i'm 54 years old, weight an unhealthy 315 pounds, depressed and menopausal. I thought being fat was a challenge when I was younger, now it seems that, along with unbearable hot flashes and an unfulfilling marriage, it's more than I can bear. Yet I'm responsible for so much. Everything waits for me! Where in the world am I to find the courage and energy to try yet again? What's the point? I wouldn't bet against me.
EmmySue -- You find the courage here. There are tons of stories of people here struggling and even succeeding! I invite you to join us in the 300+ Club (under support groups) where you will find lots of people weighing over 300 pounds and working on getting fitter!
Do you want to be 55 and feel this way? 56? 57? You get the point. No matter where you start the important part is that you start. This time next year you'll wish that you started now. You can do this!
Hi EmmySue... I just joined today so I'm sure I'm not the best person here to encourage you. But I just wanted to cheer you on to move forward. I dont know if life will ever be as good as it could be... and each of us played a part in getting ourselves here... but it's never too late to love yourself and find things that you like.
I think you can find the courage in yourself to change... because you're worth the time and committment. It's a struggle - but it's worth it even for the positive feelings that come from being in control of your own diet and exercise. You deserve to feel great about yourself no matter your life situation. Dont give up!!
EmmySue you sound how I feel. I'm 52, menopausal, hot flashing about 20 times a day, doing for everyone (4 kids and husband), and working full time. I feel awful, and my body feels 100 rather than 52. I want so much to lose this weight but can't seem to stick to anything for longer than a meal at a time. I'm hoping this site and the stories in it will help me get my life together. I hope you'll do the same. We're all in the same boat it seems, so let's just start paddling and see where it takes us.
Sounds like you have strong motivation to begin a journey toward getting healthier.
I'm 51 & menopausal too. I was miserable with night sweats, terrible insomnia & hot flashes - chronic insomnia led to depression - my Dr. prescribed the lowest dose of estrogen and within a couple days I was getting relief, which increased as the RX kicked in. I took it for a few months, got off it and *knock wood* so far I've been ok. You CAN get relief from the menopausal symptoms if they are causing you to be miserable. My Dr. gave me samples, so I there was no cost. I just wish I'd seen the Dr. sooner and saved so many months of misery. Call your Dr. today
Once you get your menopausal symptoms settled down, hopefully you'll feel better and will have more energy (physical & emotional) to see things in a better light?
Until 6 weeks ago when my Dr. AGAIN brought up my weight as a health issue (I have high blood pressure & high cholesterol), I was a big fan of Mark Twain's proclamation "Exercise is loathsome!". :hee hee:
But NOW my Dr. was telling me my blood glucose (a future diabetes indicator) is AGAIN elevated. That did it, that was the final straw.
Just walking has made a big difference. Even if you can only walk a block to begin with, just get started! I'm working up slowly - and can see a big change in my energy level, my outlook is more positive and I feel better. You can do it too!
You don't have to join a gym and press weights to get started ... you can start wherever you are! You can do it!!!!
I'll check back here after the week end to see how you are doing ... and if you decided to call a Dr. Have a good week end!
Hi, Just wanted to jump in and offer some encouragement. I've been there too, I think most of us have. And like the one lady said, if you don't start today, when? There are some great tips on here, read the posts. And PLAN. Plan what you're going to eat, and when. It's so much easier than just waiting untill you're hungry and then raiding the refrigerator! You know you make the wrong decisions then, when you're hungry. Another tip: clean the house! I mean, clean out all the junk that you know you shouldn't be eating and replace it with things that you should. If it's not there you can't eat it.
i'm 54 years old, weight an unhealthy 315 pounds, depressed and menopausal. I thought being fat was a challenge when I was younger, now it seems that, along with unbearable hot flashes and an unfulfilling marriage, it's more than I can bear. Yet I'm responsible for so much. Everything waits for me! Where in the world am I to find the courage and energy to try yet again? What's the point? I wouldn't bet against me.
