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!

Hey ladies, I'm alive. I have some catching up to do.

fallon I'm sending happy peaceful juju your mom's way, whatever it is I hope everything is okay.

Went to the gym at 5am this morning with my sister. Yeah, she hates me.

It'll take me some time to read through all 30something posts, but I'll get back on track sometime this week.

here's hoping things turn out for the best, fallon!

sigh...i have stopped losing weight, girls. the same thing happened this exact time last year. for some reason i always pick the last 3-4 months of the year to start lifting weights again, and as soon as i do the weight loss just STOPS. i'm not gonna stop lifting though, b/c i know it's good for me. without lifting i know i'd lose faster, but it'd probably be muscle mass i'd be burning off. so i'd weigh less but i'd still be jiggly. not cute.

it's just getting so effing hard to keep my eating under control now that i do the weights. i can't get a handle on this. i've been reviewing my food choices; most days i only eat 3 meals but i'm starving the entire time i'm not eating. and even those 3 meals tend to go over the number of calories i wanted to eat. i can not seem to stick to 1400 calories. crap.

i have to find a way to rein in the calories. maybe next week i'll bump it up to 1600 cals and see how that works. then if i can handle that, i'll decrease it by 50 cals a day the next week. having to keep tweaking this is so annoying! it's like, why can't my body just act like a dude's; just stop eating chips and drinking beer and my belly disappears in 5 minutes. men suck.

i just went over my calorie intake for the last 3 months and i've been averaging 1370 cals a day. pretty much on target. but my weight's being a jerk! so i'm hoping that adding a couple more cals will shake things up a bit.

Hi ladies, I hope you all had a great Halloween! I was at a library conference all weekend and I just got back on Monday night. Needless to say, I have been doing very badly with the weight loss. Last week I weighed myself and took my blood pressure daily and both were high :-( So I am focusing mainly right now on being healthy. I'd like to start running/biking/weight lifting again and working on eating less than 1600 calories a day. I have just been pigging out and going to restaurants and I feel disgusting. I am so happy for Ana for fitting into those 10's! And Dalma, you looked absolutely fabulous in that outfit you posted! Good job on the gym, Mladdy :-) Fallon, you and your mother will be in my prayers. I hope that whatever is going on gets resolved peacefully.

My hubby and I are in the process of house hunting right now; my grandpa is giving us a loan for a down payment so we can really start looking. So I have that, school, work, a lack of money, the holidays, and my complete and utter lack of motivation to work out and eat well that I am dealing with :-/ However, just coming on here this morning and logging my breakfast and reading the posts is helping me feel less mopey and bad, and is helping me feel more like I can actually do this! So thanks ;-)

I need to get back on track, but saying it isn't actually doing it.  I'm a procrastinator and I am sitting here trying to figure out why I just can't seem to get back on track.  Geez, is it really rocket science?  Just DO IT ALREADY!  Can someone just scream that at me please?  Good intentions are fat!

Akasha-great pics!

Dalma-I eat oatmeal and tea with splenda for breakfast.  It seems to keep me full for a while but I have never met a food that keeps me full for more than a few hours.  Especially in the morning it seems like I am ravenous all morning no matter what I eat!  I do the same thing when I am bored I think about what I'm gonna eat next and then I just want to eat it so badly RIGHT THEN!  It makes me so hungry.  Is this what drug addicts feel like except they never get to eat?

shapie-welcome back!  Great job at the gym!

ana-I love salsa!  the problem is I love cheese too! :(

mladdy-I can't wait for you to see that like instant 4lb drop!  Fingers crossed!

fallon-hope everything works out ok

Fallon: Thoughts are with you :)

Ana: 10's! Whoot!

Dalma: I hear ya on not losing any weight but unlike you I haven't been doing anything... Keep lifting those weights. Whether you are dropping pounds or not you are overall getting healthier and you look FABU! Now if only I could take my own advice and put down the Cheetos... You should be able to view my photo's any time anywhere :)

Kathleen: Sounds like big things are happening for you! Congrats!

To all who commented on my pics - Thanks!

