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!

welcome marisuke! and good job on the 16 lbs!

how's everyone doing? i had an incredible weekend! i don't wanna get into the whole thing, but it was so amazingly fun. but then on the ride home this morning, i found myself thinking about that jerk i had to dump last week, and i all of a sudden missed him! i was like, wtf? but i missed him, so i let myself think about him, but i didn't call him. that's the real victory.

oh, and ally, while i was gone i thought of what to write to H McSP, but thanks! i just sent the pm, so i'll see if he responds.

Welcome Marisuke!

Dalma, you're definitely going to have to tell us how that goes.  Very curious to hear. 

Currently procrastinating and should actually get some work done.  Sigh.

dang it's slow where is everyone! I'm doing good, lazy day for me....I slept half the day away....Hope everyone is doing great!!

Seriously, where'd ya'll go?

So, had dinner out to defrost, everything was ready to go for dinner later.  Well, our power went out.  And was going to be out until who knows when.  It's back on now, but had to figure out something else for dinner.  So, grabbed food out.  Ate more cals than I had planned, but still had plenty left in my day.  Just messes up my whole schedule.  And I need to work out tonight.  Debated doing in this morning, but wound up getting up a little later than I meant to and I had to run by the office too. 

Oh, I got mooned yesterday.  Was quite humerous, going to one of my client's houses on this super bumpy road.  And these 2 teens in a pickup truck are going slower than me (and I go slow cause I'm not used to it and afraid of hurting my car).  And the driver, yes the DRIVER, opens his door, hangs his whole body out the door and moons me.  I wind up passing them and am far enough ahead of them when I look in the rearview and see them pulling up on me.  They follow me to the client's house.  They get out and basically say, "I'm sorry ma'am.  I thought you were somebody else, so I apologize."  How did they mistakenly moon somebody???  Crazy, but made me, my clients, my hubby all laugh.  Sigh, redneck young'uns.

liza, that's hilarious!!!!! but it was sweet that they were thoughtful enough to apologize, even if they were stupid enough to have the driver do the mooning!

as for H McSP, he responded but either i was too platonic or he's just not interested, b/c his response is very friendly, like hostess friendly. empty, but with a smile. it makes sense, since we don't know each other and i didn't mention liking him at all (it's complicated), but i don't know how to respond. he didn't ask me anything but he didn't blow me off either, so i don't wanna just drop it here.

this is nuts! i think his high-level hotness is making me loopy. i ALWAYS know what to say, but i've never tried to woo a 10 before. (maybe he's a 9.5.) i wasn't even gonna send the first message b/c i figured he was outta my league, but then i was thinking, hotties have to date, too, so why shouldn't i try to be one of those dates? which is why i sent it. but now i'm on here, bs'ing, avoiding writing him back b/c his hotness initimdates me.

edit: okay, i thought of what to say, so i wrote it and i sent it. ahh...i feel better! i'll stop pestering you guys about it now!

Dalma, glad you figured out what to say.  But yeah, of course his first response will be friendly.  It's not like he knows that you're looking to be more than friendly (or extra friendly, whichever).  And besides, you'll have to get to know each other, be more friend like at first.  Well, that's what I'd probably do, but that's just me!

So, I don't have a ton of shoes.  While I really do like shoes, I have one of those impossible sizes.  It's a pain in the butt.  Think clothes shopping, but take away every other size.  And besides, shoes cost money, so I live with what I have.  Well, apparently I wore out one of my very often worn sandals.  They're really cute, although they were starting to look a bit used.  And my other pair of black sandals is just as bad as these.  I have some that are fancier, but the one pair's a bit big and the other is a bit painful (awesome shoe, but saved for better occassions like job interviews, dressing up a bit).  Ugh, so frustrated, cause I looked on the website I normally use and they have only a few pairs of sandals not in my size and not so cute.  I think I hate buying shoes more than clothes.  So, I dunno what I'll do.  It's still capri weather here.  Ugh, I completely forgot that at the end of my more winter shoe season, I thought to myself that I have to buy new winter shoes.  I'm screwed!!  Probably put it off hoping that I'd find better stuff now.  I was also thinking (at least the sandals) that they'd have stuff on sale.  Stupid shoe people!  Just cause my feet are big and wide, doesn't mean I want to wear grandma shoes!!!!

On another note, I decided to read up more on HIIT training.  And tried some tonight.  OMG.  I felt like my chest was going to explode.  Granted, part of that was the wheezing from my asthma.  I couldn't even last 30 secs, closest I got was about 24 secs.  Felt like my legs were going to buckle.  So, really kicked my butt.  So, that's a good thing, for the most part.  Just tired now.

Lurkers, we better hear from you!

Editted to add: I just did a journal entry with some of the shoes that I've seen that might work.  Take a look, cause I could use some opinions.

