During grad school I did nothing but eat and sit in the library, and in those two years I gained almost a hundred pounds, and went from a size 12 to a size 18. My best buddy did the same thing, and last summer we tried to do Body for Life. We each lost about twenty pounds total, but then we graduated and moved away. I moved to the beer and cheese state (Hello, Wisconsin!) and couldn't find a job, so I sat home and ate. I still don't know anyone, but I do have a job (problematically, I don't see anyone else at all during work, so I'm having trouble building a support network).

In March of this year I was up to a size 20 and sliding dangerously close to 300lbs and decided I absolutely had to do something about it. I joined the YMCA and started swimming and then took rowing lessons.

I also joined a Community Shared Agriculture Farm. I go out and work on the farm for five hours a week picking veggies and such and I get a box full of veggie to take home. This has really helped me eat more veggies, as I used to hate everything but carrots and sweet potatoes.

I'm also finishing up my PADI Dive Master cert. Scuba diving is one of my main motivations to lose weight. I can't take the next class I want to take until I weigh less than 200lbs (this isn't to be mean to overweight people, it's because it's a deep diving class and it's a safety concern. I'd like to be down to 190 before I sign up.)

Anyway, I'm really hoping to form a support system here, and learn more about being healthy and lose some weight.

Hi akai and welcome to the forum!
It sucks when you've been a normal size before and some stupid change in habits makes you put on huge amounts of weight. But you seem to have reversed the trend, so that's great

Any chance you can get a different job where you see more people? It sounds depressing... Kudos on the veggie picking though, sounds like a really good deal.

Welcome!! I'm new myself and have the same problem finding support. Everyone wants to be supportive until they realize they have to change the way they eat!! LOL It's great to hear that you are motivating yourself to get into better shape for your diving class- as opposed to blowing it off and then being depressed about it- like most of us would! LOL That's horrible, but I know myself LOL
I love the community ag. farm idea- Being from a smaller town myself, you may actually find some support if you really put it out there that you want a friend to 'go to the mattresses' with you on the weight loss.

Best wishes!!
Rachel

cuddlzandhugz: I know I complained about it, but I LOVE my job. It's exactly what I went to school for and I run my own lab and everything. Once the summer's over, most of the office will be back from the field and things should get better, it's just hard to make friends.


designerella: I do that ALL the time, it's my major road block to everything in life. "Oh, I'll never do that perfectly/good enough, I might as well not try." was sort of my motto (and my totem would be the ostrich

hehe you are a perfectionist who doesn't try unless you can get it perfect... SO ME!!

Hello, Akai!

Congrats on your decision to get healthier. Wow, swimming & rowing ... that's a great start on exercise. So far I'm just walking briskly.

You may want to check out www.fitday.com in conjunction with 3FC. It's free, easy & quick. You log in what you eat, and the site calculates calories, fat/carb/protein + much more. It has helped me alot to discover the specifics of the foods I eat.

Your veggie project sounds cool.

The ostrich is your totem? ROFL!! Too funny. I know what you mean. Never do today what you possibly can put off till tomorrow was my motto for many years.

Speaking of ostriches, there's a 3FC ticker (the designs in lots of signatures here counting down weight) with an ostrich on one end, hee hee!

If you'd like a free 3FC ticker, just click Quick Links at the top of each page, then scroll down to Weight Tickers.

There are lots of support groups here ... I'm in Hot and Healthy Challenge Chicks (under Misc. Groups). Newcomers welcome everywhere, so check it out! Hope to see you around here, and good luck on your journey!