i'm annie, and i just joined today. i've been overweight my whole life, but it peaked in the beginning of last year. in 2005, i weighed around 200lbs. i was extremely unhealthy (drank a lot, smoked a lot, ate a lot) and unhappy. i took a year off from university and got a job as a nanny for a few months. i gained another 20lbs, and after i quit nannying, i was just at home all the time. i didn't exercise, and i was still smoking and eating fatty foods. my metabolism was probably shot.

in april of 2006, i decided to finally do something about it. i started taking a self-defense class with a class full of my close friends, and i became excited about exercise. i got a membership at the gym near my house and started going 3-4 times a week. i changed my diet and lifestyle drastically. i ate a lot of meat and tuna for protein, but not too many fruits and veggies. after about a month, i started going 5-6 days a week. the weight started melting off and i was so excited. by the summer, i was in the 170s and i felt great. i bought new jeans and shirts and felt good about myself. there's a lot to say that i don't want to say here, but it has to do with eating disorders and the like. i struggled. badly. this was before i became vegan in late july. it was such a huge change to my diet and lifestyle but it turned out to be such a blessing. now almost my whole family, including my brother and his wife, are vegan and we are all living much healthier lives.

i now weigh around 145lbs and i feel wonderful. i'm a size 8, whereas, when i began my weight loss, i was a size 20. about a month and a half ago i was really stupid and starved myself and exercised excessively for about a week and a half, and lost 10lbs. then when i started eating correctly again, i gained it all back and now i'm doing it the right way again. i stopped going to the gym so faithfully, but i vowed starting yesterday to go 5-6 days a week again, and i have a personal trainer. i want to lose another 20-25lbs.

so there is my story. it's not that interesting. i was an overweight child, lost a little bit of weight on south beach in my younger teenage years, gained it all back, became extremely overweight. now i'm healthy and loving it.

sorry it was so jumbled! i'm glad i found a place like this to join. you're all awe-inspiring.

wow, annie! Great story. Welcome!!! Join us in our featherweights weekly threads--we have a lot of the same stuff going on ourselves.

I've been on and off this site for awhile, but never really joined up with a group! Featherweights is where I belong...glad I found you (can't get much support from people with 200 lbs to lose when you're only looking to lose some vanity weight!)

My story: I am currenlty 35 and live in Tennessee. I was always underweight as a kid/teenager/young adult and ate like a pig...absolutely no food restrictions ever. I am 5'6, weighed 115 lbs when I got married (at age 19)...got pregnant...ended up at 165, dropped back down to 128 after the hospital and held steady there until the past few years (no food restrictions still). Over the past 3-4 years (my "baby" is now 14), I have managed to slowly gain up to 154 at my highest. I am currently 151 and have lost and gained the same 6-8 lbs the entire time. Everytime I restrict calories and lose weight (slowly), it just comes back on when I lax up--usually with 1-2 more lbs added. Every time I begin an exercise program, I end up with some kind of injury (just nursing my left ankle currently from riding an exercise bike for a few weeks, before that it was my knee from walking, shoulder from yoga...the list goes on!!!). To top things off, I was diagnosed with meniere's disease a few years back and have a lot of water retention problems! I stay frustrated and fight a vicious cycle of food-deprivation, anger and resentment, and giving up. My husband and daughter eat sweets and fattening foods constantly...I just can't be one of those women who can watch their family eat pizza and be content with a salad! Maybe I'm just weak. Anyway, I thought maybe a group of like minded people could help me.

I just joined yesterday, on the recommendation of my future sister-in-law, YuppieGirlie! I'm getting married in September and have about 25 pounds to lose. So far I've been really really good about working out and tracking my calories/water intake on Spark People, but the pounds aren't coming off too well. Nice to meet all of you

Lalena75

Join us on the main Featherweights thread ...

How do I get there? Thanks in advance :-)

Here is the Featherweights main page

Scroll down a bit and you'll find Featherweights Planning for Mar 19-26 along with a whole bunch of other threads started by Featherweights...

Hope this helps

Fast reply. Thanks Ilene!