I've scheduled some gym visits into my BlackBerry... Hopefully that helps cause lately I've been "just soooo busy"

iwill- Me and cheese... I have a running thing with Dan. I once told him I loved him more then cheese. It turned into this big inside joke... I LOVE me some cheese. I could write an ode to cheese. And I was all geared up and ready to go with getting back on track... But I'm struggling. I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating... I've been doing AWESOME (for me) on my exercise for the week... But I haven't been doing well with my eating. It seems like I can focus on exercise, OR I can focus on the diet, but I've rarely gotten it together enough to get both in at the same time. It's going to be okay, though... When you're ready, you'll get back in there. Just tell yourself it's TIME. I gave myself a stern talking to this morning about my eating the last few days. I've got "red" days on my calender, already, and we're only 4 days into the month. It's SO frustrating to FEEL gung-ho and then realize you're still not doing what you should do... But we can do this, hon. We know what we NEED to do... Let's just DO it!! 

fallon- Hope everything turns out okay. Sending happy vibes your way. 

akasha- You already know how I feel about your pics. You look HOT!

kathleen- We're all creatures of habit, and restaurants are my bane at the moment, too. I'm burnt out on them, on a level, but at the same time it's like... Monday is dart night... Which means too much beer out at the bar usually followed by a drunken Taco Bell run.  We have a pizza buffet in town, and now it's "tradition" that we go out there on Tuesdays... And I simply can't behave myself at a buffet. It's sick, but that's just part of who I am. They're BAD NEWS for me, all the way around. Wed. is often another fast food run 'cause Dan has bowling and he gets home so damn late. Thursdays I work, so again, out late and I'm just not cooking dinner at 10:00 at night after running my tail off for 8 hours. Fridays can be good, but sometimes it's the start of the weekend and all that... Saturdays out to the folks for beer and home cooking. Which should be better then eating out, but usually it's a big, heavy Mexi-Style spread. Sundays are always good food days, for some reason. It's all so stupid, and when I was doing better, this stuff wasn't going on like this... But we've been doing the above for over a month, so now it's all about breaking bad habits and routines all over again... Easier said then done. Hang in there, girl! We'll get past this!! 

dalma- So foxy, girl. Really. Damn. 

ana- Sounds like you're doing great!

"Hi" to shapie! 

mladdy- I mentioned it, but I AM really glad you’re back, hon! It’s SO good to see you. 

Ok, so I just spent a GARGANTUAN amount on a (one, uno, singular) pair of exercise pants, but I <3 them!  Check out lululemon.com!  They are reversible, so I guess I could technically say that they are 2 pairs.  At least that's what I'm telling my husband.    I've been at the gym for at least an hour (2 or 3 hrs some days) every gosh darn day, and I still have no loss to report.  I'm eating ok.  Need more veggies (which is retarded for a near vegetarian to say, but I just don't eat enough of them), more fruit, and less fat.  My favorite breakfast (or lunch) lately is an egg over easy w/an extra egg white with 2 pieces of wheat berry bread and butter.  My other morning meal is Quaker Oatmeal (the extra fiber kind in Cinnamon Swirl) w/a 1/4 cup of extra oats and a cup of blueberries.  Either of these keep me full ALLLLL morning long, and sometimes I don't even remember it's time to eat lunch til my 3 yr old reminds me.  Try these if you're feeling hungry before noontime!

mladdy, i found that when i was pounding it hard at the gym like that, i didn't lose any weight either. i did this for months, and stayed the exact same weight. what worked for me was either cooling it on the gym, and just doing 30-60 minute sessions of moderate intensity, or eating more so that my daily deficit stayed around 700-1000 calories. (i alternated between the two).

actually i'm in the middle of that same situation right now, so instead of slacking off at the gym, i'm upping my cals, so i'll have an 800 cal deficit instead of a 1000 cal deficit. i only started this monday, so i don't know if it's gonna work this time around. i'll let you guys know monday.

Good morning everyone.

Not sure where I left off so will just jump in...

Mladdy, I also switched things up at the gym, I stopped doing as much cardio as I used to and take a bootcamp class i the mornings Mon-Thurs, Tues I go back in the afternoon for spin, Fri I try go in the morning for cardio and sundays too.  So far I lost 15lbs this last couple of weeks, but it was weight I had regained over the summer, the real test will be coming up in 10 lbs, my lowest ever was 215 and I just can't seen to get below it, but hoping this new change in routine will help me out, keeping my fingers crossed.

Fallon, hope everything is ok!

Akash...I read an article that said its a good thing to do to schedule gym time and things like that...so hoping that works for you :) for me I either have to go right before work or right after...its that time in between that always gets me!

