I'd like to make friends with 20 somethings.

I'm new on this thing. I just started my diet and exercise plan last week. I am 22 years old and unfortunately all of my friends eat garbage and still maintain a size 3, so they are not a very god support system. Plus, I hate when my friends tell me "oh, shut up you're fine".  I just wanted to connect/make friends with some people on here that can understand my struggle with weight and eating healthy. I know that it will help to have a support system, and people that understand how annoying it is that the new skinny jean trend doesn't work for EVERYONE and that some stores need to start making jeans that go beyond a size 12!! Also, is there anyone out there that has been able to reach their weight goal and was still able to maintain and balance friends and hanging out without giving in to temptation? Because it's hard when your friends consider a local bar, the diner, and starbucks as places to hang out! Ok..i'm done venting! =0)

HEy There,

  I am Denise. I am 24 years old. I know know what you mean about living with people who just eat whatever.  I live with my boyfriend (5 years and counting) and I have the hardest time keeping a good diet with him. For example, I make a nice meal with a nice marinated meat and he asks "where's the gravy" or I buy lots of fruits and veggies and ask "where's the chips and soda". 

He's been out of town for the past week and I have taken this time to cleanse the kitchen of all of our "bad food", even it means i have to eat it.  By the time he gets back I will be able to make some better decisions concerning the food in our house. (canned veggies vs frozen or fresh) 

The best thing to do when you are out with friends is to eat before you go. Find out what's in the food at your friends hang outs.  One of my friends was much better a healthy eating than me when we were in college and she would ask how things were prepared at all of the places we ate.  She would ask that things be prepared without oil or butter ect.  That might work for you and be confident when you order. 

The other tip i have is to shop some where's else for clothes. IF all you can find are "skinny" pants in  store its time to tell the manager you moving onto another store.  I personally have fallen in love with JC Penney again. I used to only shop in the juniors and misses section...but I found nothing fit and moved on to "ladies".  Everything actually fits in that section. I have found several good wearing pants in the past two years. I also love express..but i haven't had express money lately. 

Thanks for replying...it's nice to hear from someone who understands. Yes, that does sound reasonable to eat before hanging out with my friends. I'm going to start doing that now. And with the clothes issue, I agree, sometimes I find pants in the non-junior section...and they fit a lot better. =0)

congrats to u for startin out on your new fun - ha- journey to a new life!

Im 24 and a momma to 2 babies- im actually breastfeedin my 4 month old which is helpin me w/ my weightloss!

1 have been on here since middle of jan and im 5'4 and i was 185 lbs- well now im 168 and i havent been in the 160's for 4 yrs! im super excited! All these tools on here really help you, and the people are just fantastic- they really know what they are talkin about! I never understood calories and certain foods being so unhealthy! i have changed my diet and i havent had a big mac or a whopper in three months now! chocolate, ice cream and cookies are another thing! I try not to overindulge and work it into my cals most time i do eat them but you can lose weight and eat some good stuff too so dont let that scare u! Im sure my weightloss might be a lil slower b/c of it but this isnt a diet to me it is a change of life!

you dont need to eat from wendy's to be happy- make a small grilled chix sand at home w/ wheat bread and some fresh fruit and u will be satisfied!

and i also understand the whole skinny friends - thats all i have and super small sisters that never had to do anything to be skinny- guess im the outcast!-but i always over indulged in food-and i ate when i wasnt hungry- only eat when U R HUNGRY!! its a good lesson!

If i can lose weight doing this then anyone can! GOOD LUCK TO YOU GIRL!

"Also, is there anyone out there that has been able to reach their weight goal and was still able to maintain and balance friends and hanging out without giving in to temptation?"

No. I wasn't able to start any weight loss until I was working 40 hours outside of school and no longer have time to hang out (read: "eat") with my friends except maybe once a month. I actually had to stop hanging out with my best friend because she constantly bailed on me when we were supposed to work out together and would instead invite me over for pizza. I have fat and happy friends who love to cook and love to eat, and they're really great people, but I just couldn't keep up anymore. We still hang out, but I have to eat before I go and not stay for hours snacking on the chips and things they provide.

Sorry if I'm a downer. I really hope you have better luck with your friends than I do.

Hey, I'm a grad student and just turned 25. I totally relate to hanging out with friends being a roadblock in your weight maintenance. I started my weightloss while away on my summer internship...so I was in total control of what came to my house. BUT, I lost most of my weight when I was back to classes with friends who lived on junk around me. And yes I have been able to maintain my weight at my goal for the last 5 months....what worked for me? like weddingmama I look out for the good food even at the junky places...e.g. salads with dressing on the side. I carry snacks around with me to school, so I dont give in to the mid-homework group food breaks, or even if I do go I am not tempted to pick the oversized sandwitch. I had to turn down a couple of ice-cream trips with friends. They did seem to make a fuss initially, but eventually they understand. Once you are at maintenance level, you will be able to figure in the occasional treats more easily. If I am at a party with friends, I do eat some of the food but in smaller portions, and chuck the frosting from the cake/extra cheese from the pizza. Try the whole wheat sandwitches if you end up going to places like Jimmy Johns. I also order fruit based desert /flan for something sweet, iced tea for drink. A good part of going out with friends though is that if you are on the dance floor then you can easily work off the small pizza slice you had.

you never know..you may actually inspire them to eat better.

