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!

Im a 32 year old guy that lives in south Tampa looking to eat healthier, get active and lose weight.   I work in production so my days are usually spent on the phone, in meetings, or spending time working on the business.  I just recently bought a road bike and get out on that as much as I can, at least 4 times a week.  And when I have a little more time, I like to run and do some light work with weights.

My current group of friends is not conducive to being active and eating healthy, so a goal for this year is to learn how to eat right and find a new social group that likes to be active.  My ultimate goal is to lose the gristle and replace it with muscle. 

Hi! My name is Carly, I have always had problems with my weight starting in high school, I was in the best shape ever when I was in the Navy but gained ALOT of weight once I got out of the Navy.  This is the 1st time I have counted calories, and so far so good... I work two jobs, go to school, and have two kids so sometimes it is hard juggling a diet and eat right.

Greetings to all.

I've been severely overweight most of my life, from one reason to another, having severe RA which put me into a wheelchair the combined lack of activity and depression did a number on me, rocketing me up to 270lbs. After my surgeries to replace my hips I just fell into a rut and gained more to hit 280. I made some choices in my life being 34yrs old I decided to take the plunge and joined a medical weight loss clinic called Dr. Bernstein, after being on that for about 3weeks I lost 20lbs and it scared me that felt too fast to me, so i decided to take my life in hand and just watch what I eat calorie wise and going to the gym. So here I am today a 259lb, 34yr old guy who is finally taking charge of my life again. Today begins my new life, I wont make my goal of 210 by my birthday but by September I will be a new me.

Good luck to all of us in taking back our lives from food.

Hello Tampa!  I'm Ann, a 42 year old living in Palmetto.  I've been using CC for just 2 weeks and am happily starting to see results - now if only I could stay away from happy hours!  My weight has always fluctuated 10-20 pounds, so I'm now trying to get from 175 to 145 by the end of the year (and stay there).  My motivation is to participate in my first sprint triathalon in Orlando in September.  I'd love to hear from other area people about what you do and where you go in the area to stay active (especially biking).  Cheers (without the fru-fru drink in hand)!

Hello,

I am new to CC and group forums. I found this site through a bootcamp participation at lifestyle. I started at 150 lost 5lb so far.

I pretty much maintained my weight until my early 30s. When I look at the shapes of my family history we all pretty much gain the weight the same way. I am trying to end this cycle now that I'm in my 40s.

I am married with two grown boys and  have a dog and cat. My dog keeps me going, we walk about 5 miles a day total. At the moment I am trying to teach her how to jog at my pace which is a bit of a challenge. (she is a runner )

I am self-employed which gives me a variety of jobs from sitting behind a desk all day to installing equipment and traveling all over the place. When I travel I seem to have issues finding the right kinds of food, therefore I started packing different snack foods that I can just throw in my purse and go.

Good luck to all of you and remember no matter what your potential gift or talents, only action brings them to life.

Hello Tampa Area People!!

I am working on taking my life back!! That includes losing 41lbs to reach my goal of 115lbs. I am 5'1" so 156 is a little much for that frame! As of today I have lost 10lbs! I am very pleased w/the results and motivated to keep up with the hard work to change to a healthy lifestyle. I know after a while my bad habits will fade and the new ones will take over.

Taking my life back also means some major transitions in my career path. Life is in flux right now but at least the chaos (for the moment) is at a minimum level.

My youngest of three daughters has just moved to NV where here dad and other sisters live. My kids and I are on great terms but miss each other a lot. Speaking of missing special people...my sweetie is also living out of state now. He is high level management in construction. As everyone knows the state of the construction industry in FL is awful!!

Since I am living alone at the moment I think it is making things easier to behave myself and keep my goals. My sweetie was home for a visit for 5 days and he was so supportive. Now he is even changing his eating habits and losing weight. Faster than me (which at first was disheartening) but he is much closer to his goals than I am.

I'll be off to my mom's nxt wk and won't be have computer access. I hope I stay focused and on track!!

Looking to make some friends for mutual support. I live on the Pinellas side of the Bay! 

Just turned 30 yesterday. I have been struggling with my weight for years. 

A few years ago I was over 230 pounds. I had Diabetes and High Blood Pressure.

I am now 50 pounds lighter and no longer on medication for Diabetes. 

My reason for wanting to lose weight is not to be skinny. Ideally I am suppose to be at 120ish at my height but ideal for me personally would be 130-140ish. 

My reason for wanting to lose weight is for my Health.

(then after that I may want to be skinny. lol (wink))

God Bless you all. Thank you for your support and prayers.