Iwill..."good intentions are fat" I like that...sooooo true!! Get back on to things sista! you don't want to be relosing any more weight!

Dalma...I think I'm having the opposite problem...I'm so scared of eating these days, I don't always make it to my cals!  Perhaps you need a few more cals when you're doing the weights! Also have mostly protein after working out they say thats what rebuilds the muscle...and fuels it. Also you shouldnt be starving between meals, you should have snacks....I keep nuts at work, and have a small handful for an 11am snack, and then 4ish I have a yogurt or fruit, so I'm not starving by the time meal time comes along, also I try not to drink at meal times, I drink between meal times so it keeps me full!

Shapie....I also started going to the gym in the eary AM (not that early though, but I do get up at 4.30 2x's a week) and must say I'm enjoying it...though I could not get my sister there with me at that time if I paid her to be there.

Mladdy:I know you love the gym but maybe a break? That's a lot of time to be spending in the gym and then I know you are very active with your jobs. I just don't see you needing that much time in the gym. I know most people would ask, are you eating enough? I dunno...I know everyone has to do it their own way..Who am I to talk? As I'm not even exercising currently but I'm with Dalma on this one, when I was exercising 2-3 hours in the gym--I did it for 4 months, I didn't lose any weight. So I went to see a personal trainer and she said I was overdoing it and that my body was exhausted. And all an exhausted body does is to  hold on to as much weight/fat as it can because you burn it out and it goes into shock. She also said it was really bad on my joints, and did I want to have a cane when I got older? Of course, I said NO...She said the MAX I should do is 60 minutes of a day in the gym. But like I said, I support you !

Eeek...I'm just lurking lately ladies..I'm busy apartment searching and cleaning the current apartment I live in..and all that fun stuff..You know how that is....Plus just the day in and day out of my job is stressful enough...So I'm a lurker lately..After December, I'll be here more

sigh...i'm tryna force myself to go to the gym today. i really have no excuse not to. there's one here in my office building; i even parked next to it to guilt myself into going. then there's another one across the street. it's just that it's so much easier being lazy, which i guess is what got me into this mess.

i heard something on tv last night, that you only get out what you put in. and that if you don't put anything in, you don't get anything out. so what right do i have to expect to lose weight when i'm unwilling to do the work that'll make that happen? again, this is me tryna psych myself up. arrggh, fine! i'll go to the friggin' gym!!!!

posted a journal entry for all of the core.  i have hit rock bottom.  sadly, work is still crazy too.

Akela: My love of cheese, and yours too, is unrequited. Just remember - cheese does not love you back *SOB*

Mladdy: Lulu's? You go girl!!! I think it helps to wear nice clothes when you work out :) For me though I am stuck in that rut where I don't wanna buy anything nice/expensive cause I won't wanna throw it out when I lose the weight. Meanwhile I havent' lost that much size wise and could've gotten a year out of a pair of Lulu's!!! LOL "Need more veggies, more fruit, and less fat." I think we should all make that our mantra!

Fayny: I too have to go right after work. But if I don't plan it out something will "come up". I hope it works for me too. First scheduled session is tomorrow afternoon! You are so gonna hit 215 :D

hey ladies!

Work has been crazy this week. I can't wait for Thanksgiving so I can catch a break. Sadly, I'm still exercising but not keeping track of my calories. I always start so good but mess up by dinner time. I'm seriously thinking on zig zagging calories next week, if I'm going to splurge on calories I rather have a planned splurge than this unplanned mess I'm doing.

to all: thanks for the congrats!

mladdy, glad to hear from you!

akela, iwill, you know cheese is addictive. It has casein, which is a component that makes you feel good. I also love cheese, I can actually eat it for the three meals of the day and still be wanting so more. So I try to buy it in singles packages or buy low fat cottage cheese. I actually like to eat cottage cheese with my cereal instead of milk.

 

hi ladies.  happy friday.

hey ladies,

i was wondering if anyone has tried prepared meals?  i think someone mentioned using nutrisystem but not liking it very much.  the 2 companies i am considering right now are SEATTLE SUTTON (which is a franchise) and a Chicago-based company called ALTER EATGO.

