Background: always struggled with weight in spite of having had an active background. I always had a few extra pounds on the scale and thought this was fat but now realize I was simply more muscular than normal girls. My weight slowly drifted up in spite of remaining active. Getting married, eating great food (not fast food but restaurant food) on a daily basis, lunches with one friend or another.... it all caught up.

In my late 20's I started having chest pains. A few ER trips and no problem spotted. It made me afraid to do any kind of physical activity. 9 months later, it was discovered by the 5th doctor seeing me that I had a hiatael hernia. All I needed to do was cut down on the amount of water I drank and I was all better. (Weird problem I know) Well the lack of activity jumped me from around 160 or so to a whopping 208.

A few months later I was moving from my home town (Montreal) to a small city over an hour away. Everything went wrong and with the stress and activity of the move, I started dropping. Dropping to the point that a few days after I actually moved, I ended up in the hospital for a couple of days due to massive dehydration!! I couldnt eat solid food for maybe 3 weeks after. Got down to 175 or so but as soon as I could eat again, hating where I lived, added stress of my mom being very sick and now an hours drive away... I ended up back at 191.

I joined WW with a woman that works for me. Went down to 143 and their goal for me was 141. Up to 143 it went very well. Consistent loss of 2 lbs a week and then I hit 143 and stayed there 3 months. Brutal. I dropped WW, started getting focus off what the scale said and decided to change from Taebo/walking/weights to training for a marathon. Ended up blowing my knee out and resumed a bad state of inactivity. I had gotten down to around 130.

My marriage was slowly dying a sure death. Mom had died and dad had moved in with us. Dad was sick. I ended up moving to Europe. Food there was sooooo expensive - especially healthy stuff. I went from around 145 to 175 and then got pregnant. In 12 weeks I shot back up to 198. I had problems from the get go and was virtually on bedrest. Dad had died back home and I had to return to Canada. Lost the pregnancy and went back down to around 165-170. Depression kicked in coinciding with some health problems.

Then I found myself back at 205 in June of this year and decided things HAD to change. Over the previous 9 months I had started a new relationship with a great guy - who's also much younger hehe. Over the time we were involved, I had encouraged HIM on losing weight - something he wanted to do. He had lost around 50 lbs before I started, another 10 or so since and has another 20-30 to go.

I went down to 192 basically in my first month and was thrilled. Then I went to stay with my bf for 6 weeks (we live in different cities). We were incredibly active while I was there. I dropped 3 lbs in the first week. Then my weight STAYED and had more or less continued to stay for August and September between 188 to 190. No matter what I did - cutting calories, increasing calories, changing water, increasing activity, sleeping more hours - nothing seemed to work. I took 2 weeks off entirely. No calorie counting, no logging exercise (I still did weights but not cardio). Started back 10 days ago at 192 and decided a new strategy - eat clean. I just hit a new low of 185.8 so I'm THRILLED to see something working. I'm not going crazy on calorie reduction - alternating between 1300 to 2200 cals a day (averaging around 1700). I wear a bodybugg and am trying to get in at least a mile walk a day, working on a couch to 5k program (doing a 5k in December!) every other day, doing weights 3x a week and shooting for 1 hour minimum activity aka the bugg per day.

The difference in clean eating has been tremendous. I've had a REALLY crazy time with work lately (busy time of the year). Loads of stress. But strangely enough, I've felt more in control than ever for dealing with things. I realized that I am a sugar junkie and cutting back on refined carbs and direct sugar is a MUST for me. I usually have issues with "mindless" grazing and I've not even thought about it since switching my diet. My basic rules are: high protein breakfast with a bit of fat, 5-6 meals per day every 2-3 1/2 hours, no whites (bread, pasta, etc) except 1 half stuffed potato per week, try to get in at least 8 different fruits and veggies each day, no consumption of anything that has an ingredient I wouldn't eat on it's own, no eating within 3 hrs of bed. So far so good.