Fat - Fifty - Frustrated.  Always have carried an extra 10-20 pds (unless I was taking diet pills)  but now since older, hormones and metabolism basically at a stand still, I can't get the weight off.  The 10 -20 extra has now turned into 30-40 extra.  Not only do I want to look better, I want to feel alive again !

Do watch what I eat and try to not completely blow it - yes, sometimes I have a sweet tooth or popcorn fix.  Exercise (bike ride on Pinellas Trail) atleast (3) times per week when home and occassionally throw in a morning 30 minute walk. 

The resources on this website are amazing, also amazing are how the calories add up very quickly when calculated, what an eye opener. 

Travel with my job so alot of time spent eating in restaurants.  Something about someone else paying for it puts a new perspective on how I order.  When I pay I always feel that I have to eat everything, when the company pays I order things I would never order when I am paying.  Don't necessarily feel a need to devour the entire dinner but will order maybe a drink, or dessert, something extra to nibble on.  Yes, I need counseling. 

Wishing everyone and myself 'Good Luck' achieving our goals ! 

Hi everyone , I'm a 28 y.o. male , never been overweight and i'm looking to keep it that way . about two years ago I started to lift weights and eat more so I could put on some musle weight and went from 145 to 152 , but them I stoped doing the weights because of a hand injury and too much parting but I keep the same food intake from when i was doing the weights ( I guess my stomach got bigger ) and ofcourse I'm on my late 20's so my metabolism is starting to slow down also changed from a very active phisical job to a light moderate phisical job , also quit smoking recently and my girlfriend is pregnant so she is eating constantly wich make me want to eat too . all this cause me to start gaining weight (got to 162 lb) thing that never had happened before so now i'm trying to get myself into track and get a grip on it before it gets out of control . i manage to get down to 157 kinda watching what I ate and reducing my portions but didn't really count the calories , that's when I found this super helpfull motivating site . is awsome how you can put in everthing you eat and keep track of your nutricion and intake Vs the calories you burn a day , I'm hooked ! and extremely motivated I'm back doing weights , running , doing my sit ups and push ups every morning eating right and tracking my progress on  calorie count . So glad I found this page .

Hello Tampa Bay! I'm a 44 y/o female who has gained probably 25-30 lbs. in the past 8 months. I suffer from depression and know that the medication isn't helping the matter. I have also developed what I consider to be an eating/sleeping disorder. I wake a few times through the night, get up and basically gorge myself. I'm mom to a beautiful, active 4 1/2 year old daughter. I'm so tired after a day in the office and doing a few things around the house, I barely have any energy left to play with her. I push myself to do it because I know she'll never be this age again and I don't want to miss it. Before becoming pregnant with her I joined Weight Watchers and lost approx. 50 lbs. It was great and seemed like a breeze - not this time. I just signed up on Calorie Count a couple of days ago and really like it. It seems very comprehensive with great tools and I like the 'community/group" aspect of it as well.  I live in Holiday so this is a local group for me and I'm hoping to meet some people here to 'team-up' with. I'm a little over 200 lbs and my goal is to lose 60 lbs in a year. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Hey there. I go to USF St. Pete and turned 22 this August. I am just realizing I don't have that size two highschool body anymore (then again I was 17 when i graduated and just now realizing I have to keep up with it!!!) I used to work at a desk which was horrible for my weight because I have the mentality that it won't catch up with me I can eat whatever I want. Well, guess what - it did!! I would not call myself fat at all, I just need to lose a good 5 to 10 pounds and tone up my body. I notice that my arms are gaining weight along with my face. Even when I was little I always had big thighs and a big butt but now its getting too much. 

My boyfriend and I live together and are trying to start eating much healthier and he has started walking and I have started ZUMBA which I LOVE I actually look forward to working out! However this semester with school starting and full time there is not enough time in the day to eat healthy!!

Anyway I really love this website so far, I just joined yesterday and I am already obsessed it is so educational! I hope to meet great people through this group and any advice/tips are greatly appreciated! (Especially for butt and thighs lol)

Hi my name is Linda and I live in Pasco county Just found this site yesterday in hopes to re lose the weight I did great back in May 2007 to May of 2008 and completely fell off the wagon and now need to lose 25 to 30 pounds again Hopefully for the last time.

I work at a dept store I have a dog and 2 cats along with an african grey I'm single at the moment.

 

well not much else to say Hope to get to know you all

 

My name is Lynn and I live in Pinellas County.  I have had a constant battle with weight.  I was anorexic/bulemic when I was in high school.  I lost a bunch of weight on Jenny Craig before I became pregnant with my first child.  Since then, I've been fighting to keep my weight down.  I am trying to lose about 60 lbs to get back to my "fighting weight". 

