[Toni05]

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Toni, I am a 24 year old mother of 2, happily engaged, and at the biggest I have ever been. I am currently 275 pounds, and it completely terrifies me. I am scared of not being there for my kids, I have extreme anxiety, and give myself anxiety attacks thinking about having a heart attack. My Mom had a triple bypass when she was only 40, and she was no where near as heavy as I am. Sometimes, I feel like a ticking time bomb, and have become very depressed over it.
Since I had my son (who is almost 18 months old), I have been a stay at home Mom. I absolutely love it.....Some days. I love my kids more than anything, but sometimes I just want to be alone, ya know? I thought it would be this glamorous thing staying home with them. After all, you hear skinny women say they are so fit because they chase their kids around all day. WRONG! For the past 18 months I feel like all I have done is sit on the couch, watch tv, and gain weight! I mean, who has a baby, then gains weight, and is heavier than she was DURING her pregnancy?!
After watching Biggest Loser tonight, I decided that I wanted to REALLY lose weight, and not give up! I want my family to be proud of me, I want to feel beautiful, I want my husband (to be) to want to jump onto the ferry and kiss me because he thinks I'm the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Mostly, I just want to feel good about myself.
There's only one problem: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT!!!!! I have no idea where to start, I don't know what to do. I've tried dieting before, but get very discouraged when I don't see immediate results. I need a coach, or a friend, a sponsor? I need someone! Someone to tell me what to do, or at least point me in the right direction. I live in a teeny tiny town, so there are no personal trainers, no gym, just lots and lots of farms. YeeHaw!!!!

Someone please help me get started.

(I feel a lot better getting some of this off of my chest, so if you feel like you should be payed therapists wages for reading this, I am sorry )

[Lovely]

Hi there Toni - Welcome to 3FC

First of all. You -can- do this. You 100% can do this.

You don't "need" a personal trainer or a gym to lose weight.

Here's the secret: Eat less. Move more.

Tada! Wait! No! Don't run away! That's not the end of the answer. Okay, that's not really a secret. It's more like a blanket statement of how losing weight is done. And it's very, very true. The details of it, however, vary from person to person.

Here's how it's usually done. Most of the time I see people keeping track of their food. Examples of this are: Counting calories, Weight Watchers Points, Tracking Carbs or Simply Writing down each day what their meals are.

This is why: One of the reasons so many of us became overweight is because we weren't truly aware of how much we were consuming to begin with. It therefore becomes important to watch what goes in. To be vigilant where we were once willfully ignorant.

Moving More: This also varies from person to person. I was extremely sedentary before I started to move more so I had to be careful not to do too much else I'd hurt myself. I started with 5 minutes at a time on my treadmill. Nothing more than a casual walk. I'm up to 10 now, and I'll be adding on more time as I lose weight and build up energy.

The why: Moving more not only helps us lose weight, but increases our energy, builds muscle, works out our heart and lungs. It makes us healthier all around! It's a very good thing, and as long as someone is healthy enough to start a small exercise program, well there's no reason to avoid it ever.

Eating well doesn't have to happen all at once. Neither does doing a marathon. lol I often suggest people start with small potatoes and build up to big ones. Accomplishing small things often gives us the boost we need to work up to bigger goals and challenges.

Your first week might only consist of writing down everything you eat...but not changing anything to start. Just getting an idea of what you usually go for when it comes to food.

Your first week might be deciding to switch from any sugary drinks to water.

Or simply adding in a fruit to a snack or an extra serving of vegetables to a meal.

Maybe you know you can take a five minute stroll each day outside and want to commit that way.

It might be one of those things, or all of them, or some combination.

Now, all that said, there are other details and methods that some people use. It's a truly individual choice. Something that everyone is constantly tweaking and fiddling with to make even better. After all, they are doing everything to fit this into their lifestyle. Not forcing themselves around something they cannot do for the long term.

You do not have to mold yourself around a plan that will not fit your life. Look for a plan that you can mold to your life.

Choose some simple healthy things to do while you're looking out for something that you think you can stick with =)

You can do this! I promise. Keep coming back. Post wherever you're comfortable. And keep at it. No matter what.

[bargoo]

Welcome and good luck! You have made a good start by coming here. Pick a program that you will follow , it is OK to experiment until you find what works for you. Weight Watchers is very popular, South Beach is also very popular, many prefer Atkins. I personally have found Calorie Counting works best for me.

[Ferumbras]

I second what Lovely said. Personally, I'm a big fan of recording what I eat and weighing myself daily, on top of counting calories and carb/protein intake. It works for me. One of the best things about this site is that there are various threads you can join where people post what they eat every day, what exercise they do every day, etc. I love these! Not only do I see what other people are up to, and get ideas about meals or exercises (never would have tried zumba if it weren't for this site), but it helps keep me accountable.

If you're ever feeling in doubt about whether or not you can do this, remember to take things slow and check out the goals section of the forums. The people there are a real inspiration!

Good luck!

[mamato2boys]

Toni!!


Yeah, I totally was inspired by last night's Biggest Loser too! I actually had to blog about it today, because it was so moving. Congrats to YOU for making this decision to better yourself!

I agree too with everything Lovely said! Great advice!

I think writing things down has helped me soooo much so far. Also making little mini-goals for myself (like, drink more water, or walk 1 mile 2x a week, or whatever) help. When you meet those little goals, it just makes you want to go more and more.
I think this website is better than a therapist, LOL. For real.....like, I am a binge eater (Chicks in Control is a great section of this site for emotional eaters), and actually right NOW I feel like binging on food since I am home alone, but instead, I came on here to the forum and already feel much better. (I am a SAHM mom too, and have a RARE few hours alone right now!)


It's just little things that you can do, that WILL eventually add up to big things. Start little and do what works for you, there is no race.

Hope that helps you a little bit too! Best of luck to you!!!

[Toni05]

Thank you all so much for the encouragement. Knowing that there are tons of women out there, just like me, that actually listen, and support each other is truly an inspiration. I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you, and mostly, shedding those pounds!!!!! Again, thank you all for the words of encouragement!!