Welcome to the forum. To me the point is when you are around 300 pounds (I was 298) any that you lose makes you feel better. That's a positive thing. I have lost and gained for years but I'm still trying as I want to be healthier. I've only lost 49 pounds but I feel so much better for losing that, my back is better for one thing. I don't think you need courage just try cutting out one thing you know is bad for you. I cut out crisps (potato chips) I used to eat bags and bags of them.
Okay, Emmysue and everybody else in their early (or whatever) fifties, suffering through menopause and feeling overwhelmed, this is for YOU.
I have SO been there, done that, got the freaking T-Shirt.
You'll get through it because we ALL get through it because we are strong women who CARE, and if we weren't we wouldn't have logged onto a website like this in the first place.
I have pretty close to ten years on most of you...I'm 61. I had 44 pounds to lose, and now it's 21. It has been SLOW...the slowest weight loss imaginable, and there have been weeks when I've played musical chairs back & forth with a few miserable OUNCES, but you know what? You can do it! And better you do it NOW than later, because the longer you wait, the worse - and harder - and more depressing and rotten - it gets.
Think about it. You're menopausal. Okay. It's lousy, but you're sure not alone. EVERY woman has to deal with it, just like we've all had to deal with TOM, PMS, all that stuff, and STILL had to do what we had to do...had to keep on keeping on, right? (Actually, I used to LOVE my crabby-for-no-reason spells...they were just so, I don't know...so FREEING ) And once you get through menopause, here's the deal: you can emerge in decent shape, and without a kazillion pounds to lose, and feel pretty good about yourself (and be pretty healthy moving forward) OR you can come out on the other side feeling JUST as miserable, and weighing WAY more than you can feel comfortable with, and needing to lose weight, and get yourself into a little better shape, only you'll be that much older and it'll take that much longer. Trust me. I KNOW.
So, I'm not here to kick anybody when they're down...just to tell you that what you choose to do now will dictate where you'll find yourself five, ten, fifteen years from now.
Unfulfilling marriage? Yup. Been there, too. Got a divorce after 25 AWFUL years, and have now been married to the best man in the world (for me) for the past five. Yeah. Life has some amazing surprises in store.
Don't give up...well, you won't. We women never do. We always hang in there and we always manage to survive one way or the other. But there's surviving, and then there's really surviving. There's surviving, and being danged glad that you did. And that's where YOU want to be...seriously.
So, Menopause, schmenopause....yup....it's rotten. But get into eating healthy and moving your body some...walking, stretching...whatever. Take care of YOU, because down the road, you'll be awfully glad you did!
Your quality of life is the point. Your well being and your happiness is the poing. You CAN lose the weight. You don't have to be miserable because of your excess weight. Losing weight IS possible. I promise you, promise you, PROMISE YOU.
And when you do get it together, you will be so giddy with joy. Will it solve all your problems? Nope. But it will solve and alleviate many of them. And it will make the ones that stick around that much easier to deal with.
Don't give up. There are many, many wonderful things ahead for you. Get excited about weightloss. Realize that is IS doable. Realize that you don't have to remain at this weight. Every time you turn down high calorie/high quantity foods you are one step closer to a happier and healthier and more productive life.
Good luck to you. We're all here for you. This is an AMAZING place for support, encouragement and advice.
Don't forget, Depression (whats the point-style thinking) and weight are VERY different issues.
I'm 19, I'm in lower half of healthy weight range, I don't have menopausal/marriage worries but by god, I'm miserable as...that thing that rhymes with "bell".
Long winded point is - make sure you get some help for depression as a seperate issue to your weight if you think it might possibly be relevant..if you like life and yourself better, youll stand a better chance of losing weight as well.
You know, right now at work I've got a huge, huge amount of paperwork and computer work to do. It has to get done but I can't do it all at once and I have to focus on a portion of it at a time, get that done and move on. If I sit there and think about what a huge job it is, I'll make myself nuts, so I just focus on a certain task or two at a time and start chipping away at it, and it's coming along. The mountain is getting smaller.
