Girls in their 20's who want to lose about 100 pounds

Hi, my name is Suzanne and I am 23 years old. I weigh 258.3 pounds(yikes) and would really like to get down to between 140 and 150. I was wondering if there was anyone else out there in their 20's who has about that much they want to lose. We could work together and stay motivated to reach our goals!!! Also, if there is anyone in their 20's who has lost that much and wants to share their success story, I would love to hear it! Thanks!

eeyvdj, i saw your post from the other day and responded (at first i thought it was mladdy cuz you have the same type of profile pic!) but haven't seen any since.  what's up?  done 6 meaning written 6 times or done 6 as in lost weight? i don't remember any other posts.  hmmmm.....hope all is well!

 

19.25 out of 25  did that hour of elliptical this morning and then walked home 2.5 miles from workfor an hour. yippeee!  will try to go do weights in 2 hours for about 30 minutes. 

i'm on a 1600 calorie plan now so if this doesn't work, ehhhh

 

BTW, does anyone have a trainer?  they seem ridiculously overpriced and are ranging from 65-115 dollars an hour.  hell, for that kind of money i should seriously lose weight get some plastic surgery and go into THAT.  for real. especially considering they DON'T have to give any commission to anyone else since these trainers all specialize in coming to apartment bldg gyms!!!!  my nutritionist really wants me to get a trainer to learn how to lift well and to keep me going but WOW, i knew it was expensive but had NEVER thought it would be this much!!!

ok cool lol i thought my computer was messed up again i didn't know if any one could see me lol but yeah I'm excited I've just been counting my calories increasing my fiber exercising and doing something i hate lol drinking water but i put those Hawaiian punch sugar free singles to go witch make them taste GREAT I also made my fiance a profile and my sister in law is gonna join too so yeah this site is the best and there is alot of people just like me over 300

Once i hit 299 lol I will never look back a 300 again lol

there is a girl on this other site that lost allot of weight and she looks great you know how all the t.v before and afters look fake well this is Real and it is amazing take a look

Nee Nee's spark page

Jaimie: Wow, you having a time of it huh? First, I want to say that there are a few of us who have been where you are, gained the weight back and all and I'm one of them....Even though your boyfriend is not listening right now, I see this as a perfect opportunity for you & him to get healthy at the same time and it looks like you could set the example...How to eat & stay healthy during all this? Hard for me to say as I am emotional eater. But I do know what helps. Start exercising to get rid of all your frustration or writing in a journal--just find an out-let...Also, I know you care about him a lot but don't let him become your only focus--To take care of him , you have to take care of yourself first....Ok I'm hoping others will offer advice--we are here when you need to vent, we can be your journal! (((HUG))))

 

Watchme: My hubby is going into the personal training business, I think it just depends on where you look. Have you thought about just going for maybe 2 to 4 sessions, so they can teach how to lift properly and then doing it on your own? I know places like the YMCA offer discounts like for 16 an hour, but that maybe in certain states. Also, some gyms offer a free introduction, which maybe you could do that. When I had my personal trainer I paid $58 an hour, yikes that's why my mommy paid for it and after 3 months I couldn't keep up with it. The gym actually had a deal where they charged $300 a month for you to go and have free personal training, so I did that....If I could still see a personal trainer I would because even though I had someone to teach me how to lift properly, I still struggle with it---It helps me to have someone by me and telling me to sit up straight or suck in my stomach because I get too lazy...lol, let us know what you decide

eeyvdj, that's my goal to hit by the end of the year.  If I maintain my average loss per week, I should get it way before then, but I want to give myself extra time to make SURE that I meet it.  Seems so far away right now though, have get rid of 27.2 lbs to hit 299.  But, we'll get there!