Hey!

I'm 23, and yes I totally understand what you mean. I live with my boyfriend, we live in Brooklyn and i kid you not their are about 8 pizzarieas by my house. EVERY Friday my boyfriend orders pizza and every time I give in. I also feel your pain with friends. When i go out with the girls i just wanna have a drink and eat whatever i want ... but that is starting to become a problem. I am a pasta person and actually starting tomorrow i am going carb free!

well i guess i'm barely a 20 something, i've only been 20 for about 3 months now! but i'm totally going through the same things. i used to weigh about 150 pounds, which is my goal weight, and right now, i'm at 225!! AAHH! i totally let myself go, and was just overeating out of boredom, and mostly eating out with friends. one thing that has really helped me are fast food websites that show nutritional info! i can totally still eat my tacobell! fresco style is a life saver. you can read on on almost any place to eat online and figure out whats in everything, and know exactly what you can and cannot eat before you even get there. i've only been on the site for about a week now, but i totally love it already, and would love to have more people to talk to about their journey (ok lame word but you get the picture). its hard, but not so hard when you know you're not alone.

I'm def in there with all of you. Weekends for me are a killer. I am good throughout the week because I take food with me to school and eat my alloted amount throughout the day. However, weekends are horrible cause like everyone stated above, you go out with friends and they eat everything. I always tell myself that I will be good and eat something healthy, not eat any of the bread (that comes as appetizers)... but it never seems to work out.. :( def need help in this area.

Hello I'm 24 years old and starting a life change RIGHT NOW!! I'm oh so inspired by all of you and hope to meet here again when we're all happy and healthy. I have about 30 lbs to lose for me to be happy. Good luck to all of you and know that all of the support in the world is with all of us. Today is one day closer to us looking FABULOUS!

Hey!  I'm 22 years old and a grad student...I'm 5'4 and around 180.  Just a year ago I was only 150 and I was happy with the way I looked! More than happy...I don't know how it happened, but I gained that weight and didn't even realize it!  So, now I'm making a change and I'm keeping track of EVERYTHING and I'm losing the weight.  PRoblem?  My friends don't care either.  I know that if I lived with someone looking to lose weight too, I would be fine...But, alas, I have roommates that care not.  So, I'm working on my motivation and losing the procrastination.  Tomorrow morning I'm getting up at 8 to go and run for an hour and I can't wait!

 

I hope we all meet on here frequently and help each other along because that's what I was hoping for when I started this! :-)

Hello, I am also 22 and new to the scene.  About a year ago, I lost about 30lbs ( I used to weigh 180) eating very little when I went abroad to France, but other than walking a whole lot, I wasn't really healthy or active.  Coming back everyone was all shocked and such by how "tiny" I'd gotten, but I still felt so crappy and unhealthy.  So...I recently changed my entire diet and active level.  My friends gang up on me about my new habits, "why do you eat this and that,"  "why are you gym obsessed?"  but the key is to be firm and stay on track.  And yes I give in from time to time, I feel like that is inevitable when you are constantly surrounded by pizza eating, chip munchers (as much as I adore my friends, great people, but lets face it).  And actually, I have managed to atleast get a couple of them to the gym if not eating as healthily as I like;)  Little successes first, right? 

In any case, It is nice to meet you, and I also like the idea of joining a community where people won't think I am ridiculous because I rather be at the gym than...lord knows what getting fat off of...lord knows what;)

I have lost 4lbs since joining the community and going, so keep up the good work;)

 p.s maybe try finding some spot yourself where you and your friends can all agree to disagree? 

 

 

balancing everything is very difficult, but i can share how I do it....

 

Welcome,

Potter

Hi! I've just joined in today, i am ready and took a decision of loosing this extra weight. So far so good I'm aloud 1400cal day and today i've input every thing including dinner and i still have some space for manouvre if i feel hungry in between!!!

I'm glad that there are a lot of us (alike) around here, that way we can support each other!!!

I'm 25y and i weight 67Kg my goal is 57.5Kg. I'm married  for nearly three years now and we feel ready to have a baby, but there are a few things i need to change and achieve before we even start trying, for example we smoke, not mutch (two cigarretes/day) but we do smoke, and i want to stop compleatly before getting pregnant. And because I also been going round with some extra weigh  I've decided that before getting pregnant and get a lot more weight I will lose the excess I already have.

So there you go, one of my greatests support is my main goal, every time i feel like eating something i shouldn't i will think of my future baby until the feeling fades away!

