Hi ladies!

I thought I would go ahead and start a bio thread where everyone can introduce themselves and tell a little more about their life, interests, etc. Have fun!
Aphil

Hi everyone:

I'm from Syracuse, NY area. Work in the computer field. I'm 48, married for 23 1/2 years and no children (I love kids - just couldn't have any and have successfully dealt with that). I guess that says it all. I love warm weather and wonder what I'm still doing in Upstate NY? Retirement will bring me to the southern states at least for a portion of the year. Haven't looked that far ahead yet. LOL! I'm taking this 'diet' thing one-day at a time and I plan on being very successful this time. What got me thinking about this seriously is that I overheard some 'always thin ladies' talking while we were all on a golfing bus trip - and both were talking about how they had to watch what they ate, and it was getting harder and harder for them to maintain their current weights. It struck me funny that 2 thin people would be having the same problems I've had with my weight (although I was overweight). The more I thought about it, the more sense that it made to me. I've always thought that thin people could always eat what they wanted and was always jealous of that. Then I sat on that thought for a couple months, and decided that since I got my exercise habits established in 2003 - 2004 would be my year for successful weightloss.

Started back dieting in Jan 2004 by starting off going to WW. The weight was coming off at a snails pace and I was getting very frustrated. So, in April 2004 LAWL was having a great special in our area. My older sister decided to sign up for the plan after knowing several people having great success on the plan. With that said, I joined a couple days later and my younger sister joined a couple days after me. The only weightloss program that I have successfully lost weight with in the past is the pre-points WW plan. I needed something more restricted, and to the point. Tell me what to eat and I will eat it. I'm ready for the challenge.

So, did some web-investigation along with info from my sister prior to joining so knew all the facts that others seem to have problems with. When I joining the plan, althought I had to pay upfront, it was much cheaper for the base plan that paying for WW.

My current stats are:

199 / 166 / 155


I have been struggling with the last 10-11 lbs and I know that I'm getting lazy with the plan, but I'm not giving up.

Sy

I'm the oldest chick on here, I stopped having birthdays several years back. I have afew goals here. First and foremost is to lose alittle weight, secondly is to never consider a floral moo-moo figure flattering and last, to avoid blue hair at all costs. With the help of you younger chicks here you keep me in line with my battles...... Plus I ride a Harley and don't want to get too big for my Biker Babe image (lol). I wasn't always over weight and was thin until I was in my 40's. Ranging from 120-130 and at 5'7" which was a good weight for me.
After my husband passed I managed to get up to 216 and have been losing ever since. I'm remarried and still have a short way to go to goal of 150. I can't get back to 120-130 becuz I would be one big wrinkle (or so my mom says & she knows everything).....
By the way, I have two grown sons, 2 awesome daughter-in-laws, 1 grown step-son and wife, one step daughter and husband. Three adorable grandbabies, 2 girls and 1 boy - they are my sunshine! Oh and can't forget Pookie, our dog, that will probably retire before we do (& I hope he takes Peter, our quirky goldfish, with him).

That's enuf from here....Hugs to all you other chicks - you make this fun!
Remember - Enjoy the adventure, it's not about the destination.....it's about the journey!

Hello,

I'm 33, been married to my high school sweetheart for about 16 years. We have a 15 year old son. I wasn't heavy as a kid, just kind of a bigger girl. I'm about 5'10'' and kind of broad shouldered, so will never be a stick kind of figure. I weighed between 145-155 during high school and quite a few years into my adult life until I started going to school full time at night while working full time during the day. I ate what I could when i could, without much thought to what it was and forget exercise.

When I finished school in 1998 I tried several times to get rid of the excess weight, but nothing seemed to work for me (had limited success with WW, but didn't learn to eat properly). I finally got up to 234 lbs and decided enough was enough. Had a friend at work who had amazing success with LAWL, so decided to try it. Started the program in September 2004, lost nearly 40lbs by Christmas, but have been kind of stalled since then. Some due to exercising too much for my plan and some due to my own slips. This is a plan and program I feel like I can live on for the rest of my life, a true life style change that I haven't been able to make in the past.


Jen

Hi Everyone,

I am 29, have a 10 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. My DH is in the Army in Special Forces (Green Berets). We moved to Washington in May, love it! Lived in Germany, NY, and NC before moving here. I am originally from Norman, Ok. I miss it so much! I was in school when we lived in NC going for my RN, but kindergarten here in Wa is only 1/2 day, so I am waiting til my daughter is in school full time, before I go back.

