Hi! My name is Guin and I'm new posting on this forum. First, a short explanation of my nick.......I was Guinevere in long ago chat rooms, and I met my husband, Gandalf, 8 years ago in chat. When we married, well, we became Guindalf!

Over the last few weeks I've been fighting the monster that has hounded me my whole life, particularly since puberty....which is a LONGGGGG time ago.

That monster is living with being overweight and being obsessed with food, thinking about food, planning food, wanting food, fighting food, hating food, loving food, etc., etc., etc. I'm SURE you know what I mean. I'm waking up at 4:00 a.m. and thinking.....how can I lose weight today? When will I mess up? I should exercise....no, I don't FEEL like it. And on, and on, and on.

Nothing ever changes. I've tried and failed at it all. I don't believe the line that such and such a diet doesn't work. They all work. I just quit! I've done WW, Tops, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Slim Fast, and on and on.

And so I just stopped. I just stopped fighting, crying, screaming, failing. I've just stopped. I no longer want to set huge goals that I cannot meet; I no longer want to fight the monster.

I WANT A NEW LIFE. I want a lifestyle change.

Now I know that I cannot make lifestyle changes over night even with lots of supporters. What I can do is step out and start on a quest. A lifestyle quest. A Quest to change my life, my thinking, my goals.

And so, here is Guindalf.....stepping out on her lifestyle quest. And I need LOTS of supporters to make this extreme makeover happen.

Anyone want to hike along with me on my quest???

My first step in life changes.....exercise. I've started on the treadmill yesterday and today for 20 minutes.

And so in giving up the "fight" and taking a deep breath, I take one small step on this one day and yell to the sky........

I'm Guindalf!!!! And I'm on my way!!

What a wonderful post! Let me be the first to say You have come to right place looking for support. No matter how long and bumpy your road may be, the folks here are awesome.

Exercise is one of the most important keys to success. It's GREAT! that you started there. Have you given any thought to your food program??

Nice to meet you and feel free to jump right in!!

Welcome. I could have written your post myself. I've tried everything & I finally started making permanent progress when I stopped "dieting". I do try to cut back on my food intake & eat healthy foods, but I quit counting calories, points, carbs, etc. I also made a commitment to exercise, which I truly think has made all of the difference. I am up to almost one hour/day. I feel better than I've ever felt.

I have times when I'm not perfect. As a matter of fact, between my family's visit the first of November and TG, I went into a mini free fall. But I did much better that I have previously (I gained one lb. in 4 weeks) & I hopped back on the bandwagon more quickly than I have before. I haven't lost much; I'm averaging about one lb./week but it's painless & I'm not obsessing about what to eat, how many calories/points/carbs I have left, etc. I hope some of this helps you & let us know how you're doing. The exercise is a great start!

Welcome Guindalf. You have come to a great place for support. Plus you have already done the hardest part. That's getting into the mind set and actually starting. It's all down hill from here. It gets easier every day you stay on plan. Good luck and I look forward to getting to know you.

Welcome Guindalf (LOVE the screen name by the way! ) This is truly a fabulous forum. Post often so we can get to know you!

Hi Guindalf, welcome to the boards. What a great introduction and post. We're all here for support and advice if you need it. Sounds like you're geared up to go. Jump right in anywhere.

~Dee

Thanks to all the replys! Y'all (can you tell I live in Georgia??) are so supportive and encouraging. I've been reading through some of the 100 posts.

Here's a bit more about me and then I'm going to try and figure out some of these cute icons and extras. Everyone's posts are so colorful and lively!

I'm 47 (hence Guindalf47), married 8 years to a wonderful Englishman with his own food issues! Do we seem to attach ourselves to people who share our same issues??? Hmmm....there's a discussion question!

No children, but 3 wonderful "boys!!" Riley, a pointer, Bilbo, a yellow lab, and Samson, a purebred AKC german shepherd. Riley is 8 yrs. old, Bilbo is 5 and Samson is just 8 months and bigger than the other two!! (Carol, I love your baby's picture!! My brother has 2 chocolate labs.)

I'm an administrative assistant in a small private college in the mountains of northeast Georgia. Can't ask for a more beautiful setting in which to work. I also am a professional pianist, playing for churches, weddings, Christmas parties, etc. I've done community theater as an actor and music director also.

Ok, those are the basics. Can you tell I'm having a slow day in the office?? hehe

Sandi, I'm purposely NOT thinking about a food program right now. One fault has been jumping on a program, doing it faithfully for 3 weeks (seems to be my limit) and then going right back to the old life and habits and gaining all back plus some. I've been a "plump" person all my life, but in high school I was about 130 at 5'4". I realize I'll never be that again, and would look sick if I was, but around 150-155 would probably be good.

Current weight is 269......would like to set goals here but not yet. This is where I always fail, and my new "goal" is not to set unattainable goals, but to change my mindset and lifestyle.

Thanks for all the welcome!!

Guin

Guin -- Sounds like you're approaching this really sensibly. The one thing I keep hearing over and over on this forum is that you have to find what's right for you... which can take some doing! Poke around on the different boards and keep asking questions!

I went through the time when I just stopped caring. From one perspective it was kind of nice to not worry about food at all, but I decided that that lifestyle was no longer worth the consequences. For me, it is that attitude that has helped me to be much more focused and successful than I ever have before.

WELCOME!!!

Welcome Guindalf!

Good for you for deciding to make changes - I started out doing 15 mins on my exercise bike at the beginning of the year. I now work out for 45 - 90 mins six times a week and, after a slow start am now 53lb down. I started at 267 and am now chasing 199 - so if I can do it, you can! Slow and steady wins the race!

Love Amanda x

Great post, Guin! Welcome to the best forum in cyberspace!

You're right to view this as a lifestyle change rather than a "diet". Making one change at a time, and becoming comfortable with it before adopting the next one, is more likely to lead to long-term success than trying to change everything overnight, IMO. Exercise is probably the best thing to get started with, and the thing I'm least consistent with. :

Glad you decided to join us.

HI Guin, and welcome! My boyfriend is English too....they can be peculiar eaters, can't they?

Looking forward to reading more of your posts!

Hi and welcome Such a great post. You are right that many times trying to jump on this program or that can get overwhelming. You have to find something that you can live with. There are many of us who have set really small goals (like 5-10 pounds) and once you achieve them, work toward your next small goal. Before you know it, you've lost 30 pounds

Hi Guin! I am new as well and at about 260 also! I hope that we can get through ALL of the issues you listed -- I am so with you on every singe one.

Welcome!!!

Lauren

I hear you. I was talking to a friend, and she made an anology about swimming against the river that really struck home for me. There are recent posts about self love and intuitive eating, and I think that ties in. It's a relearning process, learning to go with the river. Hope that's not too out there, it makes sense to me!