67. I never thought at this age I'd be on blood pressure medicine and have my feet hurt like they do now. Seems like the harder I try to lose weight the more I eat. I'm debating on going to WW but I have all the material so I don't know if I want to spend the money. I know that I can do this because I have lost weight before but I seem to have no motivation or self-esteem to help me with this.
Oh well, I guess I just need to vent and I don't want to do it to my family; I'll just do it to people who don't know me.
Vent anytime you want to! I went through the same thing when I was 25 - but it was a bad divorce that got me thinking "no one can possibly feel this old". Now that I am 43, remarried and pretty darn happy, I feel younger than I did when I was half this age! Things can get better - it is hard to start any new phase of your life and birthdays seem to bring up all the things we haven't done in our life as we get older. The thing I had to do was realize that I was the one responsible for my own health and happiness and I was the one who was going to have to pick myself up, dust myself off and get back into life. In order to do that, you do have to have some sense of self worth - if you can't see the value in yourself for just you, you can start by seeing the value of yourself in other's lives. My start was deciding that suicide was not an option because of how it would make my parents feel! Then, I sat down, wrote up some goals and what it would take to achieve them, and each day I asked myself "what have I done today to work towards a goal?" Some days it was as simple as "I got out of bed this morning". I went through all this with no counseling whatsoever and much booze for awhile - now that I'm almost 20 years older, I really feel it wouldn't have been as tough if I would have confided in someone and maybe even have gotten some professional counseling. SO - vent all you want and if you find yourself not making any progress - SEEK PROFESSIONAL ATTENTION! YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Happy birthday! And I understand. A few years ago, I finally got sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. My knees hurt when I walked up the steps. My hips hurt. My feet hurt. I could barely walk around the block. But I felt overwhelmed by how far I had to go to get healthy, so I kept putting off starting.
Finally, I prayed. After I prayed, I started taking baby steps. I didn't jump on an eating program at first; I just started walking. At first, I couldn't walk more than a few steps -- I was happy if I made it to 10 minutes and a quarter of a mile. I built up my walking to about a half a mile. Gradually, I started making other changes -- eating a little less junk, a little more healthy. Nothing radical.
It took a while before I was ready to join WW. By that time, I had lost about 10 pounds.
Now I've lost almost 60. I still have a ways to go, and it has taken me a while to get to this point; I'm taking the "scenic route," going slow, not giving up my favorite foods, just figuring out how to eat them in moderation. But last weekend, I easily walked three miles, wasn't even winded. My knees don't hurt anymore. Neither do my hips or my feet. My blood pressure has gone down and is perfect. I can fit into some clothes that aren't plus sizes for the first time in years!
It's worth it, 1moretime. You're worth it. Start treating yourself the way you would a good friend. And come tell us how you're doing.
Happy Belated BD!
Just wanted to add some encouragement. Read over all the successes & know that you can do it too! As others have said, just take that first step. Joining a WW group can be v. beneficial, the group support & encouragement was just what I needed to get myself on the road to a smaller me. Along the way, you'll be surprised at how much better you feel & many people see a reduction or total loss of need for blood pressure meds. Course you have to follow your Dr.'s advice on that issue. Just wanted you to know that it can be done, myself & others have done it. I lost 62 lbs. in 1993 & kept it off many years. Now, I've gained some of it back but I'm bound & determined to be at goal again. btw, I'm 43 today but feel better & younger than I did at age 30. Let us know how you're doing. Dee
Hi honey,
I just want to offer you encouragement. Read what the others said. Their experience talks volumes. You'll get through this. Try one step at a time. Good luck!
Happy Birthday. I just had my birthday the other day (a few days after yours) also. I am also 37. What a coincidence.
I see your posts on here a lot and I just want to encourage you to keep trying. My husband kind of chuckles when I say "Okay, this is it, I am getting serious now!", because so often I say that and it only last a few days. My theory is that if you don't keep at it, it will never happen.
Plus, since you are a Leo, and a Dragon (from the Chinese Astrology) I know you have determination and will power to make this work. I have done a lot of things that I am proud of, and one of them is that I can stick to something I start. Losing weight being one of them. I know you can too.
Today's my birthday and ...
I never thought at this age I'd be on blood pressure medicine and have my feet hurt like they do now. Seems like the harder I try to lose weight the more I eat. I'm debating on going to WW but I have all the material so I don't know if I want to spend the money. I know that I can do this because I have lost weight before but I seem to have no motivation or self-esteem to help me with this. 
