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!

Oatmeal is a great breakfast because not only does it fill you up, it has loads of fiber and whole grains. Adding a serving of fruit to it shouldn't be too bad. Even though fruits are considered "sugary" it's all natural sugar which does NOT do what processed sugar does to the body.

The tortilla chips aren't horrible either if you eat it sparingly. The salsa is great for a serving of veggies but don't sit on the couch with the bag of chips and eat away. Get a paper plate (I love paper plates, so dorm friendly) and measure out a serving of chips, what you can hold in the cup made by your two hands. Then go to town. Popcorn will always be better if its light butter and salt but none of us can eat the same thing over and over again.

rgn0622 Thanks for the response! I appreciate your help and suggestions. Sounds like we can help eachother out with losing our extra poundage! I love paper plates too. With the tortilla chips, I find myself counting out the serving suggestion qty of chips...like when the bag says "Serving Size: 1 oz. (approx. 13 chips) I'll count out 13 chips and put them on my plate. I over do it sometimes with the salsa, but I buy the salsas that say "Serving size: 2 tbsp, Calories: 10" anymore than that...it can sit on the shelf at the store. I really like the Ortega Thick 'n' chunky Medium salsa. But I don't eat like the whole bag a chips or the whole jar of salsa in one sitting...with as much as I love salsa, I could easily do that!!! But I won't, I have to have self control!

Glad to hear that oatmeal is good for me. I'll have to do further research on it to see which kinds are the best for me...regular, or the apples & cinnamon, Raisins & spice ones. So far I've found those have the lease amounts of calories in them. Plus the A&C and R&S have fruit in them already...even if it is dehydrated it's still some fruit right? I will add fresh melon, strawberries or bananas to the regualr kind though, or just a pinch of brown sugar and some cinnamon, just to have a touch of sweetness to it. I try to drink a full bottle of water with each oatmeal packet that I have so I'm "extra" full.

My boyfriend and I buy boxes sugar-free Jello and make it at home and put it into little Gladware or Tupperware containers so I can take them to work for an afternoon snack so I'm not going to the carryout on my lunch and buying bags of chips or candy bars for snacks in the afternoon. I felt this was a good way to get my craving for something sweet too! Especially if I have chips and salsa for lunch, they tend to be salty.  The popcorn that I eat is very low in salt and butter, it's the Act II 94% fat free buttered popcorn. It almost tastes like plain popcorn, but it does have a slight butter/salt flavor to it. If I feel that I need to add more flavoring to it, I'll sprinkle garlic powder or molly mcbutter stuff on it, but no more than 1 serving suggestions worth.

no i will make my pops pay for it. he will. i just have to start bugging him now. i go to a community college not a university. and all the chicks with kids the grants. my family will not let me take out a loan at all. the said if every obdy has to throw in some money thats what we will do. love my family even tho we are all nuts

 

anywho, start the job tomorrow. well just training classes all day and then friday start the real job.

what do you guys think about meeting ppl online?  i mean we have all met  each other. so  i am on this other site to try to make new buds in my area that dont tend to drink as much as my crew. that way i can have healthy active buds, instead of drug using alcoholic lying lazy bad influence. honestly , i would feel safe meeting any of you guy for like lunch or something, so how long do you think i should get to know the other weirdos? i know that the 2 sites have  totally dif atmospheres or whatever. its aclled plenty of fish. i put i just want to meet buds and not date. still, i get like 4 dudes a day that hit on me. so how long do you think is a good time to  meet somebody i talk to almost every day?

and of course i wont go alone.

I have been a little scarce because I am preparing for my SIL, her kids (my nieces and nephew) and her boyfriend to come visit! Lots to do! I am a little worried about the visit just because it's hard to keep track and resist temptation when your life is crazy, and adding 5 MORE people to my two person household qualifies as crazy! I am committed to sticking with this, though!

I am still finding eating enough in a day (and spreading my meals out properly) difficult. I did remember to eat breakfast this morning (YAY ME!) but here it is 2:30pm and I haven't eaten lunch. I am really really just NOT HUNGRY. It's very hard to make myself eat when I don't want to! I don't want to start hating food and dreading eating, kwim? I also don't want to get that "oh crap I didn't eat enough today" feeling at the end of the day and get the urge to sneak extra food in the evening/at night in the hopes of avoiding starvation mode either.

To all of you who have found a balance with your eating schedule already, wicked props to you! I NEVER thought that THIS would be the hardest part of all of this. 

sweepie: I eat quaker weight control oatmeal.  I love it!  it's higher in fiber and protein than regular oatmeal and lower in sugar.  When I don't want that kind I love some good thick steel cut oats... i get mine from Bob's Red Mill, which is local to me but is also sold in stores all over the place.

trina: it was really hard for me to eat so often during the day too.  Ease yourself into it with small snacks and eventually you'll get used to it.  You won't go into starvation mode that quickly.  good luck with the SIL and family!

