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Welcome to the Group (Part 2) 11/25/08 to 4/30/2009

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!  I just found this site last week as I was looking for some helps to get me on the right track for 2009.  I've struggled with my weight for a long time.  It's always seemed like no matter how faithful I am to the plan...I just don't lose.  My whole family would try to eat right together.  And everyone would lose, but not me.  Well, I'm determined to make this time different.  My husband and I have been married for a year and we are at the point where we are ready to start getting ready to have kids.  So...that means I need to be in much better shape in order to carry a child without putting myself or them at risk.  I'm 24 and 215 pounds.  I was looking for a Christian group to join as my faith is at the center of who I am and how I live my life.  And I would like to surround myself with a support system that can hold me accountable both physically and spiritually. 

Hi!!!!!  My name is Sandy, Sandra, Lanie, hey you... I answer to all of these.  I am 33 years old, and I live in Ohio.  I am married to a wonderful Christian man, who is my best, best friend. Chris and I have been married for almost 4 yrs and have been blessed with 3 beautiful children, Jessica, Samuel and Emily.  We also have one angel in heaven in April 17, 2006.  Yes, you read right.  I have been pregnant for the last four years. 

I am also a working mom even though I would love to stay home.  I have a call on my life to help others.  I am an Occupational Therapist Asst... and no I don't find people jobs!  I have been a full-time therapist for 11 years.  I am working in Home Health which means I get to make my own schedule.  That is awesome with little kiddos running around.  Now it is a little more challenging with 3 little ones and a new home, but they are this Working Mom's Joy. 

God has blessed me more than I could ever have imagined.  Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I pray that my life glorifies Him in all things and that others may see Him through me.  He is with me in all obstacles, challenges, blessings, endeavors, and anything else I could dream up.  My biggest challenge ahead of me is getting healthy for not only myself but for my family. 

My journey to a healthier me is using the WW Flex online plan and exercise.  I don't go to the WW meetings mainly because of funds, but I am using the WW online tool.  I was blessed to win a three month subscription and believe me, I use it daily.  I am also blessed in the fact that I have a "free" gym to go to.  The hospital I work for opened a Wellness Center/Gym which is free to employees. 

God is so good.  He is on the journey with me and without Him I can do nothing.  He has opened up these blessing for me and to Him I give all the glory.  I do have another site, A Working Mom's Joy, where I put in my weigh-in log and with each entry, I have a scrpiture of the week.   I stand on the Word of God to get me through this... His promises are yes and Amen. 

I chose "Lost and Found" as my weight lose title because that's exactly what I am doing.  I'm "losing" me to "find" me.  The real fun and sassy Sandy is somewhere buried beneath 100+ lbs of cheeseburgers, pizza, chocolate and ice cream.  Not that I am saying these are bad food in moderation, but that is the catch... moderation.  I'm 33 years old and feel like I am having to learn how to eat to live instead of live to eat. 

Hi all! My name is Jill,, and my weight loss history is almost as old as I am. I started my first round with weight watchers when I was 15, and it has been a roller coaster ride ever since. I became officially obese after the births of my children, and I have continued to go up and down ever since. I am now at an all time high of 274, and I have had enough. I say this every year, and yet here I am, weighing more than ever before. I started with CC last summer, after reading a book by Jillian Michaels, one of the personal trainers on The Biggest Loser. I did ok until a six week visit from the in-laws, when I just gave it all up and have continued to creep higher on the scale.  I am joining this group because I really need to have some consistent support from others who are struggling with these issues. I really need help! I can't continue to pay to go to Weight Watchers meetings, but I know the importance of the support of people who are in the same boat.

Now for a little about myself. I am a kindergarten teacher, and I am married to an elementary PE teacher. We have 3 daughters, ages 12, 12, and 15, and I want to teach them by example the importance of living healthy. They do not have weight problems right now, but my oldest is a lot like me, and I worry for her future.  I know that I need to set a better example for her. I also know that I need to lose this weight in order to have a better life with them. The only pet I have is my guinea pig Bandit, who doubles as a class pet for my kindergarten class.  I love my job, and I love children. I feel it a privelege to teach other people's children and to give them their first educational experiences! Children are so excited about learning, and it makes everything I do worthwhile. I love music and reading, and I am very involved in my church. My relationship with Jesus Christ is very important to me, and I know that taking care of my health is very important to Him. I have tried for years to do this "on my own", and I am finally coming to the realization that I need God's help to do this. He is showing me that my addictions to food are just as wrong as if I were killing my body with illegal or harmful substances, and that to fix this problem, I need to put it in His hands.  We are commanded to treat our bodies as a temple for Christ, and to this point, I have treated it like it was all there for me. I am not doing very well on my own. For all these reasons, I must overcome my addiction to food and get control of my health. I am hoping to find the help I need in here!

