Hey ladies Im new to this place and I thought this would be a great place to start as I want to lose over 100lbs. I would appreciate any advice and success stories any of you have

Welcome! You have come to the right place. There is much wisdom and support here, from folks who are or have been where you are now. Also, be sure to check out the other areas of the forum that apply to you, for instance there are probably forums for your eating plan and age.

This is a fun, friendly and forgiving place!! Glad to see ya.

Welcome!

Welcome. All I can say is keep at it! You WILL have bad days and you WILL feel like its never going to happen...but it will! If you stick with your diet plan and workout routine, you will reach your goal, and if you goof don't stress, its never too late you get back on track. Good luck on your journey, we are all here for you.

I have to 2nd Jennies Post. You just have to stick with it every single day. If you want it to happen quickly, you need to have very minimual "cheats". The more you treat yourself with food, the longer it will take to get to a healthy weight.

The most important thing I have learned this time around that I never seemed to get in previous weight loss attempts is that one "cheat" doesn't mean it's over. It means to get back on the wangon and try harder.

Never give up.

Welcome!

I love the advice given so far. My additions:

* Know that this is doable. For many years I did not believe that it was even possible to lose large amounts of weight.
* Give yourself 5 or 10 pound goals. Don't even look at the big picture.

I look forward to reading your posts!

I'm glad you're here. This is a really great group of people and there's so much to be learned from each of them! I don't have any new advice, necessarily, but agree with the ones who say that the key is commitment. Motivation comes and goes, but commitment means not quitting even when your motivation wanes.

Good luck!

Hey Ashely!! Welcome! This is a great group to learn from - I read here everyday, it helps to keep me committed to my plan. The key I think is to find something that works for you, and commit yourself to it...but be ready to tweak here and there as you continue on your journey and you find what works best for you. Check out the progress pics, or the mini-goals or goals section to read lots of success stories.

Hello & welcome!!! A few things that helped me:

* one person's plan or ideas don't work for everyone - you have to find what feels right to YOU, something you can stick to forever
* a bad meal or a bad day isn't the end of the world, but it isn't a reason for a feeding frenzy free-for-all either LOL Catch it quick and turn it around, as soon as you can
* day after day is what wins the race!
* the only time you're crazy is when you do the same exact thing over and over and expect a different outcome -- if you've lost & gained weight before, think of changing things up so you don't end up in the same place !
* have some FUN - it's not all a drag! and take PIX of yourself along the way to document everything, and to get encouragement the days you feel down.
* LAUGH

Hi and wonderful advice here I especially liked what time2lose said in her post to give yourself 5 or 10 lb. mini goals not to even look at the big picture- that is what I like do. If I looked at the whole picture it would overwhelm me. So I take it each 10 lbs. After those 10 lbs. are off there is sooo much joy!
I also would keep a journal with the date, weight, foods eaten that day, how you felt, etc. And write down all your measurements. It is fun watching those numbers come down.
Congratulations on doing something healthy and life changing for yourself

^^What Tracey said!!

Welcome, Ashley!

I love the way you spelled your name on your account! It reminds me of the way the guys at a professional wrestling match announce the participants, complete with the reverb echos:

And now (ow ow ow ow) --- from the sunny state of Cal-eye-forn-eye-ay (ay ay ay) ---- wearing the smile that launched a thousand ships and brought the California Highway Patrol to its knees (ees ees ees) --- blond (ond ond ond) --- beee-yute-eee-ful (ful ful ful) --- rowdy (ee ee ee) ---- and ready to ROCK those pounds away (ay ay ay) --- it's the one (un un un) --- the only (ee ee ee) --- it'ssssssssssssss

AAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHLLLLLLEEEEEEYYYYYYYYY!


Welcome to the board!

Welcome and good luck!

Dhani

Just want to add a thought. The goal photo album has been a huge inspiration for me, http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/goal-photo-album-200/. It shows me that people really can and do lose large amounts of weight. Also, I enjoy the Joy Fit club on the Today show's web site. I found it so hard to believe that I could do this but I had to ask myself, "If she can do it, why can't I?"