Hi all, my name is Michelle. I'm a stay at home mom of 2 kids, ages 2 and 4 - you'd think chasing after them would keep me thin but unfortunately that's not the case I am also a freelance writer, am shopping for an agent for my first novel, and do some webwork, and my favorite pasttime is reading = translation- my butt is always in a chair

I've been on a diet off and on since I was 12. But I didn't really get huge until after I married. I'm an emotional eater and the first few years of marriage were tough. I was 200 when we got married, gained 40 the first year, 20 after a miscarriage, and 20 with each of my 2 children. I was 300 in Jan of last year - I did manage to lose a bit and am now at 259. But I'm stuck - I went to my inlaws for Thanksgiving - I had gone from a size 26 (which were getting tight) to a 22 (which were loose) and no one mentioned it - but they did spend most of the day complimenting my husband's niece who had gone from a size 4 to a size 2.....and my motivation was gone I need to get back with it, because I do feel better and look better than I did, and I want to get back to the thin and healthy person that I know is still buried in me somewhere.

A friend of mine started dieting with me, but she started at 150, is now at 140, and wants to be 130. She's never been over 150 and although I appreciate her support, she really can't understand where I am coming from. I have a habit of self-sabotage, where whenever I start to lose weight I immediately take steps to pack it back on. I know what I'm doing and I do it anyways. So I'm hoping that with the support of people who are in the same boat I am, I can change that pattern.

1st- i would like to congratulate u on your weight loss. it's hard to lose weight. i would be ecstatic to lose that much weight.
2nd-sorry to hear about the discouragement. i told my DH about it and he said to keep moving. don't worry about everyone else----what matters is how u feel about yourself and your weight loss.
good luck to u---i have alot more of a journey to go.

Sweetpea: You can't compare yourself to someone who went from a 4 to a 2. When someone is already tiny every five pounds is very obvious. The harder things for us larger ladies trying to get down to a healthy weight is that many, many pounds pass before all of a sudden someone says, "Gee, have you done something different"? Maybe you need to mix up your plan a bit. If one thing has worked but you don't think you can do it anymore, or can't actually figure out exactly what it was to help you along you might want to try a structured plan based on something you see working on this site. It has helped me tremendously. I lurked around here for months and lost a bit here and a bit there until I decided on what I thought would work for me. I can't speak for everyone but for me, strict structure works. I am doing low carb Atkins because it is a no brainer provided I a)plan in advance and b)prepare my meals a few days in advance. I'm not a sweet eater nor a binge eater. I'm a processed food, convenience eater and I determined finally that the high carbohydrate content of convenience (not fast food but convenient) food was my downfall. Take a deep breath. Try to be calm and cruise these boards some more. YOU HAVE DONE A TERRIFIC JOB SO FAR! If the relative you are talking about is really a size four you need to recognise the fact that if she had lost as much as you had she probably would be in the hospital right now (and weigh about 59-65 pounds).

Thanks guys I know I shouldn't compare and I generally don't - but I was a bit excited (I posted some pics in the mini goal thread and I know you can tell a difference) so it was just a little discouraging to have no one say anything at all - but I fully intend to keep it up. I'm discovering it's a lot harder to get back on the wagon once you've fallen off than it was getting on the dumb thing in the first place I've been doing this my whole life so it still amazes me when I let the little stuff get to me Ah well, that's why I'm here Thanks for the support

Hey. What can you do but make a decision to keep on keepin on. It is easy to get discouraged about just about everything not just losing weight. I have a wierd thing going on where sometimes in the morning, I don't want to leave the house. I just want to stay at home and have time to concentrate on working out for just 30 minutes and having no one bug me about anything. I just want to focus on me. It's odd. Maybe what it really is is not wanting to think about anyone else and their stuff for awhile or...not compare myself to anyone bodywise for just a day.

Ahhh that's not odd at all Do you have kids? Cause that is how I feel about every day of my life (my daughter is on my lap as I type) I love being a mom, I love my children dearly, but I haven't been away from them for more than a few hours - ever. The only time I could exercise was very early in the morning, before they got up, so I started waking up at 4:30 - over the holidays we traveled so I got out of the habit, and now, sleep is just too nice But you know, as early as it was, and as tired as I was, it was really nice to have a couple hours to myself. I worked out for about an hour and then I would write or get some work done - I really need to get back to doing that

celticqueen!

Well, you have made a big step coming here and sharing your life with us. I am a mother and I know how hard it can be to incorporate fitness while taking care of your children. Although, mine may be a little easier because I just have one, but he's 3 now and wants to play, play, play. So, what I have done is put some fast, funky, music on that he likes and just dance away. It really works up a sweat and tires you out. The next day I was sore because of all the twisting I was doing. But he loved it and had a great time. I have also started counting calories and I think that works best for me. I eat between 1500-1800 calories per day and I usually have an off day during the week. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what was working for me. Hope to see you around and get to know you better.

Queen: I feel better knowing other people go through this and I'm not a sloth. I have an eight year old girl, a great hubby but also a fairly intense job that involves directly managing the physical and financial assets of a few corporations and also supervising and managing about 40 other people doing the same thing. Lots of stress, lots of meetings with various boards of directors. Flip side, TERRIFIC and generous boss, not having to have my rear in my office chair everyday right at 8:00), having my own office (shutting the door is always nice even when people can see me through the wall window!). At first I thought this "make the world go away" feeling was depression but it does not feel like that. It is more like wanting to cocoon. It is especially bad on days when I have decided to leave a little later than usual for work and my DH is taking my child to school. The house empties out. I'm standing there with a briefcase in one hand and car keys in the other and what I want to do is put everything down, turn off the cell phone (without even calling my assisant to say I won't be in) strip down into baggy sweats and putter around the house planning my menu, tidying and being alone. Maybe I got into this weight condition because I have not made a regular practice of doing just these things for about 10 years!

ox
StayinCalm

Thanks for the welcome Sgregg! My kids like to dance too - so I try to do that as well. It really is good exercise and it's fun too. I've tried every diet under the sun, and this time around just started counting calories and exercising, and it is working well. Hopefully I can keep this up

StayinCalm - Yeah, I think part of my problem with gaining the weight was just convenience - I get hungry around lunch time and it is sooo much easier to grab a handful of cookies or chips instead of standing there making something healthy to eat - less clean up too So I do real well when I can stock the freezer with Smart Ones meals (which I don't always have the money to do) and I buy the big bags of salad mix, and get celery and cucumbers and other veggies, and cut them up as soon as I get home. That way I can throw together a huge salad fairly quickly. But it would be nice to not have to worry about anyone else and just focus on myself until I can get all the weight off I love watching the Biggest Loser, thought about applying once It would be great to be able to focus on yourself like that without having to do it on television But it sure is inspiring to watch