Hey, new here. So. I'll just launch right into this, shall I? Lol.

I've been morbidly obese since I was about 14. I had a thyroid disorder in grade school, and then developed an eating disorder to go right along with it. At my heaviest, I was around 350 pounds.

I've lost 70 pounds in the past year or so, and I'm still working on it. I've come on here a few times reading posts when I was developing my weight loss plan, but I never joined. Lately my life's gotten really stressful and I've let go of a lot of friendships in the past year, so I guess I'm here to find people who understand what I'm going through. Kinda here with the goal of making friends so we can support each other, cause weight loss is a b****!

Well, I'm sure I'll be posting here and there as I explore the forums, but if anyone's in the same boat as me, or has been previously, feel free to send me a message and we can get to know each other.

I'll even throw out a starting topic: I feel that being fat has made me a better person. It's not a healthy lifestyle, and I'm quite happy to leave it behind, but I feel a lot of my compassion and understanding for others comes from the persecution I faced as a fat chick. Do you agree/disagree, or have you had a similar experience with your weight?

Hello! I just joined myself, so I don't have any words of wisdom, just wanted to say "hey, way to go on what you've done so far!" 8-D

.. and in response to the topic you mentioned: I've noticed, much to my great dismay, that I seem to have unintentionally gotten far MORE likely to be judgemental of peoples' weight (either direction) than I ever used to be- no matter HOW much I remind myself of things like physical health issues/ depression/ etc etc... I still seem to have had less patience the more weight *I* have put on.

Which has surprised and disgusted me, frankly (er: the judgemental attitude, the weight isn't actually all that surprising).


... ok so in retrospect this was a horrible first post, but I think that trying to realize just how detrimental that internalized self-loathing has really been can be helpful. No, waking up calling yourself names for "slipping" doesn't help, being *positive* helps, hence joining what looks like a great forum.

Aaaand that is the most drama-queen I am gonna get, promise!

Welcome to 3FC =)

I've been pretty overweight (read: obese) much of my life since just after puberty. Always been a bit of a chubby, kid before that, though.

You aren't alone in this journey. We're all here, taking it one day at a time, making healthier choices.

Congratulations on making changes and losing weight It's difficult, but you're doing it.

You might appreciate the 300+ Club and the 100lb Club to start you off... there are various other support groups and threads within the Support Group section. (Please do join as many as you're comfortable in The more the merrier)

As for your question... I've only ever seen the world through fat-colored glasses, so it's difficult to say just how it affected me, because I cannot see my past experiences in any other light. The one thing it -maybe- did for me is that I've never really fit in much (lol no pun intended) no matter where I am...so it got me used to that early on. Doing my own thing became okay from the start. That's something I'd never give up.

I'm thrilled to see your progress, and I hope to see you around the boards along your journey

Oh! And just a note - Since you're brand spankin' new, no one will be able to send you a PM until you've been here 20 days and have had 20 posts.

Hey! I'm new here as well.
First off, congrats on your weight loss all ready! Well done!

Like you, I've been heavy all my life, and have decided it's time to change that.
Also like you, I've lost many friendships recently, due to just moving on. In any case, I'd love to have a buddy too, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll give you my email address or something

I'd guess we're a similar weight, I can't know for certain because I don't know how much I do weigh, haha, I go by clothing fit, it feels a lot better! But in any case, I can guess we want to lose a similar amount!

In response to your question, I too believe being heavy has made me a better person. Being bullied as a kid, I now stand up for the little guy at any opportunity. In my opinion, nobody is as kind, empathetic or understanding as someone who has been picked on, for what ever reason.