I'd love to have both a trainer and a nutritionist.  But, they cost more than I could pay them.  I actually looked around my area just to see, and couldn't really find anyone anyway.  Oh well, keep up what I'm doing for now.  Rethink it another day =)

Actually, hubby has done a bunch of martial arts and is thinking of maybe joining a dojo in the area.  I think it's something I'd be interested in, but it totally intimadates me.  I always used to tell him to teach me, and he would say I'd need to get into better shape first.  Hmm, maybe need to reask him cause I'm in much better shape than I used to be in 2 months ago.  But to actually join one would be so strange.  I'd feel out of place and like the pink elephant in the room that everyone knows doesn't belong and can't do it.

liza, my health insurance actually covers my nutritionist free of charge.  it's not a service that they advertise so i recommend looking into it, assuming you have health insurance.  my policy in grad school was total crap and overpriced and i never used it but apparently they had offered it too.  now i wish i had dealt with this stuff then.  then again, i think that just handling school was hard enough back then and just pray that i can handle it now despite all of the craziness that comes with being an "adult."

boots, i did put in a call to the Y because i'm a member there.  i'm hoping they can offer me something more affordable.  like you said, a lot of it is just trying to figure out what the heck i should be doing.  i'd ideally like to just meet with a trainer once a week for 2-3 months and take it from there.

eeyvdj, i actually went from the 320s to the 250s.  it's been a slow-moving process but feel free to add me as a friend and check out my pics.  while i don't look as fabulous as the girl who has gone from the 220s to the 150s (yet!) it might give you an idea of the change in store for ya.  my year-end goal has been moving.  it was originally to be just under 200 and a size 14W in pants.  now it's more like 215 (still somewhat unrealistic, i think, based on my current 2 month plateau) and a size 16W.  we will see. 

everyone, so i tried on a pile of pants today.  all my size 24s fit way too big on me.  even the ones that were tightly fitting and giving me a wedgie (sorry if that's TMI!) when i just started to fit into my size 20s are now loose on me and extremely comfortable.  the size 22s fit like a glove though also loose in the legs and hips, as all pants that get on my waist seem to be.  (my waist to hip ratio is off compared to the "standard" pant measurements).  the size 20s still fit tightly at the waist but fine on the hips.  any suggestions?  i only have 2 pairs of size 22 pants and a couple of size 20s but they're just not comfortable given the waist issue.  should i keep wearing the size 24s? 

since i was a tigher size 24 for all of last year but many of these did not fit back then, i did not get a whole lot of use of the pants.  and, only 2-3 are really at the point that they are so loose that they could fall off any second.  the rest are still okay around the waist though clearly too big on me from the sides, from the legs, etc.  they just don't LOOK flattering.  i guess i'm just being cheap and don't want to spend money on more size 22 pants (i only have 2 pairs) when i am fitting into the 20s at the hips LOOSELY and when the 24s aren't falling off yet.  this is FRUSTRATING.

Good morning everyone. 

Jamie, thanks for sharing your story about your boyfriend, makes me happy that I chose to do it this way and so stubbornly refused to even consider when people asked me why I don’t, even my mother!

The advice I’d give to you is to just makes whatever little changes you can manage, and when you do “cheat” don’t feel like you have to start all over again the next week or month, our heads  (well at least mine) seam to have trouble with the concept “starting over” rather write it off as a cheat day or week or month and just move along.  I know also easier said than done!! :) 

Watchme, I have a trainer, I gave myself a present after I lost 60 pounds and hit a mammoth plateau and no matter what I did nothing was happening, I treating myself to a lot of sessions, using him till the end of the summer, I priced out private and they were 60+ and I went with a trainer through the gym, the fist lot were 56, now the second lot are 48.  And I love my time with him, I tell him I want to be in pain the whole week (he tells me I have aggression issues :) ) but in pain I am!! and yes it is very expensive and I’m completely broke, but decided now that I was so focused, now is the time to just spend the money I have and do it all.

Also you’re the exact opposite to me its funny to see, my waist is smaller than a 22, way way smaller (compliments of my trainer) but my hips are a loose 22, Hope by next week to be in 20’s, I don’t like things tight and they still feel a little snug even though my 22’s are very loose.

watchme, personally, I wouldn't spend the money on additional 22 pants since you know soon enough you'll be comfy in the 20s. But maybe that's just a reflection of my personal preference/motivation? I have a pair of j.crew jeans that I love but they haven't fit for years - basically, they're my "skinny jeans" - and I take them out to look at every once in a while to remind me of how good I felt when they did fit. (Granted, my end-goal is even less than those jeans, but they're basically my second mini-goal.)

