Wow! Im a newbie...have been trying on/off for a while now, but am back on track, and I just wanted to say that wow! I have been lookin at all your stats and some of you have been doing amazingly! Its like instant inspirations!

I'd love to hear from some of you about yourselves, how your are doing it and how you are going! I know we have an introduce yourself thread but I want to know how you are now!

Hello Sarah!

Welcome.

hmmm. I'm mainly just trying to eat reasonably. Not too much of anything. Although lately I've been eating quite a little too much sugar. It's my weakness....what can I say.

I love to exercise. For me it's a stress reliever. So that's one thing that's not an obstacle for me in the struggle to lose weight.

I'm a 20 something college student in other aspects of my life. I'm just waiting around here for the final week before my exams are over (FRIDAY!!!!).

But what about yourself? What's your plan? I see you've lost 10lbs, how have you accomplished that?

Yay! You are really similar to me

I'm an almost 19 year old University Student (college for you) and ive just spend my first year gaining alot of weight! I've always been chubby so its really important for me to learn to handle it.

To be honest I was down to 148 a month ago, but now that my exams are over and im home with my parents it has creeped up a bit! But I'm back on it! I promise myself!

To be completely honest i lost it by exercising like crazy and monitoring my calories on fit day...but it was all over the place and i'd spend a week around 700-800 and then a few days up at 2500 or something rediculous. I'd like to be able to maintain my sanity this time

Hello!

I am a calorie counter - what goes in must be less than what goes out - the fundemental basis of weightloss lol. I have found it just works for me and I think I am something of a closet number cruncher.

I am doing it sensibly now however as a few years ago I went off the deep end and like yourself was restricting to 600-800 calories a day and exercising like a maniac. I dropped to 50kgs - 110 pounds and was so sick. Needless to say I did put some back on and now I am sitting around 134-136 pounds of toned, taut and lean muscle mass! I am very much into being fit and muscular over just skinny.

I am happy with this weight for now and am experimenting with maintenance calories...I'm hovering around 1500-1600 a day but I think it needs to go higher. Once Chrissy/New Year is over I will be re-assessing though.

On another note, i'm 24 and currently in Canberra, Australia. I'm not a student anymore but I was studying Political Science and History - these days I am a property manager lol. It's like being the mother and baby sitter for hundreds of owners and tenants! Whinge whine moan :P Oh...and I can't forget the temper tantrums they all throw!

Hey You look awesome in your photo! I would love your arms!

Dropping to 50 Kilos is SOOOOO incredibly tiny! Thats crazy! I'm so scared of that happening to me, im the kina person that does all or nothing.

You're close to me, Im in New Zealand, living right up the top of the North Island in a town you won't have heard of AND I just finished my first year of an Arts Degree in Political Science...however it wasn't for me and I'm changing to a Communications Degree this coming year.
Property Manager eh...I can understand that, both owners and tenants can be mighty tempermental when talking about their investments/homes.

Any idea where I should be at with my Calories? I try to do around 1200 but sometimes its more or less - it evens out. I'm worried about plateauing and not having anywhere to go...and ending up restricting like mad. Do you find it hard to get up to 1600 cals whilst in *diet mode* for some reason I just can't bring myself to eat that much! Do you have this problem?

lol, Thank you I would post the one taken at our staff christmas party the other weekend but...I don't think it would be to appropriate :P It's me an the boss doing the "dip" in a dance but my dress had slipped all the way up to my butt lol. Nice shot of the legs! and erm...backside hehe

I do find it hard to eat the 1600 - I am still in the whole "losing" mentality and I admit I have attacks of the guilts fairly often. I'm nowhere near as bad now as I was at that low point (oh hah...no pun intended! :P) but I keep an eye on myself.

I would probably start at 1500 with exercise most days including both cardio and resistance/strength exercises. Building lean mass will pay off more in the long run I have found. If you aren't losing then drop by 100 - it's really experimenting and playing with figures to find what works for you. I also allow myself a "cheat" day where I don't count at all - usually a saturday as I go out that night with the girls. I am good all Sat during the day and usually do more than usual exercise but the evenings are a real splurge. It keeps my sanity.

I have also had a lot of success with "cycling" my calories which I discovered purely by accident - but it busted me off a VERY stubborn plateau. So one day I would have 1200, the next 1500, the next 1300 then 1200, then 1600 etc so it evens out to be just under 1400 a week (when losing). So some days I could eat heavier meals if I felt like it where other days I just felt like salad.

Welcome Sarah...

I am barely hanging onto my 20's at this point - turning 30 in Aug.

