Hello Everyone!

I am new to the forum. I have heard about you guys, and have briefly checked out the site before. But I finally decided to register and really try to find a supportive group of online buddies. I hope I can find that here My name is Tiffany, I am going to be 30 ( ) sometime this year.

I have never been "Skinny". I was athletic in highschool, but still was a bit bigger than other girls, tho I still say it was muscle I got married young, it didn't work out, he was controlling and would actually dictate gym hours, etc. When I left him, I found my wonderful husband - with whom I have been with for almost 9 years now. I think that finding my new husband, who loved me no matter what gave me the room to rebel a bit from my ex gymloving hubby.... and because of that I stopped working out and just stopped caring about what my body looked like.

Then I had kids, we have 2 girls together (age 6 and 3) and since then, things have gone drastically downhill. I have gained weight consistently since having my first daughter.

A couple of years ago I joined weight watchers for the first time (meetings and online support) and I lost about 30 lbs. I was doing well, tho it was mainly eating right, I was not doing any physical activity. I got bored or distracted... and just tired of it. I started skipping meetings and got off program. I gained most of the weight back.

I joined again... but just did not have the same enthusiasm as the first time and I admit I yo-yo'd on it for a while. I gave up because it just didnt seem my heart was in it. Since then I have gained an additional 60lbs.

So here I am, 3 years later and at my heaviest weight yet (266lbs!). I have 2 daughters that we choose to raise them in a very hands on/gentle way. While I know this is best for all involved, I admit it leaves me feeling drained and exhausted many days (they are high energy and spirited all day every day lol). Because of that, along with some other things I tend to kick myself over, I have a horrible habit of emotional eating.

So here I am, feeling like I am about to turn 30 and disliking the way I look and maybe myself a bit. I need to deal with the eating and bad habits, but I admit I probably have to face the emotional/stress eating too.

I think in the past I have looked to "plans" to be some magic pill for me - I now realize that I can't just toss money and go to a meeting. IF I want to do this, I need to put in the effort. So, I want to start off slow and on my own ... but I obviously need to track food and excercize. Does anyone ave a favorite site/program that you like for this? I mainly need to deal with my daytime eating, I have a habit of skipping breakfast and not eating til 2pm and then just going a bit nuts.

Thanks all for listening to me babble on and I hope to be able to find a little niche here for me!

Hi. I'm so glad you've found this place as I am sure it will provide you with just the support you are looking for.

I can so relate to much of what you've said. As for a great place to track and journal your food, Fitday.com can definitely help you with that.

I'm glad that you've made the decision to commit to a healthier, more fit and productive lifestyle. NOW is a great time to do so. Don't waste another minute. I myself didn't tackle my weight "issues" till I was 42. Losing weight is most certainly a doable thing, and ANYONE can do so. Of course it took me 20+ years to figure that out .

I do find that planning is absolutely essential. So please set yourself up for success by having a well stocked home - no junk and lots and lots and LOTS of fruits, veggies, whole grains, proteins and the such. Know what you will be eating ahead of time and be sure to always keep healthy snacks around, even while out. Eating healthy does not happen by chance. So therefore planning is vital.

Okay, now that I've rambled on, let me just add I hope to hear lots more from you in the future - so post often. Best of luck to you.

I wish I would have been more "original" when it came to picking a username. I just love what some of you pick. I am soooo boring. lol.

patchymama!

Pull up a chair, get a cup of coffee (or whatever) and sit back and let your fingers do the talking.

Glad to have you here, always room for one more!!

Tiffany! So glad you decided to join us on this journey. I'm also an emotional and stress eater. Please know that you can learn new ways of coping with your emotions and the stress that does not include food. I recommend that you begin journaling. Evaluating your thoughts, feelings, daily calorie intake, etc, can be a great learning tool for you on this journey.

I do track my calories, however, I don't use any of the sites (although, they can be awesome tools.) For me, I prefer to track my calories on an excel worksheet each day and use a calorie book that I picked up at Wal-mart. It doesn't really matter what method you utilize as long as you do find a way of becoming accountable with yourself to stay on-plan.

Please post often so we can get to know you.

You have come to a wonderful place for support!!!

Thank you ladies for the welcome and for the great advice so far! I always try to plan out our dinner meals so it definitely makes sense to plan out the rest of the day as well. That can definitely help me!

I like the idea of keeping a journal as well, both for thoughts and calorie, etc. I was thinking of starting one last week as I started to read "Does this clutter make my butt look fat". It's funny how much weight gain really does tell you about the rest of our lives. We do not have a cluttered house, I "clean things out" on a regular basis, but I am definitely guilty of buying things to feel a void even tho we may not need it.... much the same as eating to fill a void.

Sheesh, i don't usually tend to be long winded but I guess I am with this topic! I can't wait to look around the forums some more and get to know all of you!

So glad to have you here

I just turned 30 in December, and it was a MAJOR trigger for my starting over again!
Make yourself at home, and can't wait to get to know you better!


Linda

Hi patchymama! These boards are great, good luck with your weight loss journey!

Hi and welcome patchymama! I'm fairly new to the boards too. I have found them to be a wealth of information and support - I hope you will too. I calorie count and use Fitday for tracking my foods. I find it helps me to be accountable if I am committed to logging in my foods. I also used to skip breakfasts (unless coffee counts) and then be ravenous by noon! I have found that eating breakfasts and then snacking at 10:00ish really helps me balance out the blood sugar so I am eating normally during the day, rather than famine and feasting!

Boy, does that ring true for me. I am always looking for the right "plan", like it makes a difference. It doesn't. Consistency is what makes a difference. Almost any plan will work if you stick to it.

I read this in a blog recently.."A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop" -Robert Hughes -

Isn't that awesome.

Anyway...Welcome to 3FC!! Hope to see more of you!!

Welcome Tiffany! Glad you found us. It's nice to have people to share in your weight loss journey.

Welcome Tiffany! Nice to meet you

Welcome! I also have spirited, energetic children... five of them! So I will join you on the exhausted couch.

I am 38, and only wish I had done this when I was 30 instead of wasting all this time being too heavy to live the way I wanted to. So my biggest piece of advice is, don't give up, don't quit, do it now. It's worth it!