[Cally]

HELLO!

My name is Cally. I'm 30 years old, am married and have a young child. I found 3fatchicks through Google while looking for an encouraging weight loss community. I am not one to visit forums often, but I have read some success stories and have become extremely motivated (at 12:15am). I am looking forward to learning from you all as well as encouraging everyone in their journey.

I want to be healthy, not skinny. I would like to lose approximately 60lbs. I've always been a bigger gal and don't want to set a poor example for my son. I am sedentary right now and am open to ideas for how to incorporate exercise into my daily life (preferably activities with my 17 month old). I, like many of you, have tried so many things only to find myself back at square one. I am a smoker and am trying to fight that addiction as well as my addiction to food. (Going to try and conquer food first.)

Anyway, I look forward to meeting new friends and becoming a healthier me!

Cally

[Elladorine]

Greetings, Cally! I'm a former Wisconsinite mysef as I lived there for several years, not far from where you are actually, and that's where I found myself at my highest weight and realized I needed to do something. I've lost about 150 pounds since then, and like you, still have about 60 more to lose. I've got my first little one on the way though so my weight loss is on hold at least until sometime next year.

I just wanted to pop in and say you can do this! Walking is probably the best exercises to start out with; you could take your little one around the block or out to the park for some fun. Get in the pool if you can too, as swimming is a great workout (just the resistance of the water is helpful even if you can't swim).

And something that's helped me a lot with my food addiction is keeping a journal. I use a weekly planner to write down all my food, exercise, and emotions throughout (they have really nice ones at Barnes & Noble). I'm sort of excited as I am just finishing up my old one and am starting on a new one next week. Ok, I didn't mean to sound like a commercial for them, but like I said, I'm excited. Keeping the books not only allows me to review what I'm eating, but it helps me balance out how I feel with how I eat, and keeps me mindful and accountable through the days and even weeks. Thus far it's been my most important tool, but it's just what works for me; since we're all different maybe you'll find something that works even better for you. Many here have found success through tracking sites like myfitnesspal.

Good luck to you, take care, and check back in with us often!