Here is what I have found on Alter Eatgo (www.altereatgo.com)

http://inchicity.com/alter-eatgo?nomobile

Anyone have an opinion?  A whole week of food at the 2000 calorie level for Seattle Sutton costs $155 and for Alter Eatgo costs $220.  With Seattle Sutton, I pick up the food twice a week and it is 4 blocks away from my home.  With Alter Eatgo, they deliver the food twice a week, in the evenings.  So, with both plans, the food is fresh and kept in the fridge... you do not do the whole frozen foods thing or the yucky preservatives that they put in Lean Cuisines and the like to freeze the food, and which is bad for you.  For both plans, I do not have to commit to more than a week at the time so worst case, I may just get a week of each and see which one I like better....

Both are steep, pricing wise, but I really feel like this is the only way I am going to see results with my crazy work hours.  Also, I am finding more and more that because I am too tired to grocery shop during the limited free time that I do have, I tend to run to McDonalds (across the street) or 7-11 and buy crap for all of my meals... I need to break this cycle.

What do you guys think?  I know that ideally I should be planning out my meals myself and that this is NOT a long-term solution to maintaining a healthy life but, especially as a single girl who lives alone and works 65+ hours a week, I also think that having a partner one day and not just cooking for myself or being the only one to cook, grocery shop, and do all other household chores and errands, PLUS having someone who will be there to share the bills and hence, not having to work as hard, will allow me to reach that balance better.

I really want candid opinions and advice from all of you. 

(Oh, and a shout out to Boots for sending me a whole list of possible food delivery places from which I narrowed my search.)

Just an update:  I can start Seattle Sutton on Monday (and they offered $10 off my first order) so I am going to try it out.  The soonest I can try out Alter Eatgo is November 16th (and I have to place the order by Thursday). 

The one downside is that the food delivery, twice a week, for Alter Eatgo is between 5 PM to 9 PM and they do not guarantee any one time... So, I could potentially be at work.  Or, I could get the food delivered to work (though that means I could potentially be sitting here til 9 PM each night) and have to haul the dinners for 3-4 hour days home and leave the other half -- presumably, all the breakfasts and lunches -- in the fridge here.  With Seattle Sutton, I have to pick up by 6:30 each day but at least if I need to come back to work, I can do so.

IF ONLY I had a normal job where I had predictable hours!!!!!!!

watchme- I do "do it yourself" pre-packaged, quite a bit. (Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Healthy Choice... (All of which claim, now-a-days that they're prepared with no preservatives.) And a couple of the girls just turned me onto Progresso Light Soups which are the best "snack" for me, ever... Sometimes it's just easier if I'm fixing the boys something that I'm not comfortable eating or whatever. Sodium is a bit high, of course, but if you're getting your water in, it shouldn't be a huge issue. Sodium is going to be high on the home delivery stuff, too, and this is SO much cheaper, there's way more variety, etc. If you're eating a stand-alone type meal I'd just try to make sure you're finding entres with vegetables in them. If you've got more time at home you can supplement a side veggie of your own, when applicable. Make sure you're supplementing your pre-packaged stuff with fresh fruits and veggies (when you can) and dairy, if you eat dairy. 

For me it boils down to a money thing, but I guess if you can afford the home-delivery stuff and if you think it'd be better then frozen, I guess you're going to have to work with what's best for you. I might be deluding myself, but as they say frozen VEGGIES are *almost* as good as fresh, I can't help wondering why lower-cal frozen meals are such a bad thing... So long as you're getting in all the nutrients, etc. that you need throughout your day.

Then again, I'm the first to admit that I'm not as big of a health-food nut as some of the other ladies are. I'm eating SO much healthier then I have done in years and the things I do now are such a huge improvement over my previous fast-food life style that maybe I'm too easily content. But when I'm behaving, I feel good and I lose weight and those are the things that are *most* important to me at the moment, so for now what I'm doing is enough. 

 

Watchme:I heard Seattle Sutton is like nutrisystem...So my gut instinct is to go with the Alter Eatgo and have them delivered to??? Um do you have a neighbor that is always home, that you know? Or a friend that lives around the block?Or someone on your way home, that you can have it delivered too? Something....But I would go with Alter Eatgo....

You know my opinion. You work too much to cook yourself something healthy. So you need to have someone else do it for you. I think you should do it

And while you wait for it to start in November, I think you should try Amy's kitchen frozen meals. Very healthy and convenient. http://www.amys.com/