Hi - I am new here... well, not really new, since I have read a lot of you inspirational stories, and have been using this website as a pick me up when I am having down days.

A little bit about myself, I am 27 years old, female, and recently moved to Chicago from New York. (Okay, so its been 7 months now, I guess I have to stop saying I am "new" to the midwest.)

For most of my life I have been overweight, and since starting over in Chicago, I have decided to become a new me. I quit smoking when I moved, and piled on more pounds to my already bountiful frame! So between that and my job, where I sit all day, and travel extensively, my lifestyle has made it difficult to keep in control. But that is an excuse.

So about a month ago, I joined a gym, hired a trainer (just for the motivation factor) and started really looking at what I was eating.

What I discovered today was that I am down 10 lbs as of this morning! YAY. I still have a long way to go, but I am looking forward to using this community as a support group during my journey.

Wooohoooo!!! 10 pounds is a wonderful reward for working so hard. I'm glad you've chosen to come out of lurkdom and participate more here. You already know how great this place is so start posting all over and you'll get TONS of support. Good luck as you continue to lose!

Congrats, 10 pounds is great! Now all you have to do is lose 10 pounds a few more times. That doesn't sound so bad, right?

I am realllllllllly proud of you for quitting smoking and sticking it out! Several of my smoking friends have quit and some restart because the weight gain is too discouraging. Kudos to you for not picking up the cigs again and picking up a trainer instead! Good for you. Keep it up! Chicago is a great town for you at 27; there is so much to see and do. I hope you grow to like it! I am not a big city girl myself, but I like to visit. You'll have to shop at Filene's Basement downtown as you shed the lbs and need dif clothes; the prices are pretty good! If you're are close at all to downtown, riding a bike along the lake is great exercise and beautiful scenery--of course try not to pick a day that is too windy or you might have to call a taxi to get back home!!! Congratulations again on your postive changes!

Hi Everyone - I'm brand new to this also. My story is similar to yours. I moved from Arizona to Maine about 8 months ago. I am still very new to this state. Especially with the 3 feet of snow we have outside. Before I moved to Maine, I had lost 100 pounds. After I had my daughter, I weighed 286. WOW It took me two years, but I dropped down to 180. When I moved to Maine, I quit working out and I started smoking again. Two things that will kill me!! I have jumped back up to 232. I am very down on myself and I joined this site to get me reinspired again. I'm not sure what had happened, I was so motivated to get healthy before. I have no energy to do anything now. This is my first step. I'm trying to get my head back in the game and all of the stories I have read are so inspiring. Thanks