I started in December of 2001 and hit a couple of speed bumps along the way. July and August were horrible months (Ben & Jerry were my pals for those months).

But I'm back on track now and have lost 72 lbs. so far....woohoo! I eat small meals throughout the day and exercise religiously. Keeping a food journal has been the biggest helpful tool for me.

Congrats to everyone on their successes. Keep up the good work.

Ilvduke -- My husband and I both started loosing weight on March 1, 2002.

I am on 1000 -- 1200 calories a day. However, one meal per week, I completely pig out! I go out to eat and eat what ever I want in what ever quantity that I want. This helps me keep from craving stuff and giving up.

For exercising, I usually do 20 to 45 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning 3-5 times a week. I also lift weights 3 times a week for 45 minutes. In addition to all of that, I love to ride my bike in the evening. Once or twice a week, I will go for a long bike ride (10-15 miles) just for recreation. Oh and three times a week, I take horse riding lessons for an hour.

I used to be VERY SEDENTARY....now I have too much energy to set still.

Kat

first post, but let's start this on a positive note...

Feb 2001-Jun 2001, I lost 65 lbs on a program of Walking The Dogs. Period. But I live in the country and we were doing a LOT of walking. since then, I've fluctuated religiously 10 lbs fore and aft of that original low of 169. This has been goin' on for over a year now and I'm frustrated to the point of tears. Decided to break the cycle once and for all this summer with a concerted exercise regimen--walking 12 miles a day, biking 20-40 miles--and a month later I'd GAINED 10 lbs! Waaaaaghhh........

It was probably the addition of birth control to my diet that did it, but the sight of that number on the scale sent me into a spin that gained momentum with each pint of Haagen Daaz, until, here I am, dizzy, more than little sick of myself, but surprisingly only a few (additional) pounds heavier. At 184, I guess it's time to start a new exercise regimen. Time to start exercising CONTROL. <sigh>

I've just been reading back through the rest of the posts and I am So glad to be here. Pleasure to meet you all!

Hi Ladies,
Wll I started weight watchers in Feb 2002 along with my daughter I have lost 62.4#'s and she has lost 36. We both feel and look great. I stillhave about 40 to lose and my daughter has about 20 more. I did ww about 16 years ago but the program now is so much easier to follow you just don't feel deprived. Good luck to everyone.

HI i lost close to 80lbs however im feeling myself getting a little laxed. So i just want to say this is great. I feel more inspired today then this past week. Its all your great stories. I just signed up for fitday.com and im looking forward to seeing how that goes. I was thinking about joining weight watchers however its hard to pay all that money. I did WW before and all the weight came back on and then was so discouraged. So sometimes ww is a little discouraging when you gain weight the week and everyone else seems to have lost. However i did like the support and i met some great people. SO im not sure what im going to do about WW but im happy about the recomendation on www.fitday.com

Sheryl

OK, my turn. It feels so great to get to post something on the success page. WooHoo...since 7/23/02 to present I have lost 22 pounds. Today I went shopping and was actually able to fit into a 1X size for the first time in many years. I have quite a ways to go, I plan to get down to 140 with a goal of April 2003. Wish all others same kinda luck.

Vickie
236/214/140

down 250 since september 2001

My goodness. You guys have all been doing so well! I almost feel like I haven't lost enough to post to this thread, but here goes:

I've been dieting off and on since April (my birthday pics did it) and I've lost about 34lbs. I feel like I'm going to be losing a bit more rapidly now that I've incorporated exercise into my daily routine (thanks to my darling friends here at 3fc). Wish me luck!

Aziza

I hate pictures - the day I started my diet was the day the pix came back from the fair. I was feeding a baby cow and I couldn't tell who was whom! Well, it wasn't quite that bad - but the person in the photo couldn't be ME! My inside person is much skinnier than that.

So September 14th I started my new life - gonna to make the
outside match the inside me!

Down #17 - #33 to go!

I have lost 56 pounds so far. Most of it through the WW point system. I have been at a plateau for awhile though. My problem is I have been really stressed out, and all I do is eat when stressed, lonely, and upset. Any ideas on how to get out of that? I used to be able to stay away from food, and I just feel like I am hitting rock bottom or something. Being overweight and dealing with depression is not fun in the least. Keep up the good work everyone. Although I do not get to this site often, I still love it
Kimberly

255 Highest wt.
199 Current weight
170 personal goal weight

I am 5'10"

If you have time on your hands - maybe a hobby would help - when I cross-stitched I found I didn't eat - because both hands were busy and I didn't want to soil the fabric or floss.

And you wind up with pictures and gifts and pillow fronts to boot!

If you think it's true, no energy, loss of motivation in everything, type of depression - especially with the shorter days coming on, you might ask your doctor if he'd advise an anti-depressant. I take a low dose in the winter to beat SAD. Works for me!

Hi Ladies, I have not posted on this thread before, but after reading some of the messages of success and enthusiasm, I was inspired to respond.

You should all be so proud of yourselves, you have taken control. And as a result you are accomplishing your goals. I started on my weight loss journey in March 2002. The reason I decided I had to do something about my weight was because, I had gone over 200. SOMETHING I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULD NEVER DO. I was on too many meds for many different ailments, high blood pressure, high cholestrol etc. I had no energy, couldn't walk far, and was always tired.

Since March I have lost 36 lbs, going from 207 to 171. and my long term goal is to lose at least 24 more lbs. I am almost 2/3s of the way there! Although I am on a plateau and not losing very fast right now, but I will not get discouraged, I will continue to live on this LIV-IT, (life style change) for the rest of my live.

I call it a liv-it because I have learned to live healthy. I am on a modified fat free diet, but I eat smaller portions of most foods. I haven't eliminated many things, although I avoid most fried foods, don't eat rolls or desserts with my meals and Drink only ice water or decafe coffee with equal for a beverage. When I have a salad, I either use fat free dressing or regular dressing which I use on the side just dipping my fork in it before each bite of salad. It is amazing how little you use that way. I don't really count calories, but over the years I have read a lot of labels and by doing a lot of educated guessing I try to stay within about 1000 to 1200 calorie range. This diet has been good for me because we eat out a lot and I don't always have control of how things are prepared. I never let myself get too hungry or skip a meal. And I have incorporated exercise into my program. I don't do enough yet, but I keep adding to it.

It feels so good to be in control and I feel so much better. With my doctors blessing I have eliminated one blood pressure medication and cut back on my cholestrol medication. This is a program I can live with long term so I know I will never gain this weight back once I lose it.

I am sorry, to be so longwinded. Keep up the good work everyone!

Wow, you ladies have done great!

Approx 100 lb loss since 2000(scale didnt go high enough so Im not sure) Got down to 209, started a very stressful job and gained 30 of that back. Since getting back OP 2 1/2 weeks ago, Ive shed 15 of those 30 lbs. (quit the job too!)

Ultimate goal is 155 ....I remember vaguely being there once and remembered liking it!
Robin

I have been counting calories and watching fat, salt and sugar as well as cutting a lot of processed foods out of my diet and eating virtually no meat. For exercise I have been working with a virtual personal trainer who has helped me design a workout program. I started in September 2001 - and as of today I have lost 123 pounds.