I am 35. I don’t like the way I look. I originally lost over 35lbs by diet and excercise. I slowly gained most of it back. But seriously, you gain a lot faster then you lose. January is a waste of a month. I can start the dieting but I am going away for 2 weeks and won’t have access to “correct” foods. I wil do the best I can, salads and healthy choices, and if possible, will start working out then but I am going for training and have to keep an 85 average on the tests to keep my job (don’t ask) so I don’t know how much free time I will have. When I come back, I am joining the gym. It’s across the street from my apartment. I can see if from my window (ok, not really, but it’s blocked by trees, I can see the grocery store next to it, though) I know they have classes I like and good equipment. I hope NO, I will join for a month, make sure I can do everything and then join for 3 months and then the one year. Why not join for one year to start, Well, I do plan on moving w/in the next couple of months and I know I won’t be in the area.
Anyway, I just want to be happy again. I am hoping that if I am happy with myself, it will lead to other things. Like meeting the right guy. I know I don’t have to be thin to be happy. But I also know if you aren’t happy with yourself, emotionally and physically, why should others be happy with you.

And I am overweight.

My husband says I am sexy. My children say I am cuddly. My dress size (18) tells me the truth.

How much do I weigh? I don’t even know for sure, since I refuse to stand on a scale unless the nurse at the doctor’s office is giving me that look over her bi-focals.

Three years ago, I successfully over came Anorexia Nervosa. I, being of a 5’10″ height, weighed a mere 108 lbs.

One would think that simply choosing to eat, and choosing to live, one would be through with the battle. Not so much.

The act of being Anorexic not only caused emotional issues, but caused my natural metabolism to come to a screeching halt! My body, for fear it will never see nourishment again, has decided to hang onto every tiny morsel of food that I put into my mouth. In turn, causing me to balloon in a fashion that really reeks havoc on my phsyche.

With the aide of dieticians and counselors, I’ve been striving to find some sort of eating routine that works for me to accomplish 3 goals.

1) Over come the mental issues with food consumption (generally related to the Anorexia)

2) Jump start my metabolism so that my body may respond to food in a natural fashion

3) De-plump and regain inner and outter health for a healthier Jade all the way around! (hopefully that will translate into a 36 inch waist again someday!)

Now that the holidays are finally over, I am hoping that I can enter this year with a new, more concrete resolution to become a healthier me. Not only because of weight issues, either. This year I was diagnosed with RA . Not being fond of “pill popping”, I have begun researching more holistic avenues of keeping this disease at bay. Proper nutrition and eating habits play a major part in that goal as well.

I began on this path one year ago. Although, I’ve faultered (badly!) over these holidays, I do plan on getting back on the wagon full force now!

I am really hoping, that through the creation of a site as great as this, I will find the drive, support, and tools necessary to make my goals realities and make some awesome new friends along the way!

Thank you, Leanne, for giving us all this opportunity!

Jaded Stats:

Beginning Pounds2Go: 100

Current Pounds2Go: 40

Question: One of my biggest faults is that I am a RIDICULOUSLY picky eater. I don’t have any allergies, however: I don’t eat seafood, the only fruit I eat is apples, I eat very few vegetables (and most of them are starchy) . . . I’m a horrible eater! I’ve been this way all my life, and my brother is the same way. It drives our mom batty, LOL! We won’t eat half the food she cooks for the holidays! I’ve tried to eat different foods, but I just don’t like them. I often feel like a five-year-old. Do y’all have any suggestions to help me change this?

It’s January 2nd and we’re officially two days into the New Year – but banks were closed, my employer was closed and I made an executive decision three days ago that the New Year didn’t officially start until January 3rd.

So, as I sit here waiting for my Chinese food [Mongolian Beef] to be delivered on the last blow out meal before I get “serious”, I thought I would outline where I started, where I’m going, and where I want to be.

I was always a skinny child. Not thin but skinny. I was a tom-boy through and through – who needed hips or boobs? Well, I got ‘em anyhow [although very late] and even still, I weighed 105lbs until I was 19. I’m 5’4 [and a half!].

Then I joined the military, developed a few muscles and increased my weight to 125lb. I was the healthiest I’d ever been and the number didn’t bother me in the least. Being in shape came naturally.

Then came the age of 26. I got married and thus ended the nights of clubbing/dancing in the city, crazy hours for working and hanging with friends, and eating on the run. We stayed in. I cooked [yummy tasting] food. We got a computer. I sat in front of it. A lot. The television too. The spousal and I grew together – emotionally and physically. We grew out of our pants!

Then came the age of 35. I was close to being 100 lbs heavier than I ever would have imagined. One Hundred Pounds. Not ten. Not twenty or even thirty. One Hundred. I ignored it. I said I didn’t care. I said “better to be fat and happy than skinny and sad”.

My brother got married two years ago and when I saw those photos, I was horrified. I was embarrassed. Oh, I looked nice enough in the photo [no spinach appetizer in my teeth, smudged lipstick or disheveled hair] but I saw a total stranger there. Someone who wasn’t very happy.

