Hi everyone,

This is my first post. I'm Windchime and I live in the middle of the state of Washington, USA. It's cold and snowy here and that's been my excuse as to why I haven't done any walking since last May!

I lost 30 pounds a few years ago and felt GREAT, even though I was still 30 pounds from goal. Unfortunately, I've gained it all back plus a few more. I knew I was gaining but was not being honest with myself and didn't think it was THAT bad. Well....this morning I decided to give myself the gift of honesty and stepped on the scales. Yikes. I'll update my numbers later to share, after I see how this first dip-of-the-toe into the water goes!

This seems like a very supportive place so I am happy to be joining you all.

I know exactly what you mean about being honest with yourself, it's so easy to tell yourself you're not gaining weight for some reason.

I don't know how many times I told myself I'd shrunk a pair of my pants, of that the sizing for a particular brand must just run small. Or that I wasn't sabotaging my efforts in losing weight when my weekly treat of dessert became a daily one (I have a problem with desserts)

I found weighing myself every morning before I get in the shower helps more than anything else in what decisions I make throughout the day.

And logging on here, rejoicing in others progress makes it easier to not give up/or give in as the case may be.

Welcome!

Glad you found us! I hope you come back often, because I have found that 3FC is a great resource for encouragement and support and accountability!

I look forward to reading your posts!

Thanks for the warm welcome! My sister and I are both interested in getting healthy and we have different approaches. I think that this forum is the right place for me. I've spent hours today sitting and reading--I love it here!

hey there from another Washington girl! I'm near Tacoma! what area are you in? and what type of diet plan are you going to follow? low cal? low carb? I suggest low cal! I've been doing it for 3 weeks and I've lost 15 lbs and said goodbye to weighing over 300! I try and eat between 1200-1400 good healthy calories a day! and excericse every day as well!

Now that made me laugh!

Good luck Windchime! I use the crappy weather excuse too.

Best wishes Windchime!
Use your experience from success as a motivator, and put the excuses behind you. YOU CAN DO THIS!

I'm from over where they grow a lot of apples, right in the middle of the state. I don't want to be too exact, but you'll know where I am from that I'm sure. My sister lives on your side of the mountains, a little north of Seattle.

I'll probably just take the approach that I did before, and that is cutting out most of the junk and exercising more which shouldn't be tough since I'm basically doing nothing now. I'm not a person who can do certain things like potato chips, fries, cookies, etc in moderation so I really have to cut them out almost completely.

The other thing I'm doing is packing my lunch instead of going out, which is a huge savings both in terms of money and calories. I'm in awe of all of you who make fancy lunches; again, I keep it simple with things like a few slices of turkey or chicken, a yogurt, some veggies and dip, maybe some fruit--stuff like that. I know that I won't put together a big salad or cook up pots of soup, so the simple method works well for me.

That stuff, plus just being really conscious about snacking really seems to do well for me. I just kind of quit caring or watching what I was doing till -- hello -- I couldn't zip my jeans! How the heck did THAT happen!??? LOL

Hahaha, good! And thanks for the sparkly welcome banner!

to the site! Hope you find a forum that you really enjoy here.

I live in a cold/snowy place too! It would be so much easier if it was nice here & I could walk outside...

Welcome to the group Windchime. I'm new as well and looking forward to getting to know you and everyone else here.