I copied your pst over here as i felt that you would get a bit lost over there. here it is

Hello everyone...

I'm not sure if this is where I should post and introduction or not but here I am anyway. Hi..I am new here. I have been reading through the boards for the past few days and figured I should jump in.

My name is Kerry and I am a 39 year old female who has been heavy all my adult life. Two years ago I lost 100 pounds in 7 months and was down to what I should weigh (pretty much). To do this I basically starved myself on salads. Of course over the past two years I have gained it all back. I have been miserable and feeling like a total failure. I am an emotional eater so of course the more miserable I felt about gaining it back, the more I ate. So here I am.

Two weeks ago I was terminated from my job that I have had forever. I was the office manager of a medical practice and the owner decided to retire. She sold the business and the new owners and the old owner had a financial disagreement and because I am friends with the old owner I was told by the new owner that their attorney recommended I be terminated and so I was, unexpectedly.

To make a very long story short (and to keep you all from slipping into a long and fitful sleep) I decided to make this setback in my life work for me instead of against me. I began a new diet and exercise regimine. In the first week and 3 days I have lost 15 pounds.

I am looking forward to talking with others who are dealing with the same issues (ie: weight) and am glad to be here.

Kerry

Welcome Kerrie

I know how stessful your job loss can be. I am going through that my self ad since then i have been having a hard time staying op (9 months now of financial troubles) It is that long as i tried tostart my own business and although it has not failed it has not picked up. so off to a real job i guess.

but enough of me you will learn as you go about the different peole I am more interested about you. what plan are you doing and what kind of exercise. there are loads of different plans and exercise regimins here andou can find a kindred spirit here with all of us. the amount of weight that you have to lose is typical for any of us here. so we understand what youare going through and how hard it is. so sit back relax and post as offten as you can it makes the jurney much more bearable and we can get throughanything if we stick together and listen to the suggestions. I sure hope you are not starvign your self like you did that first time. Ihave done that my self and really almsot killed my body by knocking my mwetobolism down so low well you knowwhere i am comming from.

well I will get off my hourse and let some one eilse say hi. the weekend canbe a bit slow so do not dispare it doesget very lound in here at times. LOL

Welcome Kerry!!

You are so lucky because you have come to the best support system ANYWHERE! These gals are wonderful.

I hope that you are inspired.

Dana

Welcome Kerry! You've come to a great, supportive place where you can feel safe talking about issues you'd never talk about to anyone else. I've learned a lot about myself in here!

Like Sue said, we've all got pretty much the same amount of weight to lose as you do, and I think most of us have the same history of failed diets. I would also like to reiterate what Sue said: I hope you are not losing weight by starving yourself! I have also done permanent damage to my metabolism through starvation diets. (I have been known to ingest nothing but diet soda for three-day stretches - a diet that I do NOT recommend!) Many of us in here are doing Weight Watchers, but there are a few others who are either doing other plans or a plan they've devised on their own.

Don't be afraid to ask questions! Visit (and post!) often.

Welcome, Kerri!!

I am pretty new here myself and everyone has been very supportive --

God bless you.

Crystal

Sue & Dana...

Thanks for the warm welcome. Just in reading through ever so briefly I can see that everyone in here is very supportive and thats what I need right now.

Sue...to answer your questions...I have been sort of freewheeling it with the diet program. I am the type of person who needs a plan that makes me eat basically the same things all the time. So what I have been doing basically is having either oatmeal or fat free yogurt for breakfast, a salad for lunch and for dinner a Lean Cuisine frozen meal (I am on a lazy streak and don't want to do a lot of cooking). For desert I have a Smart Ones frozen desert. I drink a LOT of water throughout the day and if I get the munchies I eat a few (very few) peanuts in the shell. and I don't eat after 8pm at night.

For exercise I have been walking on my treadmill for 30 minutes in the early afternoon every day and then doing upper body workouts on the total gym machine and with dumbbell weights (although I am still trying to learn some exercises and how to do them correctly). I hate exercise but I am trying to stay motivated and keep doing it. Luckily I have the time right now seeing I am BETWEEN JOBS...

Today I bought a new scale..a digital one (since the old eyes aren't what they used to be and I am tired of trying to guess between the lines). And the new scale shows me 5 pounds lighter then the old one...hmm so which number do I go with? I think I'll take the new one and go from here

Kerry

Jennelle & Crystal...

Thanks for the welcome....

Actually I am not starving myself this time. I forgot to add that with my nightly Lean Cuisine I am also having numerous fresh steamed veggies (gotta love those local produce stands this time of year). So actually I am finding myself quite full. I guess I could do with a bit more fruit (however I am not much of a fruit lover).

Kerry

I can give you some sites that will give you some great workouts. if you are into wieght lifing. designed for women.

http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

glad to see you kerrie... yes, we're wise. and smart-asses too sometimes.

sounds like you're doing pretty well with your plan, but [and here comes the protein lecture.. sue. you want to jump in now??? or wait until later?] think about adding more protein. some diet authorities recommend at least 60-80 grams per day, and others recommend more than 100. sue eats more than 100 grams per day, because she's a body builder in training. i eat in the 80-100 range [doc's orders]

and the reason: SAVE YOUR MUSCLES which actually burn fat. yes, they weigh more than fat tissues, but they work so very much better. and if you don't eat enough for your body to function right, it starts using whatever proteins it can find, which means your muscles.

ok. sue. your turn. whenever you're ready.

oh, and ps. WW has a lower carb/higher protein plan that my sister is doing fabulously well on. she's lost about 60 pounds on it.

so, as everyone said. post often. any topic is fair game.

Hi Jiffy...or should I call you Pop?

Yeah I have always been concerned about the protein issue, being a vegetarian. Even when I was eating like a pig I worried I wasn't getting enough. But at least then I was eating cheese out the wazoo. I need to find some healthy sources of protein (non meat) other then peanuts. I don't wanna over-do it on the nuts even though they say they are mostly the good fat.

Well time to go have my Lean Cuisine...tonights choice is stuffed rigatoni with roasted veggies...yumm. Actually I am finding I really like them. As long as I have food that tastes good and is varied I think I can do this. And the portion control is very important for me. I have a hard time weighing and measuring and being honest .

Kerry

hi kerry.. most folks around here call me Jiff.. like the peanut butter!!! but i get two Fs

as for the protein, sounds like you'll need tofu and other soybeans. and excellent choice.

of course, there's always the protein shake, low carb, of course.