Hello - I'm here because I've been struggling with eating, exercising, and self-care more than I really want to think about over the past 5 years since my older son was born. My younger son is now 6 months old, and I'm ready to embrace try try again.
I'm 41, and lost a lot of weight in my late teens / early 20s. I had gained a lot of weight when I was 15/16 (80 lbs - from 130 to 210) due to anxiety and depression - I was a compulsive overeater. In my 20s, I really embraced exercise and maintained a weight between 145 - 160 until my early 30s. I was very active, though my eating and drinking would fluctuate, so I often felt that I wasn't in ideal shape (for me). When I got pregnant with my ist son, I was 175, which I thought was so high! Then I wavered between 195 and 205 after his birth, them my weight crept up to 220/225. During my second pregnancy, I gained at most 15 lbs, and lost it - now I am wavering between 220-224.
But I feel OLD. My body is struggling under this weight - my feet hurt! I have been overcompensating with my boredom, a lack of romance, and the emotional exertion of parenting with lots of wine and too much food!
But I also know that I want to be energetic again, and run races, and bike, and hike with my boys.
I wish that the weight would magically and quickly disappear - but I know that I need to count calories, and eat good food. Why does this feel so hard????
GreenEyedSphinx! Your goals sound wonderful! And you can do it! I'm 54 and started again in May, and today, just 3 and a half months later, I am down 30 lbs! Just as you described, I feel SO much better, and so can you! I don't count calories but calorie-counting is a tried and true method so you can't go wrong with it! Good luck! Glad you joined us!