Hello everyone! I'm 22 and have always struggled with my weight - as of Monday when I weighed myself I'm currently at 252lbs which is the heaviest I've ever been. I have an amazing partner and we recently got engaged, and while he says he loves my body no matter what, I've always been self conscious. It's led to many problems, including our sex life - sometimes I just don't want him to see me because I'm so embarrassed. I also had a miscarriage in 2011 and while everyone says it's not my fault, part of me can't help but feel guilty - that maybe I should take better care of myself!

As of Monday I decided I finally had enough, and if I felt that bad then why don't I do something about it rather than just sitting on my fat *** and letting it get even fatter!

I'm not following any "diet" as such, I have tried all the fads and yo yo'd like crazy over the years! But I'm just eating healthier, snacking on fruit not crisps/biscuits and being more strict with my portion sizes, as well as exercising more.

Rather than waiting until I've fallen off the wagon and am in desperate need of support from people going through the same thing, I figured it was better to have people to talk to right from the start!

My reasons for losing weight are:

- to be able to look in the mirror and not hate what I see

- to look fabulous in my wedding dress next year

- to make it easier to get pregnant

Sorry for waffling a bit, but I would love to hear from you guys with any tips/advice or just general chat (as you can tell I do love a chatter)

Welcome and good luck on your journey!!!

Welcome to 3FC!

Welcome and good luck with your challenges ahead! I too am new, I've added you to my buddy list as we are close to the same age and size...,and share the same reasons for weightloss...maybe we can share our ups and downs aswell as encourage eachother...please excuse my punctuation...I'm typing on a tablet...

Hi purplekitten

Like you, I'm new to this and, again like you, have only recently decided to give up the rubbish and start eating properly!

A piece of advice someone gave me (tried and tested by myself!) was to drink lots of ice cold water or cordial. I realised that I wasn't always hungry - sometimes I was just thirsty without really realising it!
Good luck

Thanks KatDuckie! I now constantly have a glass of water at my desk, at work I used to just nibble all day - now I sip!

It all seems to be working quite well, one week down and 6lbs lost

And I'm braving a Zumba class on Wednesday evening - wish me luck!

I completely understand your frustrations and sadness. Your friends are right in that it isn't your fault but being a mom, I know all too well how much you beat yourself up. Both of my boys were born premature and had to stay in the hospital a couple of months. They're now 13 and 7, very healthy, and well on their way to being strong adults but that doesn't mean I still don't beat myself up about it. As moms, its what we do. But, you have to learn to love yourself and try to let all of that go. It's tough, trust me I know but you have to. Stress will not help with losing weight so that's step number one. Number two is doing exactly what you're doing...making changes. I've done anything and everything to lose the weight but it hasn't worked which means whatever I was doing wasn't what I should have been doing. I'm new to this board just like you and I'm hoping that by being inspired by the testimonies on here and the constant support, as well as not giving up on myself, my life will be turned around. You're not alone. Not alone in your fears as a wife, as a mom, and as a woman. You're never alone.

Hola, PurpleKitten!

I'm a noobster here, too, and we're around the same age and both engaged. (Congratulations!) My fee-ance tells me he loves my body, too- but now he's losing weight. And I'm finding it. Ugh. I'm also at my all-time high in the weight category. I swore to myself I'd never marry a man who weighed less than me- and he's getting pretty dang close. Three pounds. Eek.

Yeah, I'd lik to look nice in a wedding dress, too. I can't cover my rolls with a baggy shirt on THAT day!

Anyway, welcome to 3FC! ) Hope to hear from you again, soon , and that we can offer each other support!

Add mee y'all! Lol

Hi, my name's Melanie! I literally JUST joined and am looking for some new people to talk to..

Welcome Melanie!

I just joined today too, and I think this is the perfect place to get encouragment! Good luck!