Hi all,

My name is Carina. I am a 41 year old mom from the Netherlands. I am married to Alan from Scotland. We live in The Netherlands. Our children are a girl, 14 years old, a son, 11 years old and another son, 7 years old. I am a stay at home mom.

The first period I started gaining weight was, when I was a teenager. I was being bullied at school and very shy and insecure. So I started with watching what I ate at periods of time. So I was up and down a bit.

I had my first child, when I was 27, living in England. Husband and I got married the year before that. So started gaining weight before the pregnancy already. And after the pregnancy I went on the, I think you call it, depoprivera pill. An injection every 3 months. That surely didn't help, it did make me gain weight, and also having an unhealthy style of eating. And ever since then I have struggled a lot with my weight. And not moving enough.

So last year I got sick of myself. Tried Herbalife, did that before, didn't like it, but got a few things from a friend. Still didn't like it, but did quite well with watching what I ate and doing exercise on the Wii. A month after that I decided to join a Gym. I was very excited and motivated and went 3x a week, still watching what I ate. So from April 2011 till about September 2011, I lost about 22lbs. So felt quite well.

But then I got the flu at Autumn Break, so didn't go for a while. And lost motivation. Also it was getting colder and rainy and all that, and I already cycle the boys to school and back home every day. And from their school to the Gym it is about 10 minutes cycling. And I just wanted to sit in my warm house, instead of cycling there 3x a week. So stopped going altogether. Have gained 8lbs since around December again.

I find it all really hard with the eating. I either eat way too much. Or when I have days that I think okay I am going to watch it and restrain myself, I probably eat to little at times.

So I am getting sick of myself again and I want to try again. I joined a different gym, which is nearer my house, so that will hopefully help me, also going during Autumn and Winter.

So this is my life story. Hope it wasn't too long to read. I hope I will be able to find help here, support to keep up with what I should be doing.

Carina

Welcome!

It certainly can be hard to keep up your motivation. Hopefully it will make it easier since you joined a gym closer to your home.

Just read every day and post when you need to, and I promise this will help with motivation. When other people lose weight, you will be glad for them, and they will be glad for you. You just have to decide to do it, and not give up. Welcome!!

Thanks Brandis and Lilacgirl. Tomorrow is the day I will go for the first time this gym.

Welcome! Congrats on getting your weight loss journey back in gear. That's really great. I agree it's really hard to get diet in gear at anytime. It's like a constant balancing act between preventing either eating too much or too little. For me learning what real portions and servings are helped, as well as calorie counting. But there are many paths to success regarding food. 3fc is an awesome resource in that way.

Hanging out on 3fc definitely helps me stay motivated and I get so much support and inspiration from the people on here. Plus there are always threads and challenges to keep one motivated. I hope to see you around the boards. Good luck on your weight loss journey. Know you can definitely do this!

Hi Carina, it's your buddy from OCP. I am rather new here, myself, but was pleasantly surprised to see you.