Hi everyone!

A bit about me? I'm 21, a newly qualified nurse and ... I'm overweight. I am 5'6 and was tipping the scales at 89.9kgs just over a year ago. I'm now down to 87.2 after the occasional week or two of extreme dieting and detoxing followed by prolonged 'breaks'. My aim is a healthy 68kgs - nearly 2 stone to go, eek!

I'm here to offer support and advice and hope that there are people out there to offer the same to me. I'm looking for some tips and tricks and a bit of girly chat.

Hope to chat to you all soon,
Jello x

Welcome! you will love it here. The people are so supportive.

Welcome to the club!

Hi

Thanks for the welcome! I see you both have done really well with the weight loss. Keep it up. x

Hi jello and welcome.

Hmm....let me figure out this conversion. You were about 198 lbs. and have just lost around 10 lbs., right? And you want to get down to 140 lbs.? Where do you live that you're using kilograms? The UK?

I worked as a nurse for many years and being overweight can be a real problem with this profession....mainly because you spend a great deal of time on your feet. The ones who have it even more physically challenging are the nursing aides. I worked with many over the years and many of the older ones who were also overweight...were literally limping and suffering from serious knee, foot and back pain...and I honestly don't even know how they did it, all the heavy lifting, turning patients, etc. I felt so bad for them and tried to help them as much as possible.

Being a nurse, you surely understand that being overweight puts undue stress and pressure on weight-bearing joints. And that as we age, we usually develop some degree of degenerative joint disease anyway....and adding being overweight seriously speeds up and exacerbates that whole process. And it can become a vicious cycle....being overweight makes you more sedentary, decreases your ROM of your joints and mobility...you gain even more weight, put even more pressure on your weight-bearing joints...and on and on.
Then you're desperately trying to find a paperwork nursing job when it just becomes too difficult to stand so much....right? Been there/done that.

And let's face it. As medical professionals, we are supposed to be examples of good health.
I'll tell you one thing that's really helped me with this issue due to being a nurse. I totally understand the basic concepts of the various diets, especially the metabolic ones....having a basic understanding of anatomy and physiology. This makes it much easier for me to grasp and to follow them and understanding the logic is motivating for me.

You can absolutely do this. And this site is beyond fantastic for support....and also for holding you accountable...not to mention, providing hours and hours of reading to motivate and teach you.

deena

Hi jello!
Congrats on your career, you've chosen a wonderful path - sounds like you're off to a great start to achieveing a healthier you - the support you need is here - we'll all be here to cheer you on.

Glad to have you join us! There are lots & lots of different groups and forums - I'm sure you'll find some that will keep you motivated and inspired. Try the 20 somethings and the weight loss support forums, they're active and very helpful - also the Success stories are a definite must for motivation. Check out the UK Chicks, too.

There are bunches of people here with more to lose and some with less - the bottom line is that we all have to do it a day at a time. The good thing is that we'll have lots of company along the way.

I've only been here since last fall, having NEVER been part of an online forum. What has been so eye-opening is how much it has helped me. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or defeated, I just log on and read some of the success stories, complete with their before & after photos - or read about others still dealing day to day with their challenges - and before I know it, the time has flown by and so have all the thoughts of going off track or giving up. It has made all the difference in my success so far.

So welcome - you've found the right place - join in by inspiring us and being inspired!

All the best - good luck with your goals,
Lee