Member Articles

Good article. I am 41 and entered menopause in my late 30's, which seems to be the pattern with women in my family. The pounds started to creep on overnight it seems. I'm definitely over the weight I want to be but not obese either. I pay attention to my diet but seem to maintain a certain weight. Early menopause and hormone issues certainly make it harder to loose those extra pounds.
I'm also not very good about exercising.I used to love it, hiking and walking. Then I had kids with a full time job. Exercise takes a back seat. Recently I started on walking more and going to the office gym. Let's cross our fingers.
I like your approach about focusing on the process not the result. I get impatient and annoyed when it doesn't seem to have an effect.

I am in my forties, and the only healthy-weight person in a family of obese men and women. My mother, my aunt, my brother and sister - all obese and even morbidly obese. I'm not just fighting my age, I'm fighting my gene pool!

When the pounds started slipping on in my late thirties, I didn't worry much - I wasn't fat, and a little weight gain as you age is normal. Then, about ten months ago, I stepped on the scale, and for the first time in my life, I was overweight. Only by a pound or two, but the point for me was that the pounds kept accruing and I wasn't able to stop it! I didn't want to end up like my sister, who can't walk across a room without wheezing, or any other family member, all of whose excess weight is affecting them in negative ways.

"Baby steps" was the key for me. I took it in baby steps. I tried very hard not to compare where I was with where I wanted to be. Just did one thing at a time, creating habits and patterns that could keep me healthy.

I am now within ten pounds of my goal weight. I'm wearing clothes that haven't fit in two years. I am 46, and I feel GREAT.