young woman started weight loss plan today - looking to drop 70lbs - need friends

Hi! My name is Katie. I am 21 years old. I am a college student and am in my senior year. Within the past 4 years i have gained about 60 lbs. aka A TON! (no pun intended) My weight right now is at around 223.  I will know for sure tomorrow the exact total, maybe I will get surprised and it will be lower. Who knows? Anyways, I decided that I need to start moving towards a more healthy lifestyle for myself and my self esteem. I have never been a teenie tiny person, but I have never been this heavy. My lowest that I was ever at was when I was 18 weighing 126. I cannot even grasp that amount right now. I am setting a realistic goal for myself at around 140. I am 5'3" and I just want to start living a different life. I recently joined a gym and as of today started better eating habits. Getting to the gym regularly is going to be the issue for me, because I seem to always find something else to occupy my time with. Anyways, I am just putting my vulnerable little(err, big) self out there. I hope to meet some people who share my struggles and together, hopefully we can overcome them! Anyways, as you can see I am a chatter box, but this is all for now! Wish me luck.....as I do indeed wish all of you success in this terrible struggle!

-Katie

Welcome Katie! I'm glad to hear that you're wanting a healthy life. That's basically why I joined. The weight loss is great, but I've realized I need to eat healthier.

I'm a junior in college too. I completely understand the weight gain that is associated with college life. Fried foods, cheap and easy treats everywhere on campus! It's horrible and so tempting!

Anyways, I hope we can talk sometime on here. If you ever want to get a weight loss buddy for just someone to chat to, feel free to message me.

-Penni 

140 lbs is a great goal for you.  Reading everyone's success on this board has really helped me stay positive.  Good luck to you!

Hey Katie! I am in a similar situation. I am 23 and college killed my body. I am eager to get it back. I have ruled out going to the gym and bought a few pieces of equipment for my house. I always  have some reason in the afternoon to not go to the gym so i have been aiming to workout in the morning. I would love to a have a friend to help me keep track and I do the same. I just graduated from college and am trying really hard to get healthy. If you want to be friends just IM me! good luck

Hi Katie ~

I am similiar to you as well (except the age part). I am 30 and college wrecked havoc on my body - it took me ten years (with a break in the middle) to finally get my degree, but I finished in August of 2006. I too am 5'3" and started with a weight of 200 in July of this year. Today, I am down to 173 and feel so much better, but the destination has not been reached. I added you as a buddy, so feel free to read my journal (mine is only available to friends).

Great job for joining the gym - that task has been tackled and attained. Now, to get there - focus on ONE DAY AT A TIME! If you fail to make it a day, don't fail to make it the next day. To start, try going 21 days straight - it takes 21 days to make a habit and by the time your 21st day comes, you will probably stand on the scale and be pleased with it's reading that you won't want to stop going to the gym. Having said that, remember the scale is a number and it is not always a friendly number. So, I recommend taking your measurements. Get a ribbon tape for the best accuracy and measure yourself in the morning. I waited two months before taking my first measurements and wish I had taken them from the start. Measuring is really only effective if done about once a month. If you must do it twice a month, make sure there is at least two weeks (or more) between measurements. When the scale doesn't move, often the measuring tape does.

Great job for beginning the journey to health - now is the time to do it! As with working out, I recommending planning your meals in advance. It also helps me to focus only on ONE MEAL AT A TIME. Sounds weird saying both within the same paragraph, so let me clarify - plan what you are going to eat in advance, but when you are eating or tempted to eat poorly only focus on the meal you are struggeling with or dealing with at the time. If you mess up, don't wait until the next day to correct the problem, correct it the next meal. Don't dwell on your mistakes or slip-ups, but rather focus on the good things you are doing.

You can succeed and you WILL succeed.

Take care of yourself!

Smiles,
Dacia

Hey Katie!

I started three days ago. I already feel better. I haven't lost any weight yet (obviously) but I'm trying super hard to stay positive.

For me, the hardest part of losing weight is peer pressure. We finish a really hard exam or something, and go to the bar. I don't want to drink light beer all night, so I end up with a white russian. Then another. Then another. Then I'm drunk and hungry, so we get french fries. And then the next morning I'm hungover so I get McDonalds. Sometimes I feel like if I never hung out with my friends and was just alone all the time, I'd eat fine all the time.

For me, it's really hard to go to the gym. The gym is always full of super hot guys and super skinny girls. I always sorta feel like they're staring at me and how out of shape I am. I have a much easier time running outside where I have my ipod on, cool scenery and no distractions. But that's probably just me.