And also, I SO wish I could afford a personal trainer, too. ::sigh::

(Side note about clothes: Isn't it so annoying that you can be one size at store A and a completely different size at store B? Especially with weight loss - you're like, "Hurrah! I'm a size smaller!" but you go to the next store and you can't get the same size pants past your thighs! Grr!)

Two additional items: One, I think I need to cut out the caffeine in my diet. I don't have a lot, but I will have a cup of coffee or a diet soda pretty much every day, and I'm finding that I'm really tired in the morning when I don't have the coffee (i.e. right now :: yaaaaawwwwnnnn::), which makes me kinda upset that I'm "dependent" on the stuff. So, yeah, starting now, not so much with the caffeine.

Two, I saw this report on CNN.com and thought I'd share it with everyone. It's nothing we don't already know about getting healthy, but I think it's motivating to hear about other people's success following similar plans to yours (calorie counting): http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/0 7/18/weight.loss.sujit/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto

Happy Wednesday, ladies! :)

watchme, just take the pants that are too big to a tailor and have them taken in. no need to get rid of them just yet if they're still in good condition.

thanks everyone like i said i thought my computer was going crazy again lol

watchme I looked at you profile and didn't see any pics

eeyvdj, i just added you so you should be able to see them now.  there's a pic of me in the 320s in green, a pic of me at 290 in a striped shirt and one in polka dots around the same weight, one at 281 with my family in front of a fountain and then a handful in the 250s (currently).

dalma, problem is that i spent only 15-20 bucks on each of these pairs of pants from jcpenney's so i really don't want to spend money to get them taken in!!  the tailors here charge about that much to fix the pants!  i think i'm just going to keep wearing the baggy 24s through the end of august then hopefully be able to transition into the size 20s and just have my two 22s as my comfort/TOM pants.  if i can be really good for 2-3 more weeks, i think that these pants will be at the "falling off" point.  they're already at the, "i can pull them forward and show you about 5 inches of room in between my stomach and the pants itself," phase.

safa, i think i am definitely going to go to a trainer but maybe just 1-2x a week.  they will force me to lift and then the rest of the time i will try to do a lot more cardio and continue to add my walks in from work and stuff.

everyone, guess what?  my religious calorie counting the past 2 days and crazy new work out routine plus post-TOM stuff plus, I think even just eating that FAT on saturday (and incorporating more healthy fats like oil into my diet) HELPED!  i'm finally, finally, FINALLY down.  255.4!!!!!!  thank goodness!!!! the main thing i can point to is that i changed up my snacks. previously, my snacks had just been 100 calorie snack packs.  the last 3 days i've instead been doing banana nut bread (not that healthy, i know, but it had added fat), lots of carrots (hadn't munched on these at all before), cherries, string cheese and cashews (good fats).  seriously, i was doing 2 100 calorie snack packs before so i think that "changing it up" in terms of WHAT i was eating definitely helped.  i'm thrilled!

watchme, firstly congratulations, and as you see persistance pays off!!! So happy that you finally see a numbers change, thats brlliant!! and the trainer thing....thats what I do, I have him most weeks 2x and some weeks 1x and the rest of the week I do cardio there on my own...I'm not paying him so he can watch me on a treadmil for half an hour, I do all weights with him...and I definately notice a huge difference...especially in my waist, I lost about 10 inches there.

 

way to go, watchme!

fantasia, 10 inches? damn!!!!

yeah its pretty crazy...everything i do with weights my trainer makes me rotate...meaning keeping my hips squared and moving my waist from side to side, or with crunches too the bicycle rotation kind of crunches...of course I'm completely not proportioned, I'm an 18 top and a loose 22 bottom also because of that, but hopefully will even out one day... I will post pics eventually, but have none at the current size, I should probably take just to remind myself how I looked along the journey, but definately that "don't come near me with the camera" person!

