I am starting my journey! (kind of long)

[IloveAsschers13]

hello all!

I have never posted on this part of the forum yet, but I just was reading through the posts and everyone on here is sooo encouraging, I feel like I can do anything I put my mind too...

BUT i think that is the problem. I constantly think about losing weight and telling myself I am going to, but then I do something like eat pizza and think, this is the last time. (it never is).

Just a little bit about myself...

I am almost 21 years old and I am a college student, so I cannot exactly always eat fresh or spend a lot of money on my food, but I recently moved in with my boyfriend, and he eats SO healthy. He loves buckwheat, salmon, veggies.. etc. So i have started eating healthier. But I weigh between 175-180, and I am only 5''4", so I am overweight. I will say that I am very proportioned and not one area of my body is way bigger than any other part of my body.

That being said, since I am only 21, I am pretty disappointed in myself. All through high school I did a lot of sports and was so active, so I never had to really try to stay a certain weight. Now I am not so active and much busier with a 20+ hours of work a week AND classes, I just can''t motivate myself. My parents were both obese, until my dad lost about 120 pounds by dieting and exercise, but I just feel STUCK!

I started going to the gym this week and so far I have gone three times and each time I walked for 2 miles and then did the rowing machine for 10 minutes, to work on my arms. I am going tonight, but I just can''t seem to get motivated, even though I know I should be able to wear two pieces in the summer and be a hot little college student. I guess I''m just looking for support other than the usual suspects (aka my boyfriend, my dad) just because it clearly isn''t helping.

Hopefully this thread keeps me motivated, just as all of you are doing great so far, that i have read!

 

[PrincessDijon]

ILA-

Welcome!!!!

I just started working out again about 3 days ago! I just hit my all time high of 158lbs (at my healthy weight I like to be around 130). Glad to see that you are making positive changes in your lifestyle.

I too have obesity in my family genetics!!!! (I gain weight just looking at food...lol)

Anyway, glad to have you here in the healthy lifestyle area!

Good luck to you and stop by the HL thread!

 

[Allisonfaye]

I saw something on Oprah that I thought was good. When you have a lot of weight to lose and you are feeling overwhelmed by it all, just give up ONE thing at a time. Like do you drink soda? If so, substitute sparkling water with lime or something with no sugar. Do that for a few weeks, then pick another thing to substitute a healthy behavior. Because if you are like me, there is NOTHING on earth that makes me want to eat more than putting me on a crash diet.

 

[IloveAsschers13]

I drink some soda, maybe three cans a week, give or take. But I think the main thing I need to do is figure out what makes me lose weight. I do get obsessed with losing weight and then I do eat more, so lately I have been not snacking as much and when I do, I eat fruit or vegetables. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

I have a similar problem when I try to drop weight. In fact, I used to post in the weekly weight loss thread but had to stop because it had me focusing on the numbers entirely too much!

As previously suggested I started by giving things up little by little. So soda was replaced with diet soda over time, sugar with splenda, cream in my coffee and tea to 2% milk, 2% milk to 1%, 1% to skim and so on.

To date I have lost about 30 lbs. and have dropped down almost 4 sizes in most of my clothing (although I still tend to hide under baggy clothing). The numbers on my bathroom scale do not always move but I can see improvement throughout my body just from making small changes and hitting the gym frequently. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life even though I am not at the lowest weight I have ever been at. I just ran my first 10K yesterday and if you had told me a year ago that I would have run in the race I would have laughed at you.

Do not focus on the numbers. Just do your best to eat healthier and keep your body moving. You'll see your body start to change and you'll be motivated to work even harder!!

ETA: Do not completely deprive yourself of things you love. It's okay to enjoy some of your favorites in moderation. I have a weakness for Hydrox cookies so now I allow myself two instead of a free-for-all. I get to satiate the craving so I am not at risk for binging. I also take my two cookies and eat them far away from the kitchen - typically when I am on the second floor of my house. That way it's easier for me to walk straight into my room for before bed reading and I am less inclined to walk all the way across the house just to get another cookie. If I do find myself doing the walk of shame I have some time to ask myself if I really want that extra cookie - espeically if it means an extra 20 mins on the elliptical to burn the calories. Usually I can talk myself out of the extra cookie.