Fallon: Do you talk to the person you're thinking about meeting over the phone or over the computer only? I've met some of my Internet buddies in person before, but its usually after I have talked to them over the phone for at least 3 weeks or so.  Your smart so I'm sure you'll know when you're ready to meet your Internet buddy, but just make sure you don't go alone (like you said you wouldn't which is good), and make sure you meet up at a mall or something (somewhere with a lot of people).  Other than that everything should be fine. 

Pink: Thanks for the suggestion.  I usually just eat Publix brand oatmeal (lol), and it tastes great, but I'm sure that the weight control oatmeal would be healthier for me.  So I'll try that after I finish off my last two boxes of Publix Oatmeal.  Yeah I love oatmeal just like you Sweepie .

I found that I didn't like the Weight Control oatmeal, so to get through the box, I add a tablespoon of sugar free maple syrup. That sweetens it up a bit, and might not be a bad idea for other oatmeals too! Hmmm....

My day went pretty well. Didn't get as much done around the house as I would have liked, but that's the story of my life....Hope everyone else's day was swell.

no i will make my pops pay for it. he will.

haha Well, I never felt like it was my parents obligation to pay for my college education. They bought my books my first semester and that was it (and that was only about $170).

As for meeting people online, I was never into it at all and I still feel weird about it but when I moved to Korea, I literally knew no one so I met up with a few people from the websites for expats here and have met a lot of Koreans through language exchanges (most never worked out but we've remained friends and go out). I think it's okay if you talk to the person for a while.

PinkCobra: SAVE ME!!! hahaha

Okay - so I totally don't want to do anything productive, and this forum is slow today! I got online hoping you all had something to say that I could respond to! Here's a question for everyone: What is your average amount of sodium per day? I read that the recommended amount is 2500mg or less. On a normal day mine is between 3000 and 4000. Wow! Anyone else have the same issues? Any great low sodium snack ideas?

Also - I have been wanting to try some tea, but have had bad luck with everything I've tried thus far. Any suggestions? I do tend to like sweeter drinks, but obviously don't want added sugar in my diet. I also bought a new scale today! Yay! So I will be able to weigh in the mornings now. I'm sure tomorrow I'll feel like I've lost a bit! We'll see though....

Have a great night!

Tea is something I REALLY can help you with. Everybody hears everyone talking about the antioxidants in certain teas and I have to say, if you can find an health food or herbal store that sells looseleaf tea in your area, you are super lucky. The best 'bagged' tea that I've found on the market is Tazo. A cup of awake in the morning is a great way to get your metabolism going. In looseleaf, this is the equivalent to oolong tea, essentially 'black' tea. It has simply been picked later and oxidized a little longer which gives it a fuller flavor.

Green tea is the next best aka gunpowder green. The Lipton green tea that you mix with water is what I would suggest. The only problem I have with it is that its flavored with honey and lime or raspberry. I prefer the actual flavor. Looseleaf is simply green tea.

You will save money with looseleaf tea that I can guarantee. You get 24 bags for about 4 dollars with a tablespoon of tea in each bag maybe? One ounce of looseleaf green tea costs about $1.80 at my store and making it a cup at a time I've made over 30 cups of tea, guesstimating since I drink tea every day and it has lasted me over a month.

Tea is a great natural way to replace coffee in the mornings and whenever you need a little boost. If you're a sucker for Starbucks and other coffee shops, check their menu. More often than not, they have some form of hot herbal tea available.

Just as with coffee and all other drinks, you need to be careful about how much sugar you put in. An absolutely great sugar substitute is stevia, an herb that ends up being almost 100x sweeter than processed sugar. It comes in packets now but I get the large bottle. It's about an ounce or two and comes with a dropper. One or two drops is the equivalent of two teaspoons of sugar but the body doens't absorb stevia like it absorbs sugar. Stevia passes straight through the body. My mom once cut up a bunch of fresh strawberries and put two dropperfuls of stevia on them. It tasted just like they had soaked in sugar for hours and I still lost a pound on the scale the next morning.

Lipton green tea is not real green tea.

   I love tea! I always get iced black tea(no sugar) when I go out to dinner. I like hot tea, too, but I don't have it very much.

   Tea is really good for you as long as it is unsweetened or you can use a little stivia. Just be careful with the metabolism teas that are out there. People have died from drinking too much of them.

with green tea, our work has two brands, one of which is through FLAVIA and one of which is lipton.  what are the benefits of green tea?  we also have some lemon tea.  i sometimes make tea and pour it into ice in my thermos and then drink it cold.  i had heard it cleanse the body or something.  i just drink it to flavor my water a bit to change things up.

