[jewelykaye]

I've been reading this forum for about a week now and thought I should commit to it by posting.

I don't know how to start this really. I'm 28 years old and a mother to an adorable and sweet 4 year old girl and wife to my amazing husband of 6 years. My husband and I both are overweight. He has been his whole life and I started gaining in high school. I have hypothyroidism and blamed that for a long time for the weight. However, I was about 140 in high school and now weigh 372. That is not all due to thyroid problems. And actually the more I read the more I realize that we create our own thyroid problems. Point being, NO MORE EXCUSES!

I was really down a little over a month ago. This amount of weight seemed so impossible to lose. I was praying about it and God reassured me that NOTHING is impossible for Him. After a bit of back and forth with Him, I started to believe Him. I started working out 3 days/week but I would miss a day here and there and never make it up.

Then I was at the bookstore and saw a book called, "Never Say Diet" by Chantel Hobbs. On the back of the book was her before and after picture, that drew me in. Then I skimmed through the book and saw a chapter titled, You Have Such A Pretty Face and I knew I was going to purchase the book as this is something I hear frequently and while it's a compliment it really just cuts me to the heart.

I don't mean to be advertising this book but it really changed my mindset about things! She has me do things in monthly phases. The first month was making a habit of exercising 5 days/week. Really?! So I committed to that and actually did it, for a whole month! I spent 30 mins a night on a treadmill someone had given me. AND I didn't hate it!

So now I'm in month two where I am to start strength training with a stability ball twice a week, not drink my calories I miss you coffee with oh so delicious creamer , and keep a food journal. So far so good.

I don't know if I've lost any weight yet as I had to order a scale that would weigh me and that would weigh the hubbie. It's supposed to be here Friday! I'm actually excited about getting a scale, that's crazy!

I'm also using an app to track my daily calories and I've actually been staying under 1800 calories a day. I'm looking into incorporating protein shakes as breakfast, I'm a HORRIBLE breakfast eater but I don't know a lot about them so I need to research a bit more.

As you can tell by my extremely long post I'm excited about the changes that are happening for me and for the health of my family. This is NEVER something that I thought I would be able to accomplish and it's starting to happen!

[rainydays]

Welcome to 3FC! Seems like you're off to a great start!

[Amy23]

Hi and welcome to 3FC!

Like the above poster said, you sound like you're off to a great start. I had a huge, huge amount of difficulty exercising during the early days of my trying to lose weight, and it's still one of the things I struggle with most. So good on you!

I can sense your excitement through your post and I hope to hear more from you as you progress. Let us know how you're getting on!

[xJox]

Welcome to 3FC! It really sounds like you have your head on straight and are off to a great start. It isn't easy, but it is possible. Just take it one day at a time, one lb at a time. Good luck to you!

[BrittyK]

Welcome!

It really sounds like you figured out a way to make it work for you. I think so many people see it as 'just calorie restrict' or 'just exercise more'. And it's SO much more than either of those and sometimes it's really daunting and overwhelming. Hopefully you continue to have success with it.

3FC is a wonderful site and even though I don't post often, I'm on a couple of times a week to browse, get inspiration and motivation and really remind myself that this is a life long journey, not a quick trip. Seeing others who have been where we started and are at their goal or so close to it is comforting because it means if they did it, then surely I can too. And I am. And you will too!

[jewelykaye]

Thank you everyone for the welcome. Sorry I've been MIA since I posted but I just found out that I'm PREGNANT and was in a bit of a state of shock, very happy but very surprised...lol. It's not going to stop me from the journey I'm on. I'm just going to need to talk to the Dr. about proper caloric intake. Fun times.

[rainydays]

Congratulations!!

[Aromyn]

Congratulations, and welcome! Some Doctors let you lose weight while your pregnant when you belong to our "club". I lost about 20lbs with my Dr's blessing when I had my son. There are some studies out here that show that very overweight mothers who lose a small amount of weight while pregnant have healthier babies. I'm not trying to be a smarty pants, I'm just trying to encourage you keep your momentum. I'm trying to preach to myself too, bc my husband and I are going to start trying for #2 this summer, even though I haven't lost as much as I wanted to. (If we keep waiting #1 will be in high school before I lose enough weight!)