Hi There!
 

Hey all! Normally I just join these forums and look around. Rarely do I participate, but this time, I decided to do something a little different. I want to take more of a front seat in my fight to be healthier, so I plan to utilize the tips here and get (and give) as much support as possible.

A little about me: I am a 30 year old single black female from the suburbs around Philadelphia. I've been heavy all of my life. In my middle to late 20s, I was wearing an 18/20. That was my plateau size until I hit 29. I went up to size 22/24 and had remained there, which was a scary first for me. I had ballooned up to just under 300 lbs. It has been a long emotional journey for me from total lack of self esteem to a lot more confidence, which tends not to be the case for a lot of women my size. The only thing is that I really want to be healthier. Hypertension and diabetes run on both sides of my family. I am getting older and I know metabolism slows down and I don't want to get bigger.

I was down in the doldrums for a while because of how I constantly compare myself to my sister. She is 2 years younger and just recently got engaged and had a baby. During that period, I gained even more weight, but I continued to SQUEEZE myself into my 22/24s. Totally uncomfortable! I went to see a therapist to work on some personal issues and through the work we did, I was able to lose some weight. Towards the end of our sessions, I decided to take a 6 day trip to Puerto Rico for a little soul searching and destressing. I did so much walking and exploring. I learned a lot about the culture and about myself. By the time I came back, I had lost 10 lbs. That was at the end of December. Now I am trying to keep up the momentum.

I joined the YMCA in Delaware and I go on a regular basis. I take their Les Mills Body Pump class, which I absolutely LOVE!! I can feel such a difference and see such a difference, too. My clothes fit different. I feel like I have a lot more endurance, too. Now I am down to about 276. I want to do their yoga / pilates class to keep things interesting. I don't do much cardio. I like lifting weights. I am not really consistent with changing my eating, though. I have curbed my eating a little bit, but eating the right serving sizes is a KILLER and I just can't seem to do it regularly.

Okay, so I wrote a book instead of a short intro. (So sorry.) I just want to thank those that read this and comment. I look forward to all of us reaching our goals of happy and healthier lives. :hug:

:welcome3:

Welcome to the forum! :welcome3:
I can relate to so much of what you said. :hug:
Congratulations on the great start! :cp: You sound really enthused. I love the Y, too. It feels like a second home to me. The hardest part is making myself get there... but once I'm there, I feel as though I could stay all day! :lol:
Please have a good look around the forum and post anywhere you feel comfortable. This is the first forum I joined, and I haven't been able to shut up since. :lol: Sometimes it takes a few tries to find a good niche, but you'll meet many wonderfully supportive people here.

Welcome and congrats on the soul-seraching/going to the gym stuff! That is fantastic. I've found lots of support here and I'm sure that you will find all these wonderful people inspiring as well :)

Thank you all for your warm welcome! I am pretty sure I am going to like it here. :)

way to go!
 

It sounds like you are doing great! Portion size is hard for me too sometimes; I'm thinking about buying a digital scale. Something that helps me (I read this somewhere) is to check the package for "serving size" and measure it, not just "eye ball it," ONE TIME, and put it in the dish you usually eat it out of. (I did this with my morning cereal, for example.) Then, every time I pour my cereal, I know how it's supposed to look in the bowl, and it's easy to keep the portion consistent.

It's cool that you have such great activities at your Y. Exercise really feels good, and feeling good keeps you coming back.

Best wishes with your healthy journey -- you can be a healthy, energetic sister and aunt!