Good Morning ladies. Just stopping in to say hi. My weight is still the same as Saturday's. Which is so uncool.....We'll see what happens for the rest of the week. Told myself I would get up and workout this morning - even if it was for just 20 minutes. I dragged myself out of bed convinced I would do my "30 day shred" video and couldn't get it to work. (Maybe my DVD player got messed up in the move?) So I did 15 minutes of random things - jumping jacks, jump rope, step-ups, lunges, squats, crunches. It got my heart rate up at least, even if it wasn't too much. I'll shoot for more tomorrow.

I found a picture of me from 2 Christmas's ago - I think it was at least, and wow, I can really tell the weight I've lost. I need to carry it around in my purse as a reminder!

Well, I'm off to work. Have a great day!

liza, hiit is awesome! it burns the fat pretty well, in my experience. but you shouldn't be wheezing and whatnot. i have asthma too, so i also have to watch out for that. just as long as there's a noticeable difference between your low interval and your high interval (increased breathing, faster heart rate, but you're not dying), then it's doing what it needs to do. the whole point of hiit is to train your cardiovascular system, to make it stronger. you don't have to explode your heart in the process!

dani, good for you for dragging your carcass outta bed early to do some exercise! especially for doing some even though you had an easy excuse not to (i prolly woulda gone back to bed!). and don't you love it when you find evidence of your progress? it feels great!

girls, i think my brain is catching up to my weight. i'm finally starting to realize i'm not super huge anymore. i can finally see the progress i've made, and i can see that i'm almost normal-size-looking. of course, it helps that i've been able to go shopping w/ a bunch of my slimmer friends at "their" stores, and wind up w/ way more stuff than they do! and it helps that guys have been able to wrap their arms all the way around me, even while sitting! i don't know how many of you know what a big deal that is! it sucks when someone's arm can only reach like the middle of your back, or like just your side, but when it can go all the way around, and when you're sitting next to each other, not just face to face? come on! THAT'S progress!

so does realizing i'm not that many pounds away from the 100s anymore. while i was at the gym last night, pounding it out for another 2 hours, all i could say to myself was "199, 199." it's not that far away anymore, and that doesn't blow my mind! i just hope that the strength training doesn't stall the scale for very long. it already has--i'm 0.6 lbs more today than i was last week--but i'm not gonna freak out about it. when i was changing into my gym clothes last night i looked down at my legs. my thighs are getting ripped! and so are my arms; it's wierd to move my arms and see muscles flex, but SO cool! i know it's not from just a coupla days of strength training, but from the whole year of work i've put in so far. the fat's going away and i can see my awesome muscles way better now.oh, and i noticed my stomach fat roll is like, centimeters away from being flat. WHAT?!?!? yeah, centimeters! i don't know how many pounds that is, but it's not a whole bunch more.

i'm totally in a good weight loss mood today!

welcome to everyone new.

totally been a lurker for a couple days, just have had lots to do at work...but decided I must write, cos when I start loosing touch here, I start loosing touch on the scale and everything else...it all connects, for me anyway!

dani, good job on the everything, and totally carry around a picture, I keep telling myself to do the same thing too, since when I see myself it's taken what seems to have been so long to get to where I am now that I forgot what I was back then, and still see big, and then when I do look at the pictures from last year I get a really good feeling, real hopeful to not give up, cos I'm more than half way, and I have pics to prove it!!

dalma, that's definately progress!! my brain is NOT catching up, I still look in the mirror and see huge, anf fat and loose skin and all that, eventhough I went shopping this week and bought some 14/16 tops and they're not even tight, they're very roomy, I was blown away by that, but when I look in the mirror when I'm not dressed I just see all the bad.  but you know I'm totally feeling your weight loss good mood today!!! Thanks :)

liza, I'm with dalma, you probably shouldn't be dying from your workout :), but I think I'm also gonna try the HIIT, I looked into it a while ago, but didn't actually do anything about it, but now you reminded me that I think I should look into it again. 

It's wierd I know I am way way way more fit than I was a year ago, but I still don't feel anywhere near fit, even with working out 5-6 times a week, both cardio and weight training..anyone else feel that??

Hi everyone!