I was a very skinny girl my whole life. When I got pregnant with my son, I actually lost a ton of weight, but when I was 27 weeks along, I was in a car accident, on bed rest til I delivered, gained 70lbs in 11 weeks. Lost it all, had my daughter, barely gained any weight with her, lost the little I did gain.

In March 2002 had to have a hysterectomy and gained about 50lbs in about 6 months. And I have just kept on gaining steadly since then. I would go on diets, lose about 25lbs and then go off, gain it all back and then some. Started then looking into a center, came to this board, got all of your wonderful insight, and decided to go with LAWL.

Hello, I am 27 yo and live in Pennsylvania. I went to lawl center almost 5 years ago and lost a lot of weight. I went from a size 12/14 to a size 8. I was almost at goal and then I stopped following the program and basically all that money went down the drain! I think I have gained all the weight back and in the last four months I have gained even more than my starting weight. I have been trying to lose weight off and on since then but have never been really committed.

So I came across this site and thought I could do the plan without going to the center. I am starting tomorrow with the three day take off and then I am going to start out on the red plan and see how that works.

When I attented the center they put me on the gold plan right away. I think I had 40 pounds to lose then. Now I have 60 pounds.

I am single and have no kids but would like to change both those factors soon! or at least by the time I am 30.

I am a social worker and enjoy my job but am always wrestling around the idea of doing something else, most likely teaching.

So that sums me up! Hee Hee!

Hi, I'm Melissa (aka videochick) 41, 42 in June, single, two cats. Live in NYC, work for public agency in community relations.

At 5'6" was never a thin girl, held my own at about 150 since H.S. In late 90s gained about 10lbs when I went to grad school part time, but even at 160 was a sz 12 which I was okay with. In Dec 2001 had a bad time with fibroids and my cycle, was put on all kinds of hormone things and gained close to 20lbs in like 2 months - yikes. When I came off, I thought for sure the weight would come off since I wasn't having the massive hunger bouts but it didn't. My sister, who was overweight had joined LAWL in April 2002 and in the first month had significant losses (I think she was just over 200) so in May 2002 I joined, too. It took me about 6 months to go from 176 to 147, I never lost the 2lbs a week, never. I don't think I've ever even lost more than 2lbs doing the take off. Then I hung in there at around 147-152 for about 1 1/2 years. Then life got in the way, and I've done a lot of stress eating and just plain old "I want it and I'm gonna have it!" eating. Currently, I'm at 162, which isn't so bad because it is a weight I maintained for several years before, but once i was back down in that 150 range, I really did feel thin (funny when I was 19 and 150 all I wanted was to be 120!) I am currently on the Gold Plan, but sometimes use the blue plan which I got off ebay. I will be happy just to fit comfortably in a size 10.

That's my story so far. I'm challenged everyday to stay OP and also trying to exercise consistently. While LA doesn't encourage it, I feel that fitness is important especially for looking and feeling younger and healthier.

This forum and the LAWL chicks are an amazing source of inspiration and motivation for me. Thank you.

Melissa

Hi, I'm Julie (aka textjewel); I'm 46, a Washington DC native (pretty rare), single . . no kids, and not likely to have any at this point!

I'm currently following a dream - to see if I can write a novel - used to be in the computer field (20 years) before that was in insurance, retail, fast food.

Weight wise - I started LAWL at 228.8 about my highest weight ever. I had been there before - about 10 years ago- and lost it by going to a nutrionist (also very expensive). Have had success with the WW way of eating, but never got below 170, got tired of going to meetings and never felt that anyone cared if I went or not. Saw the LA commercial on TV, did some web researching, found this site.

Dieting wise - I think I've followed every diet out there, have found that I hate low carb!

My goal this time - not only to drop into the 140's, which I think will be maintainable - but also to learn the techniques to keep the weight OFF.

I think the basis of the LA plan is pretty good - portion control, a wide variety of foods every day. And weight is dropping off pretty well. . As for any diet, the challenge is to stay OP while life happens.

But I know one thing for sure - the chickies on the board have helped me stay with this longer than I stuck with WW!

Okay, my turn!

I'm 25, married, 4 1/2 year old DD. I was thin, thin, thin and active, active, active my whole life (I'm guessing around 120? - wore a 4/6 on a 5'2" frame) until I got pregnant. I ate a lot of junk food - Taco Bell - while I was pg and weighed 160-ish after DD was born. Had a full time job and not a lot of money so DH and I ate a lot of unhealthy "convenience food" (Hamburger Helper!) for a long time - and I gained about 40 pounds in four years.

