New and needing advice!

[Rileyy11]

My name is Danielle and I'm 24. I live with my boyfriend and his family and we're moving out on our own after winter semester. We're both still in college and have jobs. Well, I have two, lol.

So, I finally stepped on an accurate scale (the other has been broken for some time) and OMG. I think I had a heart attack. I weigh so much more than I have in my entire life!

Right now in my head all I can hear is that I can't do it, but the other half just is so disgusted with myself.

How can I turn this shock into a positive motivator? I know that's what I WANT for myself, I'm just not sure how to make myself think it!

I'm planning on eating high protein/low carb and watching calories while working out. I also plan to cut out soda and most sugars, as well as fast food. I know that these have been my biggest problem area.

I guess the biggest obstacle I have at this moment is I just can't believe I let myself go this badly. Sigh... HELP!

[MusicalAstronaut]

My advice is to take it one step at a time. Make small adjustments and these will lead to bigger ones. For me, cutting out soda was the first diet thing I did. Once I got used to that I cut out other stuff. And remember, you don't have to get rid of everything you like to eat/drink. As someone else on this board said (no clue who), you can still eat what you want, you just don't need to eat it all at once! And take everything one day at a time. It may seem like a huge, daunting task but I swear, breaking it down helps SO much. Celebrate every 5 pounds or something like that. Remember that you'll have good days and bad days, but don't let yourself get discouraged. It's a lifestyle change and once you get used to it, it's habit. Thats the important stuff I can think of right now. :P Good luck!

[Candeka]

Instead of thinking "Omg, I have to lose 30 pounds!" just think "Okay, I want to lose 5 pounds by valentines day". Then, just take it one day at a time. If you have fast food one day, don't think about what a failure you are. Try and eat better for the rest of the day and move on! It's so much easier to think about eating healthier for TODAY instead of having to eat healthy for the next 6 months to the rest of your life.

Another very helpful tip is to plan your meals. If you are like me, it will help alot. If I get hungry and don't have a planned meal to eat, I will grab the quickest thing in the house which usually ends up to being super unhealthy. Plus it gets me digging through all the cupboards and thats when I see things like nachos or chips. I live with my husband and parents (we are both students as well), so I can't only have healthy food in the house.

Again, just take it one day at time. I also look at the pictures on here of people who have met their goal weights and I think about how happy I would be to be the person posting those pictures and how proud I would feel!

[Nocturneluna]

Yes, one step at a time like MA said. Shock may take a couple of days but unless the motivation is there there is nothing to start out with. You need to be sure you have the motivation to begin and keep going. When I got on the scale and saw I was at 240 pdf I stood there and stared at the number for about five minutes because I couldn't believe it. I was alway 210.. had been since 9th grade but for some reason I didn't see that as bad.. for some reason I denied it and just let myself fall deeper into my hole. But in 2011ny, once I saw that weight.. I knew I needed to stop denying that it was there. I hated myself and was disgusted with it.. but it was time. And now its your time. Just be sure you are ready. Plan for a day to start or get started asap. As soon as youre sure, step forward. Its a great thing.

[KimL1214]

Nocturneluna, Candeka, MusicalAstronaut have all given great advice! I would add that breaking it down into small goals is the best way to tackle your weight loss. Depending on how much you have to lose, break it down into 5 or 10 pound increments and think of little non-food related ways you can celebrate when you hit those goals. Look for threads on here with other women you can relate to and ask for advice as well as share your success and trip ups. I have found in the past that when I am active on 3FC, I lose weight. When I don't use 3FC, I tend to gain weight, so this is a great place to be!

[Maggie1980]

Take it one day at a tme! Just remember how u feel after you eat the bad foods. It has helped me! Im on Ideal Protein diet and have lost 11.4lbs in 3wks! You should look it up!

[LMF84]

Set small, 5 pound goals so you don't feel so overwhelmed. And, as cliche as it sounds, focus on one day at a time. Baby steps, and drink a ton of water!

[ADL]

I'll tell you what helps me. I am kind of in the same boat, I am 22 and also have around 30 lbs to lose (well, ok, I actually want to lose 45). Something that makes me feel better is knowing for a fact that there is absolutely nothing I can do to change the past and that now I am doing the absolute most I can to fix my situation. You can't do any more than your best.

[Rileyy11]

You guys are all wonderful. I'm so happy I decided to come here!

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions!

Also, Maggie1980, what is the Ideal Protein plan?

I hope to keep you guys posted on my successes!

