So it's been about a year since my last diet and i've successfully GAINED 15 pounds, NOT GOOD!!

I've finally realized its time for a life change, not another diet to drop 20 pounds or so. Old fashioned, consistant, healthy eating (not diet!) and exercise. I can't do the crazy fad diets, I like my carbs and occassional sweets, just need to master the art of portioning I've done WW, but don't have the time to get to meetings, and the online seems a little boring.

I'm looking for friends to talk to on the good and bad days.... my friends are all pretty much sized 4 to 12 and don't quite understand the changes i'm trying to make.

Oh yeah...I'm also trying to quit smoking so this should be extra challenging!!
Hope to talk to you soon!
Take care and good luck with your goals!!

Welcome and good luck. You have taken the first important step.

Hi and welcome to 3FC. This is a great place for support, encouragement and advice. It's great to be able to "talk" to people with the same concerns and the same goals. You're definitely on to something when you say you are looking to change your lifestyle. Good luck to you with your weightloss and giving up the cigarettes. Looking forward to getting to know you.

welcome hope to be a good supporting fat chick!!!

Hey there Athena! I am a Washingtonian myself. I think once the weather starts getting nicer I know that I will be motivated to get outside. I just started watching my portion sizes as well. I've done Atkins, Susan Powter, WW, Carb Lovers Diet, Jenny Craig, South Beach, Phen-Fen, other pills I forget the name of and other diets I can't remember right now.

For me, I felt like WW was the healthiest and forced me to pay attention to portion sizes which are a big part of my problem (no pun intended). I watched a documentary a couple of weeks ago (I forget what channel) about obesity in America and for some reason the stories in that documentary spoke to me. There was this one guy that was really big and he kept making all these excuses why he felt diets had failed and how he couldn't exercise, that everything didn't work and he was going to get gastric bypass. What caught my attention was all his whining sounded eerily familiar! It was me! I make every excuse in the book why I can't do 10 minutes on my exercise bike, or why I can't walk two blocks around my neighborhood, or rationalize why I deserve to eat half a bag of chips. For me the bottom line was, "yeah, I can rationalize all of that, but how is that helping me". I'm on my way to a heart attack, stroke, diabetes, not to mention being too exhausted to participate in activities with my family. I am having to spend part of my time staying with my mother who is dying of lung cancer and, lung cancer aside (I know that's a biggy) she is healthier than I am!!!! The doctors have told her that aside from the lung cancer (from 40 plus years of chain smoking) she is the healthiest 60-something woman they've seen. She has outlasted her prognosis by over a year now, due to her being in such good health to begin with. I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, she is dying from lung cancer, but she's already beating her slim chances just by virtue of the fact that she took good care of herself in all the years leading up to her diagnosis.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, for me at least, I ran out of excuses. Noone is going to "make me" get healthy, it's up to me. I don't want to be "skinny", I want to feel good in my own skin. I want to sleep better, feel better, have more energy, and start living instead of increasing my chances of dying younger than need be from disease.

I like the WW philosophy and that's what I'm beginning with. Portion control and trading old fattening favorites with healthy alternatives and making "new" favorites. I'm making myself small, attainable goals, like riding my exericse bike for at LEAST 10 minutes a day. Usually I feel good enough to do 20 minutes so I keep going. I've even been thinking lately it might be exciting to train for a marathon in the fall, maybe something small. I have to give myself 10 lb. weight loss goals at a time, I can't think of the "big picture" right now or I just get overwhelmed and feel defeated before I start. By making small changes I expect to see big results in the long run. Like my husband tells me, "it took you more than a year to put the weight on, give yourself time to take it off".

I would love to hear from anyone else who is having similiar thoughts on weight loss and exercise. Here's wishing everyone a healthy week!

Athena, I found too that making small changes really add up to big changes! I know people say that, but it really is true. Now that I've been more concious(sp?) of what I'm putting in my mouth and more intuned to when I'm exercising, it has been alittle easier. If I try and look at the big picture it just doesn't do it for me, I feel overwhelmed and ultimately get down on myself for ending up where I am now. Instead, I'm praising myself for having a good day - taking one day at a time literally. I hope you have a great week and take it one day at a time. Carole :0)

Hi!

