Hello everyone!
I am a newbie to this site and here is a little about myself. I am a 27 year old single mother of a five year old little girl. I have been trying different diets, pills, exercise tapes, and programs to lose weight since the age of 10. I have to ask myself.... what will make this attempt any different from all the rest? I really want this for myself but I have been this passionate about it before. I think it's the fact that I have sooooo much (about 150 pounds) to lose that discourages me. I am asking for any motivational thoughts that any of you that were once in my shoes have to offer and/or if possible, having a person around my weight and age to go through this with would be great as well. So, if anyone has suggestions, positive words or is interested in a diet buddy, don't hesitate to reply. Thanks in advance everyone.

if you failed before it was because you chose to give up. Its about as simple as that

Stop making excuses and kick yourself in the butt. There are several people on the boards here who have lost 150 or more (including , but not only, me).

Read the Sticky threads, they offer helpful advice. Start a diary and hold yourself accountable. and above all, forget pills, forget tapes or anything that doesnt involve actual diet and exercise. Forget waiting for your friend to do it with you, and forget expecting anyone to help you out. Because when it comes down to it you are the only one who can do it. Nobody else

The WLF boards will give you back what you put in, if you visit other peoples diaries and give selfless helpful comments and praise and help others then you will probably get the same back, though sometimes it takes a while before people get to know you hehe

Oh yeah, and welcome to the boards. Good to see new faces!

You may want to check out the Before-After pics for motivation and join in some of the challenges

1. Welcome to the forum.

2. I agree with Wishes, definitely read through the stickies. It's a lot of reading but I promise it will be worth you time.

3. I've helped people who've had much more weight to lose than you. You can do this. It's a matter of focusing on what you want rather than what you don't want. It's a matter of setting realistic goals coupled with realistic approaches. Losing a lot of weight quickly and taking pills are not realistic.

I hope you find what you're looking for here. If you have questions after reading through the stickies, by all means ask!

I look forward to hearing more from you.

Hi and welcome I am a newbie also and like you I have tried this again and again. It's like you say we need to be passionate about it and realize it is a life long journey, we will have good days and bad.

I would like to lose at least 100lbs but my first goal is to get down to 200lbs. I will worry about the rest then when I get there. I try not to think about the entire amount I need to loose but focus on every pound, I mean hey at least I'm going down on the scale instead of up right!

Anyway just wanted to encourage you and tell you that youre not alone and we can do this together!

If I were you, I would at first, focus on a mini goal. For instance, my mini-goal is to get down to 200 lbs. My long term goal is 167. Once you meet that, you can set another mini goal.
Focusing on a mini goal makes the journey less daunting.

WOW!! I almost had tears in my eyes reading everyones responses, this is the first forum that I have ever joined and so far I am loving it. The responses were so helpful, you all offer so much support and that is something that I don't usually have so I guess that's why it made me emotional. THANKS TO YOU ALL!!!!

yeah mini goals work awesomely, and i loved those monthly challenges to keep me focused on the smaller goals rather than the more daunting end ones.

Hi more,
I agree with everyone here. You have to do this for you. You are worth it and you have to remind yourself of that everyday. When I first started I had to tell myself that there will always be food. I lived like I had to eat it fast before it is gone. Now I know that it will always be there. I don't need that crap(excuse my language). Stick to it. You will have a tough time once in a while, but you will break through as long as you keep going. Good luck to you. This forum is overflowing with helpful and caring people.
Cathy

Hi and welcome!

Forget the diet pills, forget the magical machines that will supposedly turn you into a fitness model in only 5 minutes a day, forget the amazing diets that will make you slim in no time, none of that stuff works. Time, dedication and planning work. If losing weight was easy, none of us would be on this forum, right?

Just keep in mind that it's not that easy to do, and if you do slide backwards for a while, you can keep going. It's easy to give up (I did it already this year and gained a lot of weight!) but you can always get back on track.

Hey ^^ Im new as well and you need to do what fat2fit says, tell yourself your worth it! You can do ANYTHING you set your mind too if you are positive. Stay positive and do fun exercises and try new things every so often, try dancing. I tried dancing a few days ago and decided for an hour I was going to just move and dance and have a blast! I was sweating after, no doubt! And it was fun! Do stuff like that and you will have no problem. Just remember girl, your worth it ^^

Hi and welcome, I beleive that it is all up to you and you alone. It is all the attitude that you keep with you everything that makes or breaks it. It took me five years of roller coaster dieting to finally get to the frame of mind I am in now to change what I am eating and get off my butt and exercise and be more active. Find what works for you and stick with it. Learn to say no. My husband eats ice cream at night and I used to say oh just a little bit but I finally learned to say no and I am ok with it. When I get an awful sweet craving I suck on a sugar free popcycle and I feel satisfied. I found other ways to satisfy my cravings with healtier foods that are way better for me. My biggest thing was not eating at night and walking. Walking everywhere that I can makes a huge difference. Also remember that you will lose and you will get stuck but don't give up when you are stuck, keep up with what you are doing and you will lose again. All those healthy changes will stay with you and then when you lose the weight you will be able to keep it off. I still have close to 60 to lose and sometimes it seems IMPOSSIBLE but the 35 pounds that I lost seemed impossible back then but I did it and YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!! Read lots of messages to gain inspiration, it helps. Good Luck.

Hi more2hold,

just try this one again!!

The forum is great with some great people here, you'll see...

Good luck,
Mel

Wow! So much of what you state above rings so true with me... I've been fighting "the bulge" since the age of 9. I can't wait to read about your progress! PM me if you need any support and/or help!

Hey you,
Welcome aboard!
I have to myself lose 142 pounds ... my first mini goal is 250 pounds...
I weigh 292 or around that, I am breaking a plateau now and am very happy about that ...
well I will pop into your diary when you create it

best wishes
always
natalie jo