Hi Jill, welcome. I'm fairly new to the site too (and to this group) but have found a lot of encouraging messages tucked in various places. 

Our stories are similar in that I gained my weight AFTER my 4th child was born. Well - he's 16 now and I'm ready to get it off.  The main thing that is different for me "this time" is that I am finally learning to fully TRUST the Lord with my weight, the food I eat, my family, my job, my everything!  Another is realizing and digging in to fully comprehend and understand His forgiveness; Jesus died on the cross for my sins - He paid the debt - and therefore I am free from the bondage of sin; and yet holding on to it - and not forgiving myself - is as if to say I can't accept His forgiveness. 

Read Romans chapter 8  

I will keep you in my prayers!  - Lorraine

Jill & Lorraine,

I appreciate both of your entrees (and many more that I read here).

For the longest time I have struggled with my weight and did not connect it in any way to my relationship with Christ.  Even though I was a Christian.  I somehow would blow off the verse about my body being a temple for Christ and thought that God was more concerned with how I was serving Him in other ways.  This time I am finding it encouraging and challenging to remember that I am not my own and that I was bought with a price.  A price I could never pay back.  How can I continue to destroy something that doesn't even belong to me?

Lorraine, I love your reminder of how we are free from the bondage of sin.  He put our sins as far as the east is from the west.  We are free to be who He created us to be.  I am thankful that He uses us where we are at, and gives us the strength to move forward for HIS glory!

In the journey with you all,  Angie

Hi, My name is Susan and I joined the calorie count website late in December. I am rather shy and quiet. I love to read and gather info but am rather slow about posting. I just have a hard time with opening up. That being said, I just wrote my bio and am going to copy it here as my introduction. I know that God is walking with me through my journey of weight loss. I just have to remember to take his hand and ask for his help. God Bless you all. Susan.

Here goes:

I am a 42 year old widow who is morbidly obese. My husband died 3 years ago after an unsuccessful gastric by-pass surgery. I spent 3 weeks in the hospital with him watching his body die slowly.

I have always had a very hard time with my weight but when I met him and we began dating, weight didn't matter to him. He was a big man but very healthy at the time. He loved to cook for me and I loved to eat. What could be better? After we were married I found out that I needed thyroid surgery. Between being a happy newlywed and the surgery I ballooned up from 138lbs. to 270lbs. I have weighed the same thing for 5 years now.  My family has a history of Diabetes, HBP, Heart Attack and Stroke, Cancer, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease............... the list goes on and on.

My mother had diabetes for years as well as many other health issues. Long story short, I took a leave of abscence from work this past June to be with her and my father. She began a major downward spiral and passed away this past September 4. Coincidentally, 3 years to the day that my husband died. I have become accustomed to living alone and don't mind it too much. My father on the other hand sunk into a deep depression. He has made new friends and is doing much better now, thankfully.

The above mentioned things have finally sunk into my thick skull and made me think that I really do care that I am fat. I really do care that I feel dumpy all the time and want to be attractive again. I really want to make myself more healthy than I am now. I want people to see me and say "Man, she is so freakin' hot!". I have so many other wants but those are tops on my list for now.

My turning point that made me really want to loose this weight was the real age test. I mentioned my age was 42, according to the test my body thinks it is 56.4 years old................. I have got to make a change today if I want to live a long, happy and healthy life.

That's me in a nut-shell.

Hi there! My name is girlie and I just recently found CC last month (Dec 08). I joined it because I have a horrible eating habits and what I eat definitely affect my energy and my mood and how I go about day to day. I pretty much have too much sweets everyday and I depend on caffeine to keep me up. I'm hoping that I can change that this year. I want to be able to take care of God's temple now and not wait until I get some kind of a disease before I start.

I joined this group because I would like to be with fellow believers.  I want my focus to be on the Lord and not entirely on losing weight. I want to make sure that I keep things in God's perspective not on the world's. 