I know exactly what you mean about making a life change. I have been on more fad/starvation diets than I care to count, but the only thing taht has worked has been changing my entire attitude about food. Life change is the only thing that can do it long term, I've found, but damn is it hard! Consider yourself supported!!

One day at a time is right! it's a daily battle that we will win! I've been looking at the big picture too... pants a little loser this week will end up being too big
I've also been keeping a food journal... its working pretty well, its easier to pass on things you have to add to your list!
My goal this week is to bump my aerobic exercise from 3 days a week to 4.
And to go buy a new scale so i can weigh in and hope my tracker will move!!

Hi to all, my name is Cass, I'm 25, and from Missoula Montana. I've been fighting my weight (mostly winning, I think) for years now, ever since I was in high school. I just have a tendancy to lapse into doughyness if I'm not paying attention. At it's highest, my weight was very close to cracking the two hundred lb mark, that was ooh...about four years ago now. After working and sweating, and busting my butt on the treadmill I was down to 120 (almost too thin for me I think) until I went back to school. As a result of all that time spend in a desk (not to mention the increased beer consumption that's an almost inevitable result of hanging around with bunches of people my own age) I'm back up to about 150. I think. I'm not far enough along to face the scale yet...I just know none of my pants fit anymore. eesh. So here I am. I'm running every day for thirty minutes (well, actually more like, running, staggering, gasping, walking, then back to running) every day and eating a lot of broccoli and carnation instant breakfast. I feel better already (it's only been about a week) and am determined that by the end of june I'll be content to wear a swim suit in public. This is the first support site I've joined, but I need SOMEBODY who gets it. My boyfriend is hopeless. His idea of support is to tell me he loves me, and then offer me chocolate cake. It's nice to hear, but not very helpfull. :-) anyway, cheers all!

Oh, and athena! Way to go! I can tell you from experience that the only thing that works in the long run is a determination to be healthy and happy. Weight loss is a side effect. I've never been able to stick to a program like WW...too restrictive for me. I like to splurge. :-) Good luck!

Hi - my name is Merry and I'm back on the wagon and have battled my weight since my 20's. I joined 3FC yeseterday and browsed most of the evening. I regained the 40 lbs lost last year on LAWL -- Pretty sad . I have all sorts of excuses too -- I work too many hours, not enough time for exercise and the worst, I love to eat. I've been sort of lost these past few months with my weight gain and all the guilt that goes with it. I saw an article in Oprah about 3FC and decided to give this a try. I don't know what I'm looking for, other than some sort of relief from this guilt so I can get on with focusing on what's important and that's learning how to deal with my demons of eating. I have been walking at night with my guy and hope to keep that up every day now that the weather is getting nicer, although we walk in the winter too, it's a little windy, but that's just extra tension on the muscles walking into the wind!
Thanks for listening!

I don't know if anyone looks at this post anymore, but anyway, here goes. My last post here was April 19th - my mother died on Mothers day May 13th 2007. Yeah, it was a bummer. I was still losing weight though and it's taken all this time with my sister to get our mother's affairs in order.

Well, I'm ready to tackle my weight again. I'm on new medications for my narcolepsy, one of which is basically legal speed, so it's helping with my appetite. I started taking sleeping pills which I know sounds like a contradiction, but I'm trying to "force" myself into the restorative sleep that normal people get. It's not working, but the speed is, LOL! So, I'll keep trying things until I hit on a winning combination. I really want to be healthy!

I've been doing 10 minutes on the exercycle every night listening to my ipod - it's about all I can handle, usually I have to lay down and rest afterwards - it sucks. I know I sound like a downer, but was hoping someone here is also having a hard time but trying to keep their chins up as well! I would love to hear from anyone - especially people with sleep disorders.

Good luck to anyone else who may read this. Carole :0)