Last August I joined LAWL, the week before my brother's wedding - because I had to have my bridesmaid dress completely taken apart and drastically altered because the size I had ordered wasn't anywhere close to my real size! LAWL had an ad for 1/3 off the weekly price so I jumped on it.

I like the LA plan for the same reasons Julie does - it really makes me think about choosing healthy foods and not succumbing to the first drive thru that I come to at the end of the day. Unfortunately for me, I find myself choosing to go off the plan rather frequently, so I think I've lost the same five pounds about 13 times now! Since I paid for the whole plan up front I can't just walk away, so this is a good lesson for me in persistence, too. Other "diets" I've tried (including just plain old eating healthier) I've usually given up - gone back to my old habits - within a few weeks. I like the way I feel when I'm eating OP - but I also love food, and tend toward instant gratification over long-term rewards, so that is something I have to work on.

My long-term goal is to get down to around 120-125. I maintained 120, without really thinking about it, for a long time before I gave up my active lifestyle in favor of a kid and a desk job, so I think that if I get active again, getting back to 120 isn't inconceivable for me.

Fiona

Hi, I'm Karen. I'm 44 soon to be 45 (June) I've been married for 3 years although we've been together for 12 (he says he had to be sure ) I don't have any children of my own but I have 2 stepchildren. DSS is 21 and DSD is 18. I have my sweet puppy Scooter and his kitty Buoy..
I've had a weight issue for as long as I can remember. I got up to 180 pounds after my Mother passed away two years ago and have been fighting it ever since. I went to visit my SIL and she had joined LAWL. She inspired me to go to a local weight loss center when I got back home and I lost 30 pounds. I wasn't learning how to eat though and gained about 15 pounds back. I decided to give LAWL a try last March after my SIL did so well. She lost 75 pounds. My starting weight was 161 and I got down to 148 at one point last August. Then I lost my job and my house (I was a resident manager) and then moved to the Lake (the move there was the best part) then the house flooded because of a defective part in the plumbing. I'm still dealing with all the repairs from that. So, I was doing alot of stress eating and gained all the way back up to 176.4 (January 3, 2005) weight. (that's 15.4 above my original starting weight with LA) But anyway, I'm back to work and everything is hunky dorey again.. Well, if I could just get this weight off. I started an exercise routine yesterday that hopefully I can stick with. All I know is that I don't want to be fat at 45 and I won't be...I guess that's enough about me....

Hi Everyone. I'm Carmen, 34 from the Cleveland OH area. I have worked for 10 years in the computer field in a very large corporate setting.

I went to work as a personal assistant about 13 years ago, met my boss' son and married him a year later. Since then, we have had 2 wonderful sons (they are 11 and 7). We adopted a dog about 5 months ago. His name is Bucky and he is really the sweetest little guy on earth (usually).

I dropped out of college during my sophomore year because I got bored. I woke up, smelled the coffee and went back to school part time when I was 29 years old, and got my BS MIS two years ago.

As far as weight goes, I have always carried a bit of extra weight. I was a chubby kid, and a plump but happy teenager. I think I truly am "big boned," because I am only 5'4" tall and I have worn a size 11 shoe since 6th grade, even when I was much shorter. During high school I was a constant size 14/16, weighing about 180 lbs, and I was comfortable at that weight.

When I was 23 I had my first son, and lost a lot of weight during my pregnancy with him due to nausea and when he was born, I weighed about 170 lbs, which is the thinnest I can remember being. Once I stopped breastfeeding him, the weight came on like crazy. After another baby and the associated weight gain and loss, plus going back to school part time while working full time, there was no time left for me. Once I finished college I tried working out and watching what I ate, but I gained more and more weight and never lost any. I gained muscle and retained fat.

My weight maxed out at 249 before I joined LAWL. I still wear a size 18 after gaining almost 60 lbs, and now those are getting tight. I don't know how the weight loss will affect my body. My goal is to weigh 170 lbs, which I am thinking will put me at a size 14. I'd be ecstatic to make it down to a 12.

I was happy to see that there was a thread for LA on 3fatchicks. I like the site and I really like the ladies who post here. They are very supportive. KEWL.