As for other things about myself, I'm currently in a courtship relationship. Hopefully getting engaged soon. We're both horrible in our eating habits. His solution is to cut the sweets all together. I don't think I can actually do that ;) That's another reason why I'm joining this site. I thought it would be good to learn how to be healthy now instead of when we're married and have kids and have no idea what it means to have a healthy meal :)

I'm looking forward to gleaning some wonderful Godly wisdom from all of you. God bless!

Hi, my name is Jen.  I was invited her by my best friend Sandy(cleosan52).  I am at a standstill with my weight.  I need the encouragement to just do it!  Anyway, I am currently 144 lb, and would like to get back to 110 or 105, since I am only 4'11".  I never used to have a problem with weight until I had kids.  Not that I am complaining, I love them dearly.  I have a wonderful dh, who I have been happily married to for almost 12 years(May is our anniversary).  We have 2 boys, 10 and 7.  And we have a dog, cat, and 3 goldfish, too.  Looking forward to getting to know you all, and losing weight to glorify God!

Hi my name is Betty and I would like to join your group  a little about me

marryed 2 kids 2 grandkids    62   5ft 4inch started about a week ago wiegh in 175  now 172 lbs I like weigh-ins that gives me a good goal    my husband does most of the cooking and he cooks  healthy bar q most of the meat and potatoes  

I wish to be able to have a group to talk with get ideas from help in down time and a hip hip when doing good and I can give back the same

I live in oregon

betty

Hi everyone.  My name is Myndee.  I found this site when I googled to see how many calories were in something I had eaten.  Having Already started a diet journal and posting everything I ate each day with the calories in it on my blog for everyone to see.  I really hope this will help me to continue watching my diet. 

After 4 babies, years of ups and downs in my weight and the mental abuse I was subjected to by my husband over the years I am happy to say I'm ready to start over again and actually get this done!

I am currently divorcing my husband and felt that it would be a fresh start to get healthy for my children.  it's up to me to support them on my own now, and I can't do that if I feel tired and worn down all the time.

I can't wait to feel like myself again.

Hello, My name is Shelly. I am 33 years old. When I was younger I never had a weight problem. I began gaining when I turned thirty. It was like magic! I began cc Dec 23. I have lost 7 lbs. I am amazed that watching your calorie intake really helps. I have learned a lot the past few weeks. I have 5 children, one of which I am currently homeschooling. I do some part time bookeeping at the local locksmith shop. I am excited as I begin this journey to a healthier me! I know I will have good days and bad, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!

My name is Katy.  I'm 26 years - my starting weight is 300 lbs.  I have been overweight as long as I can remember, but have finally reached my breaking point.  I have a fantastic 2 year old son that I can't keep up with, a wonderful husband that I don't feel sexy around, and my knees creak when I climb the stairs.  Something has to change.

Calorie counting has always worked for me in the past, but I always gave up after a few weeks because of the work of tracking.  I am so glad that I found Calorie Count!  It's really motivating for me to be able to type in a food and have this site track it for me.  And I love being graded - I'm learning that it's about more than just tracking calories - a bad grade can happen with low-calorie food!  I'm learning to eat smarter, and really focusing on portion control.

Denna invited me to join this group (thanks Denna!).  I'm so excited to have a place where I can give and receive support - this is going to be a really hard journey!

I work full-time at my church doing a lot of design type stuff - brochures, bulletins, advertising, series designs, banners - if it needs to look nice, clean, and modern, it comes to my desk.  The church also runs a Preschool - 12th grade Christian school, so a lot of my job bleeds over to them, as well.  I really love it!  My husband and I are also worship leaders - I'm technically a glorified back-up singer in my opinion, which is fine with me, but I help with a lot of the administration type stuff that he's not wired to do.  Our son is intelligent and absolutely hilarious, and already shows more musical ability than me, which I love!  (I was not born with natural rhythm... it's hard for me to even clap and sing at the same time!)  Other than that, we love to chill out and watch movies, or take family walks.  My husband loves to shop - way more than anyone I know, so hopefully I'll find it enjoyable when I lose weight!

You found us!!!! 

Glad that you are here.

Married, 38 yrs, 4 adult children and 6 grandchildren.

Work: CNA & Medication Administration, Bookkeeper, and now a school bus driver

I didn't have weight problems until my mid 30's. A medication I was taking doubled my appetite.  Dr's back then didn't inform you of side effects and I was ignorant & didnt know to ask.  

