I've been a lifetime yo-yo dieter. I've easily gained, lost and regained at least 500 lbs. I used to joke that I was never going to change my lifestyle, I was just dieting to "make room" for more eventual weight gain. Even a heart attack at age 39 did little to motivate a lifestyle change. Finally, in late 2011, my weight climbed to an all-time high and having had enough, I started a journey to make a more permanent and lasting change in my life. Between October 2011 and May 2012, I lost over 70 lbs.

A serious motorbike accident in May 2012 derailed that journey for a time. After a long hospitalization and inability to walk for several months, I had maintained the weight loss. And finally, 110 days after the accident, I was able to return to work. Unfortunately the months of shifting my still considerable weight to one side of my body caused the untimely end of one of the joints on that side. In November 2012, I had to have that joint replaced. Without going into too much detail, a wrong sized prosthesis, followed by a serious infection in the joint, led to a series of 5 surgeries and 11 months of ongoing treatment. I had the final surgery in late October of 2013 and all appears to be well. I'm finally getting my life back to normal and am looking forward to a future with a nearly perfect stride.

Now it's time to pick up the journey where I had left off. I started up again a couple of weeks ago and am committed to getting down to my goal weight.

I'd only ever used FS as a way to record what I'd eaten and log my weight. I was never very conscious of the community aspect of the site. More recently, I have started to become more aware of the support that can be had just from reading people's journal entries and having other folks being supportive of your own. I'm finding that support goes a long way in keeping you motivated over the long haul. Looking forward to making some new buddies to support and be supported by on this journey to a healthier lifestyle.