 

[idreamofcushions]

Thanks for sharing, IloveAsschers13. Weight lose is always an upward battle, but you seem determined so I''m sure you''ll do great. For me, weight lose is always more of a mental struggle. I have the knowledge and the tools, but I have to dig deep to find motivation and then be consistent (thats the worst part). I too get discouraged when I eat something unhealthy, like pizza (my weakness!) and then I beat myself up for it.

The thing that''s helped me is to really make an effort to change how I view food and the whole weight lose process. Don''t "punish" yourself by saying "I will NEVER have this food again" because then you''re just setting yourself up for failure. I find that when I set unrealistic goals and then don''t reach them, I get extremely discouraged, which then leads to binge eating. Then I say "well, I''ll start again tomorrow". Instead, take each small battle as it comes. Make small steps, small right decisions that, in the end add up to a whole lot! Enjoy your little victories...even one day of going to the gym.

You can do it!

 

[princesss]

Hey! I''m just starting working on getting healthy again, and I know how tough it is.

Honestly, the first thing that has really kept me motivated and excited is Weight Watchers. It gives me a program I can use and a way to evaluate my choices (hmmm, that brownie is 6 points? I could have so many other things for those points!) and a daily goal (I have to eat 24 points every day. No excuses). Personally, I tend to obsess and get very restrictive, and focus more on what *not* to eat, rather than what I should eat. With this I can eat ANYTHING, I just have to figure out how to budget it in. I can even have an Original Glazed Krispy Kreme donut if I really want it.

I get weekly points for splurges or days when I''m hungrier than normal. Plus the meetings each week really keep me motivated when I''m starting to droop, and on really bad days I can find a meeting and re-focus. It really hleps me think about food in a positive manner. And if you screw up one day, there''s no eating less the next day to "make up" for it. You just start all over!

I have also found that I''m way more likely to stick with something I''m paying for. Yeah, it''s a little pricey, but it balances out. I eat the WW meals for lunch, and they''re about $2-3 each, so I now actually save money on my groceries, which balances out what I pay in dues.

(Re-reading this, it sounds like I''ve been paid to advertise for them. Haha. I''m just very enthusiastic because I really feel good about it, and I''m slowly starting to make better choices in order to fill up. Somedays I even HAVE to have dessert because I need to use up a point or two.)

 

[dragonfly411]

I tend to use images as motivation, images of women living healthy the way I want to live, with a healthy body, eating healthy things, etc. I keep them tucked away in a notebook with my workouts to look through when I''m feeling a little less motivated!

 

[cocolaw]

Hello! I can certainly empathize! I''ve been out of college for about 4 years now, but I remember all too well the struggles of maintaining (or losing) weight in college. I used to be really really fit in HS-I weighed about 117 and it was all muscle. I went through some really tough times in college and began drinking and eating to deal with my emotions. Drinking LOTS! I gained between 30 and 40 lbs in about a year and I was miserable. The hardest part was changing my mindset and getting my old healthy habits back. I remember that I did not even like to go to the gym because of the skinny girls there! I slowly started running/walking a 3 mile trail. I started counting calories and I would go places like Subway or Chick fil a for lunch (getting the grilled chicken or a wrap). I started really watching salad dressings (dip the fork, dont drizzle it on the salad) and thinking much more about things I put in my mouth. I ate lots of light yogurt, but I would keep light ice cream in the fridge too (skinny cow ice cream sandwiches are big and fabulous..if you can stop at 1..its hard!) Always eat breakfast-oatmeal is great, kashi go-lean is great. But watch serving size because its SO easy to unknowingly pour a double serving of cereal when you think you are being good! And DONT drink calories. No juice, No soft drinks, No sweet tea. If you drink alcohol then NO margaritas, fruity martinis, etc....have vodka water with lime or wine. Use this website: www.fitday.com to track your caloric intake. Remember, bites off of other people''s plates count too (this one is hard!!).

Anyways, after a few changes, the weight really did start to come off. People noticed, and that felt great too!

You are athletic and so I KNOW you can do this. You will be losing weight and gaining motivation (all things critical to pull through all of the holiday goodies right around the corner) and this will all be behind you. You are off to a FANTASTIC start...and it seems like the boy is very healthy so that''s a positive force too. Good luck!!

 

[IloveAsschers13]

Thank you so much for the confidence you have in me! It''s so refreshing to read it.. I have been working out a lot more so its getting better and I am eating less.. not really lost any weight though! But it''s getting there...