Shy but definitely need a buddy

Hello everyone. I have a hard time even posting this but I really need to find a buddy and/or buddies to travel this journey with. I have always been big boned and chubby but at 5'2" I just simply cannot live with the current 216 pounds ...not only does it look and make me feel horrible....it's physically limiting my activities...I dread even having to bend over to tie my shoe. I have lost 3 pounds so far and the motivation is there, I just simply would love to have some buddies to discuss ups and downs with....

My fiance is there for me but he is 6'2" and skinny...he can and DOES eat whatever he wants although he feels about doing it in front of me. He is very supportive but I just think I would enjoy the experience so much more with buddies that are experiencing some of the same things I am!

Hi there, how about we do this together? I'm new here too but we could definitely work on this together I've always been chubby but I will definitely admit that my weight has been out of control the last several months. So I'm putting in the effort to change what I don't like and FS has been awesome with helping

Men always seem to get luckier with either losing weight or keeping it off, so go easy on him, and gear your thoughts towards your journal on FS

Keep losing!
Nichi

Thank nichi and I am sending a buddy request if that is ok?

Yeah definitely
What's your current exercise routine?

Right now I don't have one. I am really focused on changing my eating habits. However I have started working on some small steps such as taking the kids outside and not just sitting there but actually playing with them. I've added extra housework to my list of things to do and I add in a few jumping jacks or some small simple exercise when outside playing with the kids!

May I join in? I'm new as well and don't know anyone yet. I have to tell you m4k your story sounds almost identical to mine! 5'2", I started out @ 184 Lbs back in March 2010. My husband is 6'2" and skinny! Eats anything he wants as well.

My objective was not to lose weight for him, my family or friends, but for me only! My husband and I were on vacation last Feb. and I happened to notice that a group of people were making fun of my weight. That was enough for me. I had finally decided that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired! Walking down the office hallway and feeling EVERYTHING giggle! I was really starting to gross myself out! So the first thing I did was remove ANY temptation from the house. Candy, cookies, ice cream, bread, potatoes, chips, EVERYTHING. My family was not so happy about the drastic change, but I also assured them that they could easily go to the convenience store and eat all that to their heart's content, but that I just don't have the will power to keep it around without digging in. They understood. I too grew up with a weight problem always being the "chunky" one, but I look back @ my childhood now, and see that I was only eating what my parents fed me...My parents were what I like to call Carboholics! I don't recall there ever being a meal we ate that didn't contain carbs! Spaghetti, casseroles, pancakes, gravy...The list could go on forever. I have rid myself from all carbs w/the exception of what is in leafy greens and low starch veggies. So far I have lost 40 Lbs. I'm not there yet...My goal is to lose another 30 by Feb. 2011, the next time we go on vacation. I want to prove to myself that those a-holes didn't get the best of me

I'm on board if you'll have me

I'm here in that same short chunky boat with you all. 5'1" and 170...Yes I have gain 5 pounds since joining FS. I have a crazy work and personal life that keeps my stress level UP. But I want to do better. I just haven't found my true motivating factor yet. Would love to be buddies if you are looking for several. I know I can always use the added encouragement.

Welcome to all of you! I've been hangin around here since May & I have to say it has made all the difference in my weight loss. At first I just joined for the Calorie Counter blackberry app, but ended up taking advantage of the huge support community here. I am happy to say I've made tons of great friends here who understand the ups & downs I go through better than anyone else I know.