In my 40's I reached 280 lbs.....started juicing and saying no to sugar & doing "movement" (exercise, I do not do well with that word so I replaced it with "movement")...I got down to 215lbs and then held 230 till I quit smoking 18 months ago. Now I'm at 264 lbs....ug! Becoming nicotine free has been an empowering experience.  Whyquit.com educated , inspired & supported me in my journey to  living a nicotine free life.

Now it is time to address my weight.  Ive seen, with God,  I can overcome nicotine addiction; I know, with God,  I can overcome my weight issues.  

I have a bad knee from an accident at work a few years ago which limits my "movement" (my replacement word for exercise). I have joint & muscle problems going on.  The extra weight makes movement harder to do.  I have been doing chair dancing (Jodi Stolove) and sit & be fit (the show on TV) for my daily movement.  On good days I can handle a 1/2 mile to 1 mile walk.  The chair dancing is ok, kinda fun & I feel better physically & mentally after doing it.  But my love is to go walking.

My goals:  To develop a healthy lifestyle; "toss" unwanted weight (I read that term here from someones post & really liked it); learn healthier eating habits & attitudes towards food;  have daily movement become a part of my daily routine (like brushing my teeth in the morning is); realistic goals; develop a support system for living a healthy life; 

Hi my name is Bert....

I live in Hawthorne Florida and work at the University of Florida (28 years!). I have two daughters and three-step daughters (really I claim them as mine). We have four grandsons and four granddaughters. God has blessed us with so many miracles: I am a cancer survivor, seven years out from cervical cancer; and my husband is a cancer survivor as well (he is out of remission and has cancer nodules in his lungs from colon cancer).  We live through Gods Awesome Grace daily.

I have recently turned 50 years old, and realized not only was I obesee, but I had not taught my two girls (Amanda, 12 and Tricia, 15) to eat healthy and exercise. We began a "Big Looser" group with friends Lorraine and Lisa on Jan 5. I began at 308 (the most I have ever weighed) and just weighed in last night at 299.5! PTL! I am walking three times a week and doing exercises on a stay ball two-three times a week. I already feel so much better.

I continue to pray for God's grace and mercy to guide and direct me daily.

Thanks for starting this group...All Things ARE Possible Through Christ!

Bert

Hi, I am Alma and I am looking forward to an exiting new year. I am 25, 5'4" and at 160lbs. I am considered a large frame and my ultimate goal is to reach 135lbs and maintain my weight.

1. History with weight loss: I have been yo-yo dieting since I was about 12 years old. wow! I've been going up and down through out the years going from 140lbs - 170lbs, back and forth, back and forth. 
2. History with Calorie Count: I joined CC in January 08' but did not become serious about it until  the beginning of this year (2009)
3. Reason for joining this group: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest".
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: I am a Receptionist/operator  for an Orthodontics company. I've been separated for 8 years and I have an 8 1/2 year old son. I love my church and my congregation, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and my savior a little over 1 year ago.

God bless everyone! We can do it!

Hi Everyone! I was so excited when I saw that there was a Christian group on here as I have come to realize that so much of this battle is not something that can be conquered alone. I have spent so many years thinking that this is the one thing that I can control on my own, and have come to find out that is so untrue! Anyway, I am 22 years old, 5'6" and currently 147lbs. I got married last May to the most incredible man in the world, and we are so happy!

History with Weight Loss: Okay so I started getting a little "chunky" in Jr. High, and was told it was just that "akward" stage that everyone goes through, and I would outgrow it. So I kept believing that and then when I hit 16 I realized that if things were going to change, I had to be the one to do it. So, I lost about 35lbs. over about 4 months and became extremely obsessive with exercise and was just about on the verge of an eating dissorder. I was doing weight watchers, but never eating the full amount, and working out to burn off every single thing I ate. I was down to about 130 at that time, and maintained that for awhile. At 18 I moved away for college, and kind of went up and down reaching my peak at 162 my Sophmore year. I got kind of yoyoed up and down between 135-150 for the next couple years, and when I got married 8 months ago, I was around 139. Soooo, after beginning an extreme weight lifting program I am up to 148 and really want to shed the extra fat, and get down to about 130-135 and figure out a way to stay there!!

History with CC: I just joined about 6 months ago and LOVE the groups and support! And, find it so much easier to keep track of what I'm eating by getting the alalyze and nutritional grade!

Reason for Joining: I need to spiritual support, and motivation to keep going with Christ as the focus, and not going back into the mindset that this is my area of failure. That's the way I've always viewed it and never realized that Christ can help me through this battle just like everything else in my life!!

