This is a great thread, it's so interesting to hear other peoples views on why 3FC works for them.

I have only been a member for about 3 weeks and I already love it, I love looking at peoples tickers and being inspired by how well they've done and I enjoy reading everyones posts about how they have overcome various struggles to continue to be successful - I find this so inspirational as I've never been on any sort of "program" before (not even weight watchers or similar) and so it's a revelation the amount of support there is out there.

I also love this site because I am currently living in a country where I don't speak either language (French or Dutch) and don't know anyone aside form the people I work with - who I never see outside work. This site has been great for me as it allows me to speak with people in English! If it were't for this site I'd be spending all of my very quiet evenings and even quieter weekends eating.

By the way, after I finish my work here in Belguim I'm going to be working in Newport Beach California, has anyone been there? Is it nice? (I'm English and so California seems a very long way from home to me)

It's so good to get to know you all.

I'm still here cause I just love you all so much!
This time around I made a serious conscious decision to change my lifestyle..not just go on a 'diet'. It wasn't a new years resolution, it was more of a 'i woke up one day in November, looked in the mirror and was so horrified at what i had become that I put the breaks on right then and there' In my travels I found this site and became an addict. I would not have made it this far if I wasn't here and really what keeps me going is coming here every day.
I don't have anyone that I talk to honestly about all of these things....I mean I talk about things here and there with people but not in the kind of detail that I do here. Also, I feel I've become a part of a community here and I like seeing how all my wonderful new friends are doing every day!

I am here because............well I just love all the support that 3fatchicks has to offer...........without support I always get lost in my weight loss plan.........this time does feel different for me too...........I think I have finally "seen the light" so to speak.......I need to lose weight to be healthy and live a long healthy life...........Not that i am unhealthy at this weight but I can feel things aren't quite what they should be.........But I know myself too and I need support from friends, friends from here and friends in the real world.........let just keep walking this road together and know that it is probably a road that will never end, but a road that gets us where we are going together and then staying together just because we are friends, friends with a common bond

I'm still here because I gain much inspiration from the ladies that are doing so wonderfully. They're my reminder that I can and will do this.

I'm here because I realize that the only thing I can do to help things "click" is to keep picking up bits and pieces of information along the way. This keeps me on track, and it keeps me coming to 3FC (lots of information here!).

I'm still here, although I've been lurking until recently, because outside of my DH, I am not sharing my weight loss journey with anyone else, not even my closest friends and family. I have been hurt in the past by comments made about my weight and I will no longer open myself up to that. I'm here at 3FC because I will get and hopefully give support, no negativity.

Your post made me stop and think a bit. Why am I here? Well, I've been gone for several days (outo f town), and realized I don't like getting by without the site. The motivation and inspiration are only a click away. No matter what I'm going through, someone here can relate to it and how it's making me feel. You can't get better advise than from someone who's been there!

As for the weight loss end? I'm still here because with this site the lifestyle changes work for me. I'm not sure they would work (or at least work as well) without this support system. When I check in here daily...several times a day...it all seems so easy! I just do what needs done, and I make the program work, sort of like being on auto pilot, but a good auto pilot, not the destructive kind!

I've been lurking on this site since November, and ironically, I found it while searching the web for some negative sites about weight issues - hoping that seeing negative and critical comments would make me want to change. I'm not sure why I was thinking that way; I've been dealing with negative and critical comments for my entire life, and they hadn't caused a lasting change.

Finding this site changed my entire outlook on my weight and the issues that come with it, and it has a way of inspiring a certain kind of confidence, a kind of faith in myself that I never would have seen otherwise. Up until I found this place, I worked hard to make sure that no one knew about my weight loss efforts. If no one knew, then no one would know when I failed. This time, it's different. I'm not sure why it is, but I know that it is, and I'm sure that the community here is a major contributor to it.

I'm very thankful that I stumbled onto this forum, even if I very rarely make a post. I don't think I could have committed myself to this lifestyle change as easily as I have, if I hadn't stumbled in.

I come to this site, because I can get information, quickly. From women and men who have BEEN there. People who understand! Not some size 2 person who wrote a column on how she lost her excess 5 pounds from pregnancy weight, not some nutritionist who hasn't struggled with weight. I enjoy reading everyone's posts, looking at their pictures. These are people who have been there, people who are there, people who are successfully struggling with losing weight and struggling to maintain.