Just looking back on my own experience with my current weight loss, there are a few thoughts I can share:
- Make a decision. Whatever your reasons are for losing weight (& it's a great idea to write them down, incidentally), make a commitment to yourself to do it. You don't have to work out all the details of how or how long it will take or any of that, just decide to do it, no matter what. You'll be amazed how all of your choices eventually become shaped by that one decision.
- Be kind to yourself. From the beginning I told myself this would be a positive experience. Not necessarily easy, but definitely not restrictive or prohibitive. I didn't want to make it easy for myself to cop out, & you might if you're doing something you hate. Allow yourself to indulge once in a while...real life is not a prescribed diet. Disclaimer: If you ARE on a prescribed diet like Atkins that involves ketosis, be careful what you indulge in. I'm not an expert on Atkins so that's all I will say about that.
- Don't view this as a "diet," which implies something temporary. View it as a new way of living that will lengthen your life by improving your health & your ability to experience everything that is out there for you to experience!
- Don't try to do too much at once. Small changes will stick better than complete overhauls. They say it takes 21 days for anything to become habit & I believe this to be true. I started out on SlimFast & used it to get my eating habits under control. Once I was comfortable with the reduced calories & eating regularly, then I moved on to focusing on exercise. Working on one thing at a time has been very effective for me.
- Be honest with yourself about your weaknesses. We all have them. For me, my problem was loading up on coffee in the mornings, not eating all day, then eating too much at dinner. Add a sedentary lifestyle & you end up with a 316 lb Me. Part of what I hoped to accomplish with SlimFast was to get me eating at regular intervals. I found that eating something small with enough calories & nutrition to wake up my metabolism yet keep me satisfied worked great. It wasn't long before I automatically started getting hungry every few hours so that was a sign it was working.
- Pay attention to your body. I didn't have a timetable for when any of this was going to happen. I just focused on one thing at a time, & my body let me know when it was time for something else. Once I started increasing the intensity of my exercise, I was getting too hungry for SlimFast to keep me satisfied, so I switched to eating regular food & just tracking the calories. Be open to making adjustments when you need to.
- Try to be patient. It's hard. We all know we didn't become overweight overnight, but it's still hard. Especially when you hit the inevitable plateau that plagues all of us at one time or another. When that happens, look to other measures of your success, not just the scale. Look at how your clothes are fitting, or how you can do something physically that you couldn't do before you started losing weight. Talk to your buddies here or read through posts on the forums for inspiration.

If someone like me can go from weighing 316 lbs & sitting around all day to being able to jog for 4 minutes straight (without dying!) in less than 4 months, you can DEFINITELY do this!

I'll stop rambling, feel free to buddy request me. Hope to see you around!

Welcome everyone. I have been a part of fat secret since January. I will say the support is great. I love being able to track all of my food and weight loss. I also use another tool. It is a body media arm band. I bought it and the watch for $250.00. I think it is a little bit expensive, but so much cheaper than weight watchers and other things. I wear the arm band all the time except in water. I down load it each night. The gist of the arm band and the watch is that it tells you exactly how many calories you have burned so far in the day. It will also tell you how many steps you take and will keep track of your exercise and sleep. I will say it has been a key to my weight loss. I am proud to say I am down 60, but have so much more to go. No I do not work for the arm band. I jsut love it so much. You do have to input your food into their website which is double duty with FS, but I get benefits out of both. The key is to burn more calories than you consume. I will say there has been many days. I am dead to the world, and just want to go and lay ont he couch. I look at my watch and it says I have only burned 1800 calories. I get out and go on a walk or do something. It is so motivating.

Once again welcome and let me know if I can help you along your journey.

Wow, thanks you guys, knowing that I am not in this alone and that there are others that are even in the same "short" predicament helps a lot! All buddies are welcomed here but I will warn you I am a pretty shy person and rarely say the right thing! LOL! Thanks for the encouraging words

Good point Vicki...I have one also & I LOVE it! But you do have to make sure you are diligent about tracking your calorie intake, otherwise knowing how much you're burning doesn't mean anything. It IS somewhat of an investment, but I think that's a good thing because you'll only commit to the expense if you're serious.

I did not purchase the watch & I find that uploading to the site once or twice a day gives me all the info I need, & I do not enter my food in both places. I log it here, then the next day I copy the calorie total into the Bodymedia site for tracking.

One other investment I have made is in an expensive pair of running shoes. And I got them from a running store, where they did a gait analysis to recommend the correct type of shoe. Important thing to remember is that you get what you pay for. My knees & back can attest to that. Nuff said.

But you don't NEED these things to get started. You may find that as you get more secure with your lifestyle changes, you'll want to make more of an investment to take you to the next level. It's easy for me to say, oh spending a few hundred on these extra things was a lot of money, but if I compare the sheer volume of what I used to eat to the amount I eat now, it easily makes up the difference. And with what I save on food, I buy better quality, fresher foods that are far more satisfying than anything I used to eat.

I would like to get in on the buddy-love here
Trish, 4ft. 10 221lbs!
I have been a member since July, but only recently have I been very diligent, and the 4 lbs weight loss shows it is working ( even if it is just water weight). I am still not 100% motivated to move, the eating has been my priority. When I do startmoving ( which should be soon) I plan on doing the couch 2 5k. I would love to learn to love running lol. I accept all buddy reauests, so hit me up. The more we can support eachother the better

Buddy request sent Trish!

Heya I would love to be your buddy.. I am 5'5" and at my heaviest I was just over 280.. I started back in 09 at 268 and I have had a crazy month and right now I am at 216. I love to read journals to keep tabs on people so buddy me if you like and we can reach onderland together.

You got it Ceebee!

I would love to be your diet buddy. I am also of short stature...4 10 1/2. Every pound I gain shows immediately but I have to loose tons for that to be noticeable. It's so frustrating!