Dalma, I'm glad you thought of the right things to say!  Good for you, chica!  Keep us updated about what happens! :-)  And I'm so jealous about your rapidly shrinking belly!  Way to get ripped! :-)

Liza, have you tried shopping at endless.com?  They have a TON of sizes and usually the shipping is free!  I'm the exact opposite of you about shoes: I LOVE shoes!  I think it's because it's the only aspect of shopping where I could be normal my entire life.  I could go shoe shopping with my friends and try things on and wear the same shoes they did!  In any case, because of my deep, undying love of fashionable footwear I know a bunch of shoe sites to shop from if you want to hear some more, but endless is probably your best bet of finding cute shoes in all sizes.  As far as HIIT goes, it's really hard for me too!  I've been told that it becomes HIIT and not just regular interval training when you work yourself to exhaustion.  Because of that, when I first tried it back in May I decided to do just regular intervals since HIIT is so hard, but maybe I should try working myself harder now...  *sigh*  It's totally worth it but it makes me tired just thinking about it!  In any case, good luck with HIIT, but be careful and listen to your body! :-)

Fayny, you're not alone... my brain takes a while to catch up with my body too.  And you should totally carry a pic if that'll help remind you how far you've come... You look AMAZING! :-)   

So I had one of those weekends that involved non-stop moving, and consequently TONS of impromptu meals at restaurants.  Since they were last minute it meant that I had no time to decide what to eat beforehand, and was totally starving by the time we ate, which of course leads to overeating and ordering really, really unhealthy meals.  *sigh*  Today is my official weigh-in day, and I'm sure 169 has gone back into hiding and I'll be greeting a 170-something instead.  Oh well... At least I had it for a moment. :-(  Maybe I'll see it again next week!  Other than that, things are pretty good with me... I'm getting back on track, I think, and I'm feeling much more balanced than I was all summer, which is probably the key to me getting back on track.  The only bad thing is that I've been having cravings like crazy!  I want carbs all the time!  I've had to cut them out completely for this week since I had so much trouble controlling myself this weekend.  Seriously, there was not a fry or biscuit or pastry that I met this weekend that didn't find it's way into my mouth!  So until I get back under control, it's all veggies and meats and dairy for me.  If only I'd stop dreaming of pasta, lol! :-)

Dani, that's great seeing old pictures of you.  I get that same feeling of wow, I'm really losing weight, when I start to fit in clothes and can actually remember when I used to wear them, how long ago it's been.  But, pictures have an extra special motivating factor.

HIIT training...well, I thought I knew what it was until I started to read thisthread over in the fitness forum.  Basically, you all push yourself the hardest you possibly can for 30 seconds, almost to exhaustion.  Don't worry, I wasn't dying...think my chest exploding was asthma and not heart rate.  I feel my asthma worst in my chest, like a brick is sitting on top of it pressing down.  Same sorta feeling, and my heart rate was still alright, according to the machine.  I'll try to pay more attention next time I do it.  When I'm doing my interval training, I'll get my heart rate into the 160s anyway.  What they were saying was that a lot of people do regular interval training thinking that it'**** training.  My favorite comment was: HIIT is the one where you go so fast during the fast parts that you feel like throwing up after 30 seconds or so...some of us like that sort of stuff.  Also, beginning HIIT'ers aren't supposed to be able to go for more than 6-8 minutes, 10 minutes MAX.  And that's about how I felt.  I did about 23 min of just regular elliptical and then did only 3 intervals of hiit.  But, I totally felt it and felt great after.  Very tired, but great.  They also caution doing more than 2-3 HIIT sessions a week.

I think one of my frustrations is how long working out takes.  By the time I do my cardio (30-50 min depending on the day), my weights, my stretching, and my shower, it's 2 hours later.  I can't imagine having kids and doing this too, don't know how it would work.  That's part of the draw for HIIT for me.  I want my time back more.

Dalma, very exciting about being able to be hugged that way!  I totally understand what you're talking about.  I'm also cautious about people accidentally putting their hands in bad fatty areas while hugging.  And I know the feeling of being almost to the x99's.  I'm about 100 more than you and am freaking thrilled about being under 300.  So I can't imagine how much more excited you must be to almost have a 1 in front!!!

Fay, I feel much more fit than I did when I first started all this.  But, I also think that I don't look anywhere near fit, cause I'm still a fatty.  I bet that's part of it, you start to feel fit when you start to look fit, when you start to see those muscles.  Hope everything's going well in your hectic schedule!

Ally, I'm looking at them now.  I've been looking at Cloudwalkers and Zappos mainly.  But, Endless.com seems great too!  Liking some of the prices too.  I really do like shoes, I just get frustrated at the inability to buy cute, comfy shoes for me.  And you'll see 169 again, even if it isn't today.  But at least after the damage, you're making it work for you again!

And thanks to the journal comments.  And special thanks to Sonini who put me on the trail of Payless.  I didn't realize that they had a decent wide selection in my size.  Wound up getting a pair of sandals and 2 1/2 inch mules for $38 (could have been cheaper but I didn't want to wait the time for the free shipping to the store).  The ones I had found were more expensive, although I really want one of them but can't justify spending over $50 on a pair that I won't wear all that often.  Even though I really love them.

