Hi!

I posted my profile in the Bios section but I'll elaborate a bit here.

My name is Jennifer and I live in Upstate NY with my partner of almost 9 years. (wow). We have been happily packing on the pounds together. I remember when we got together she said "I don't know how I feel about dating someone who weighs less than my dog".. (the dog weighed 145lbs) .. evidently I took that to heart because now I'm 170lbs.

I looked back at some old pictures and I noticed that she has been gaining right along with me... and she is suffering for it.. her back hurts, she now has sciatica, her knees are bad, she pre-diabetic (I may be too) and her allergies are horrible... I feel very fortunate that I'm still "relatatively" healthy inspite of my weight gain. I think what really sunk it home for me was out last vacation. We had to keep stopping for her to take a break. I actually FORCED her to take breaks because I was scared at how much pain she was obviously in.

Over the past two years, we kept saying we were going to eat better and exercise.... she doesn't like structure or rules to things and I think we both assumed that we could just set our minds to it and do it. We joined the Y, and I started training in Shotokan Karate (because *I* like structure- and you can't get much more structured that a Traditional Karate class- maybe the military LOL!)

So now it's two years later, I'm a green belt (go me!) but still pretty fluffy..not a pound has come off. I get through class but I'm exhausted and sore for at least a day.. and BRUISES!? omg.. the pop up like weeds.. I don't even remember getting hit in those places...

We decided to be structured.. we HAVE to.. this Sunday SHE went through the pantry and tossed out all the open things of carbs.. we had a HUGE bag of stuff for the food pantry...

We are eating vegetables (wow) and to be honest, I'm sick of F'eggs (fake eggs.. aka Egg beaters) but we are not into sugar substitutes (except Stevia, which I've used in my iced tea for years.. before it was "officially" a sweetener) so breakfasts are tough.. looking foward to FRUIT! who knew.

We are on day 4 but I sort of quasi started on the 14th... I'm down 4lbs so far.. I have no idea how much she's lost because I don't think she wants to get on the scale. Fair enough.. I left my tape measure out where she could find it and let her know so she could measure if she wanted. I'm not sure if I should nudge her to keep track or not.. for me, I have to almost obsess to stick to something. I guess we'll wait and see what happens.

The good news is that after just a few days of eating veggies and drinking more water (doh!) my karate classes are going SO WELL! Sensei even hauled me aside and said I was looking really good. (meaning training well).. Go Me!

Anywho.. glad to be here and thank you for reading (what turned out to be a book) my post.

Hi Jennifer and welcome to the group! Have you browsed through the recipe ideas on the forum? There are many, many good ones in there! You don't *have to* eat eggs for breakfast. The other day I had leftovers from dinner for breakfast. Ruth has mentioned that she often has soup for breakfast. Food is food.

Looking forward to getting to know you better!

to the Beach, Jennifer and partner. I'm waving at you and those huge dogs across the St Lawrence.
So glad you joined us. You'll find lots of ideas and support here. Post a lot because that's what keeps us on track.

Nice to meet you Jennifer. Breakfast is the hardest for me too. Today I had leftover broccoli/cauliflower cheese soup! Yesterday was refried beans with cheese on top. I can handle eggs about once a week.

Visit here often - the chicks are very motivating and supportive

oh.. that sounds YUMMY!

to The Beach, Jennifer! I'm so glad you're joining us here and look forward to getting to know you!

Welcome! I look forward to getting to know you!

Glad you are here and Jennifer!

My wife and I have gained in the time we've been together too. So, we're eating better and exercising as well. So, do you truly live upstate (eastern side of the state) or in central or in western NY? I am a NY'er and went to college in central NY...

Anyway, welcome again! Let us knnow if you have any questions and please browse the recipe section. Eggs aren't what's for breakfast anymore!

Hi Jennifer and

I read your bio and I'm glad you jumped right in. I, too, am a knitter and a dog lover. It's so great that you and your DP are in this together. It makes it so much easier, even if you approach your goals in different manners. My DH doesn't need to lose weight, but his health has really benefited by this WOE. I plan meals and do the cooking and we both get healthier.

As Ruth said, posting seems really help keep us motivating one another. I can say it's been a lifeline for my staying OP. I post everyday and the beachers here have become my extended family.

Best Wishes and I look forward to getting to know you better.

Hi Jennifer and welcome! I'm a central NY refugee.

Sounds like you really prepared well for this. I actually picked SBD because my DW is diabetic and I was supplementing meals with pasta and mashed potatoes. It was an easy transition for me. DW has now become an exercise fiend and is eating more and more SB meals (I'm weaning her off the meal replacement bars as snacks). I joke that I always cooked a huge pan of veggies so I would have leftovers but now she is eating them too so fewer leftovers

This forum is a great support. I'm sure there are rough patches I wouldn't have made it through without this place. It's always fun to add new faces

LOL.. New York City dwellers think anything North of Yonkers is Upstate don't they? but yes.. I'm in the Capital Region... so not WAY Upstate but on the Eastern Chunk.

I just texted my partner and said "what do you think about leftover for breakfast?".. only to find out she had the leftover chicken at 9:30. (her work schedule is wierd this semester. She's teaching from 12-4 so lunch is all wonky)

Have you discovered the time suck that is Ravelry.com yet?

an off topic comment but after the debacle in the NYS Senate, we almost moved out of state too!

I was mighty disappointed in my home state. I lived outside of Albany, worked in Albany, for several years before emigrating to Vermont. We always said upstate but I have been corrected so often that I now say central

Eh.. send them to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstate_New_York Nobody knows where the line is. (sorry..can't post linkies yet)