We all know that if you stop smoking you do tend to gain weight, so finger's crossed this diet will work completly!!!

see u soon

Carla

 

Hi, welcome to calorie count!  I always thought that hanging around with skinny people would give you healthy eating habits . . . haha, I guess not!!  I'm 26 and I find that I do eat a lot socially.  Actually, I noticed that a lot of my spending money was going towards eating out, when I was trying to lose weight!! - not okay.

I still eat out with my friends sometimes, and since I now know that I do it because I love to hang out with them, I have some strategies I use.  I rarely eat out if it isn't social.  I try to steer the group towards a restaurant where there are healthy choices for me.  I plan what I'm going to eat before I get there.  And while I'm there, I enjoy my friends and the conversation and the atmosphere and I drink a lot of water.  If it's a bar, I drink a lot of dt. pop.

This website is great for support, I love the people here!

hello,

I'm 24 and while I have amazing friends, it's such a social habit to go out and eat/drink. However, I always push my lack of funds as a way to get around obnoxious portions and bad food by asking a friend to split an entree with me . It not only saves money, but then you can just have a little while your friend mows down the rest! (I have tiny friends so it's ok that they mow it down!)

Also, I find that sides or things I normally wouldn't order for dinner are acutally perfect portion sizes at restaurants (i.e. a cup of soup or even a bowl as a meal.) It's those places that include salad and free chips and salsa before you even get your meal that kill me. So, don't fill up on the bread!

However, I always feel better if I do some cardio before I'm going out with friends- it makes me feel more balanced and prepared no matter what happens. I don't eat as much after working out cause then I feel like it was just a waste of my time!

Good luck, can't wait to here your success story!

 

 

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

im new on this site!! im 20, 5'7 and i  needd to lose 31 lbs by the summer. my goal is to reach 130 pounds by  july! i hope some of you lads have the same stats as me so we can help each other out

 

Hey guys -  Sounds like I'm pretty similar to quite a few of you... I'm 25 - teacher by day, grad student / waitress by night...   I started CC at the end of February  when my jeans started to feel just a little too tight!  I said enough already and started to be more conscious about what I was eating and how much of it.  I started at 178 and am now at 169 and in a smaller pair of jeans!  I'm going on vacation in July with my family and my goal is to be 155.  I came on tonight frustrated after going to my mom's house because there is always junk food, but as I logged my calories, even though I feel like I junked out today, there is still a huge decrease in the amount of calories I ate compared to what I used to eat on a daily basis before I started. While today might not have been a losing day, I indulged a little, and tomorrow can get back on track! 

As for the friends, I think I've motivated my boyfriend and when I am tempted by the junk food or  meeting friends at restaurants - I look at the nutrition info on line - most restaurants have it on their website, or you can find something comparable - and figure out what I'm going to have ahead of time that will work into my limit for the day.  Good luck getting started!

Hi Everyone

Looking through all the posts, it's like i could have written them myself!!  I'm 21 and at uni.  Im 5'1'', 125lbs and want to lose 15 lbs! Being short there is nowhere to hide those extra pounds unfortunately:-(

Being at uni, drinking/going out and ordering take out is an everyday occurrence. Plus, i live in res so I have to try and find the healthy option out of all the grease they serve!!  And sometimes my friends don't understand either...it's not that they're not supportive but it's difficult enough to resist having that croissant for breakfast without the added pressure of your friends telling you you should have it!

I look forward to seeing you all here soon.  It's gona be good to have a place to come and rant and get advice:-)

Hope you all have had temptation free days - good luck:-)

Hey,

24/M here.  I'm fairly new to the site as well, and would love to have some people to relate with in my age group.  Unfortunately, I can't comment on balancing going out with friends with weight-loss, as I'm married with a child.  So my wife and I end up going out maybe a couple times a month, which makes reigning in those nights out a whole lot easier. 

As far as my progress, I started out at 6'1" and 319lbs.  My wife and I have been on our weight loss plan for a little over three weeks now, and I'm down to about 312lbs.  So far, so good.

It'd be even more awesome if I could meet some people who live in the same area as I do.. Roanoke, VA to be exact. 

Anyway, I'm rambling.  Later duuuudes.

hello! 23 y/o here... since I am working full time and going to school part time I don't have a lot of time for friends ;) but I make it a point to have one cheat meal a week and it's at my favorite bar for handmade pizza and beer :) It keeps me on track and since it isn't forbidden I only have 1 or 2 pieces.. so it doesn't completely derail me :) and I meet up with a lot of my friends there...

and I have the most obnoxious friend when it comes to this stuff.. we used to live together and she would tell me "i have weight to gain" NOPE! sorry! I actually looked great when I moved in but I listened to her and gained 15lbs :( but now I eat healthy and I do it for me! I stopped caring what other people think about what I do... it's my body, it's my health, it's my life... it's not like we're doing drugs here! lol... so yeah, just stick up for yourself and eat what YOU want, not what your friends try to talk you into :) you can do it! it just takes time and patience to get used to it :) I've been at it for 2 years and even though I've only lost 10 pounds, I have a much healthier life in general :)

and yay us for wanting to do all this in our 20's!!! let's get our healthy life together NOW!!! :D