Hi all! I have been perusing the 3fc forums from time to time for more than a year now, but didn't have the commitment/drive to really get going on the "battle of the bulge" so I only just joined today. Good grief.
Up until two years ago, I had always done the slow 10-15# gain (over a couple of years), followed by the epiphany that my pants were getting awfully snug, followed by the five stages of grief, and finally resolved by a relatively rapid diet + intense aerobic-plus-anaerobic workouts 5x a week or so...
...but then I turned 40 (possibly a factor) and got a Depo-provera shot for birth control (DEFINITELY a factor) in September 2010, and my body just seems to have gone through some biochemical shift. I gained something like 8-10 pounds during the three months I was on the Depo (never went back for another shot, as it turned me into a carb-craving, water-retaining, patience-less super-***** with zero libido-- ah, there's how it acts as birth control!-- and nightly hot flashes, which I especially enjoyed since I was also pretty seriously insomniac). 8-10 pounds was nothing I hadn't experienced before, so I figured once I was "off the stuff," I could do my usual diet+exercise combo and get right back to normal, but (little did I know-- cue the dramatic music...) I was about to experience a full set of even-more-awful side effects as my body recovered from what I now understand was basically a 3-month sneak peak at rapid-onset menopause!!!
Suffice it to say, I gained about 20 more pounds and the scale just keeps creeping slowly upward, my skin looks 10 years older (blotchiness *and* acne: who knew a girl could "have it all" like this?!)
, I alternate between ridiculously bloated (think: 5 months pregnant) and almost normal, on a day-to-day basis, and I just have NO energy or motivation to get my larger-than-life arse to the gym (especially since every time I do, my bloating is INTENSE for 2-3 days afterward)... and, to make it all worse, I am in a wonderful relationship with a terrific guy (who is *ahem*, much younger than me and who has seen me through thin... and thick, if you know what I mean) who just recently confessed that he finds his eyes drawn to chicks with bare, flat midriffs and if afraid that, at some point, if I keep on the current weight/shape trend, he might just not be physically attracted to me any more.
I cannot tell you how deeply his confession wounded me, but he is right. I mean, how can I expect him to be attracted to me when I find myself physically disgusting? So, ladies (and gents, 'cause I know you're on here too), I am putting all this out here as a cry for help-- I have not been able to self-motivate through this and I need support from people who understand where I am at, mentally and physically. I need a kick in the butt. So, I am going to post my goals, instead of just keeping them in my head, and I hope seeing them in writing will help get me back on the path to my "fighting weight," which is not just 135 pounds on the scale, but also well-muscled and fit.
Thank you all so much for being here: just knowing you are out there, fighting (and winning!) the same fight I am about to really embark on, is huge motivation!
(And I promise to be more upbeat, from here on out, but I wanted to share my lowest low, because, sadly, that is where I am setting out from.)
Gained 25-ish pounds since one Depo shot two years ago... got to get it OFF, at last!
You are new and just getting started so will start instead with 
