Good Morning All!
I stumbled upon this website a few days ago. After reading so many of your posts, I sure am glad I did! Looks like a great place to come for inspiration, confidence, to vent or to celebrate!
I've been unhappy with my weight for as long as I can remember. Always trying the new 'get-thin-quick' diet, or diet supplements, or eating like a rabbit. Those things worked for a bit, but the weight always came back. I decided a few years ago that I wasn't going to obsess on food, weight, exercise anymore. I thought, hopefully by letting go, and not focusing on it so much, I would somehow be able to finally have that natural-healthy-fit lifestyle I'd always wanted.
Boy, was I wrong. Today, I am 32 yrs old & 230 lbs. I am 5'2", so this is way off from where I want to be. Being this overweight is making me feel my life is out of control. It affects so many areas of my life negatively. My relationship with my husband & my relationship with MYSELF are suffering the worst. I could go on and on with the many details, but I won't bore you to death! Ultimately, I'm ready for a change! I'm hoping to find some useful tools here

welcome Jen
I'm fairly new too
I am 40 and started at 238 and I'm 5'2
I've lost 55 lbs in a year and if I can do it so can you
take one day at a time and focus on small goals and changing your lifestyle

Welcome Jen! You can do this. I was given good advice by a trainer when I first got started. Treat this like when you get a new job. You prepare, make lists(tracking your food) and Make little goals and they will accumulate in big goals. Join one of the challenges going on, lots of good ones to choose from here. This is a tough time to diet but stick with us and you will be impressed what you can do.

Thank you for your reply! We're so similar in weight & height. Do you mind if I ask how you began losing weight? Counting calories? WW? Exercise? I'm not quite sure where to begin with how many calories I should get a day.

Thank you for the advice Cleancowgirl! It's much appreciated

I started out with WW...that's where I lost the majority
now I'm using My Fitness pal (online and app on my phone) to count calories
its exhausting tracking both but I need a boost

I also go to the gym 5-6x a week (more now than the beginning) I used to exercise 30-40 at the beginning and now I do treadmill/elliptical for at least a hour or zumba

Welcome to the forums and good luck with your journey

Hi JKH919! I'm glad you've found us! You've gotten a lot of good advice here and you will continue to get good advice throughout the site, so jump right in! Good luck!

Welcome!!