[2ndLt Jays ArmyWife]

Hi everybody!

My name is Kristin. I've been lurking around for a little bit but I finally decided to introduce myself. I'm 25 years old and I've been fighting the battle of the bulge for waaaay too long now. In the last five years I've gained and lost, gained and lost and...you guessed it...gained and lost again. The lowest I can remember weighing in that time was 165 but I was very unhealthy. As a 19 year old college kid I was on the "liquid diet." When your diet consists of whiskey, vodka and the occasional order of cheese fries, it's not too hard to lose weight but I sure wouldn't recommend it! lol
Anyways, I thankfully outgrew that phase without any major harm being done but ever since, the pounds have just been creeping on. At my heaviest I was probably 230 but I'm not sure because I refused to set foot anywhere near a scale. I'm a southern girl, born and bred, and if you had ever been to a family gathering or church potluck in the South, then you'll probably see why I love food. I weigh in at 200 pounds today but my goal is 120 pounds and I know I'll never get there if I don't cut back, change my habits and get a hold on this now. I really hope that ya'll can help me along the road and that I'll be able to encourage you in return! Here's to us!!

[bargoo]

Welcome and good luck ! Do you have a diet and exercise plan ?

[NEMom]

Welcome to the forum! Wishing you all the best on your weight loss journey!

[sontaikle]

Hey welcome to the forum! We're all here for you!

Like bargoo asked, do you have a diet an exercise plan or do you need help finding one?

[rachaelm]

Welcome! I'm glad you decided to join. Check out some of the MANY different plans people use on this forum. There are so many ways to fight that bulge, you just need to pick something you feel like fits your life!

[2ndLt Jays ArmyWife]

Thanks! I've been reading and looking into different diet plans and I think I'm going to go with calorie counting. I know that Atkins works because I've lost weight on it in the past. However, it doesn't really fit my lifestyle and I was miserable the entire time I was on it.
As far as exercise goes, I'm riding a stationary bike when I can. I have arthropathy in my lower spine and a cyst on my spinal cord. :S It's pretty painful and there are a lot of days when it flares up and by the time I get off work, I can barely move. It's been a big factor in my recent weight gain but I'm really hoping to get it taken care of in the next few months. I don't have access to a pool but are there any certain low impact exercises that work well?? I can't bend over at the waist and lifting makes it worse so trying to work out is really discouraging usually.