Here is a thread to help everyone get in shape and support each other.

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Okay, I'll go first. I'm 5'9", built heavy with muscle, and put on most of my excess weight when I quit smoking when I was 22 (9 years ago). My great size is an 11/12, and a 13/14 is still good on me. I topped the scales at 267 (*eek*) and a size 20 at the beginning of last year. I dropped about ten pounds in February when my life went to $hit, and then another ten or so when I was walking a LOT in June and eating not much. I went to the doc in mid-October to get a hold of my life cause I felt like crap and was falling apart, and had just made a decision that weekend to change my dietary habits. I was about 245(?) then. Since then, I've not started exercising, and have dropped the rest of what I've lost, anywhere between 1-3.5 lbs per week (except this past week, no change). Up until not, I've lost a minimum of 1lb per week since October.

I think I've hit the plateau with loss and just eating habits, though last week was a really hard week and I'm a comfort eater -- almost to spite what's going on in my life, it's weird.

SO, here's what I changed about my diet in October:

1. No fast food (I have a regular Arby's roast beef maybe every three weeks, or a Subway BMT, no cheese, italian dressing at most once a week at lunch).
2. No soda, not even diet. I've had perhaps 6 sodas since October.
3. Increase good fluids. I drink one 32oz bottle of gatorade a day, and then fill it up with water and have 32oz of water.
4. I eat larger meals so I'm not thinking about snacking during the day.
5. I eat breakfast every day: 3 slices of whole wheat toast with real butter, a 12oz 1% milk carnation instant breakfast powder shake, and a piece of fruit if I have one.
6. At lunch, I have a sandwich (again, whole wheat bread), tuna salad made with miracle whip, or salami, cheese and turkey, sometimes another piece of fruit, applesauce, pudding cup (not low fat), and once or twoice a week a frozen lunch, like Smart Ones or Lean Cuisine.
7. Cut out white, starchy carbs. I have a meat at dinner (sometimes chicken breast cooked in italian dressing and topped with grated parmesan broiled in the toaster oven, or a nicely seasoned ground beef pattie, or a filet mignon. And then a BIG pile of green veggies with butter, salt and pepper, just steamed a little. If I make a starch for DH, I MIGHT have a tablespoon or two, just for the taste. Perhaps another slice of whole wheat toast with dinner. With that big pile of veggies, I am plenty full, and not missing the noodles or rice, etc. at all.
8. For snacks, whole grain cereal (Life), chocolate pudding cup, toast, hard boiled egg, a mug of hot cocoa. A few slices of cheese (those cracker cut slices are the perfect size for a snack if you have three or so).

I think that's about it. I don't consider it dieting, because the only thing I really don't allow myself is fast food and white starchy carbs, and soda. I broil meats in the toaster oven as much as possible so that the fat can drip into the pan instead of frying things. I'm eating regular food, real butter, and nothing low fat except milk.

It's not time to start excercising. New post.

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Santa brought me one of those exercise balls for Christmas, along with a book and DVD to teach me how to use it.

I have two good walking 'tracks' from my house: to the lake, which is one mile round trip, or to the park, which is three miles round trip.

My new exercise goal: 2 one mile walks per week, plus some work on the exercise ball (at least to learn how to stretch and do some core stabilizing work for now), and 1 three mile walk per week. So that's three days a week. Good beginning goal.

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I lost all 46.5 lbs of my baby weight, and then 2 more, then gained 6 lbs back over the holidays. I'm trying to lose that, plus the weight I gained when TTC. I've had a little luck over the past 5 days or so by trying to eat more early in the day so that by evening, I can eat a small dinner and be done. WW helped me lose the baby weight, but right now, trying to get anything cooked for dinner is a challenge. I can't get back to counting points right now. I've been doing good w/ my elliptical lately. I did 5 miles Friday night and 5 miles Sunday night. I was planning to get back on tonight, but I am so incredibly exhausted right now, I'm a/b to go to bed at 7pm if DH will do bath and bottle.

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I posted in the old thread that I was gonna do Pilates tonight. But instead, I got to do the elliptical for 15 minutes and the treadmill for 10 minutes. That's all I had time for tonight. I'm excited that I at least got to do that!

My first weight lose goal is to lose 15 lbs. Then when I get to that point I will set a new goal. I want to be back in my size 8/10's again by summer!!

Steph- GL on your new goal!!!!

Kelly- 5 miles, WTG!!

