Welcome to the Group

Welcome! We would love get to know you, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. History with weight loss:
2. History with Calorie Count:
3. Reason for joining this group:
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

hello!

Well, I am excited about this new adventure in balance.  I am the typical, "always struggled with my weight".  But as time goes by, and I learn more about health and nutrition, and myself, I find that the battle loses its control over me.  I feel best when I am doing the best I can for my health, regardless of the current return on my investment. 

I have been an avid athlete for a few years now.  But, I still struggle with my weight.  I believe that my largest set back has been not keeping track of what I eat.  I might eat more of one thing one day and less the next...but in the end it hasnt balanced out in my favor.  This is why I am excited.  I became a CC member about a week ago, and I can already tell the difference in my perspective.  I am seeking balance.  And in return, I feel so free! 

About me, I am an auditor....so, i sit at a computer for 8-10 hours a day.  And then 40% of the time I travel...which puts me in connection with a temporary lifestyle change inclusive of dining out every night (a challenge that I have been working on).  I have a wonderful dog who loves to run with me.  I love my morning workouts at the gym with my fanatical Body pump and Spin Instructor.  But most of all, I love my time on Town Lake.

I thought it might be good to join a group close to home because support systems are a terrific motivation, and I think the accounatability can lead to success.

I am glad to be here and looking forward to talking to some of you other calorie counters!

Ciao!

Sha

 

Hi.  I've been in Austin since I graduated from UT in '85.  Although for 10 yrs or so, I was an avid runner (even did a couple of Motorola marathons), the past 2 years have been a struggle in excercise motivation.  My eating habit are pretty good, but I've gained about 12 lbs over that time.

Like Sha, I'm tied to a desk most of the day - software company.  There are two little muchkins in my family that I chase around and a toy dog that just turned a year old.

Glad you are here hasta

You like running?  I just joined a running group to train for the Austin Marathon in Feb.  The groups are just starting...and they meet you right where you are at.  I decided it was time to try a marathon...never done anything that crazy.  But, its a motivating goal for me.

Good luck!

Sha

ps, this is the group I joined...we start meeting this Saturday!

http://www.austinfit.com/index.shtml

 

Hello

No I do not like running, but I do like to walk and Jazzercise.  Good luck to those who train for marathons.  I admire the work and dedication that goes into that type of training.  I was overweight for my height, but over the last year and a half, I have lost 35-40 pounds.  Some of it has come back and I need to get focused again.  I am trying to make better choices and eat healthy, but some days are better than others.

 

Hi All!

I had been at a weight I was very happy with until I had 2 ankle surgeries and a knee surgery and, well, never got motivated to exercise much again after such a long break.  I've become more active and lost about 20 lbs over the last year, but am about 20ish away from my goal weight and this group looks like great local motivation!

I have a promotional products business (pens, coffee cups, t-shirts, etc) I work from home and love, but it keeps me tied to the house and my desk/phone a lot.  Also, I have a wonderful partner, a great 13 year old son, Jace, and a beautiful maltese, Macy.

Sha, I am looking into the austinfit group and may see you this weekend -

thats terrific mlawson, I hope to see you there.

I am really excited about the opportunity.

I would like to encourage everyone else also.  The austinfit group has several different groups to accomodate all goal seekers.  You can run a half marathon, full marathon...and they even have walking groups.  There is a price to join the training ($90) for newcomers, but I felt it necessary to train right since this will be my first marathon.  I think it is wonderful to have such a terrific event (as the AT&T Marathon) at our fingertips.

As we have all struggled in one way or another, I am an advocate of setting goals and challenging yourself in healthy and encouraging ways.  I have found this thought process to be something that has encouraged positive and motivating habits.

I will make an effort to post upcoming walk/run/other events that I hear about.

good luck to you all!  I look forward to meeting more of you:)

Sha

Hey everyone,

I've only been in Austin about 4 years.  I work for a software company downtown and love it.  I recently bought a condo in the Bull Creek area and have just started taking advantage of the mountain biking trails around there.  I just bought a mountain bike.  I've been sick to death of running... I really only did it because I wanted to loose weight.. 35 pounds later (woot!) I want to do something fun!  If anyone is interested in taking up mtn biking, I'm looking for a ride partner.  My boyfriend doesn't think it's safe for me to go by myself.. which I sort of agree with.  