Why am I still eating healthier? Still excersizing? Because I LIKE it. I like seeing all the new changes in my body. I like knowing the difference between hunger and boredom. I like knowing when I wake up, I feel healthier, my clothes fit better and I look better. I like seeing my skin, all free and clear of pimples and zits, blackheads, because I'm drinking so much freaking water they can't take root in the morass of preservatives and unhealthy fats that clung to my skin. I like my hair being naturally soft and shiny, not because of a product I put on it, but because of the food I put in myself. I had chinese a few days ago, and gorged. It was disgusting, I'm just NOW feeling better. Bowels, skin, stomach everything rebelled against the garbage I put in it. I like knowing the difference between a normal, healthy movement and one as a source of crap food. I like knowing, finally the difference between a "diet" and a way of life. That's what it is, a way of life, it's not something I can stop. Ever. It's something I'll always struggle with, one day, it won't be such an obviously physical struggle, but the mental will always be there. I like inputing my food choices into fitday or *********** and seeing the sheer amount of good, fresh food I can eat every day, and still stay within my calorie range. I use to think dieting was a small, iceberg lettuce and thats it. No meat, no carbs etc. Now I know how to eat healthy, eat right for my body and still manage to lose weight.

Lillibeth - I just moved from Los Angeles, New Port Beach is a nice community. When you get there, go to Dana Point, they have some great cliffs, beaches and things to walk, lots of tidepools and caves to explore. Just mind the tides, no need to swim in that frozen water!

Hi Angihas2!

Thank's for the tip. I'll be sure to check it out. I'm hoping my work will provide me with a car so that I can do lots of exploring at the weekends.

I´m here because it feels good to know I´m not alone, it feels good to be part of this great group and it gives me confort to know that I´m not the only one going through a series of weight related dilemas...

Why this time is different ? I think mainly because I rediscovered the joy of living after being numb for quite some time, because I found out that I really wanna laugh and cry and feel, and to do that I have to stop hiding behind the pounds...

Hiya everyone!

I just have to say that I am so amazed that I got replies to my thread! I had a feeling that nobody would respond! Thank you so much for being so supportive. Please email me anytime [email protected].

Take care and keep up the good work!!!!!!

great and inspirational. Also because everyone in real life gets bored listening to me prattle on about my journey and you all don't! Seriously, the support and knowledge here is so very important to me.

As for the weight loss journey itself, I think there are many reasons why things have clicked for me this time. Certainly health, happiness, my family etc. are true. However, I think the biggest reason is this is truly for me. Not to sound melodramatic but as the SAHM of 4 under ten and a wife, I have not been a priority in recent years. My children are a precious blessing to me and my DH is wonderful, but somehow I have lost track of me in my day to day life. My needs seem to come somewhere very low on the list. The kids, all their activities, DH, his job, his volunteering on the first aid squad, even the dog with cardiac problems come before me. I am not whining, these are important things, but I am too. Sometimes it feels as though there is no me anywhere. I want more than that. If I don't make me a priority no one else will. I want and need this and I am going after it for ME! I am going to get it too.
Kathy

I'm still here because when I joined WW last January it was for me, not for my sons wedding or not because other people thought I should. It was because I was ready to become a healthier person. Maybe that 50th birthday in November of 2005 was the wake up I needed since I lost both of my parents in their 50's due to heart problems. Maybe it was the wanting to be able to enjoy the grandkids (I now have 5, 2 new ones last year) and to be around to watch them grow up, unlike my parents. Maybe it was feeling miserable on a Sisters weekend, my three sisters were all loosing at that time and I was not, we did a lot of walking, my kees and ankles were hurting, I felt like a blimp even though I wasn't that much heavier than them. I'm sure it was a combination of all these things. I am just so glad that I found this site, I believe it has helped me stay focused, you're all in or have been in the same position, you know the struggles and challenges and are great inspiration. Thank you.

My only problem is I spend way too much time here while I am at work. Once I start reading I don't want to stop. I've had to not allow myself to come to the site on busier days, otherwise I put off work I should be doing. LOL