Hello everyone...

I have been lurking for a bit and decided the time had come to open my mouth and say hi!

I have been feeding my inner fat girl for 42 years now. I have been heavy all of my adult life with a brief period about 7 years ago when I lost a good bit of weight. Unfortunately I managed to put it back on pretty darn quick and then some. In March of this year I finally had enough and decided I am not getting any younger, and if I want to live the second half of my life with more energy and health, I better get cracking. I started my diet on March 10 and as of today I have lost 84 pounds. I started at 312 pounds and being a tall gal, I am looking to hit around 185 to 190 pounds as my goal weight.

I have been a vegetarian for about 16 years (yes there are fat vegetarians), so I am doing a low fat veggie diet that I created myself. So far so good. I have also decided I would also become a "buff" middle aged chick so I joined a Gym and have taken to doing weight training and cardio.

I am looking forward to joining in the rousing supportive conversations and learning what everyone is doing/has done to fight this battle.

Kerry

WAY TO GO!! You've already come so far!! Bravo! I hope that I can have some similar success in the near future. And trust me, you're not alone in the gaining it back department! I'm new here too, and decided to start posting because after losing 69 lbs, i put 51 back on, and so many people reassured me that I am not along. Way to get back on the horse!!!

Kitty

Wow - you are doing awesome already!

Welcome!

Welcome Kerry ~ You are doing great!! Another inspiring person.

Welcome, Kerry.

84 pounds in 5 months! Flippin' 'eck, that's some determination and commitment you've got going on there! Got any pics you fancy sharing? Before, during, and after photos are so inspiring.

WOW! COngrats and welcome. Care to share a bit of this plan you've created for weightloss?

Welcome Kerry. Your doing great. I look forward to seeing you around.

Wow, Kerry - way to go!

Glad to meet you.

Welcome Kerry, I joined 3FC last week. You are doing a great job. I would love to hear more about your food plan. I am always looking for a new way to fix the veggies because I am trying to eat more of them.

Welcome Kerry!

WOW! You are doing great - we'll be looking to you for advice and motivation! I am also a fat vegetarian - I'd love to hear more about your food plan.

Love Amanda x

Welcome!! What a great job you've done! How about some photos?

Welcome! You're doing great!

hello! 84lb is amazing in such a short period of time, keep it going!

Thanks everyone for the great welcome!

Well I hate to say it but my diet plan is pretty darn boring. I'd love to say that I have all these wonderful dishes that I make every day, but I'm afraid not. For the past 5 months I have been eating the same thing day in and day out. I know it sounds restrictive and boring, but I am the type of person that has to have some sort of order and be totally dedicated to it or I mess up. Give me an inch and I'll take a quart of Ben & Jerry's.

So basically what I have been doing is having oatmeal for breakfast...just plain old oats, nothing fancy. For lunch I have this great little bagel sandwich that I toast up that has a bunch of fresh veggies on it (mushrooms, onions, red peppers, spinach, tomato,garlic) then topped with a slice of fat free cheese. I usually put some of this great cranberry mustard I found on it as well. For dinner I make a huge salad full of all the veggies listed above, except I saute the veggies with some Boca Burger ground meat subsitute (protein a plenty!) and add taco seasoning, so its like a big old taco salad minus the chips, plus lots of lettuce. And I make my own thousand Island dressing from fat free mayo, ketchup and pickles. Its actually very filling. I have a huge old bowl of it.

Mid day I generally have a snack. A Stick of light string cheese. How exciting! Thats it. I drink lots of water and I never cheat. Once a week we go to a place called Panera Bread and I get a cup of their Low Fat Vegetarian Veggie Soup and have that with my salad, and I actually allow myself to have a small bit of the wonderful french bread they give you with the soup.

I told you it was boring.

But it works for me. When I hit the 100 pound mark I am going to start slowly integrating other (low fat) foods into my diet. But right now I have to be strict with myself. I know each day what I am going to eat, and I look forward to it. I don't have to make a lot of choices which can lead me astray. I like having the structure, and it keeps me honest. I have been finding a bunch of healthy low fat vegetarian recipes to use when the time comes.

Besides this I work out 6 days a week (some weeks 5). I do 30-45 minutes of cardio every day and then three days a week I do strength training. I am using the machines at the gym right now, but I have some books and I hope to learn to do free weights soon.

Thats my tale of woe. Its not for everyone. In fact there are two of us in the house dieting and we are both doing two different things because she can't stand the same old thing every day. Makes for an interesting ride.

Thanks again for the great welcome!

Kerry

Welcome Kerry , I am a little bit late to adding to the thread, but congratulations on the fantastic weight loss. I know what you mean about being a restricted diet. I am the same way. I need to restrict the foods I eat as well so I have some semblance of control. This is a great forum, so post often!