That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

Hello ladies, m name is Janelle I am a 27 y/o from San Antonio Texas. I am single, no boyfriend, never been married but hopefully that will change. I am currently in graduate school I am working on my Masters in Speech Therapy(Pathology) I am currently a Speech Therapist for a school district here in San Antonio. Unfornutaly, Graduate school has left me with very little time to exercise and a lot of time to gain weight.
I just recently joined LAWL, I an 5'9'' and have always been thin. However, since I have been attending graduate school I have taken an interest in eating whatever I can find. Unfortunatly, I have realized that I can not do this for to much longer, only because it has resulted in serious weight gain.

To my suprise, in October of 2004 I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, it was then that I realized that not only was my gaining weight due to my eating habits but also because of my thyroid disorder. I went to the doctor he put me on meds and I went to WW. I had tried WW before, I thought I would be able to achieve the same results, unfortunatly no matter how hard I tried either I couldn't stick to it, or when I did I wasnt getting the results I wanted. After going on and off WW, I saw a commercial for LAWL, that same day I came across an article on the internet that LAWL was a suggested diet for people with thyroid disorders. The end result was that I decided to give it a try. This is the most I have ever weighed and the biggest I have ever been.

My goal is to lose weight and get back into my clothes, which no longer fit and live a healthier life style.

Janelle

Hello!! My name is Mandy. I'm 26 years old and live in Washington state. I have a 2 1/2 year old son and have been married for a little over 5 years. I've been doing La weight loss for exactly a year. I have been searching for a forum like this to talk to other lawl members. I guess I wasn't searching hard enough. I'm just so excited about this! Anyway, I'm currently at 160.8 (yes I have a digital scale, that thing is going to be the death of me!) I started out at 235.8. So today I hit the 75 pound mark!!!

I had never struggled with my weight before. I was a 5'7" athletic built girl. I usually weighed between 130 and 145. I was size 7,8 or 9 depending on the clothes. I gained about 10 pounds after highschool. I stopped playing softball and moved out to go to college, so I put on a little bit of weight. So I was about 155 for a year or so. I got married when I was 22 and 7 months later I had put on 20 pounds!!! That is where my weight issues started. At first it was just kind of strange that I had put on weight, but before I knew it I was up to 185. That is when I went to a trainer and I lost about 14 pounds. Shortly after (and by that I mean the next day) I was done with my training. I found out I was pregnant. I didn't put much weight on at the beginning, but around the last 2 months. I packed it on. I gained about 60 pounds in total. After I had my baby I got quickly got back down to 190. Now this is where my real weight gain problems began....

I was so happy and comfortable after brining our baby home that I just baked and ate and ate and ate. I would eat at all hours of the day. I watched the weight just pack on. I remember being 215 for a little while and then pow! I was at 235. I knew I needed to do something, but really didn't think I would be under the 200 pound mark again. It just seemed so impossible. Eventually I joined LAWL. I have a very loving Husband, but I knew that if I didn't do something my marriage would fall apart. Mainly because of how I felt about myself.

So that was March 29th of 2004. I'm so happy to say that today I'm about 12 pounds from my goal and I'm happier than ever. I'm fitting in to size 10's and can even sqeeze into a few size 8's. Last year my size 20's were getting a little snug. I have soooo much to say about my weight loss Journey, but I'm afraid that most people that have started reading this message have already gone on to read another one, so I'll save it for another post.

I hope to get to know some of you better. It sounds like some of us have had some pretty similiar journeys.

Thanks so much for reading this!

Mandy

Hi everyone!! My name is Jenni and I am brand new to this site. I am 27 years old, married for 3 1/2 years and have a beautiful little girl named Kaiya who will be nine months old in two days. I live in Colorado and have most of my life. I always thought I was overweight when I was growing up, but now looking back at pictures, I was just bigger than my friends, not really fat. When I was a freshman in college, I lost about 20 pounds and at my skinniest I was about a size 7. I was a fair queen (I know, I know ) and at a very good weight, not too fat, not too skinny. Then I met my husband and over the next few years, gained what I call "happy" weight. Not that I was happy about it, just that I let myself go because I was so content. We ate out a lot, sat around and basked in each other's love and let ourselves go. I didn't really gain a lot of weight when I was pregnant, but the fat is different now...all you moms know what I mean. I started LAWL after a lady in my office lost 20 lbs in 3 months and looked great. I decided it was time to do something drastic since I've been doing curves for about 3 months and didn't lose any weight. It was time to change the way I was eating for good. So I started my TakeOff yesterday and now there is no turning back. I'm so excited to meet the new me and to share my successes and setbacks with all of you.