Hello!

My name is Dawn, I'm 29 and weigh in at 225, and I'm 5'9" tall. I've been overwieght for the better part of my life, I was a chunky kid, then I slimmed down a little in high school, but gained quite a bit after and have been about the same size ever since, at my heaviest I was 242. My goal weight is 150, that might be a tad unrealistic, but that would put my BMI into the healthy range, which is really what I'm looking for.

I'm a single mother to a son who will be 13 next month and I've recently discovered a new sense of empowerment toward my health. I will graduate with my bachelors degree this month. All totaled it took me about 7 years to get this degree, and now that I have it I kind of feel like there is nothing I can't do, especially not something as important as weight loss! I think I'm finally ready to fight this battle!

Looking forward to getting to know you all!
Dawn

Hey Dawn! Sounds like we are in the same boat. Minus the fact i dont have a kid! If ya ever wanna drop me a line feel free to. I just began the change as well getting ready for an upcoming vacation!
talk to you soon

So nice to meet you!!

Hello Dawn and welcome. I am glad you joined us. Be sure to take a look around the site. Good luck and be sure to keep posting as it is a big key to success.

I guess I left out a few important tidbits

My plan is to do a sort of Weight Watchers/ Alli combo. I'm not going to meetings, but I used to so I have all the materials, and I also bought an Alli starter pack yesterday, and I plan to use it only before meals containing small amounts of fat.

One specific area I think I will definately find my self needing support in is family. My boyfriend has a very fast metabolism and can eat whatever he wants, he's also a very picky eater, and can't stand anything that gives the implication that it might be healthy. We've agreed that we'll eat seperately for the most part, I'll cook for my son and I, and he'll pick something up. I'm also going to pick up a few low-cal cookbooks and have him go through and see if he can find any recipes that he could stomach so we can eat together once in a while. But I won't lie, it's not always easy to enjoy my salad when the smell of french-fries is filling the house!

I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all, and leaning on you, and also being leaned on
~Dawn

hi Dawn! i think it's great that you are so determined, and it seems like you have a good plan. hopefully you can get your boyfriend to eat with you sometimes, but you have to eat healthy no matter what people around you are doing! i know from experience. it's frustrating but stick with it. plus, your son will benefit from your healthy lifestyle and learn to be a healthy adult!

i also do weight watchers and i love it because it has such an emphasis on a healthy, balanced diet, and maintaining healthy eating habits long term. (which is one thing i worry about - the maintenance phase).

i want to invite you and any other ladies posting on or reading this thread to check out the group i'm in. when i first came to this site, i met some other newbies looking for diet buddies and we started our own thread called SexyChicks (the name is to remind us that we're beautiful despite our weight).
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127730
the important thing is to browse the site and find a regular group that you feel comfortable with. it has helped me a lot to have friends here for encouragement and advice.

Looking forward to experiencing the adventure with you