Soon after I decided I wanted a healthier me. I didn’t want to be winded from walking up the stairs with a basket of laundry. I didn’t want to feel squashed into a seat on an airplane. I wanted “me” back. I knew I had to be realistic. I wouldn’t exercise, I just knew I wouldn’t. So the only other course was to start watching what I stuffed in my face, how I stuffed and when I stuffed it.

It was a lifestyle change that I implemented gradually. I only eat one plate of pasta now, not two. I don’t eat fast food for lunch because it’s easier. I cook fresh food at night instead of buying pre-packaged foods that are three times worse for you. I walk the dogs further than ever before [at least when it's warm] and starting tomorrow, the Bowflex is getting dusted off.

I haven’t actually stopped eating the things I like, I just exercise a little caution and moderation. I still have splurge days, and other days are salad days. I don’t starve myself, but I make myself resist that 2nd bowl of ice cream – unless it’s fat free.

Since April 2005 I’ve lost 67lbs and I’ve gone from a size 22 dress to a 10. Sometimes I have bad weeks. Sometimes I have great ones. Lately, it feels like I’m sorta stuck in a rut because I’ve been losing and gaining 2-3 lbs over the last few weeks. I’ve hit a plateau and I think this is exactly what I need; a new avenue to keep me interested in my own health!

Beginning Pounds2Go: 93 lbs.
Current Pounds2Go: 26 lbs.

Hi, I am Shelli. Mother of three children, ages 19, 13 and 10. My 10 year old is a boy and he is nearly 11. I have had the weight since my last pregnancy and have continued to add to it, especially during the last six years in which I have had an unusual amount of stress. In my childhood, adolescence and early adulthood I never had a problem with weight. I was probably considered underweight during highschool even though I ate whatever and whenever I wanted. As we all probably know, those habits have a way of catching up with your body and after each pregnancy, it became harder and harder to take off the weight.

As for my weight loss goals, I want to be healthy, have more energy and of course, I would like to be thin. In October of this year, we are planning a trip to Florida and I would really like to swim with the dolphins. (I love dolphins! When we went the last time, the highlight of our trip for me, other than seeing the joy of my children, was petting the dolphins at Sea World. The experience was almost spiritual and actually left me in tears.) But in order to do that, you have to put on a wet suit and I want to be able to do that without shame or embarrassment for me or my children. When I told my son about my wish to do this, he laughed and said, “Mom, you will look like a beach ball.” He wasn’t trying to be mean and he apologized right away, but it still hurt. He is my biggest support, other than my husband, in our family. He always has been. He is encouraging and always has praise. For him and for myself, I don’t want to look like a beach ball. I have 73 pounds to go. I currently belong to the YMCA and I also attend Weight Watcher meetings every Saturday morning. I will, therefore, only be posting a weight once a week, but I will log my other achievements and struggles.

I am excited to get started and am looking forward to getting to know all of my other P2G friends. Good luck to you all.

I don’t have tons and tons to lose, but I am classified as as overweight . . . I have been trying for about 4 years to get these pounds off. I started out being about 15 pounds overweight at the beginning of my freshman year of college, but then I kept gaining weight until I got up to needing to get 35 pounds off! I am now only 10 pounds above my original weight (which is still -10 pounds into my weightloss, LOL)! My goal is a very healthy goal for my height and body type, and that’s my goal – to be healthy!!! I find that I do much better when I have a community to work with, but since I’m in college and I keep switching between being at home and being at school, I can’t join a real life community. I had a great forum that I was a member of, but then the forum died, and so did my support system! I hope that together through Pounds2Go we will be able to support each other and help in our weightloss journey!

I welcome you all to Pounds2Go! I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together! I will post more personal information in my profile on the member’s page. I am always available for questions and concerns. I can be contacted through Doodlebug Designs!

Pounds2Go: 43.5

Today started a little wonky and I’m off track with my exercise regimen. I did walk a mile, but I should have gone 2.9 mi. I prioritized launching P2G and getting members all set up to start writing, and I never consider glitch time.

Still, I’m down 2 lbs from yesterday, and I’ll take it! I do weigh-in every day, it keeps me motivated to keep going. I must have had nearly 80 oz. of water yesterday – in addition to coffee – I’m glad I’m always near a bathroom!

I plan to alternate pool and treadmill during the week (after the kids are back in school) – so I’ll get a full aerobic workout in the pool 2-3 days a week. I still need to write out my daily schedule, that will kick in this Wednesday.

What’s for dinner: Scallops sauteed in olive oil with diced onion, mushroom, green pepper and tomato over enriched multigrain barilla pasta.

Foods on my grocery list: brown rice, cottage cheese, tomatoes, whole wheat tortillas, fat free ranch dressing, grilled chicken, fish, steamed vegetables, shredded cheeses, grapes, slimfast shakes, fat free coffee creamers, no-pudge brownies, asparagus, pork chops

NEW MEMBERS: If you’re on the member page, you’re all set up. Check your e-mail for details! Please allow a day for me to get new members set up. Thanks!