"Hello" From A Newbie!

  • I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all and to lose weight. Glad to have found this site! I’m a mom of 2 boys and have been married for 16 years. The past 10 years has been tough for me. I’ve gained 85 lbs! I’m 5’3”.

    The day of my wedding I weighted around 130 lbs. At the time, I was feeling great, exercised regularly and made better eating choices. My lifestyle was completely different then. I lived in New York City and I disliked taking the subway, so I walked to and from everywhere, or took a taxi cab. My husband and I moved to the suburbs and I became a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom and got very depressed and unmotivated. My husband is no help either. Instead of helping me lose the weight, he criticizes and berates me. He’s verbally and mentally abusive and not someone I want to be with for the rest of my life. But I want to gain enough confidence to leave this abusive marriage, and I need to be able to feel good about myself and be healthy for my boys.

    I’m going through a lot right now with my marriage, my job, my finances. I’m going to need all the help that I can get not only to keep my sanity, but also to NOT gain another pound!

    Thank God for friends and family, without their support I would have fallen apart.

    I’ve done every diet that one can imagine, lost some of the weight, gained, lost, gained, gained again. My problem is eating carbs and not exercising- I can’t motive myself to work out. I really need help.

    Please, help me lose the weight once and for all. I'm ready!! And I’m looking forward to learning from you all. Thank you in advance.
  • Ugh, I'm really sorry to hear about your husband, I do hope that you are able to bring yourself above being in that sort of caustic relationship. No one deserves to have to deal with that sort of thing!

    I started with little things... I started drinking more water, and I started getting up and walking and little by little, I remembered how much I loved taking walks. When I was a young girl, my father and I would go on rambling adventures around our neighborhood, finding the hidden places that the suburbs hadn't yet begun to touch. I haven't started rambling again yet but I have walked up and down a mountain now twice (to be fair it isn't MUCH of a mountain! more like a glorified hill...) but it's been a great start and has really helped me out a ton. I don't even think about soda at all now, water is just so much more refreshing!

    I also don't know what to say about carbs, but I'm sure that someone else here will chime in!

    Welcome, and good luck in your journey! Taking your weight and your health into your hands like this is going to benefit you so much, as well as your boys!
  • I use an iPhone app to keep track of my daily calories including carbs. I have never been a good dieter and people say I just need to find what works for me. So after many years, I guess I found what works. Walking at least 30 mins every day and logging in my daily food to stay on track. It really works for me knowing how much fat, carbs and calories I'm consuming in each of my meals.

    My road to healthiness has only just begun and these forums are so good for motivation, so utilise it! good luck with your journey, we are here for you!!
  • I'm sorry you have been through this. Bravo for wanting to take a step forward. You are in the right place. Keep coming back!
  • Hi Ginger! You'll find lots of support here, so you don't ever have to feel alone in your weight loss efforts. Everyone here will want the very best for you! You mentioned carbs giving you a problem. I am carb sensitive. I yo-yo dieted all my life and finally now, after realizing what carbs have been doing to my blood glucose levels, I have found a weight loss plan that is actually working with my body. Before, I always felt like I was struggling with dieting. Now it's relatively easy. For 6 days of the week, I eat meats, eggs, legumes, non-potato veggies and fruits that are often considered veggies (like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, etc.), cottage cheese, nuts, and black olives. And I drink diet soda, green tea (I've never been a coffee drinker), and water. I avoid breads and grains (including corn), potatoes, pasta, dairy (except for the cottage cheese), fruits, and sweets. Then on the 7th day, I have a cheat day when I can eat anything I want, however much I want. The cheat day keeps me from feeling deprived and sparks my metabolism each week. Plus, I move it as needed to account for special occasions like birthdays when I want cake and ice cream, lol! I gain a couple of water weight lbs after cheat day each week but they always fall away in the next 2-3 days and I continue losing. I lost 20 lbs in 2 months doing this, and it was easy for me. What I'm doing is not right for everyone, of course. Some people are not carb-sensitive and some people can't handle cheat days because it triggers them and they don't go back on plan, but I want you to know that if you are carb-sensitive, cutting back on carbs, even if you choose to count calories or follow some other plan, can help you to be successful! I don't count calories and I only walk about a mile a day, so it's the cutting back on carbs that has worked for me. As for motivation, consider joining one or more challenge threads in the sub-forum "Chicks Up for Challenge" under Support Groups: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/chic...challenge-159/. I belong to the monthly weight loss and exercise challenges there and they have helped me greatly! And newbies are always welcome in any of the challenges at any time! Good luck on your journey! You can do this and we will help you!
  • hey love! I am also new to this site & I'm so happy I found it !! I want to wish you the best of luck on your journey !! I am so so so sorry about the negativity you get at home ... I'm proud of you for stepping up and taking control of your health ... you have a good team here to back you up ... & just try to remember you are not alone <3 xo
  • I'm sorry for what you are going through with your marriage, I do hope you find enough confidence within yourself to leave as no one should have to deal with that.

    Welcome to the forums, wish you the best of luck with your weightloss journey