So hi...I am Tara...and dang it I just like food. I love eating. I hate moving...and I am look it.
But it's time...the spouse is worried about my health and we want to have kids and I have PCOS and I know it's important and my parents are both diabetic and have blood pressure issues and I am fat and in my early 30s and well....
Yeah.
But I just need a boost I guess.
I have tried cutting back portions...but then I am hungry.
I have cut out sugary drinks...and did lose 15 pounds...but got sucked back into drinking them and gained most of that back.
I tried going to the gym...but I hate it.
So yeah....lets try reading what others do and be hopeful.

Oh and lets see...I am actually interesting besides just being fat.
I breed show mice. yep...people show mice. LOL! And no...they don't wear wee collars or walk on a leash. Think more like a cat show.

I also am an artist. I mainly do graphic art these days...but I dabble in everything.

And I am married to an amazing woman who I love dearly!
We hope to make it legal in the next year if Maryland gets it's act together!
And I have a ton of other pets and whatnot...and that is about as exciting as I get.

Hi honey!!!

I think you've come to the right place! You can definitely do this but you need to be in the right state of mind. Every day, remind yourself of the reasons why you are doing this.

Also, cutting portions helps. But I personally found counting calories was a winner. I eat ALL day, just smaller meals and because everything is accounted for and sort of planned ahead (in my head at least) I know that I can eat, stay on plan, and be full all day.

Drink water when you think you're hungry, I also found most of the time I was just hungry.

And focus on one thing at a time. If you can't diet, cut soda, and exercise all at once, just diet first.

Then eventually cut soda.

Then start introducing exercise, even if it's just an evening walk. It helps.

You seem like a very interesting, fun and outgoing personality. You should be happy in your skin, especially for health reasons as well. It's not too late. You still are very young and can definitely do this by next year right in time for your wedding, that is, provided Maryland *does* get it's act together

If you need any advice on what program would be good for you, browse through the forum and look at the goal stories. They are all personalized and many people are in the same situation as you.

I have been a 3FC addict since last year, and I am so grateful for the family I have built here

So welcome! And I wish you all of the best on your journey!!! xoxo

That is really, super-duper cool! That's all I wanted to say, haha!

Hi there! Welcome, I hope this can help you get the motivation you need!

I agree with caramelkitty on counting calories: it has definitely made me more aware of what *exactly* I was doing wrong and some easy ways to change. Especially of you count all the sugary drinks; for me, it was the first thing I cut (although I do still sometimes have diet coke and the occasional appletiser). I used to be totally hooked on soft drinks, but seeing how many calories they were, for something I used to think wasn't that bad (had this idée fixe that "if it's liquid, it's not fattening"), kind of put me off them. I now prefer to get my daily calorie allowance from other things, haha. This might help you too, although of course in your head you KNOW they're bad. Meticulously registering your calorie intake might just help you see exactly HOW bad.

At first I didn't like to drink water, but I started off making iced tea (without sugar or with only a tiny bit) to drink instead of soda, and now I just drink liters of water. There are some other alternatives too, flavoured waters and other things that have less sugar but still taste good. The price can also be an incentive, right? Tap water = **** of a lot cheaper than cans of coke!
Maybe you should track what you can save by not buying sugary drinks and spend it on an amazing wedding outfit instead!

In any case, good luck to you! And oh, I love the show mice thing. :-)

You are awsome! I can tell, because frankly, I've never ever heard of show mice! And now I want to know everything about it. LOL I got really into chicken breeds for a while and most people don't 'get' that.

I have PCOS, too. I was small until I went off birth control and started trying to have a baby. I started gaining and found out I had PCOS. Losing just 5-10% of your current weight can kick your ovaries into production!! A lot of ladies with PCOS find low-card diets almost essential. Not NO CARBS, but just a conscious look at trying to avoid a carb-heavy diet. Our systems just don't process it the same way. I was successful on 50% carbs, but they were almost all whole grains, etc. It just made me FEEL BETTER!

I didnt like to exercise, either! When you don't feel great about your body, emotionally and physically, exercise just seems like punishment, right? Atleast it did to me. Every once in a while I'd get motivated when I was heavy, so I'd workout and then feel miserable. I realized during my weight loss journey that I was always too gung ho and has unrealistic expectations about going too hard, too soon. I finally promised myself I would take it slow and I began a process of trying new workouts and finding something I could stick with.

You can do this!

Awsome! Thanks everyone. I will have to show you all pictures of my mice when I am off restriction. lol. IN the meantime my profile has my website if you are dying to see really amazing mice. They are super fun to keep.
And this is such encouragement. I will be cruising the forum heavily! Thanks again!!!

Welcome and good luck and I recommend calorie counting, too.
I have to admit show mice or any kind of mice do not thrill me.

Good luck on your weight loss journey.

I looked at your mice...Amazing! We live out in the country and have lots of little brown mice. Our wild ones have very bright eyes and shiny coats like your fancy ones. Judging by the little "hoards" we find, I think they eat quite a bit of cat and dog food. How many calories a day does a mouse eat?

LOL no idea! But they do need about an 18% protein diet...and dog food certainly helps!

Thanks for the compliments though! And I used to live near the Mojave in Mesa Arizona...I loved it there!

Hi, nice to meet you! First of all, congrats on your soon-to-be-legal marriage. I've never heard to show mice, but that sounds really cool. I live in a farming area and our county fair is right in the middle of our town so I've heard of show everything from chickens to rabbits to cows to pigs but never mice! Sounds like fun, though Also, will we get to see any of your art?

Well, since you hate going to the gym, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that exercise is not necessary for weight loss, only fitness. So you can start with a balanced/healthy diet, and then try to pick up exercising when you've lost weight and have more energy.

I had the same problem when I started: I tried to cut back portions but I was still hungry! What worked for me was I went out and bought a couple of water bottles that I always kept filled so if I got hungry I would drink water/flavored water/zero calorie teas instead, since I was pretty sure the hunger had less to do with me actually being hungry and more to do with me being used to having a full/stretched stomach and it gave me something to distract myself with. It worked for me, and eventually I got to the point where I wasn't as hungry anymore. I also keep lots of low-calorie snacks (like fruits/veggies) around because they have lots of fiber so they're filling but they also taste good for few calories.

I calorie count myself, although I've also had success with the Idea Shape Shake diet (they taste really good, and help with stopping hunger, but they also get a little boring since you eat them for breakfast and lunch daily, so I usually switch between shakes and calorie counting) so I would recommend either of those.

My biggest suggestion: GO COLD TURKEY ON THE SUGARY DRINKS! I did the same when I started dieting, and it was a big help. I definitely agree with the suggestion about about spending what you save on a fancy wedding dress! What a great idea!

Anyway, I'm done rambling. Good luck!