Hi everyone.

I am 28 years old, 5'5' and I am 194 pounds. I am the proud mother if 3 beautiful girls. I finally just got tired of the way I look. I figured this is a new year and time to start doing this without excuses.

I have started doing cardio for 45 minutes a day. Anyone have any advice as far as good snacks (I work in an office all day), or good advice in general? Also, how long before people started seeing results? I think so long as I can see what I am doing is working, I will continue. I just have a fear of failing again...

We all have that fear. You're not alone.

But if I can do this, anybody can. I'm the world's laziest person.

I started out at 220 and didn't really start seeing a noticeable difference until I was down about 35-40 pounds. You might notice something sooner since you don't quite weigh as much as I did.

The best thing to do is keep up with your exercise and watch your calories. All the exercise in the world isn't going to do much good if you're taking in more than you burn.

Hi Tiffsmith, I'm not really in a position to give advice right now but I wanted to say hello. It is a long journey, but try not to think of it in terms of suceeding or failing, just keep moving your body and your thoughts towards good health. Sometimes we need to slow down and take baby steps, doesn't mean we failed . 45 minutes of cardio a day is awesome!

Have no fear, 3FC's is here!

Snack ideas:
fat free cottage cheese (protein helps make you feel full longer)
low fat yogurt with fruit
fruit (apple, orange, etc.)
1 ounce of nuts
whole wheat cracker (like triscuit) with a wedge of laughing cow cheese


Good advice:
(I'm no expert)
keep up the cardio!!!!
log your food into a journal or Fitday
visit 3FC often for advice and support

If you fall, get back up and start again! I don't remember how long it took before I saw results. I did this once before--about 11 years ago--and I remember that when I had lost 18 pounds people started to comment and say that it looked like I had lost. So that 18 pounds was my "marker" this time. I decided I wouldn't tell anyone that I had lost anything until I had lost 18 pounds. But by then, everyone had already guessed! I think it is different with everybody.

Good luck to you!

Stubborness is the most important trait in weight loss, I think. Do your research, decide on the rules you are going to use, and stick to it! Don't let anything stop you, no matter what life throws at you.

For me, calorie counting using a computer program to analyse the nutrients works well. I also try to stick to a ratio of 30% fat, 30% protein and 40% carbs. Any more carbs than that, and I start having trouble, because I'm kinda insulin resistant.

But, mostly, it's just stubborness. I've been doing this for a year now, and have had several rather upsetting physical problems in that time- but I refuse to let anything like that stop me. As long as I'm getting enough vitamins, minerals and calories- there's no reason for me to drop off my chosen path. I'd just be hurting myself.

Self hypnosis doesn't hurt, either, for reinforcing the will power.

Failure is not an option and should not be thought of as an option. If you find what you're trying is not working, then you try something else. I was "watching what I eat" and exercising each week, but the scale was barely moving. After months of frustration, I finally figured out, after coming here to 3FC, that I need to log every bite I take on fitday.com (a lot of us log our food there), and I needed to step up the cardio as I was just doing weights. I'm now losing steadily about 1 pound a week, which should easily get me to my goal before June. If what you're doing isnt working, come here and tell the group what you're doing and they will very kindly critique things so you can finetune your plan. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!