Hey everyone,

Just starting on mfp and really enjoying it so far! I had been living in la la land until Monday when I went to my Dr's for a general check up and discovered that I was hypertensive. BP through the roof! I quit smoking that day and have committed myself completely to getting healthy!

I am always looking for good ideas or suggestions so if there are any veterans out there, feel free!

Thanks,
melliz73

Welcome, for some of us our motivation does not happen till we hear the bad news from the doc for me it was being diagnosed with diabetes. I did a total turn around with it. Good luck to you

Hi! First off...CONGRATS on your decision to quit smoking!!!!!!!!!! My brother passed away at the young age of 41 from lung cancer. So great job & what a great decision!

Also, I see you work at an animail welfare organization. How great is that?!!! I start Wed. volunteering at my local no-kill shelter in the "cat room".

Good luck to you on your journey. You will find alot of support here & if you spend some time reading some of the other threads, you can find alot of motivation & answers to most of your questions.

Hi, and welcome to THE best site on the web!
Between the easy to use food counter (which by the way is SUCH an eye opener!) and all the wonderfully supportive members, you WILL be able to lose the weight that you want to, AND, it'll "almost" be easy doing it!
I recommend logging ALL your foods BEFORE you have them, rather than later, as it tends to lead to better food choices. (not to mention you'll know if you've got enough numbers left to have a night time snack, like I ALWAYS try to do!) Some people also like to weigh and measure some things, such as meats, rather than just estimating and possibly being WAY off!
Don't go making the mistake that if you have LOTS of numbers left at the end of the day that you'll lose even faster, because that DOESN'T happen. Feel free to read any info about the site in the "help" section at the top of the home page. And also, under "all topics", then "general", and check out the first few threads. They'll really help you understand how MFP works.
Before coming here, I had tried just about EVERYTHING out there, including hypnosis, TWICE, and nothing really worked until MFP!
Also, drink LOTS of water, it REALLY DOES help!
As far as exercise goes, it doesn't always have to be awful. For my exercise, I walk almost every day, (weather permitting!) I also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria")
It's free, (unlike a gym!) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored!
I also have Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
So, to make a LONG story short, make good food choices, eat in moderation, get some exercise, and you WILL lose the weight that you want to!