My weight has been up and down since about 8th grade. At my highest (8th grade) I was 4'10" and weighed around 125 lbs. I'm now 5'0" and I weigh around 110 lbs. Last July through October (2006), I lost 15 pounds without trying due to the stress of moving to a new state and starting my career. For the first time in my life, I was actually happy with my body. Since then, I've gained about 10 back. I liked the way I looked and felt at 100 lbs., so I'm trying to get back to that weight. (Yes, 100 lbs. is a healthy weight/BMI for my height and bone frame. I realize that to some, 125 as a high weight and a goal of 10 pounds might not seem like much, but I need some support in this nonetheless. I have a family history of crappy eating habits, which did rub off on me. I'm now trying to overcome 25+ years of bad habits so that I can get to (and stay at) the weight at which I feel the best about my body.

Hey Everyone,

I am going to guess this is the group I should be posting in a I was conflicted between this and the 20-something group but I looked at some of the posts and I think I have more common goals with people in this group.

Anyways, Heres my deal I used to be soo skinny gorgeous model skinny. Like 5"7 and 105 pounds skinny. In fact up to grade 10 I was probably too skinny. Anyways, then I started packing on the pounds amazingly fast and by grade 12 I was like 135 lbs. I dieted down to 120 lbs in about 2 months. Then my weight went back up pretty fast after. Anyway, I've basically been in this cycle of yo-yo dieting over and over since then (for the last almost 2 years) and it's making me absolutely crazy. So I've decided to take the healthy slow route because I want to get back to my healthy skinny self more than anything and I want to stay there. My goal is to lose 5 pounds a month until I am down to 108 which I think will be amazing!

Me recently 133 lbs (much more than ideal):

Hello!
At last! A group for people who are a bit overweight, like myself. I am 50 this year (last month to be exact) and I have struggled with the same 10 - 15 lbs. since I was a teenager. I used to vary between 120-135 lbs (I'm 5'4") and now, with menopause, I'm teetering between 130-145.

I'm very active - I work as a dog walker walking 15 -20 dogs per day in 5 daily walks. I kayak and bike on the weekends, weather permitting, and cross-country ski in winter.

I eat healthily from Monday to Thursday during the day. My problem is after dinner and on the weekends. I'm usually so pooped in the evening from all the walking and wrestling (did I mention I walk almost all labrador and golden retrievers?) that I plop down in front of the TV and start snacking. Weekends I reward myself with dinner out on Saturday, tea and pastry Sunday, etc.

I doesn't help that my sweetie is quite overweight and a couch potato, but that's another forum.

I just bought a diet book "the Bech diet solution" to try to take off 15 lbs. and keep it off for the rest of my life. It suggests getting a "diet coach" for motivation and support and that's why I'm here.

I'm kind of technically challenged but I will try to provide support for anyone else who needs it. First order of business is to figure out how these darn little smilies work

Blue Eyed Girl: I know where you are coming from...assume you are in your 20's from your post. Just wait until you are older...it gets worse. You are smart for taking care of it now before it gets out of hand. It's hard for us who were once too skinny and used to eating whatever we wanted (with absolutely no thought or need to obsess about food!) I'll always miss those days. I am in a similar struggle (only older and fatter) The secret is consistency (not so easy though for me). I also yo-yo up and down. It is easy to get comfortable when you lose a few lbs and start back to old eating habits. Good luck with your diet/fitness plan!

Blue Eyed Girl -- I would kill to be 130 and I am 5'3'' tall... At 130 I would be a size 4 for sure, as it is I am a size 8... I truly think that at 5'7'' and weighing 108#, you would be stick thin and not very healthy looking... Just my honest opinion...

Blue Eyed Girl: at 108 lbs and 5'7", your BMI would be 16.94. Spain and the UK recently passed laws that runway models must have a BMI of at least 18 (slightly below what is considered within the normal range for adult women) to work. Regardless of the law, a BMI of 16.anything is considered unhealthy. Do you do any weight or resistance training? That will decrease your fat or "fluffiness" look without sacrificing your health.

Mel

I'm Sara and I just joined yesterday. I've been overweight since elementary school but a couple of years ago I finally decided to make some changes, I exercised a bit more and tried controlling my portions. Eventually that "portion control" got out of hand and turned to near anorexia. That was about a year ago and luckily I'm way out of there. I gained weight since then, which I'd much rather do than starve myself. So now that I know how to not over-do the portion control I want to lose the remainder of the weight the healthy way.