Karen- Thanks! I hope now since Lawson is a little bigger I can keep up with my new exercise routine. I knew what you were talking about the other day about owning your own gym. I would love too also. I guess I got carried away saying I would love to do that too and then I went into saying when I build my house I want an exercise room. My mind works faster than my fingers! Oh, and keep up the good work girl!

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I have been having some success with phase 2 of South beach, no refined carbs, only whole wheat and then all carbs with some protein. So if I eat a piece of fruit I have a piece of lowfat cheese with it. It is working for me because it keeps my blood sugar level and I am never feeling hungry. So far I have lost 7lbs.
I do cardio five times a week with either jogging or walking. And I do strength training 3 times a week. I am planning on adding in pilates or yoga on 3 days that I dont strength train.

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I was at a good weight pre-PG and actually dropped all the baby weight within a week, but it has crept back on I care more about my clothes fitting than a number on the scale and right now my wardrobe is limited!! I've been Tivo'ing various workouts and doing them during naptime on weekends and my days off. Since I worked from home today, I was able to squeeze in a 30min pilates session before dinner. Avery played around me and of course tried to climb on me during some ab work!

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I have consistently gained weight since my sophomore year of high school. I played 3 seasons of Varsity sports and despite that activity my weight went up. My metabolism just died on me. I have to work pretty hard to lose weight. I am 5'8" and I weighed 172lbs the day I got my BFP. That was a size 12. I gained 22 lbs. when pg and had lost it all by 10 weeks postpartum. I now weigh 160 lbs and wear a size 10. My goal is 150 and a size 8 before we TTC again. I do weight watchers but I have not been excercising. It's time to get on it...

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Here's my weight-life in a nut shell. I'm 5'2" and small framed, so even though 125 doesn't sound like a lot, on me it still has my mother asking "what I'm gonna do with that junk in my trunk."

I was anorexic in high school (only weighed 86 lbs when I graduated) and I am desperately trying to ignore the little voice in my head that says it knows how I can drop these 10 pounds easy.

I'd like to weight 115. I have been working out 2 times a week. May not seem like much, but up from zero, I think it's good. I want to be at 3 times a week starting in March.

Good luck to us all!!

Okay, Danny works until 10pm tonight, so I'm going to go home, bundle up (it's COLD), take dinner out of the freezer to thaw, and do my 1mile walk. I got pretty good sleep last night, so I shouldn't feel like roadkill by the time I get home. Then eat dinner and chill for a little while until I have to go get him. I'M EXERCISING TONIGHT!!!!!! Perhaps I'll play around on the exer-ball too.

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Okay, here's my story. I was thin in H.S. I played field hockey and weight was not really ever an issue. I ran 5 miles a day. Boy, did things change once I got married. Move forward now almost 15 yrs married and 3 kids later. I have about 75 lbs I would like to lose. I have started really watching my intake and exercise lately. Exercise has been more the problem, but I have to put my foot down now. I have lost 9 lbs over the last 6 weeks. Which is good, but slower than I like. I want to get back to my frozen gym membership and start going again now that Ethan is a little older. I love cycling classes and step classes. So I'm planning to go each day for at least a class. Otherwise, I don't eat much at all. The doctor's have always said this is part of the problem. My body holds onto everything because I'm not eating enough. I could use all the support and tips. Thanks everyone, I have to get a ticker up soon too.

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Vicki ~ That's entirely possible. I don't have a bunch of medical stuff to support that with, but given what I have been doing the past three+ months, I've been eating PLENTY. My DH was concerned at first -- he thought I wasn't eating anything (that's how the first 10lbs came off last year), but I'm eating plenty. And I forced myself to eat more at one time, so I was really having three filling meals a day -- I know ten years ago they said grazing was the way to go, but all it makes me do it think about food all day until I'm sick of it. My post of what I eat is way up at the top.

Oh, BTW, a bonus effect of all the whole grains and the 1 cup or so of green veggies I eat at night, plus the fluids...I'm a lot more 'regular'. Not that I ever had a lot of trouble with that, but it's like, twice a day like clockwork.

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Ok, here's my story. I've always been a FAT kid! Well, not so much as a kid, more when I got into jr high and highschool. In highschool my highest weight was 235 lbs. I wore a size 18/20. No wonder I never had any dates. Maybe I'll post some pics so you guys can see.

Then I started college and I REALLY wanted to lose some weight. Here I was 18 yrs old and never even been kissed. How embarrassing! So I started drinking slim fast and exercising with my roommates. I lost about 35-40 pounds doing that, but I was STARVING ALL THE TIME. I hate being hungry, it's the worst. So over the years I'd gain some and lose some, gain some and lose some.

