[SenseAndSensibility]

Hey, I've poked around the forums a bit, but I thought I'd introduce myself!

I'm a 23 year old woman living in Canada and working as a bookkeeper (so exercise at work? Zero!). I'm recently married to the perfect man for me, our wedding was this July and we couldn't be happier. We're learning what living together and marriage looks like, but even when its new and hard we press through. He's truly my best friend!

I guess a little background on me. I started out as a bean pole as a child. I was always eating but running around and skinny. I never thought about weight ever. I just was... But when puberty hit, I started getting curves, and I started gaining weight. I started becoming plump and couldnt be called skinny anymore in middle school. I couldn't even remember skinny. I've just sort of been slowly gaining ever since. I was 136 in high school, and now five years graduated and I'm at 194!!!

I never noticed gaining weight cause it was always so gradual. I also have a very small waist despite being so heavy, its the last place I gain weight, so with the righy clothes I can really hide those pounds. I'm Five foot one (barely), and it just slowly happened. I wore out my skinny clothes and replaced them at a normal rate, never seeing things getting bigger. Maybe I lost five pounds once or twice, not consciously, doing stage productions. But I never tried to loose it. But I never was really comfortable with my size.

My husband feels called to be a cop (quite suddenly, as he was studying for teaching) and so for the past year or two he's been slowly moving towards that goal. Getting a job in security, getting a personal trainer for awhile to get him started, etc. I wanted to support him, so I've started my own fitness journey alongside him! I've always wanted to be smaller for him (even though he doesn't care what size I am) and just stop this slow gain before I hit the 200's. I want to be fit for when we start a family. I want to feel better about myself. I want to support my man to his dream.

This is the first time I've ever tried to lose weight and make a real stand to eat right and exercise. Weight loss still seems like this impossible thing to me, I've never done it before and it seems like something only strangers are capable of. But I want to work for this, and I want my first time to be my last! I want a life style change. I'm still young, is this possible? I've heard of so many yo-yo weighy gains, and though I know I'm going to have to fight this my whole life, I still want this to work.

[Mrs Snark]

Welcome!

Yes, it is possible, you are so young (oh so young!)! And if you go about it in the right way for yourself, I think it will be less of a "fight for your whole life" and more of a "gentle establishment of healthy habits, a tender nurturing of Self (all of Self: physical and mental and emotional), and a calm-ish acceptance of change". That sounds doable, right? Your body and your weight and yourself is not the enemy.

You can learn some very good lessons from those of us who have come before you and experienced yo-yo's and done some things dramatically wrong and thereby you can hopefully escape making some of our mistakes yourself.

Embrace long-term change and you will do wonderfully. You clearly have a great attitude, I can easily read it in your post! You're going to do great!

[SenseAndSensibility]

Thanks so much, that's so encouraging of you to say! I can let myself get overwhlmed with what this all entails, but you really gave me hope that doing it now will help me maintain it for life. I absolutely love these forums, they are so inspiring. Just reading from everyone has helped me learn so much about doing things safe and proper, what to expect emotionally and inspires me when I see everyone's goals and counts. I don't know how much I'll talk, but I know I'll definitely be reading for lots of inspiration and tips!

[jiffypop]

you have SO MUCH going for you to be successful at weight loss! you're young, and it's the first time you've tried! And you're obviously in love with your husband, which can be a two-edged sword. Snuggling on the couch watching TV and eating popcorn OR taking a walk together. The choice is yours!

As you go through your journey, please check on the Maintainers Forum from time to time - they've realized that maintenance doesn't look all that different from losing. So, the more you understand about what maintaining your loss looks like, the better your chances are.

Ya can't look at these changes as a 'diet' or a 'get fit' scheme. It's about changing your life and your approach to food, exercise, and self-care in general. It's not easy.

So, even though you're not sure you'll be sharing much info, I promise you that people will be very interested in how you handle the changes - you will indeed have advice for people without realizing it!