A newbie to the forum but definately not to dieting!

Firstly let me say "hello" to everyone ... Ive been reading alot of posts over the last few days wondering if I should just say silent and become a lurker or post an introduction about myself and possibly gain some much needed support and encouragement from others in the same boat as myself .. yes the journey to change my dire eating habits for a healthy and better future.

Im 39 years old and a mum to four children .. two of which have special needs (and need a heck of alot of attention and help) .. my younger son (16) leaves home this coming weekend to start his own journey in the British Army (Im incredibly proud of him, but yet still nervous about what he will have to face through a military career.. hes mummies little man after all)

Anyway Im an habitual yo-yo dieter (how many of us have that T-shirt I wonder lol) Im not new to xenical either .. I had a first attempt at it 4 years ago and did manage to lose 10kg in the first 7 months. I dont know why I went back to my old habits of starving during the day and having a huge carb/fat loaded meal in the evening .. but it happened and now Im back to facing the fact that Im not doing myself any favours by going through a continous cycle of starving to binging! :cry:

Sure enough now Ive put back on that 10kg (22lb) and some since. Currently weighing in at 259lbs!!!! (118kg) and a size 20/22 OMG!!

Anyway ... I started taking xenical again last week and seem to have a different mind set to it this time .. I am not getting any younger and if I dont do something NOW I never will .. this is a massive life change for me.. and its not just my diet that needs changing .. its my whole way of doing things .. walk to the local shop instead of drive, walk my daughter to her bus stop, ect ... and once my confidence rises again I am planning on joining the local leisure centre for swimming and the gym .. (hmmmmm saying it is one thing reading the words scares me half to death!!)

Im going to try and stay away from doing the "scales dance" every day if I can .. (you put your whole self on .. your whole self off .. on ... off ... on ... off and you shake it all about) lol

Sorry for my rather long winded intro Im also a keyboard hogger and like to ramble a bit.

You guys/gals are indeed an inspiration after reading your posts/diaries! Well done to everyone that is losing the weight, I hope to be able to join you on that path real soon.

hey lou nice to meet you , i didnt find your intro to be long and boring so dont worry =]

wow congrats on your son growing up , i love all history and military stuff so i can understand you being proud of him i would be as well... i hope it goes ok for him.

joining a local lesuire center is one of the best things you will ever do apart from starting to like yourself a little more of course... at first it was hard to work through those doors and have the courage to face a gym but it gets so easy and when your there noone stares anyway so dont feel nervous it will be ok i promise xx

let us know how your getting on and if you need any help with anything then you can fire away , someone usually knows the answers and if not they will chat to you until someone tht knows comes along x

Hi Lou and welcome to the forum! i really enjoyed reading your intro as well, so don't worry about rambling! I think mine was even longer
I'm also a serial yo-yo dieter, so I know where you're coming from there. My weight has ranged from 12st 7 to 20st 10, with lots of ups and downs in between, but I'm determined to beat it this time.
I think you've hit the nail on the head about the lifestyle change though - in order to stop the yo-yo-ing and get to where we want to be, we have to look at this as a new way of life rather than a means to an end.
I think the Xenical is a great way to re-educate yourself into better eating habits that will hopefully stick around long after you've lost the weight.

Im going to try and stay away from doing the "scales dance" every day if I can .. (you put your whole self on .. your whole self off .. on ... off ... on ... off and you shake it all about) lol

Click to expand...

Well there are a few of us around here who are experts on the "scale dance" (self included) but I agree, it's much better if you can avoid it. I think it's all part of making the lifestyle chage - stopping that emotional reaction (good or bad) to what you see on the scales.....easier said than done though, and I'm not there yet!

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me....I'm glad you decided to post rather than lurk...it's the best way to get all the support you'll need to keep you going.

Good luck

Thanks for the greeting and double thanks for the support .. as the song from " Annie" goes ... "I think Im gonna like it here" .. this is definitely the place for me!

Im just about to go and read some more diaries .. yours being one of them Alex Im so pleased Im not the only rambler around here lol

Hi Lou! I'm a newbie too, I'll be starting tomorow. I'm around the same size and weight as you too so hopefully we can spur each other on and keep each other motivated I'm also sick of the yo-yo-ing, lets hope we lose the weight and keep it off for good xx

Another rambler here, Lou, and a newly reformed scale ex-dancer. I'm a once a week girl now. Well this week anyway. Good luck to you, post often and we'll all get through this together.

KB

i actually giggled and had to tell my hubby what i was laughing at with the whole scales dance... LOVE IT!! thats prob most of us. (although im trying very hard not to this week!!!)

welcome..
you seem like a lovely lady, and you will fit in a treat round here!!!! dont worry about the gym either.. you will love it once you get going!! trust me.. i thought of nothing worse than a) getting into a size 18/20 cozzie and getting into the pool and splashing about at aqua.. and b) going to the gym where there are loads of people who i think watched me for the whole time... but its really not like that.... apart from the last couple of weeks (And now ive done my back in again) i love the gym and im there when i can be.... i also try and get to aqua once or twice a week, and i now do pilates. (which i love)

so get out there, and you might just supprise yourself