My daughter is standing over my shoulder making me do this. She is the computer literate one in the family and says I have to introduce myself to the "community." I am trying to find people to talk with and get some advice from. I have tried losing weight many times before and don't seem to get it right. Help!!!
So, I am a teacher and for the most part I love my job. I have two lovely and sometimes annoying childern of my own. We live together with 6 chickens, 4 dogs, a horse, a goat, a cat and the duck. We are occasionally visited by the local fox, who thinks that the duck would make a wonderful snack.
I have a lot of weight to lose and am trying to figure out how to do it. I know exercise is a key for me and food still remains a mystery, Do I eat too much, too little? I don't know. Help me out everyone. I need it.

Hi Mindy! Aren't you glad your 'annoying' daughter pushed you forward to join here??LOL!! I've just joined myself in the last week and am trying to figure out the big "how" --- how to eat healthier, exercise any, and stick to it! So far, just reading the posts here, and looking at the goals reached have provided motivation to at least start something.

I am from a mid-sized town in NC, and there aren't a lot of opportunities for networking, so I'm really glad this place is here. I'm an educator, as well. Best of luck in your weight loss journey!!

Hi Mindy, new here too! We can do this, it looks like we're about the same weight and trying to get to the same place!

I'm rooting for you from here!

Welcome and good luck, do you have a diet and exercise plan? Lots of suggestions in these forums.

Wanted to give you a personal .

There are a great many different ways people are losing weight and keeping it off on this site.

You have come to the right place for a little advice, a few ideas and a whole lot of encouragement. All of us are on the same journey to a more healthy thinner person.

Myself, I use fit day to keep track of what I am eating. I like to get the required amounts of the four basic food groups in each day. Fit day is great, at a glance I can see what I have eaten and what I still need to eat to meet my daily goal. I can also see how many calories, fat and carbs I have taken in. I have some very general amounts of each that I allow myself.

If the family is having something for lunch or dinner I don't want. From time to time, maybe once or twice a week I eat a lean cuisine. They taste great, are nice portions and can be used to fill in those four food groups too.

Exercise is another thing that I do to help the body. One or two walking/aerobic videos a day, only 1 or 2 mile videos, and a secession every other day of resistance training, 20 to 40 min, is really toning my body and making me a more healthy person. I do all of this at home. No fancy equipment. Just a few cheap videos and some cheap dumbbells and a stretchy cord with handles.

No matter what you choose to do to lose weight. Please, keep posting and let us know how you are doing.

When you think you are taking this journey all alone. When there isn't a person in site to give you encouragement. Remember, God is right there beside you. Usually yelling, put down that candy bar.

Rennie what a fabulous welcome!

Mindy? I second what she said

Welcome! Let us know how we can help you.

WELCOME! Another Michigander
Shy gave a great welcome, and I echo her comments!

You will LOVE it here - this is a great community with a lot of wise and successful people to help you on your journey.

We hope to get to know you better, post often and let us know how you are doing

OK so here is the plan.On Jan 7 we are starting a "Biggest Loser" competition at work. Well I couldn't wait until then so I have already started. My partner is about the same size as me and my best friend. Day 1 I did the "BL" cardio workout-Beg. level. Day 2 "BL" curcuit training program. I plan to alternate these two workouts. For eating I am going to write down everything and count the calories. Here is where I get a little confused. I'm not sure how many calories to eat. I feel like I eat alot, but when I measured and counted last night's dinner, it was too much food to eat. I'm wondering about the possibility of eating too little, even though that doesn't make sense in my brain. Any advice?

As a calorie counter, I can share what my experience has been. Finding the right number of calories is a "trial and error" experience. I started with about 1500 calories and exercised 30-60 minutes almost every day. This allowed me to lose about 2 lbs a week. The key with reduced calorie intake is keeping a balance so that you are getting enough nutrients to keep your body healthy. This is where I use Fitday. I check the reports (I use the pc version) to make sure that I don't need to adjust my foods. I also take a multi-vitamin, just to be safe.

If you are eating a lot of whole foods and a lot of veggies, it can look like a lot of food! Some days I eat more, some days I eat less. I don't ever force myself to eat if I am not hungry. My calorie range has been from about 1000-1800 on any given day. I try to let my body tell me what I need. Days where I am more active, I need more calories.
No one can tell you how many calories to start with - but for your weight - around 1800 would probably be somewhere in the ballpark. Like Shy, I like to divide my food into 6 eating occasions. Some have more calories, some less. This means less food at one sitting, but also - no opportunity to get really hungry and tempt me to overeat or impulse eat (something I used to do quite frequently).

Keep the questions coming - let us know how we can help

mtiger
That is a tricky question. Many people have different ideas on how much should be eaten. There is a formula that tells you how much you need to take in to maintain and then says to subtract 500 calories to lose a lb a week. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, how old are you? It isn't perfect and not even really sure how accurate it is but when I plugged in my amounts. It came out almost exactly what I allow myself, well the lower end of what I allow myself lol. Right now I have some very general amount I try to stay within. 1200 to 1400 calories, 30 to 35 grams fat, 180 to 210 grams carbs. I still have 40lbs to lose and I am about as tall as a drink of water so while these figures are good for me, they might not be good for you. The doc told me I am to never take in less than 1200 calories. I do have to admit there are times I don't take that many in and have still eaten the required amounts of the four basic food groups, there are also times I have taken in 2500 calories too lol.