Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum. My cousin told me about it and now I'm here. I don't really like to talk about myself so I don't really know what to say. I've been struggling with my weight all my life, from early childhood on. I'm now 28 and feel like I've hit rock bottom. I'm depressed about my weight and health, as I've always been, and I'm finally looking for help to get me out of this funk. I need motivation and will power - 2 things I'm lacking. I look forward to making new friends here and not being alone anymore.

Hi Mandy

Start typing away I am here!!!!!! I will be glad to talk and get to know you..

28 was a great time for me I had lost 80 lbs back then. I am now 41yrs young and need to lose 70lbs. You can so do it. You have a young metabolism and all of us to help you through it! Best years of my life is where you are at. I can't wait to hear your progress!!!
Ciao4now
wendyinnm

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm at work right now, so it's hard to type without taking too long and timing out of the forum! Just wanted to say thanks and Hi.

Mandy

mandy... LOVE your user name... aint that the truth

you can totaly do this !! I just signed up yesturday and am very excited to have found this community... i have been struggling with weight most of my life too, but looked pretty good through most of my teens... then the 20's hit and BCP came into play and on the weight has come... now at 25 i'm just shy of that 200 mark and it sucks

motivation and will power are 2 things i think most of us lack... which is why this community was built... there is strength in numbers and together we can do this !!

just what ever you do dont let yourself become discouraged... just post away there will always be some one here to pick u up and get you back on track, its not easy to talk about yourself some times but trust me once you get into the swing of things here it'll be second nature to just post away all the time... ( i know i became kind of addicted to another message board a few years ago, and now honestly couldnt imagine my life with out it, and for sumone who never used to talk about themself or in general... i cant seem to shut up )

Thanks again for the warm welcome. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about a forum for "fat chicks" - it's not easy to open up.

Here's my story, my background, my hopeful future...

I've always struggled with my weight. From grade-school on. I was the fat kid in 3rd grade. Most of the kids I went to school with accepted me for who I was, I had great friends and those who didn't like me, who cares. Until I started getting older. I kept getting bigger and bigger. By 5th grade and entering middle school, my pediatrician had me on a diet where I had to report to the office every other week for a weigh in and review of my "diet diary". My pediatrician was very nice, very supportive, but I think even she knew deep down that all the measuring and writing of what I eat wasn't going to help in the long run. I regulated my weight for a couple of years, but by the end of middle school I was gaining weight again, pretty steadily. I was always an active child, loved sports (especially softball), always busy, but couldn't shed the weight. High school sucked. I was teased a lot and really ended up hating who I was.

I have 4 sisters and 1 brother, I'm the "baby". None of them have ever had a problem with their weight. My dad was not a small man, he had what we called a beer belly, but was a hard working carpenter all this life, he was in great shape. My mom was tiny tiny until she hit her 50's...she put on weight, but never a ton. She's a type II diabetic - diagnosed in her late 50s, now dependent on insulin at age 67. She tries to be helpful and supportive, but most of the time I take the support as insults or criticism. I've heard it all my life, it's not new news to me that I'm fat.

Here I am 28 and I've officially hit rock bottom. I don't even know how much I weigh right now. I don't even think my scale will go that high. Last time I was at the dr. (Dec) I watched the nurse tap the scale bar to the 350 spot and push the little bar back and forth until it balanced...I was too ashamed to look up. I know I'm over 350. That's bad enough.

I've been lucky, if you want to call it that, my general health has been ok. I don't have high BP...yet. My joints are working...still. I don't suffer from diabetes...yet. I don't want to continue on this self-destructive path. That's bascially what it is, isn't it? Like I'm headed to sure death if I don't make a change. A whole life change. Not a diet. Not a quick exercise routine. I lack motivation, I lack will power, I lack ENERGY. I can't make it up a flight of stairs without getting winded. I can't keep up with my nieces as they cruise around the mall. I get stares and looks. For once I'd like that to be for something good. I've been on all the fad diets, been to weight watchers so many times I should receive a pension when I retire. I've taken the "magic pills" that weren't so magic, the metabolife pills, fallen for most every infomercial and cry at the very thought of what my life has become...simply because I'm fat and unhealthy. It should be easy, shouldn't it? To wake up and decide that enough is enough and just change everything you've ever known.