Then a bunch of girls at my work started taking phentermine. They were all losing a ton of weight and I wanted in on the weight loss action. Phentermine is half of the diet pill known as "phen-phen." I think I was about 195 lbs when I started taking this pill. It's a hunger suppressant. My lowest weight on this pill was 145 lbs. Let me tell you....for me, that was skin and bones. I literally didn't eat....at all. I would drink diet coke or a slim fast....some days I'd eat a yogurt. Yeah, not very healthy. (Mere, I hear you about that little voice telling you to just stop eating.) So.....when I got married I was about 155-160 (a very healthy weight for me) and dh told me that I needed to stop taking pills and start eating.....so I did. The bad news is weight piles on fast when you start eating again! I would fluctuate between about 160-170. The day I got my bfp I was 174. That was the most I'd weighed in years!!! And I thought I was fat then! I gained....are you ready...57 lbs during my pregnanvy. (I'm sure it was because for the first time in years I was actually EATING again.) I lost 30 of it in the first 6 weeks, and have lost 7 more. So I'm sitting at 194. Right back where I started when I first started taking phentermine....boy am I tempted to get another prescription for it! But I know the best way to do this will be between healthy diet and exercise, AND I know that I need to learn how to eat right for my body so that I don't gain that much again with my next baby.

So there's my story. I'd kill to get back down to 160. 34 pounds to go....

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Oh yea - I didn't even mention my 7 year relationship with diet pills and eating disorders. Went on my first diet at 14 - after losing 9 lbs by cutting out cokes, I cut out everything and lost maybe 30lbs. I was around 96lbs for a long time. Started eating a little more senior year and got up to like 107. Then during college I gained a little - got up to a size 4 or so. Then bulimia became a fun game (and the only thing I ever "ate" for the most part was liquor, so puking it up was pretty easy). Then I wore 0s at 1s. When I got to my last year of college, back problems started, thyroid problems started, and I actually tried to eat like a normal person. I gained quite a bit. When I was first teaching, I took some phentermine but never lost much. When I met DH, I joined his gym, started working out a lot, and never ate any junk. I was superfit and wore a size 2. Then we got married, I started eating more and working out less and put on 10 lbs or so - I still had plenty of size 4 clothes. Then when we started TTC, I pretty much stopped exercising altogether and started eating a lot of junk. I was outgrowing all my clothes when I got pg, which is probably why I bought maternity jeans at 5 weeks. I didn't think I ate bad when I was pg, b/c I never ate desserts and I ate salad and chicken every day for lunch. I did eat pretty big dinner portions - so for my next pg, I will try to limit dinner portions and carbs. I gained 33 lbs and stopped, then gaine 12 more lbs in the last 2 weeks of fluid. Now here I am w/ little time to exercise and emotional eating. I also don't know how much I should eat. I eat every single bite on my plate and I don't know what a normal amount is. I was so hungry all the time for so many years. Now I think I must eat any time I feel a little hungry. It's hard for me to remind myself that it's OK to be hungry sometimes. And I fear that I'll pass on these problems to baby Hannah.

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Wow I did not realize how many women on here had eating disorders and I am not referring to the overeating kind. I do hope everyone can find a happy and healthy median to losing weight.

I am not a small girl by any means. I started gaining weight when I was about 15 because of some traumatic events that happened in my life at the time. In about 3 years I gained approximately 40 lbs. After that I steadily gained weight. After I topped out at 203 lbs. I decided to lose weight because my DH and I decided to ttc. I lost approx. 30 lbs. I was about 174 lbs. when I got my BFP (kinda odd isn't it Jenna, same weight and got our BFP's really close together LOL). I am a lot like Jenna in that I would look absolutely wretched under 150 lbs. I am 5' 6" and I am 192 lbs. (ICK). I am steadily dropping weight and my current target is 160 lbs. For once in 8 years, I want to be in a size 9 which sounds huge but for me it is just right; it puts curves in the right places! Okay sorry.

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Christie-I am similar to you in that I'm 5'9 and want to weigh 150lb to be a size 8 again. What is sad is that I was 155lb when I got my BFP, 172lb when I gave birth, lost it all in a week, but now am 166lbs

Steph-I am a big believer in eating to speed up metabolism and that you MUST eat breakfast!

I felt sooo sore today from all the working out I've been doing, but so good to be getting back in shape again!

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