I am a 40 year old single mom with 5 children and 1 grandchild (I was a child bride!seriously). Three children are still living at home. I live in a small rural town in the mid-west. I am a licensed nurse and the manager for a respiratory company. My job is stressful and most days chaotic!Nonetheless, I love it! I seem to "feed" off of stress (in more ways than one)and work well when "under the gun".
As a child, weight was never an issue. Over the years and after the birth of my 5th, I hit an all time high! I felt miserable and looked even worse! I started dieting seriously when I turned 30. I lost almost 100# in a little under a year. Looking back I am sure that I was addicted to dieting. In the last 6-7 years I have slowly put all of that weight back on! Seven years ago I went back to college and then went through nursing school. During that time I spent a lot of time sitting and studying. Lots of late night studying and you guessd it-EATING. My first job as a nurse was working the 7pm-7am shift in a hospital. I worked that shift for 2 1/2 years. It tottaly messed up my sleep patterns and my eating habits were terrible (and continue to be). It seems crazy that I would have let this happen. The weight seriously does creep up on you, if you don't stay mindful. I have tried to get the motivation back, but just can't seem to do it or stick with it. I fail to put myself first and suffer because of that. The extra weight has impacted my life at this point and I really want to be healthy. I want to be able to do the things I enjoy~like gardening and other outdoor activities~without huffing and puffing and being tired. I am also tired of being embarrassed of myself. I am ready to get my life back! Please share tips, advice, anything positive for weight loss. I hope to find extra motivation and support from this site as well. My target date to start my weight loss journey is May 12, 2008. Wish me luck. I will keep you posted on my #'s lost. Thanks!