I'm going to be 41 in december and really want to try again on kids but I HAVE to be in better shape. With the clock ticking so fast and my window closing, tackling the weight issue is something that can't wait any longer. Already my bp has gone back down to low levels (it was pre-hypertension before I made changes in June and had previously been low), I'm off of daily asthma inhaler and am on NO meds of any kind.

I have checked out several other sites and forums to find some support but any talk of losing more than 2 lbs a week - and you are jumped on or it is discouraged. I've gotten my doc's a-ok to shoot for 3 (his suggestion) and am being monitored with monthly blood tests and exams now.

I'm shooting to hit 145 by the third week of January. So a whopping 40.8 lbs to go in basically 98 days. If anyone reading this has a similar goal, feel free to drop me a message - would love a buddy who's also motivated.

Looking forward to getting to know people here Sorry for being long winded!

Oh honey I'm so sorry for everything you've been through, but it's good you are motivated and seeking support. Good luck on getting to your goal and welcome to the forums - I'm new here too, lol.

See you around.

thanks Looking forward to being an active member!

Hey ANewMe -

Have you seen our 40-somethings forum? Look there, or one of several other forums here by eating plan, amount to lose, etc.

A word of caution...don't count on losses continuing at your previous rates when you get close to goal! Sometimes losses can get slow toward the end. But if you keep plugging ahead, you'll meet your goal eventually and maintain it for the long haul.

Can't wait to get to know you better!

So, if you don't mind me asking, how much water did you used to drink?
I ask only because i drink a lot of water (anywhere between3-7 liters, depending on what i do). Some people tell me that amount is fine, others say it's too much.
And welcome i'm a noob too!

Glad you found us! Sounds like you have a great plan, that is resulting in a lifestyle change

You CAN do this! I found my rate of loss to be significantly slower than 3 lbs. per week, but - as long as you don't get discouraged if you don't achieve it, you shouldn't have a problem. In any case - stick to your plan, and you WILL lose weight!

I absolutely know what it takes to hit the 3 lb mark and how it will get more difficult over time as my body gets further down. The first 20 lbs gone now and I have my old energy back. I'm also using tools out the wazoo - not just tracking caloric intake and weighing food, but also tracking nutrients so I'm hitting ranges daily on everything - ie nothing other than coffee goes in my mouth that doesn't serve the purpose of fueling me. Bodybugg is on me 24/7 other than showers and swimming. Use a Polar F11 to make sure I am not overtraining. Monthly blood workups and check in with doctor.

I think I'm in a more fortunate position than most people who try to lose. I know my position today even is a lot better than it was last time. I have no kiddos, no dependents to be taken care of. I have my own business so I can set my own hours. I have a fully equipped home gym in Canada and when I'm in California, have a gym+tennis court+swimming pool at the condo complex and a 24 hour fitness with basketball court a block away. I consider where I am now to be somewhat of a luxury - it's the first time in my life I've ever had the time to put ME first. I've had the psychological click where there's no argument left for me on why I cannot do this.


The issue with water was simply that I was drinking a lot with meals - anywhere from 500 ml to 1.0 litre whenever I ate. With the hernia, the water with food would cause bloating and cause the hernia to act up. So I simply drank less with food and sipped at water throughout the day and I was okay.

Thank you! I had a look at your collage - how awe inspiring!

I haven't gone by the 40 something yet... gradually making my way around the forum bit by bit.

I realize the issue of struggles as you get down further. My ultimate goal weight is actually 128ish but as I easily reached 143 before without any slowdown and was actually around that weight for most of my adult life, it seems a good number to shoot for without expecting any major bumps. My body LOVES that number for whatever reason. The last part will be much more challenging. I know post-preg 140-145 will be the range for me. BTW the numbers are based on talking with my GP and my gyn/ob in depth and they both felt that going slightly below the 130 mark will be better for me risk wise.