It definitely makes me feel better to know that I am not the only 200+ 21 year old out there. I do my best to still be cute, but I'd really like to not be a size 16-18 but a size 8. That would be so awesome. I miss wearing J. Crew!! Good luck!!! I'm rooting for you!!

Lacey

Katie, welcome to CC!

I personally cannot do gyms.  I've spent way more time and money on gyms over the last 10 years than is worth while for me.  I highly recommend joining a class or activity with other people like a dance class or yoga.

hi everyone!

I am soo happy that I have found you all! So far, I have lost ONE LB! haha I know its not much but to me its a step in the right direction. The weekend is approaching and I feel as though it will be a struggle. I am going to try and keep myself busy and not surround myself with food. I appreciate all of your suggestions. The gym is still a challenge, but I did increase my times of attending this week. I am definitely going to try the 21 days in a row thing. How fun is that?! I think it would be an amazing feeling. I do need to invest in some free weights and a measuring tape as well and document my measurements down...I am afraid of the numbers but it will be the motivation I need to get those numbers down! Today, I did have a few pieces of Halloween candy but I slapped myself on the wrist and am going to do better tomorrow. Like I said, everything is a struggle and I have to talk it one day at a time. But again, it was nice meeting you all and I hope you have great weekends!!

 

<3

Katie

Hey Katie! I'm a sophomore in college, 5'6" 226 lbs (started here at 243).  My junior and senior years of high school were when I gained such a ridiculous amount of weight and now i'm trying to take it off while in college. It's definitely a frustrating journey and it's hard to keep my goals in mind, but I know it's all worth it. I love going to the gym or playing soccer, but eating healthy is a huge struggle for me. Good luck with everything!

hi all

I'm Cristina and I'm a 31 y/o female who has been overweight most of my life. My main difficulty right now is the exercise part. I have a treadmill and an elliptical at home so i should have no excuse. Unfortunately I don't use them like I should. I have to find a way to fit it in no matter how busy I am. Katie... like you I am not by any means a small girl, but I am currently at 195 but was at 225 at one time so I have come a little ways. For me though I would like to get down to 150. This would be wonderful! I could really use someone to chat with and help motivate me, so if you are interested, let me know. Good luck and take care!

 

 

hi everyone. im a 19 yr old female sophomore in college.  i weigh 238 lbs.  I have been overweight my whole life.  The lowest weight I have been in a while was in the 8th grade I weighed 190 lbs.  College so far has been really lonely for me.  I feel like I dont fit in, I have no friends, and am too embarassed to talk to people.  I am trying to lose the weight once and for all.  I cant continue on like this much longer.  Good look everybody.

Hey Katie,

I've been around these boards for a while now, and I've lost 153 pounds to date. Currently weigh 141.0 pounds and it's my goal to be 140. 1 more pound to go! So all I'm tryin to say is that there are people around this board that have 100s to lose, some only need to lose a few, some have done it and are doing it again, some are first timers. Bunch of help around here and motivation.

If you have any questions or need help, this is the place to go. I highly suggest joining a group and getting involved as much as you can. 

Wow that is a big gain for one year. It must have been a trying one - when I got up to 270, it was largely due to depression. Getting back into exercise was the number one thing to get my mood back up - the one thing I would say is you need to be precise and diligent about tracking your calories (PSST would suggest the tracking feature at www.fitday.com - it's easier!) and be very honest and count everything.

My trick is to eat within a calorie amount and portion control, but I can have unlimited carrot and celery sticks if I'm feeling hungry. You'll get a lot of varyig advice from different people - I'm very anti-aspartame, but others think it's great. You'll have to take what works for you and go with it, but if you follow the basic principle, you will eventually succeed , it just takes patience. The weight didn't appear overnight, and it won' disappear overnight either. Welcome and have fun!

I just started my weight loss plan on Saturday, the local gym was having a special so I decided to give it a whirl.  I have been so scared to get on a scale and when I finally did tonight it blew me away.  I was at 242.  I am 5' 8" so I want to set a goal of losing 70 pounds.  I hope to lose 10 pounds a month.  I want to get to 170 by the end of spring.  I joined with my sister in law, but she is about 5'7" and maybe 120 pounds soaking wet so it is hard to share my problems with her, because she joined "just to run on the treadmill".    So I am looking for friends to share in this journey.  I need to know what a good workout plan is????  I am intimidated in the gym.  How long should I do different activities.?? I really enjoy the bike and treadmill. 

 I was the same way as you Katie, but never that small in high school. I was probably at 155 in high school, and funny now, thought that was big. I was an athlete in high school so I think that lack of activity in College for four years and then married life now for over 3 got me where I am today.  I am now 26 and tired of being overweight. 

 Lets do this together.  I am realistic, but optimistic.