[sontaikle]

Starting slow is how I got to where I am. Try and do everything at once and you might crash and burn.

It took me years of learning to get where I am today, but once I did the weight sure came off fast!

[katie goes to paris]

I agree with what everyone put here.. take baby steps. I've been going through phases since like november of 'right, i should go on a diet now' and didn't think I was actually dieting, but I weighed myself yesterday and lost ten pounds just by taking the small steps: I still don't feel like I've properly taken the plunge into a full blown diet yet. If your sensible it can creep off the way it crept on and you don't feel all deprived.
Good luck!

[lisa07]

I just started Ideal Protein and I am so happy I found 3 fat chicks on a diet! It is very encouraging and motivates me to keep faithful to my diet. I'm on day 5 and love the diet tips.

[Jag23]

I am on day 5 and feeling fantastic on the IP diet. My motivation to finally loose this weight is ending the 50's being the weight I always wanted to be but never really got there. I plan on going to Tuscany for a Birthday celebration when I turn 60......I have 1 year and 2 months to go.......I cycle alot and this extra weight trying to get up big hills is killing me. 30-40 lbs off will make these hill climbs easier,I know it......I think I have 2 very reason's to see my weight decline!!!!!!

[Daki]

I completely understand! When I saw 207 staring back at me on the scale I was mortified and suddenly any weight loss at all seemed impossible. A few years ago I made a 3FC account so I could blog about my weight loss and look at goal and mini goal photo albums. I wasn't active on the forums at all and I fell off my plan.

In my despair I came back to 3FC to look at the goal photos again. Then I look at the rest of forums and saw everyone's trackers. Read stories of people just like me who had lost their weight or were in the middle of it. And it dawned on me. Why couldn't I be like them? I'm sure every single person on here at one point thought "I can't be that small" yet there they are.

If any of us can do this, you can do it too. Why couldn't you? Why can't you weigh what you want to weigh? All it takes is TIME and COMMITMENT to yourself.

My advice is going to echo what's already been said
1) Start slow. I realized my downfalls in diet and exercise and an overall healthy lifestyle were due to the fact that I would jump straight in. From doing nothing to do everything and I'd burn out and quit. I spent the majority of 2011 making small changes in my diet. Cutting out every drink but plain hot tea and water. Making sure I drink A LOT of water. Switching breakfast to a healthy meal. Weeks later switching lunch to a healthy meal. Weeks later make attempts at healthier dinners. Start going to the gym 3 times a week. Months after all of those changes I decided I was ready for a full on diet. And you know what? It wasn't that big of a deal because I had been working towards that all year (While not losing any weight making the small changes, surprisingly enough). I chose a low carb diet so it was tough the first 2 weeks but after I went through the carb withdrawal everything has been great! I've lost 25lbs since November 7th.

2) Stay active on the forums! My previous weight loss attempts had all fizzled by now. This one is going strong with no end in sight. I honestly attribute that to this site. I join challenges. I post my daily weight. I reply to posts. It all keeps me super interested in weight loss because I'm also connected to everyone else's! When someone else reaches a goal, I'm super excited for them! When I reach one, I'm SUPER excited to update my signature and tracker. Be involved! It really does help!

3) Take it one day at a time. Everyone messes up. Don't despair over that piece of cake. Or that piece of chocolate. Or that whole bag of potato chips. No matter how big or how small your hiccup was, just keep swimming. Hold your head up and remember it's not about how much you mess up. It's about loving yourself again and continuing to fight.

Losing weight felt impossible. It still feels impossible but look at my tracker. I'm doing it. And it surprises me every single day. If I can do it, if we all can do it, you can do it too!

[MiZTaCCen]

Here's what works for me...

Cutting out **** right away isn't a great idea you may binge.
Try 1 soda a day, then cut it down to 2 times a week etc...

Try 30 minute workouts only than once you get used to it up it to longer...

Eat out ONCE a week, set a day.

Change your mentality...I CAN'T is whats going to stop you and cause you to FAIL. Now start saying I CAN!

Baby steps....

Last year I was all about lose weight, drop the pounds gotta do it by this day and you know what I failed. Not because I couldn't do it, but because I self sabotaged myself and I did it on purpose.

This year I realized I can do this, take baby steps and this isn't a 3 month thing this is a year I allowed myself to get to my goal. I only need to lose 30 pounds, but every 10 pounds I drop I have a nice presant to give myself.

So stop with the I CAN'T bullsh1t and let's start with the I CAN do this. I WILL do this.