Christina:

You have come to the right place. We are all here to listen and be heard.

My personal experience with diet pills, different "diets" and fads, has been pretty negative. I have been successfully losing weight and changing my body by using the USDA Food Pyramid and incorporating aerobic and strength training exercises into my life. I started working out 2 - 3 days a week and now I am up to 4 - 5 days a week. I do a lot of walking, but strength training is what has taken 20 of my 30 inches lost off of me in a very short amount of time.

I think it's important to lose weight gradually for long lasting results. I also think you need to set realistic goals. Like, "I want to lose 50 lbs in a year.", for example. That way if you lose more, and if you are dedicated and ambitious enough, you most likely will lose more weight, you will be pleasantly surprised.

I set out to lose 79 lbs 8 months ago and to date have lost 43, over half. I am well pleased with my progress. I have another 36 to lose and I am giving myself until June of 2007 to lose the rest. Will I lose it before then, probably..but I will not get discouraged or be disappointed if I don't lose it in a few months. Achievable goals are important.

Learning and following the food pyramid, taught me how to eat properly. Also, the more whole foods you eat, the better. I try to avoid processed foods and artificial ingredients as much as possible. I drink mostly water and probably 3 or 4 times a month have good fresh fruit juice, but I have completely cut out soda from my diet. I also don't eat fried foods, but maybe 2 or 3 times a year. But that is my decision. Those were my choices. Are they the right ones for you? Perhaps not...

The important thing to remember is that you need to choose habits and life style changes that you can live with for life. For me, that was why most diets didn't work, pills didn't work and aggressive exercising didn't work. When I set achievable goals and food choices in my path, I found it more desireable. I am not going to sugar-coat anything. Eating well and exercising is hard work and dedication. But, I will say that I have NEVER felt deprived since I started following the food pyramid.

If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to message me or visit this link for information about the food pyramid and this link for a wonderful free food and physical activity journal that I have been keeping for the past 6 months

Good luck to you. Remember, you have done the hardest thing already and admitted that you need a change. That is a tough pill to swallow. Be proud that you are over that hurdle. And be excited about the wonderful changes ahead. This is a new day and you can achieve your goals. Believe in yourself.

Christina, my name is Donna, I am 28 from Indiana, I weigh 270, and I am 5'2. I have been heavy most of my life, I have a slight case of PCOS, and am now on fertility meds trying to conceive, I know I have to lose weight before I get pregnant, and the only thing my ob/gyn will let me do is weight watchers. I will be your buddy if you would like, pm me with your email.
Hugs,
Donna

Hi Christina and welcome to the boards.

Firstly, I'm very sorry to hear you've been through so much No one deserves to be abused like that I'm very sorry.

I wish you every success. I hope you're able to find something that works for you and allows you to soar towards your goal.

Best hopes,
Tirzah

Christina,

I just read your message and I can REALLY relate to you!!!! I was born fat @ almost 10lbs, and I just kept growing! I shared a lot of the same struggles in school that you did, and I would like to be your buddy, and offer my support! Let me know if you are interested, send me a private message
Carrie

Christina,
I know how you feel. I was the heavy kid all the time growing up. I'm 22 and weigh 310. The kid next door has made a habit of calling me Godzilla every time he sees me. Feel free to send me a private message if you wanna chat.
Beth

My goodness, Big giant smooshy (((((hugs))))) to you! I too have always been a big chick. High school I weighed 180lbs most of the time. I'm 5'7". Have you gone to your Dr.? I take a medication called Phentermine. Its by prescription only but it has a way of getting you going. after I had my 2nd son I needed a kick start from being so inactive from the pregnancy. That coupled with atkins will work wonders. Love yourself and stick to it. Show all those nasty brats you have what it takes to get what you want!!!

welcome to 3FC. i've only been a member for a couple of weeks, and i can already tell you that this is an amazing group of ladies, and they all have priceless wisdom and advice to share. Not a day goes by that i don't read something here that helps keep me going.

Be good to yourself

Jordan

Hi, Christina:

I feel your pain. I have never been as heavy as you say you are, but I grew up in the 60's when I was one of only 3 kids in the entire school who were overweight. Now I think there are more than that in every class. I went through the same thing, the teasing and jeers (a lot of them were from my own mother regarding getting my clothes from Omar the Tent Maker). I lost 35 pounds in high school, but I was still a Size 13 when everyone else was a 3/5. My self esteem took a big hit when I was growing up. I am a singer, but I suffer from extreme stage fright because i'm afraid people are looking at me and thinking "she sings great, but too bad she's so heavy."

I am now 56, diabetic and weigh 182 pounds. I would like to drop 40 pounds, but the older you get the harder it is. I am changing my eating habits slowly and trying to discipline myself to eating every two hours. I also have been on every program available. Weight Watchers is probablly the best program out there, but I never really liked going to the meetings. Changing my eating habits has been difficult because I don't like vegetables. It's not just an ordinary dislike, I actually gag if I try to eat cooked vegetables.

There is a product out there called hoodia gordonii. I believe it is some kind of cactus extract that supposedly African bushmen would chew on because food was scarce and it killed their hunger. It's been featured on "60 Minutes" and is supposed to curb appetite. I have some on order so as of now I have no idea if it works. I stay away from most of the diet remedies because most of them are scams, but once in a while I'll read an ad and think "why not give it a try." I've been burned every time.

If gastric bypass is unavailable or unacceptable to you, you're on your own. All you can do is try to cut back, start walking for exercise. Atkins works, but it's bad for the kidneys. I lost 60 pounds on NutriSystems about 25 years ago, but that was pricey then and I'm sure it's worse now.

I wish I could give you an easy answer. I've tried everything, too. Even knowing that I was prone to diabetes didn't help. I weighed 25 pounds less when I was first diagnosed. You just have to try to discipline yourself to eat less and exercise more.

When I see this person 'Monique' on TV bragging about "beautiful" fat people and how you should accept yourself, I want to kick the TV screen in. You may still be a wonderful person, but there is nothing positive nor beautiful about being overweight. At the least, you're asking for back, knee and heart problems later in life; worse is diabetes and its complications. I will never do what she suggests and "accept myself as a fat person". I will keep trying forever to lose weight.

I know I haven't been much help, but I just wanted you to know that you're not alone out there and we're all 100% behind you. Best of luck and if e-mailing this support group five time a day helps you curb overeating, we'd be delighted to hear from you.

Karen
ovrw8

Thank you all so much for the support.

There you are! I was looking for you! How is everything? How are you feeling?