About me: Well, I am a teacher at the moment, but..training to be a personal trainer, absolutely love weight lifting but hate cardio! I have been saved since I was 4 years old, and love the Lord with all my heart. I have so many interests but on the top of my list is motorcycles! I am excited to get ahold of a healthier lifestyle overall so I can keep it up in the future and be done with the up and down, and up and down!

Hi- Im Ann.  I am also so excited to find a Christian group here.  Thank you all for being willing to share your life here.  I will pray for you!

1. History with weight loss:

Yoyoed with weightloss ALL my life.  First diet at 8 years old.  Now I am almost 32.  I go into detail about my weight loss history on my page so check there for details but the basics are: I turn 32 in 12 days and I decided to give myself the gift of health for my birthday so I started South Beach Diet.  I do well with this as I am a carb addict.  I started last week and have already lost 5.4 pounds!   I am currently at 185 5'7 and want to reach a goal of 143.  But if I can land 140-150 I will be very pleased.

2. History with Calorie Count:I just joined today when I landed on someones profile from a google search about falling off the wagon on a diet. 

3. Reason for joining this group:

I am a Christian and want to support others going through this process.  I hope to encourage and be encouraged.

4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

Married, no kids.  Work as the Director of Communications for my church.  Very passionate about missions and have been on 6 international mission trips.  I enjoy music, writing, blogging, reading to name a few.  

Hi everyone, I just joined and I've been reading all the posts in this thread, it's good to see such a variety of people in here, but know that we all have one thing in common - Christ :)

I'm 19, I'm in my second year of college, I'm a psychology major. I've weighed around 160 all through high school. I was displeased with my body, but not enough to do anything about it. I was irritated because my friends ate the same things I did, but never gained an ounce. I played sports all year, but never lost any weight, so that bothered me too. My mom and dad pestered me to go on diets and such and I would get really mad at them, throwing verses in their faces about the spiritual being more important than the physical, and I'd tell them I wasn't shallow enoguh to be bothered by my the way I looked (I was lying).

Well I came to terms with being overweight, and decided I'd just have to live with it. But when I was home for Christmas this year I stepped on a scale for the first time in quite a while (I don't have one here at school) and I weighed 175 and I freaked! All I could think about was how close that was to 200, and I didn't want that for myself.

I saw something online about counting the calories you eat normally, reducing it by 500 and that that would make you lose weight. Well, I could easily think of 500 calories I could cut from by day, so I started looking into dieting online. I never did have the nerve to count up the calories I was eating in a normal day, but I started counting the number and keeping track. This was a week ago. Now I've gone 7 days of 1500 calories or less! It's been so much easier than I thought it would be. I'm not hungry like I thought I'd be, and I haven't had that many cravings.

I didn't weight myself right when I started CC, but I'm going with 170 as my start weight, and my target it 135 sometime this summer. I really just want to go home healthier and looking better :)

My biggest struggle is working out. I don't mind exercising or being active, and there's a gym here on campus that's easily accessable but (I know this sounds lame) I'm embarassed to workout in front of the athletes and fit people who are always in the gym. Plus, none of my friends know I'm dieting (I guess telling them would be admitting that I think I'm fat) and I don't want them wondering why I suddenly started going to the gym, especially when none of them do.

I guess that's the reason I joined this group, I've never tried dieting before and I have no one to do this with, no one to hold me accountable, and I just need some friends to share my struggles and victories with. And I hope to do the same for you here.

Hi Jessica! I may be 45-but can sooo relate to your story! I am 5'0 and once weighed over 180. I am now at 123 and learning to maintain.

Unless it is for physical therapy-you won't find me in a gym or health club! I too was/am embarrased by my shape and looking at "athletes" working out is very discouraging to me! I know that I am looking much better, but I am not "toned". In reality, I know that I will not look like a model, especially due to my stature.

I am glad you found this group here at CC! No matter where we are at in our lives or weight loss journey, we are here together! None of us can do this alone. Also in seeking Christ's guidance first, it can be easier to remember where to keep our true focus.

My mom has always had weight issues and my dad is a skinny, athletic and active guy, so the pressures from him and his comments about weight and activity (or lack thereof) can really affect moods. In the past, when I have gained weight, I would avoid going home when he was there. I know his comments were well meant-but they could also be very hurtful.

I wish you well on your journey here and hope you find as many friends and encouragement as I have found!