Hi all! My name is Sharla, I'm 43 years old and I'm from Indiana. I have a host of health problems, some weight related and some not. I am at my highest weight ever of 270 I have struggled with my weight since I was 10 years old or so. Currently I have Coronary Artery Disease (have already had 1 heart attack and stents) , Vascular Disease in both legs and Fibromyalgia. My cholesterol is off the charts and my lipids are so high they can't even be calculated. I can't take statin drugs to lower my cholesterol because I have a reaction to them and the only other option is diet. I quit smoking 3 weeks ago (yay me!!) because my doctor threatened that I could lose both legs if I didn't. I am starting Weight Watchers Points Plus this week and I am hoping for good results as well as a change in lifestyle that I can continue with from here on out. I hope to meet some great people on this site and I won't lie....I am in desperate need of support.

Welcome, Sharla! Congrats on quitting smoking - that's a great big step forward for your health!

Hi there!

I have been overweight since childhood as well, though I'm lucky to be young and free of health issues.

There are many people on the forums though. Older people, younger people, people dieting with obstacles. The journey is hard no matter what situation you're in, but everyone here is very supportive and uplifting!

Take it one step at a time. That's been the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around. You don't go overnight from eating too much of the wrongs foods to suddenly eating the perfect amount of the right foods. You don't go from being a couch potato to a marathon runner overnight.

So I'm taking it painfully slow this time. When you fall down get up.

Good luck! You can definitely do it!

Hey Sharla-
Same boat here. I haven't gotten a medical directive yet, but I DO know that I'm at my heaviest (286) and only getting heavier. I tried Points Plus a few months ago and lost less than a pound during the first month. Now, I'm just trying to do it on my own, but it's hard... and depressing to think of how much has to come off. Anyhow, we're all in it together. Good luck!

I am hoping the Weight Watchers plan at least makes me think about what I'm eating. I did the 6 week body makeover 5 years ago and it worked. I lost 80 lbs but as soon as I ate like a human again, it all came right back almost immediately. It sucks that I am hungry ALL the time and that makes it so hard to work on weight loss. And I've read so much about "you're not hungry you're thirsty" or "eat more filling foods" and I tell ya, I could drink a lake full of water and still have room for a steak! And it doesn't seem to matter what I eat, nothing does it for me. I guess it could be some of my meds causing the hunger. That's my biggest obstacle is just being soooo hungry all the time!

Sharla,

Good luck on your journey. Weight watchers did it for me, along with help from my brother and sister in law who had done it before me. It taught me how to eat right and find the alternatives to things I liked before.

PLUS PORTION CONTROL!!!

I can't tell you what a differnece getting rid of 250 pounds has made in my life. Its absolutely amazing. Just keep your eye on the end prize. Its all worth it.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

hi sharla. i have found this site to be the best for support and advice. but as a weightloss tool you might wanna check out myfitnesspal.com (mfp) and use both sites together. i don't find the forum on mfp to be very supportive or helpful but the food and exercise tracker option is amazing and you can collect a group of friends that make an excellent support group. you can feel free to add me as a friend on there if you decide to do it, my username is the same CHUBBYGIRL253. all of my friends on there are very supportive. you can also change the settings so it works with your weight watchers and tracks the same thing you put in your calculator likecalories, fat, protein, carbs, whatever. if your sodium is high u can track that too. its easy. and it tells you the nutritional value of what you're eating and how many calories you burn doing a particular exercise. and it's free. i started out doing ww with mfp and eventually stopped ww and use just mfp for diet tracking now. good luck to you!

Welcome and good luck !

Thanks for the encouragement everyone I'm very glad I found this site. Laura, I did check out the other site, although it may be awhile before I am exercising much. My vascular disease keeps me from being on my feet much at all. I will be seeing a surgeon next month, so, hopefully we can get a handle on this and I can start at least walking again.