[aglick57]

I don't even know where to begin. I am 56 years old. I am sitting here thinking how did I get here. """Here""" as in being why did I let myself gain so much weight and how am I going to change it. I have never had a big problem with weight let alone, obese (sounds like a bad 4 letter word to me, yeah I know its 5 letters). Morbidly obese even sounds worse. Okay, so what happened to me. I fell about 4 years ago and had a compression fracture of my spine, which kept me on my back for about three months. and I gained weight, I had another fall, broke a foot, no weight bearing, and so the cycle began. I have osteoporosis. I have broken ribs from sneezing !! I re-fractured my spine last year, and then in October I fell and broke a bone that is not healing. So I am back to laying around with my foot propped up in the air. I have always been an active person and this has all led to depression, which has led to overeating. Depression, no exercise equals weight gain. Lots of weight gain. I feel helpless and hopeless at the time. I have no motivation but I know the weight has got to come off. I need to lose about 60 pounds. So here I am at 3 fat chicks on a diet, looking for some direction, making friends, finding motivation and losing weight. So I guess this is the first step.

[doingmybest]

Welcome! I am very sorry to hear about all that you have been through. I know exactly how you feel.

I have been fat all of my life and I have always felt overwhelmed at the idea of having to lose so much weight. I have also suffered from depression which makes losing weight even more overwhelming.

Recently, I had a bad fall on my right knee and I will be having surgery on it later this week. My doctor said that in order for me to be able to walk, I must get some weight off. Every pound of excess weight puts four additional pounds of pressure on our joints.

Here are a few things that I have learned:

1. Instead of telling myself that I have over 100 lbs. to lose, I set smaller goals, such as promising myself to stay on program for the week, or losing the next five pounds.

2. Drinking water helps me to control my appetite.

3. I stay away from negative, critical people as much as I can. I find that when I am stressed, particularly by critical people, I just eat more.

4. I remind myself of the health benefits of losing weight.

5. I found a program that suits me well and allows me to enjoy food. (I follow Weight Watchers). Have you found a good plan? 3FCs has a lot of info on weight loss programs.

6. Give yourself a lot of credit for facing this problem and doing something about it. I try to find non-food rewards to give myself when I have a little victory.

7. Getting help with depression is very important. I have had counseling and I elected to take medication with my doctor's guidance. ( this may not be what you would choose.). There are also some good self help books that can make a difference. Finding sympathetic friends to talk to, like everyone here at 3FCs, is also helpful.

I wish you all of the very best on your journey. We are all here to support you.

[caldawg89]

Hey OP! Welcome I dont know where you are from, but my mother in law is in a wheechair/uses a walking frame due to having a severely damaged back and a bad leg. She goes to a program called "Heart Moves" I think its called? My mother in law is about your age, its run by community health I think, and its free. My mother in law is a large woman, and is also doing Weight Watchers and combined with the program, she is losing weight! All the exercises are low intensity, and are mostly aimed at elderly people, however anyone can go and it is working wonders for her Maybe enquire at your local community health or hospital, and they can put you in touch with the right people? Best of luck, please feel free to post as much as you like, the good and bad, we are all hear for the same reason and I have found this forum so supportive!