Hi everyone,

I'm new here.... I've been overweight since the birth of my son 12 years ago... gained 80 lbs due to an undiagnosed medical condition and haven't been able to get the weight off and keep it off since. I had some success with Weight Watchers a few years back, but didn't realize I would have to do dietary and fitness maintenance for the rest of my life and ended up gaining it all back. I've been back and forth and back and forth, trying different things, giving up, crying, trying again, failing, succeeding a bit, gaining it back, you all know the story.

This time I am in it for good. My focus is not about a pants size or a number on the scale. I love myself the way I am, and because I love myself I am going to take care of my health. I'm focusing on adding regular exercise to my life and eating a reasonable amount of healthy food with occaisional treats. I tend to be an emotional overeater and I want to focus on finding healthier ways to deal with my emotions. So - that's me in a nutshell, looking for friends to share this journey with and share encouragement and support.

I just joined last night. I hate the word diet so I really like the way you put it that you loved yourself and wanted to be healthy. I can sympathize with you about loosing and gaining the weight back. Good luck on your journey!

Welcome! And good luck on your journey!

Good luck and speaking from own experiences that are some what similar to yours I also realize that giving up exercise and eating healthy once I loose the weight is not an option. I wish you luck and that this time you are able to keep it off for good.

Yeah, getting over the idea of a "diet" and a certain number on the scale and deprivation has been HUGE for me, it's taken me a long time to get to the point where I realized I need to do it out of self-love and not self-hate. Nice to meet you!

Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking forward to being here!

Thanks! Yeah when I lost weight before I thought that was all I had to do!!! I consider it a lesson learned, and just more information that will help me succeed this time around. Taking good care of ourselves is a full-time job, right??

Totally right, after living my own reality now that I am 31 years old I completely get it.