I don't quite know how to do that. I haven't figured out the trick. I'm hoping I can get some help from people who have really been there. People who are there. Well, thanks for reading all of that. If you made it all the way to here, congrats! I hope it wasn't TMI, just thought maybe I'd have to start somewhere.

Mandy

Hi Mandy:

I like your user name too, it caught my eye then I read your heartfelt post. For starters, I would come here often and read as much as you can. There are so many people here with so much experience and information and they are so willing to help & answer questions.

As I'm sure you know there are no quick fixes, any product claiming to melt the pounds is a bunch of phooey. The only "trick" I know that works is less calories and more exercise. Start slow, try cutting out any junk food you may be consuming, start taking short walks (Yeah, I know, the weather stinks and it's cold, I'm in CT also) or try some form of exercise you might enjoy. I would also check out the 100 lb. club, I lurk there often and they are VERY supportive of each other.

Lastly, don't give up! There will be days when you will go off plan and have something that is a no-no. I think that may be one of the most important things I have learned since coming here. Instead of throwing in the towel I just forgive myself (well, maybe beat myself up a little ) and jump back in. Because like a lot of other things in life you won't get it right the first time. It takes practice and trial & error to find what works for you.

Good luck!!

Lynn

Thank you Lynn. I really do look forward to reading more here and meeting people. The support is one of the most important things. I don't have a significant other, so I'm my own support system. I have a caring family, but they don't understand, they've never been overweight. My best friend is a size 6 after having 2 kids - she's always been perfect and always ate like a pig.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and for the encouragement. A little goes a long way.

Mandy

Thank you for opening up and sharing your story with us... i think most of the ladies on here are in or have been in the same boat... your post deffinatly was not TMI !

(i'm going to infuse this with a lot of my own personal information)

i know how hard it can be to walk up stairs or to do other normal activities

i have tried off and on for the past 6ish years since i started putting all the weight on (again) to lose it but the only time i was successful was when i needed to get into my wedding dress, i lost like 15 pounds in 2 weeks, but i did like 3 hours of excercise i practicly starved my self and i was poping metaboless (the wal-greens version of metabolife, before the ephedrine recall) like it was candy, it didnt take a week after the wedding and going back to normal for me to put on that 15 pounds and more with in 2 months i had put on 40+ and been in a steady incline ever since

all of those fads products etc are a hit and miss some will work some wont but even the ones that do can screw ya up and usualy as soon as ya stop what you are doing you put on more weight then you took off, of corse that dont stop me from being interested in them but i havnt caved in and bought any recently

what really got me focused this time was my recent divorce and the birth of my son, i realized if at any time i want to find a new man to get a second look i'm gunna have to do something with myself but more importantly i cant even hardly play with my son because of my weight i cant get up and down easily and i cant breath... i have only been a member here for a few days but i am even more motivated now that i found this place and really think the community and its members here at 3FC is going to help me on my way to a sexier me

its going to be a hard road to travel and its going to be a long journy... but you CAN do this !!

start small...

i signed up with the 21 day challenge (its under support i think, but an easy way to find it you can search for post by my user name and it will come up, i havnt posted too many places yet so it'll be right there)

my first challenge is to get in water water water (60oz a day which is 3 20oz bottles not bad... of corse the current bottles i have are 16.9 oz so i gotta drink a couple more) you will be surprised at the changes just from getting in more water... water consumption is a huge part of the processes, and it actualy took ending up in the hospital dehydrated and almost losing my son to realize i needed more water... so now that i am back to being a full time soda drinker i knew this was a good challenge for me

i think for your second step... one that would be excellent for you, due to your weight issues as well as having diabetes(sp) in the family you know you are at risk... start now... go on the "diabetic diet" basicly just change your way of eating to fit the diabetic requirments, since your mom has it i am sure she knows all about the do's and donts, but you should easily beable to find the information line as well...