It's the same deal with losing weight. I think, for any of us that are trying to lose more than a few pounds, a few pounds at a time is what we can focus on...turning the mountain into a bunch of molehills. You might be overwhelming yourself with the thought of how much weight you want to lose altogether and thinking you have to presto chango everything overnight. You don't. You can start with even just one small change. Whether it's walking more, or eliminating something fattening from your diet (but finding a better substitute that you can still enjoy), you can do it. If you like making sandwiches with white bread, for instance, try lo-cal bread, or use turkey instead of swiss cheese...whatever you can modify. Do an eating assessment. Either write down what you eat or record it in one of the programs people here use (like Fitday) or just do it all in your head. If you can see, for example, that you're eating too many sweets, find ways to change that. Break your weight loss effort down into small steps and mini-goals. It's a lot less overwhelming. And there's a lot of victories to be had along the way.
Last edited by trekkiegirl; 08-14-2007 at 05:23 PM.
You came here and posted...which means you still have a glimmer of hope somewhere in you. Hang onto that glimmer tightly and get going! Each minute, each hour, each day that you stay on this journey builds your confidence more and more. Take a look around 3FC...especially the goals thread and mini-goals thread. Take a look at the pictures. This site has many women who have lost large amounts of weight.....women who are in very similar circumstances as yours. Use their stories as inspiration. You can do this, too! What's the point? There will always be stress...there will always be pressure and a million things to do...that is life. But, you are still here on earth and you still have life to live...how do you want to live it?
I am 43. Two years ago, I was put into instant menopause due to a full hysterectomy. Hormone issues? Yeah, I've had my share. I also work full time, I'm a Mom to two daughters (7 and 11 years old) I have 3 dogs, a Hubby who always wants something, and a Mom-in-law who lives with us and is Bi-polar and has the mentality of a 16 year old. I understand.
Hey, Emmy, where are you? I clicked on your thread because Ive been there too. Great advise from everyone. Im 54 too, just starting working after many years off raising kids. Last one graduated last year. Husband told me to quit being selfish and help with bills. So here Im am. Lost a few lbs just working after a few weeks.Not sitting in from of computer helped.LOL. Havent started any exercise program yet, but will start walking TODAY.
Keep us updated...we care.
Ellabella....love your advise. Read it twice! Your great!
That's so true.....you know I used that mindset when I was trying to quit smoking. I ended up quitting at age 25, a lightbulb went off, I thought if I don't quit now it will be that much harder at 26, 27, 30....it will be harder tomorrow than today.
REMEMBER:
1) It's not going to get any easier, so make today count
2) Look forward, not backward, you CAN change the future starting today
3) There is no situation so bad that overeating can't make it WORSE
EmmySue, do your best TODAY, ask for and get support, do the same tomorrow and the tomorrows will be brighter! HANG IN THERE!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom2QJandT
Do you want to be 55 and feel this way? 56? 57? You get the point. No matter where you start the important part is that you start. This time next year you'll wish that you started now. You can do this!
What's the point?
Welcome to the forum. 
To me the point is when you are around 300 pounds (I was 298) any that you lose makes you feel better. That's a positive thing. I have lost and gained for years but I'm still trying as I want to be healthier. I've only lost 49 pounds but I feel so much better for losing that, my back is better for one thing. 
) And once you get through menopause, here's the deal: you can emerge in decent shape, and without a kazillion pounds to lose, and feel pretty good about yourself (and be pretty healthy moving forward) OR you can come out on the other side feeling JUST as miserable, and weighing WAY more than you can feel comfortable with, and needing to lose weight, and get yourself into a little better shape, only you'll be that much older and it'll take that much longer. Trust me. I KNOW.
. So here Im am. Lost a few lbs just working after a few weeks.Not sitting in from of computer helped