Anyway, I just thought I'd introduce myself.  It's nice to know there are people in Austin that have the same goals I do in health and weight loss.  Sometimes it's hard to see you guys when I'm sitting at Trudy's gulping a Mexican martini and finishing off my bowl of caso.  Caso clouds my vision..  :-P (Oh how I miss caso...)

~mandy

 

Glad you're here mandygolightly.  Sounds like you made awesome weight loss progress with your running.   Are you pretty much in maintenance mode now?

I'm mostly a jogger and catch a couple of classes at Gold's Gym.  I have a bike, and it's only about a year old, but it's just collecting dust in the garage.  - Hasta

If anyone is interested, I'm going to start going on a weekly group ride on Sunday mornings at 9:30.  It's an all level group ride where nobody gets left behind.  It's at Walnut Creek park off of Parmer.  Send me a message if you're inteterested!

Running and counting my calories did the trick for me!  I took a class for a while at Gold's to mix it up but now I'm a member at 24hr Fitness.  I do have a couple more pounds to lose but I'm really focusing on toning up now.  What kind of classes do you take?

~mandy

 

 

thats terrific Mandy...great idea getting people together to ride. 

I kinda started out from the opposite direction.  I started my adventure with riding...and am now getting into running.

I have enjoyed me some Gold's classes for the last couple of years.  I really enjoy their yoga classes...but they never seem to have them at the times that I would like to go.  But am an advocate of the Bodypump classes.  I have been going to those classes for about 4 years.  And I have come across the best instructor at the DT location- Brannon.  He will make you run for the gold!  And now he is teaching Spin too...and he doesnt play around.

Sha

Hi everyone!

I've always struggled with my weight my entire life. I started Calorie Count about 6 mos ago and that lasted only about a month. This time I am determined to make this work! I started up again on Monday 8/25. I'm currently 186lbs 5'10" and would like to get down to 155lbs. I'm walking at least 1 hr per day and trying to stay at around 1300-1400 calories per day.

I'm married to my soulmate, we just moved into our first house 4 mos ago in Round Rock. I have 2 dogs a German Shepherd and Dachshund. I work in North Austin and am a Business Analyst. So, yes I sit at a desk and look at excel spreadsheets all day long!

Any advice anyone can give me would be very much appreciated.

Thanks All and I'm happy to be part of the grouup :-)

Hello fellow Austinites!

I'm really excited to be here - mainly because I know through your encouragement I'll get through this.  I never had a weight problem till I hit my late 40's - early 50's.  I'm 54.  I'm tired of feeling like I do and ready to shed this extra baggage.  I was recently displaced from my job ( I have another month before I'm officially gone) and will be looking more earnestly then.

I live in the Anderson Mill area, married and have a 10yo step daughter and a 26yo son.  I also have 3 dogs - mini dachshund, pug and a lhasa.

I wish I could be more of an  when it comes to eating the right things, but that's why I'm here.  I really need everyone's help.

Hi, I would like to introduce myself and maybe find a local buddy that I can team up with. I am 32 years old and I have been struggling with my weight for 11 years. (ever since that first baby!) I am currently at my heaviest and really unhappy about it. Not only unhappy but really SCARED. I don't have a problem eating healthy. I do that pretty much on my own most of the time. My problem is finding the motivation to get up and do something more than just the normal everyday activities. (going to work taking care of the kids) I don't have an active job and most of day's look the same. I used to enjoy working out when I had someone to do it with. Now I'm on my own and I wont go. It's depressing. A friend of mine from work joined this site has convinced me to as well. I want to be successful this time and get back to down under 200. I am going to be looking for support and in this wonderful city we all call home I hope that I can learn to lean on my Fellow Austinites.

Hi txally,

I would also like to team up with someone local.  I'm 54 (just a couple yrs older than you) and have had a weigh problem the last few yrs.  I've tried more things than I care to mention.  I'll try something for a while then go back to my old ways.  My motivation can be pretty lacking.  My job can be active at times.  Mainly walking.  I live in North Austin - Anderson Mill area.  Let me know if your interested.