I joined Calorie Count before I got pregnant with my 3rd kid, and have been on and off on the website since (about 3 years).  What's sad is I know WHAT to do to lose weight, but I can't seem to implement it in my personal life.

I joined this group because it's local.  All the other ones aren't. 

I'm married with 3 kids and I have a mini dachshund named Chester.  I'm an attorney.

Hi Everyone! I’m a single Mother of two residing in the Tampa Area. Recently, I’ve completely revamped my eating habits as well as my children & it has changed our lives forever!

Simply giving up Processed Foods was the key; granted as convenient as ready made lunch/dinners became for my hectic work schedule. The unhealthy foods we were consuming either left us too sluggish or too hyper. I was battling to lose weight… exercising frequently but the foods I ate left me hungry only to crave other “bad” foods…..high calorie, high sodium, high sugar late night “snacks”.

SO, I decided to stop buying ready-made processed items. I bought fresh vegetable & fruits, organic foods, fish & meats. It may take a little longer but I truly enjoy preparing our meals & have more energy than I ever did (And that’s how I found calorie count- looking for low-fat recipes)

Now of course, my children from time to time will beg for the occasional little Debbie or processed snack which I give an alternative healthier choice…BUT I will allow one item from time to time. Life isn’t perfect but by leading a healthier more nutritious lifestyle will keep you young inside-out…we feel the difference & have become more consciousness of what we put in our bodies!!!!

My goal is keep fit, eat healthy & lose 15lbs!! I’m 37 weigh 135lbs on a small 5’3”frame(Oh BTW weighed 160lbs after 2nd child). I enjoy walking, jogging, & aerobic activity. When I can’t be outdoors, I workout inside to Turbo Jam & the Firm….I also walk at work on my lunch & breaks.

Support is essential....inspiration strengthens our lead! Don’t stop….keep it going! :)

 

Hi!

I'm actually in St. Pete, not Tampa.......but the description did say "surrounding areas....!"

I WAS one of those people who make others sick!  I was skinny and ate and drank everything I wanted.  Then I had 2 children.  Then I turned 40.  Oh boy, the bottom dropped out of my metabolism.

It has taken me 18 months, but I have lost 16#.  I am at my initial goal weight, but would like to drop another 5# to have some cushion.  It's been hard to change the habits of a lifetime, and learn to be more regimented in diet and exercise.  That's where CC came in.  Counting calories is the key to my success.  I log them into CC thru-out the day, and if I don't have much left at dinner time, then I guess I'll have a salad!  My husband and I are doing a lot more cooking from scratch too, and that has made a big difference in controlling my weight and in our overall health.

I joined the forum to "talk" to people in my local area.  I'd like to be able to share info about restaurants I have found that help me support my eating plan, and learn about restaurants I'm not familiar with.   In this vain, I thought I'd tell everyone about a great restaurant:  Middlegrounds on Treasure Island.  They have an early bird menu from 5-6 PM with great selections from their regular menu.  The thing that makes it work is the portion sizes -- perfect healthy portion sizes with this deal, so you can finish your plate and not feel like you blew it.  The dinners come with salad and most entrees come with delicious fresh veggies and wild rice.  There is a bread basket too, so you have to decide for yourself on that.  On Wednesday night all their bottled wine is 1/2 price for Florida residents.  An added bonus!  So I hope this is helpful to someone!

Hi -- I just read your intro post from June and wanted to say Congrats! on getting off your DM meds (I'm a nurse)  That takes a lot of hard work and dedication!  You go girl!!!

Hi there! My name is Jenn, and I live in Holiday (Pasco County). I just joined this site a couple weeks ago and have had so many positive replies to my posts. It's really uplifting and motivational to know that there are people out there who can relate to what you're going through and offer support and encouragement.

What I am really hoping to find through Calorie Count, is people in my local area who would maybe want to meet up and discuss issues relating to their battle with weight, and also exercise together. My main problem with losing weight and maintaining a fitness routine is: LACK OF SUPPORT. I think it would be so fun to get together with others and take this journey together.

I am a mom of 3 boys, 3 cats, and 1 rat. I work full time as an administrative secretary, and I also have a part time job from home as a secretary. Often, I use my "life" as excuses why I can't find the time to exercise. Hence, the reason I would like to get together with others (to help motivate and keep eachother accountable!!)

Well, that's about all I can think of If anyone would be interested in finding/joining a group to meet up, drop me a line! Best of luck to each of you in your own personal journey!

Jenn