i had gestational diabetes when i was PG with my son, and am an extreamly picky eater and was pretty much figuring i was going to starve to death on the diabetic diet, but ya know what, it did not cut out a single thing i ate... not even my reeces peanutbutter cups... i just had to eat more often and watch portion sizes... you dont even have to cut out carbohydrates... you just have to make sure you only eat the recommended serving sizes per meal... and for a pasta addict (i said i was picky right, my normal meals consist of mac and cheese about 3-4 days a week(some times for all 3 meals), potaotes one or two days, and more pasta the rest of the time) i was able to eat a ton of food, the portion sizes when you read them/hear them sound so small but when you break out the measuring cups and measure it out, i was ending up with more food on my plate then before i was messuring stuff

but because you are limiting your carbs and your sugars and making sure you get in your protien it could do wonders for your figure as well as your health

i actualy think along my journey since i am a diabetic risk myself, i will eventualy go back on this diet, its healthy and dont limit the things that i eat

anyway... its taken me forever to write this between it being long and lots of interuptions but bottom line...

hang in there YOU C A N DO THIS !! and we are all here to help you !! You have found a great community and a great support system here, and if you slip if you fall, there will always be some one here to pick u up dust you off and kick ur a$$ back into gear

I think that's the best news I've heard! Thank you Tayja for sharing your thoughts with me. I am working on my motivation and making better choices. I'm trying to find some kind of exercise that will work for me, time-wise, movement-wise and actually do me good. I drug my treadmill out from the corner, plugged it in and waxed it up last night. I'm going to start by making a point to get on it for at least 30 minutes a day. I think once I start getting some energy from moving more, I'll be more apt to changing my lifestyle in other ways too.

Thank you again.
Mandy

Hi Mandy!! You are taking a step in the right direction to shaking that funk! Surround yourself with as much support as you can get! I'm looking forward to hearing more about you! Keep posting! We can do this together!! Good luck!!

~melissa

you are most welcomed !! i agree with melissa you have taken that first step to getting out of your funk... you have hurdles to over come but we all do.. thats the one thing i love about finding this place, we are all on even ground here we are all here for the same reason, some of us are just in different stages then others

if you are looking for motivation, you have come to the right place... take a look around, browse some areas, you will find pleanty of it !! as you can see by my siggie i'm thinking of joining curves, i read most of the curves forum and i dont think i have ever read anything so motivational and inspirational before ever, i cant wait to get my membership now !

good for you for getting that treadmill out and set up

now we just got to get your booty on it... that could be your 21 day challenge if you decide to do it, to use the treadmill every day for at least 30 minutes... its great having sumone to "report" to every day to state your progress

i think that is where alot of us fail, becuase we dont have some one we have to report into, we dont have that person there to say well did ya do it or didnt you... oh you didnt... well why the not?? uh get to it !!

i know in mycase that has been a big problem, i didnt have anyone pushing me anyone to report into, but i love that i found that with the challenge, i know every day the girls are waiting for me to come in and post and let them know if i succeeded today or not, and if i did there is a round of applause and if not theres a shoulder to cry on and then a kick in the rear end to get me back on track

you will be surprised with your treadmil also if you make the commitment to do it every day(or every other day even) that after a few days you can do it longer and farther, treadmils are great i'm a huge treadmil advocate... i used a professional one in a gym before ( signed up went about two weeks or so and gave up) my trainer (ya got a free trainer for the first 3 days to show ya the ropes) wanted me to do a 10 minute warm up on it before she took me to the weights and then another 10 minute cool down after the weights... that first day i thought i would die before the ten minutes was up, i was sweating i was panting and i thought i was going to pass out, but once i lost my trainer and still didnt understand the weight room, i kept going just for the tread, and by the time i threw in the towel and quit going (didnt see the point in going just to walk) i was going for like 45 minutes or so at a time and not only was i going longer i was going faster !! i hope one day i have a place and the money so i can get a good treadmil, but i feel spoiled from the one at the gym a cheap one just aint going to cut it now and those bad boys can get expensive...

deffinatly keep posting and keep us updated and keep working you can do this !!!