hi there. i am 45 years old, 5'3 and weigh 310 lbs.. needless to say im sexy as all get out lol NOT. i have needed to do something about my weight for a long time but just could never find the will power/motivation. in my early 20's i was about 220-250 which was big, but managable. the last three years i have ballooned and it is NO longer managable. im sure like a lot of you, i wonder how i let myself get this big.. kinda sneaks up on us doesnt it? i recently left my husband(that doesnt depress me, being with him did lol), and i want to get a 'whole' new lease on life. i feel like i have wasted the last 5 years of my life.. being with the wrong man, gaining lbs like it was going out of style, etc... Today i am beginning the rest of my life.. sounds corny i know, but soooo true for me. weight loss is the bonus of why i am doing this.. getting healthy is the main goal. looking better will be a heck of a perk tho lol. i want to lose about 120-150 lbs.. i look anorexic at 140 or below.. at least i did at 18 (the last time i was that thin). i found this site while surfing the net about weight loss and read thru the forums a bit and it looks like i found my niche.. im looking forward to getting to know you all and actually becoming 'involved' with something again.

Well welcome!

I love your new attitude and your "rebirth" if you will. I myself have been exactly where you are now and I can say that now I'm in a MUCH better place. STILL HAVE STRUGGLES, but I'm a different person than when I was 340+ pounds.

Please feel welcome to participate in our Weekly Thread, which is easy to spot, and we also have challenges and things up at the top as stickies. Currently we have the Biggest Loser and our resident mod Heather started the Exercise thread where we can post our times as a group!

I look forward to getting to know you!

HI and welcome!! This is the perfect place to help you in your journey. My friends here are amazing!! What are you doing to lose weight? I count calories. I have kinda been stuck for a few months yo-yoing back and forth but its over and I will get the rest of this weight off!
Keep us posted on how your doing!

Hi and welcome! Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Welcome! there are plenty of us who are right where you are - I started (again) at beginning of October and have found that the support and accountability I get through blogging and posting here really help. We are in it for the long (and healthy) haul and we'd love to have you join us!

I too have started my life all over again, sans a man, so our journeys have shared paths, Magic. I struggle to connect with who I genuinely am, and whether or not that needs to include being sexy. I think being sexy is very different from being hypersexualized, like the media seems to think I should be as a modern woman, as if that were my only function in life!

First, we are women. There's no disputing that. It's up to each of us to define our brand of womanliness. For me, it includes appreciating how I'm built, choosing my own hair length, and spending money on massages! (Yes, you may insert a belligerent tone in that sentence, as well as a little foot-stomping...fallout from a marriage to a man who narrowly defines "woman" as servant and sex-slave with long hair.)

I'm learning to enjoy living like a healthy woman, caring for myself, meeting my own needs. The firmer I stand in the mindset, the easier it is for me to make choices that support weight loss and an improved sense of wellbeing. I will achieve optimum health, one day at a time, from the inside out.

Every day is a new day for us, a new opportunity to take a step toward our genuine, healthy selves. And it's so wonderful to have a forum to share that journey with others. We're so glad to have you join us!

Hi there and welcome. This is a great group of people who are always there to listen, offer advice and support and just be there for you. Many of your issues are those that I've have and so many others here so you've found the right group.

Welcome - this is such a wonderful group of people. When help is needed it's here - how to handle some situation, a hug when needed and an occassional kick in the seat.

Keep posting - I look forward to getting to know you.

wow, what a welcome.. thanks guys...
im doing calorie counting(just started today lol) and im starting at 1700 cals.. couldnt decided to start at 1800 or 1600 so as usual i took the middle road .. exersize is going to have to be walking some to start with and maybe an exercise video if i can find one that doesnt kick my butt too bad. i take care of my elderly mother atm so dont have much time to do anything, and i cant leave her to go to a gym or anything so will have to fit in what i can.. most of my walking will prob have to be inside the apt, but hey, walking is walking right?
the hardest thing for me will be the eating breakfast part.. i have Never eaten till at least 3pm in my life.. this am i made a pkg of instant oatmeal(130cals) and a small glass of v-8 juice, and could barely get em down... then i forgot all about lunch, but ill get it down.. will just take time and practice.
have a bit of a headache but im sure that is from my lack of coca cola... first day in about 5 years i havnt had 4 cokes by noon lol.. none today.. nada.. zip.. yeah, thats prob where my headache is comin from.
thanks again for the warm welcome, and ill have to find the weekly thread and jump in there..

LOL! You did have breakfast...you just didn't call the Coke breakfast.

Kicking the Coke is going to be hard! Make sure to drink lots of water, and go ahead and take something for the headache. It takes me about four days to come down off of coffee, and I usually only have two cups.

My natural inclination is to not eat (or drink anything caloric) until lunch, but then I completely overeat from that point forward. I also can't have anything with carbohydrates be the last thing I eat or I will wake up ravenous. I start and end my day with a balance of nutrients. And that's important, because your body digests different nutrients at different rates. If they're all in there in a balance proportion (about 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats), your blood sugar will be more balanced, which helps with hunger.

I don't know how many calories you were eating before, but 1800 calories is probably the rock bottom for your age/size. I wouldn't even worry about the calories right now. You don't want to get overwhelmed with it all. Do what you believe in the most. Dropping the Coke is an excellent first step, and a very big one. Eating breakfast is also a great big step.

I'm so proud of you, Magic! You are dealing with big challenges to your goals, but you're making it work! I know about helping with aging and ailing parents too. I hope you can find help with that.

I'm a newbie too. I am 45, 5'4 and weigh 360lbs. Needless to say things got
out of control in my life. I'm hopeful that I will get back to living, again.
I miss so many things that the average person takes for granted.
Simple things like walking without getting out of breath. being able
to go to church like I use to. Well, today is Oct 20th. I'm starting a new
life. I have plans...realistic ones... I will be following this group,and posting
my progress.

Welcome wonderfullife! You can totally rock this and do it! We all can!

You're welcome to join in with our weekly discussion and/or the many challenges that are stickied to the top of our forum. Welcome!

hello hello hello!

so glad you came to the forum magic! This site has been such a positive experience for me and for others here! calorie counting is a great way to loose weight! I've tried many other diets before and nothing seemed to work long term but counting calories has made nothing "off limits" and made this journey feels much more like an attainable life style change then a "diet" So good for you! giving up sugared soda was the hardest part for me as well! I caved and just switched to diet! a lot of people don't' like the taste or the fact that is have artificial sweeteners in it but more me it was necessity..lol.. so if it gets to bad I would say feel free to have a diet soda every now and then diet dr,pepper and diet wild cherry pepsi taste JUST like the real ones to me

good luck!!!