As for my personal side...I am recently divorced and a single mom to 2 pretty great kids - my son is 9 and my daughter 7. I have been hanging out here a couple years, but just now getting serious about losing weight. It's funny how being single again will do that.

I am also just calorie counting and exercising. I like the freedom it gives me to eat some of the "bad" things I love in moderation. I walk 30 min on my treadmill every night once the kidos are in bed. I love that me time - I just pull me treadmill in front of the TV and it is a great way to unwind after a long day of work and running the kids around to dance classes, basketball practice, etc...you get the idea.

Jump right in - this is a really great group of girls with tons of encouragement and motivation floating around.

Good luck to you!

heya

I am 25, going back for a second bachelor's degree, and am trying to lose a little bit more the healthy way.. I got caught up in calorie counting (which is a FANTASTIC way to lose, as long as you don't get obsessed like me..) I got down to 110 at 5'6 and it was just too much. I was sick, tired, and looked horrible, but I still thought I looked fat. I'd been fat my whole life, I don't think my eyes/brain caught up to my body.

now I'm somewhere between 130 and 140, which is fine. I need to tone up my body (and update my ticker!) but I am happy with where I am, for the most part. I still have an eating disorder, but I know I always will have one.

Welcome Sarah...

I'm 23 and I just do what's best at the time...my body gets stuck very quickly so I have to switch it up very much.

Right now I'm on SBD and probably in January I'll go back to calorie counting and who knows from there.

I'm single with no kids and I work full-time and part-time. I spend most of my time at work but when not there I'm usually home playing and watching TV with my yungsta-Precious.

Don't have a steady BF right now and don't want one. I'm enjoying all the free roaming and playing I get to do.

The ladies on here are great and I would not be as far as I am now without them. Feel free to use 3FC as your weight-loss support system, I don't have much support out here in the real world, but the cyber world here is great!!

Good Luck with Everything!!!

Hey Sarah, Welcome to 3fc!

Right now I'm just trying to eat sensibly and I'm working out with a personal trainer. I've never really committed to weight loss until now, so far so good.

About me, I am a 19 year old college student in my second year, trying to be pre-med. Everything else is sort of taking a backseat to the pre-med classes so my life kind of stressful and frustrating at times, but only 1 more exam until break!

Good Luck to you on your weightloss journey, the ladies here have been a great support to me thus far, I hope we can do the same for you.

Hi Sarah!

My stats aren't quite anything to be inspired by (yet) but thought I'd jump in anyway.

I'm 24, finishing up grad school & working full-time, married with 2 cats I've been on and off the diet rollercoaster... Probably lost 100 lbs if you count that same 5-10 that kept coming and going! I managed to end up back at my high weight and recently said enough's enough! I know what got me here (eating out too often, too much ice cream, poor meal planning which leads to more eating out) and I know what will get me out (revamping my lifestyle, eating better more "natural" foods, eating out less). I'm not following a particular plan, just being sensible and occasionally counting calories to make sure I'm on track.

I don't know how much I want to lose... I'm thinking 70 lbs total. That puts me at 145, but who knows, I might be happy at 150 or 155... I'm not really attached to a number, I'm more looking for what will make me feel best.

(as you can see, I take a very relaxed approach to this weight loss thing! i've been carrying this weight around for my whole life, I figure I can't do anything to make it come off in 6 months, nor can i expect it to!)

Good luck, hope to see you around.

Other than being 2" shorter and 5 years older, our beginning and ending stats are quite similar!

I was always around 125-130 and happy with myself. I started partying WAY to hard, 7 nights a week. Before I knew it, I was feeling quite pudgy! I weighed myself and darn near threw up! I started at 164 and size 12, and over the past 10 months, worked my weigh down to a slimish 138 and a size 6. I look to lose about 11 more......by when, it doesn't matter! I would say 6 months will put me at or beyond goal! I count calories, try to stay around 1500 a day, "cheat" quite a bit (late night bar hopping) and lastly, refuse to exercise

Hey! I'm new to the journey too, but I figure I'll put my 2 cents in.

I'm 21, a full-time bank teller, and a full-time student. I got married in June, proudly to my amazing husband, Chris is in the USAF and deploying one week from today. I started out at around 160 last year, by my wedding day I was 137. Now I'm at about 149ish. (refusing to make that 150) I'd love to be 125, but 130 is perfect as long as it's 5 lbs. of muscle and not fat! I was doing weight watchers, but considering counting calories instead. Still trying to decide which way to go on January 1st. The most exercise I do at this time is running with my bulldog, Gauge, but hopefully a lot more after the husband's gone!