 

hey guys... still creating about a 800-1000 calorie deficit per day (cycling calories) intake wise plus doing exercise (for the last 10 days, about 750 calories on the elliptical 5 times plus weights mixed in with a few salsa dance classes, and 1 dance aerobics class, a little bit of walking that is in addition to my normal routine walking, plus weights).... still not seeing a change but as i mentoned this morning, going to follow the body fat percentages now to see whether that shifts.  i'm hanging in there though and just trying to ramp things up more to push through this plateau.  YMCA (and spin classes!) start next week!

i've read up on starvation mode and learned it's definitely not that since i'm not eating under 800 calories (YUCK!!) and don't meet any of the other criteria for that.  so i'm not sure what else to do.  i am integrated in more types of exercise cuz i'm sure my body has gotten slightly used to the elliptical... i also cut out the dancing classes that were more instructional and less movements.  (i kept the 2 hours of salsa and dance aerobics class though because i love them, i love them, i love them!!)

any other ideas?  i could use some right now.  i'm already down about some personal stuff and losing motivation, which is pathetic.  i always let something external affect me and want to reach for food or not move and just be lazy and wallow.  sigh.

http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/a a011400a.htm

www.greenteainformation.org

Google works wonders.

 i'm already down about some personal stuff and losing motivation, which is pathetic.  i always let something external affect me and want to reach for food or not move and just be lazy and wallow.  sigh.

You can't keep looking to people here for your motivation to keep going... you have to reach down and find it for yourself. Until you're really 100% ready to do this, it won't work.

Watchme- I think you are over analyzing everything. And instead of letting external stuff affect you make it your catalyst to do better for yourself. Take it easy. Count your calories and workout. Everything will fall into place.

I did my first day of couch to 5k! Finally got off my butt and just went to the gym and knocked it out. I actually can't wait until tomorrow to go again. EXCITING!!

I also got on the scale a day early. It was down half a pound. "The curse" ended and I have been drinking a lot of water to flush my body of salt and stuff. We'll see what the scale really has to say tomorrow!

Good night ladies!

Ali is 100% right.  The only way any of us are going to do this... I mean really do this... is to be completely resolved with every fiber of our being that we are capable and willing to stick with it and see it through.  We can support each other and try to motivate each other, but ultimately the strength comes from within.  Of course there's going to be rough patches, but you just have to keep that resolve and know that you possess the power to fight through it.  We are the only ones that can make this decision for ourselves.  

you know what sux? i love coffee. LOVE IT!!! but once i drink my  cup or 2 for brekfast i am not hungry for a good 2 hours. that makes it hard for me to eat breakfast. if i eat before my coffee, i dont want my coffee, cuz i get full fast. dont know what its is with breakfast but i cant eat much before being stuffed. i measure a 1/2cup of cheeerios and 1/4 cup of fat free skim milk. i cant even finish that without thinking its going to come back up.  i'm sure the  cheerios is better for me than the 1 cup of coffee, but i'ld rather drink the coffee.  i know that if i dont drink it for breakfast i will want it later. (kinda like salad. i HAVE to eat a salad at some point durng the day or i feel lost.) thats not good either cuz i barely sleep 3 hours without the help of coffee at breakfast. image if i drank it for lunch or a snack. i'ld never sleep at all. ahh, the joy of trying to lose weight.  off to orientation.

Woke up this morning after working until 10pm last night and I have to be at work in ten minutes. Unfortunately, I really don't care if I'm late. The good news was that after I crawled out of bed, the scale was down 1 pound from my last weigh in. *dances* If I can pull in another pound by Friday I'll have met my goal.

I'm not sure if what I call 'southern tea' has any benefits other than being a cold drink. I know green tea gives your metabolism a mild boost and is full of antioxidants which help boost the immune system. All I can say is I drink hot looseleaf green tea generally every morning and didn't get sick at all through cold and flu season.

 

Happy Happy Happy Tuesday! So I FINALLY made it into the 250's! I've been not losing since March 7th and I finally did it! All I needed was some major 'me' time! I'm on Spring Break, so I'm really focusing on my eating and working out efforts. And they're paying off!!!! I have no one to call and brag to! You are my ladies to 'call' and brag to! 258 was the weight I was at about 3 years ago when I met my boyfriend. I did LA Weightloss and got down to about 220. That's the smallest I've been since 10th grade. So, 2 more pounds until I've officially lost 30. I'm kicking it out this week and making a plan that suits me for when I'm teaching. I need to schedule in workout time, not just say "I'll do it when I have time." Because let's be honest, as a first year teacher, I never have extra time!

You ladies rock! Have a great Tuesday!