Sorry for the rambling, have so many things I should be doing!

liza, i started at 320 lbs, so believe me when i say i know how excited you are too! i remember when i finally saw 290-something on the scale. i was freaking ecstatic!

oh, and the arm on the fatty places still gets me too. this cutie had his arm around me this weekend, and of course he decides to leave his hand on my side fat roll. i'm thinking, doesn't he realize that's a big ol' piece of fat? why doesn't he move his hand? but he didn't, and i wasn't about to make him move!

ally, i'm sure your weigh-in should be okay. crazy weekends happen! besides, even if it is up, you've still come a helluva way from where you started, right?

and about fitness? i think i'm delusional. i always think i'm more fit than i am, then i go to do something crazy and i almost have a heart attack.

Hey ladies...

Just thought I would check in....when I had a personal trainer all they did with me was hitt...and it didn't matter how big I was or how out of shape but they had me push myself to exhaustion and for a 20 minute hitt work-out--now it may be different for other people since I was under the supervision of a trainer... here is an example work out I would do on the elliptical

5 minute warm-up of course

20 to 30 seconds going as fast as I can and they pushed the resistance up to an 8 to 10, heart rate got up to 190 max --Also this just wasn't my legs--I had to use the elliptical with the handle bars  

1 minute slow down keeping my heart up at around 110, 0 resistance (They said the better in shape I got the lower this number will go and that some people only get 15 second rest times--yikes!)

Then I would repeat for 20 minutes...Then cool down for 5 to 10 minutes....At times i felt like I was going to throw-up or pass out or my legs were going to fall off or I felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest--but at the end-- I was fine..Also sometimes it took up to an hour after my work-out for my body to calm down ...It's not easy girls, I was on the verge of tears sometimes--but I always made sure to let my trainers know...As soon as I get my elliptical I'm going to try it again..... So maybe we can support each other

I'm supposed to hear back from a job today, if I got it or not..I'm super nervous.. It looks like I"m going to have 2 jobs to choose from, that I really really want both..... Hope everyone is having a great day!

the job thing sounds great boots! i've got my fingers crossed for you!

w/ intervals, i just did it myself, and i didn't push myself as hard as your trainers pushed you boots. i was too scared to! but i could have, i'm sure. my trainer pushed me tonight. i usually burn 400-500 cals at the gym at one time. tonight i burned like 1200 cals, and that's a low estimate, since that only includes 100 cals for the 30-40 mins of strength training.

ok, so I was a little disappointed, I didn't hear back from the job today but I  did find out that some of my references haven't responded yet --because they told me, lol---so I guess I'm just waiting on my references...o'well...I have all the time in the world to wait!

Dalma, that's crazy..You have come so far and I'm jealous of your almost flat stomach.....I still have a long way to go but you are super taller than me,so envious.....Great job with all the workin out....

I've decided to take the week off exercising..I may wait to start exercising when my elliptical machine gets here...My diet is perfect, so I'm not worried... Hope everyone is having a great night!

i think i need to clarify about the stomach. one of my fat rolls is almost gone, but there's still some landscape that could go! but yeah, tonight was super nuts, calorie-burn-wise. but i'll deal w/ it since i didn't eat very well this weekend, and i have a goal to meet. takes work, work i haven't really put in this year. i kinda phoned it in before now, so a few weeks/months of intense workouts is okay for a jumpstart to the next phase of all this.

i wish i could say my diet was perfect, but it's so not! i'm pretty good at staying w/in calorie limits, but it's not always the healthiest things, b/c i just can't get back into cooking! argh!

hey ladies!

I'm back after a couple of days of "break", weight losing got me down lately since I was becoming a bit obsessed with it instead on focusing on getting healthier. Now I'm ready to roll full steam into healthy eating again. I haven't messed it up completely I just spent a couple of days at maintainance and walking a lot. Water intake has improved and my next weigh-in is next week.

I'm feeling now a bit more enthusiastic about sticking to healthy eating mainly because I got an internship in a production house and I want to have enough energy to rush around the office, keep in touch with my friends and keep up with my schoolwork (which due to the presidential race and the economy has become a really tedious-slash-depressing neverending cycle of reading and discussing tons of blogs, media interviews, debate recaps and stockmarket reports:S).

welcome to everyone new!

ana, your career path sounds so cool! even the tedious stuff!

morning girls!

i have a piece of advice i wish someone had told me years ago: never date within your circle of friends, no matter how large or small.

i just got an evite to a halloween party, so i rsvp yes. then, out of curiosity, i look to see if mr. philly's been invited too. we share some of the same friends, so it's possible. and of course, he's been invited. and he said yes. and he's bringing a plus one! come on! i don't wanna see him again, and i sure as hell don't wanna see him again with another girl! especially if i'm there without someone! i'm not cancelling the rsvp; i'm still gonna go, have fun, and try to ignore his existence. but damn, this sucks!