Good morning everyone. (:

My name is Sophie and I have been obese my entire life.

In my 27 years I have tried every diet under the sun. I've tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, hired nutritionists, herbal therapies, shakes, psychologists, alli pills, etc. I have been successful numerous times, but have never managed to actually reach a goal weight.

In 2004, at my highest weight of 388lbs and the ripe ol' age of 20, I underwent gastric bypass surgery. I quickly lost over 150lbs and was ecstatic, especially since the pounds were shed with barely any effort on my part (minus the whole agony of undergoing major abdominal surgery). Once I figured out that chocolate would not kill me (a lie that kept the fatty in me at bay for over a year), I started grazing on chocolate and other not-so-healthy options.

I gained every single pound back.

January 3, 2011 I made a very silent, personal choice to stop eating so much crap. I decided that this year I was going to be healthier for my future. I was 26 years old and 372lbs - I was going to die young and miss out on all the fun stuff - or die old, accompanied by too many regrets.

It's been 12 weeks and I have lost 46lbs. I have a lot more to go but I have hoards of patience and determination. I have been reading these forums since the beginning and finally decided to register. Thank you for being my inspiration on those rough days. I hope to continue my journey with all your help!

Great start! You can do it!

Welcome to 3fc's Sophiie!

Congratulations on your weight loss; you're doing so well! I love that you mention your patience and determination. Those two things helped me tremendously. I also really admire you for tackling this in your 20's.

There's lots of support here so we're very glad you've decided to join!

Welcome to 3FC Shopiie and congratulations on your weight loss so far!

It would seem like I always send new members to the maintainers forum, but trust me, you will find so much helpful information there. I started dieting in my early teens and I wish I had the information I found in the maintenance library back then. I honestly think things would have been so much different for me.

Please make sure you stick around. This is a great website for support and information.

Best of luck to you!

Hi Sophiie, nice to meet you.

I too have to lose 200 or more pounds, couple things that helped me were being true to myself and acknowledging my weaknesses, taking care to tailor my new lifestyle change around them, keeping ever cognizant of my downfalls, like (binging late at night) everyone always said you should eat at such and such a time and never late and only this or only that.

I finally said to heck with that it might work for them but it will never work for me, i eat a ton of variety during the day ( very moderate portions) hoping to satiate every desire my body could have, that and while my strong time is before the sun sets i consume very few calories, typically around 550 to 800 keeping the bulk of my intake for late when i know i can't help myself, i have taken to walking which was about all i could do to start, i love it and continue to gain strength every day.

I'm a little envious of you, you have realized some truths years ahead of me, that dieing young or alone part, you have every opportunity to meet this challenge head on and beat it. As you said patience is a huge part, finding a plan that works and maintaining it through the ups and downs despite how our feelings work against us at certain times (depression etc...) I've come to realize eating will not make my negative feeling vanish, might alleviate them to a minor extent, if only for a moment but they persist and in fact gain in intensity as i continue to dissapoint myself.

This really is a wonderful site, hey they have even accepted me and all my flaws. Just feeling a little like babbling this morning, hopefully you can take something out of my ramblings. ( you aren't alone) I'm sure you will get terrific support here.

Wow, like the other 3FCers said, great start! You've come to a great place for lots of information and support. Wish you all the luck in your weight loss journey. We can do this!!