Hello Austin people,

I have been on this website about a year and lost all I wanted. I just had constant 20-35 Lb after second child. Couldn't get to stay with any program till I joined Biggest looser program at 24 hours gym. They pushed me the right direction and since their calorie count was ridiculously expensive I knew there had to be a free alternative. I found CC+ and it worked for me.

I am massage therapist in North Austin and it is easier to work and help people with healthy lifestyle choices when I look the part.

I'm checking back every time I feel like I'm slipping back....right now I cannot make myself go to gym...UF! And it starts to show.... I could drop 4Lb slowly again that got on me somehow.

If anyone wants to hook up:

I'm 40 (younger in my head)

1 husband

2 kids and 1 foster child

2 dogs

part time massage job

Life is pretty good right now...... just the RAIN is missing!!!!!

Hello to all!

I just joined the site. I never had a weight problem until I made some major life changes a little over two and a half years ago, then my weight skyrocketed. I've lost 57 pounds, but my last 23 are proving to be a bit stubborn. I have a Gold's membership (anyone need a workout buddy?) and my diet is much healthier than it used to be, and I'm making progress, but I'm always looking for extra support. I'm at 143 this morning--hoping to be 120 by the beginning of May!

hi there Maggie,

Not sure if you are a morning person, where you work, or where you prefer to workout...but there is an awesome Bodypump class at 6am M-W-F at the Golds Downtown.  The instructor's name is Brannon and he is by far the best instructor I have had in the 6 years that I have been going to Golds.  He also teaches the 6am Spin on T-Th.  Anyways, I dont know if you are a crazy morning person...but thats an option.

At any rate, if you have not already, you should try out Golds BodyPump classes...they are great for toning.

Hey Maggie - I agree with sha.  The Body Pump classes are great, but I go to the Gold's at Tech Ridge and have liked them there.  I felt a little like a noodle after the first one, but it was fun and I didn't get bored (which is a problem I tend to have).  Good luck!!

Hi all,

I've had weight issues since puberty, thanks to polycystic ovarian syndrome.  No matter what I tried, I couldn't lose weight.  In 2001, a doc put me on metformin to deal with insulin resistance, and I dropped about 30 pounds in a few months without making any lifestyle changes.  I hit the wall until 2007 when I managed to lose another 30.  I've been stuck since then.

I found CC a few months ago, and finally decided to give it a try.  I know I need to make some serious dietary changes and I'm hoping this will help.

Decided to join this group for some local support.

As for the rest, I'm 41, married, two cats, no kids, work for UT Austin, and have lived in the Austin area since 2001.  Originally from Houston.

Hi -

My name is Sandy. I'm 51 and am the office manager for the wholesale company at Ruta Maya organic coffee. I've lived in Austin pretty much since I graduated from high school in Houston in 1976 (except for a year I lived in London). I've got two grown sons, the youngest is in the Navy.

I have a degree from St. Edward's in computer systems management and do website marketing and online shopping carts on the side besides my job at Ruta Maya.

I've had weight issues since I was a kid (my mom put me on diet pills when I was 6, but said they made me act crazy - imagine that! - so she took me off them), but naturally slimmed down when I was in my teens and early twenties. But with each kid I put on weight and then just seem to gain every year. I lost around fifty pounds when I divorced six years ago without really trying but slowly have been putting that back on, too.

I'm trying a high protein, low carb approach this time and am feeling really good, though I'd like to be losing faster. I'm modifying things as I go along to see what works best for me.

I joined the group because I live in Austin and even have a website about Austin at AustinTex.com.

I joined Calorie Counters a year ago, but just couldn't seem to stick with the calorie counting. As I said, I'm going to see how limiting carbs and eliminating sugar works. I figure I can always try the calorie counting again. I really want to stick with a program and lose weight. I'm tired of carrying all this weight around. I want to get rid of it soon and be a healthy grandmother some day (but not too soon!).

Thanks!

Sandy