A belated intro
 

I have been using Fitday to track my calories since early Jan. and have visited the forums many times and even posted a few questions, but I have never introduced myself, so here goes.

I am a mother of 6. When I got pregnant with my first child 20 years ago I was at what I now know was an ideal weight (but I didn't think so at the time). I kept on about 10 pounds after the pregnancy. With each pregnancy (about every 2-3 years) I kept on appx another 10 pounds. About two years ago we went through some stressful family events and I rapidly gained another 30 pounds and was at my all time heaviest (217 lbs). I had turned to food for comfort and had no idea about portion control. When I would have my favorite treats (chocolate, brownies and chocolate chip cookies) I could never stop at 1. I also rarely exercised, except for an occasional leisurely walk.

About the middle of last year I was going back and forth emotionally about whether I wanted to lose weight. Well, of course I wanted to lose weight, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to put in the work and self control that was necessary. I had pretty much decided that I would accept the fact that I would always be overweight and just try to enjoy life the best I could. Then towards the end of last year my sisters and I decided we would try to work together on our weight loss and reward ourselves with a vacation when we all reach our goal. For some reason this was the jump start I needed. I think knowing I would have the social support was a big help and I didn't want to be there person who held the others back from our reward.

So in Jan. I jumped right in and started attending the gym 5 days a week doing cardio and strength training and counting calories. Fitday has been so helpful. I know I couldn't do this without the tools that are provided here. So far I have lost 28 pounds (next weigh in tomorrow). Once I started seeing results there was no turning back for me.

Some of my relatives who joined our weight loss challenge have not started on their weight loss journey yet and I think that I am the most committed and enthusiastic about it right now. Since they aren't all on board yet, I have decided that participating in the forums will give me a place to celebrate, vent and ask questions. I have already received great feedback and found some great info here and I look forward to getting to know you all.

Thank you for sharing!
 

I've been on here on and off for a few years but this is the first time I have ever used the forums I don't have anyone to try to lose this weight with because I just moved away to college it's so nice knowing people are here to talk to
way to go on the weight loss