When friends ask me what they can do about their love handles I tell them to do a simple exercize that really helps...stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hold a stick of sorts (even a broomstick) across your shoulders and stand up straight that keeps form, and square your hips and just rotate your waist from side to side, dont move your hips....you should not be able to face all the way from side to side, if you are you're moving your hips which wont help your waist....and do that for 5 minutes a day...

hey guys, so i just called my local YMCA and talked to them about their personal training.  i can do 12 sessions with them for $360.  i'd probably do one weekday evening and then one weekend mid-afternoon session.  what do you think?  that's only $30/sesion.  the other option is to use the guy who comes to MY apt building once a week for $65/session.  the guy at the YMCA is KNOWN to get results (just like the guy who comes to my bldg) and runs a bootcamp and seems great.  the only thing is that i feel lazy about going to the Y.  then again, if i know i'm paying this much money i guess that forces me to get in my car and GO which i need to be doing.  i can also afford to see the YMCA guy twice a week then instead of seeing the other dude once a week.  what do you guys think?

go to the Y!

Congrats watchme! Good job!
I say go for the Y... I mean, you are getting 2 for 1 that way! I say twice a week is better than once a week... certainly can't be worse...

I am in so much pain today guys... I FINALLY did a work out Monday night and last night after not working out for over a month. Oh man, I am feeling it! I guess that's a good thing... hopefully that means the lbs will start moving again too. I think tonight I'll skip the workout DVD (Jillian Michaels is killing me) and maybe go for a bike ride, as long as it stops raining.

I've been having some really weird thoughts lately. It's kind of hard to explain really... but when I first started here (at 300lbs), when I would see people say they were in the 240's I thought, wow, they are so lucky. I couldn't even imagine myself being there. But now that I'm there, it's kind of surprising, like I don't believe it. The other day, I weighed at 247 and almost put 274 in my log because that just makes more sense to me. Ok, maybe I'm a crazy person but I haven't seen numbers like this for like 8+ years, and it's just very hard to get used to. If I ever hit 199, I think I might poop my pants, literally.... lol... but, this is the first time that I actually BELIEVE that I will get there... it's such a different feeling to actually believe in yourself. Strange.
I have to thank all you girls... the support and encouragement here mean so much... I just have to stop by every once-in-a-while to tell you how much you rock! Love you guys! Couldn't do it without you!

Original Post by sonini:

I've been having some really weird thoughts lately. It's kind of hard to explain really... but when I first started here (at 300lbs), when I would see people say they were in the 240's I thought, wow, they are so lucky. I couldn't even imagine myself being there. But now that I'm there, it's kind of surprising, like I don't believe it. The other day, I weighed at 247 and almost put 274 in my log because that just makes more sense to me. Ok, maybe I'm a crazy person but I haven't seen numbers like this for like 8+ years, and it's just very hard to get used to. If I ever hit 199, I think I might poop my pants, literally.... lol... but, this is the first time that I actually BELIEVE that I will get there... it's such a different feeling to actually believe in yourself. Strange.
I have to thank all you girls... the support and encouragement here mean so much... I just have to stop by every once-in-a-while to tell you how much you rock! Love you guys! Couldn't do it without you!

Ditto. It totally freaks me out to think about wearing the same size pants I wore in middle school. But you have come so far! And you're doing great! :)

Original Post by sonini:

I've been having some really weird thoughts lately. It's kind of hard to explain really... but when I first started here (at 300lbs), when I would see people say they were in the 240's I thought, wow, they are so lucky. I couldn't even imagine myself being there. But now that I'm there, it's kind of surprising, like I don't believe it. The other day, I weighed at 247 and almost put 274 in my log because that just makes more sense to me. Ok, maybe I'm a crazy person but I haven't seen numbers like this for like 8+ years, and it's just very hard to get used to. If I ever hit 199, I think I might poop my pants, literally.... lol... but, this is the first time that I actually BELIEVE that I will get there... it's such a different feeling to actually believe in yourself. Strange.

sonini, i have been having the exact sort of thoughts.  in fact, i almost feel as though i've tried to stall or mentally sabotage myself these past 2 months to kind of stay where i'm at as a place of comfort.  like i needed to get "used to" being in the 250s again and at my 2001 weight.  now that i'm used to it i'm like hell yeah bring on another 22 lbs loss (well, 20 as of today!) cuz THEN it's a huge psychological hurdle that i'm over again:  I will be at my 1997 weight.  I struggled with the same 20 lbs up and down up and down between 1997-2000 so for me, getting to 235 lbs really does take me "back" quite a bit in terms of the years.  your mind basically needs to catch up with you slimmer body. 

actually, there are these studies about how people plateau at weights that their bodies were at for a while.  i'm starting to think that that's not even for physical reasons but perhaps, is even for mental reasons.  like, maybe i needed to take a pseudo "break" or maintenance for about 2 months to really attack now AND maybe it's because the 250s was a familiar territory that i hovered at for a good 2 years or so and so it was comforting to stay.  yeah, yeah i can say this now that i've finally seen the scale move this morning but, seriously, i was not bringing my A-game every single day and i was not counting as religiously as I should have been.  hopefully, i can hit the 230s have a mini freak out and hit the 200 and teens by year-end to be at my 1995 weight.  now THAT would be sensational!!!!

determining healthy weights.

you guys, i'm getting all confused by the numbers.  there are numbers being thrown at me left and right.  i don't even care about sizes, anymore, though i want to be a size 14 in life, maximum.

i'm a south asian gal, just about 5'3".  (i know ethnicity sometimes gets factored into body fat percentages, body weight, etc.)  i don't know what my "frame" size is but i'm guessing it's a medium cuz i never looked like a dainty petite thing and i never looked huge either.  that wrist test showed me as a large frame but now as a medium frame.  when i was 135 lbs and 5'1" i was wearing medium tops and size 8 bottoms.  that was when i was 11 years old though!!  any ideas about what a realistic end goal should be?

i've been saying that i'll adjust once i hit a size 14 to kind of "wait and see" but it'd be nice to have a number in mind.  right now, i've selected 165 because that takes me out of the "obese" range according to the BMI calculations.  but, i'm sure i need to lose some more beyond that and just want a realistic sense of how much more to BE HEALTHY.  nothing to do with looks. 

i've heard that the BMI calculations aren't as good to care about as the body fat percentages calculations.  then again, i've heard there's certain things about frame size/weight, etc.  is 130-135 lbs too low or too high given my stats assuming i'm in a healthy body fat percentage?  i just don't know.

 

are you guys basing your end goals on an outfit or a way you look or a time that you were at a weight you liked that you liked the way you looked best?  or, are you guys all secretly hoping to be really skinny size 0's or 2's?? 

i honestly don't care for the 0/2 thing.  i cannot even fathom being a size 8 but somehow, that has always felt like the perfect size in my mind.  but, like i said, i'll just be happy maintaining a size 14 at most for the rest of my life.  just wanted to get people's 2 cents on the topic!!

watchme & sonini: you are NOT alone! i was just thinking this stuff about myself, too!

first, i surprised the hell out of myself by actually believing i'll be 200 lbs one day (soon, fingers crossed). it was like a given, doubtless. however, i also realized this plateau was self-imposed, because i was losing weight so well, and probably the thought of actually being thin freaked me out. i remember when i went to all the thin department stores, especially nordstrom, and i was so overwhelmed by the choices thin women have in their clothes, and felt so intimidated by those clothes and the sizes and what that would mean to/for me when i get there, that i just kinda screwed myself up, resulting in a net gain of 1 pound for july.

watchme, my end goal number is based on how i think i'll look at that weight. i haven't weighed 150 since 7th grade, and i don't remember what i looked like. but i figured w/ my stature, that should be a solid size 8 for me, and i don't really wanna push myself to be any smaller, b/c not one woman in my family is thin, except for the 2 smoker/drinkers. i don't wanna have to struggle the rest of my life to fit in my clothes.