I'm new to all of this, I'm freshly 20, my birthday was November 1st. I'm 6'1" and probably about 280lbs right now..
Today, I went to the gym for the first time, I'd always intended on going, but never got up the nerve to get in there.

I went there for about an hour, squeezing in some time on the elliptical and stationary bike between sending my sisters off to school and getting to my appointment.
If anybody has some tips for me, I would appreciate them and listen to them all. Hopefully I will get the time to check back here often, as I've gone through and read some of these posts and seeing the support has really touched my heart.
I've been overweight for as long as I can remember, so I have a feeling that shaking my habits and attaining new ones will be hard work, but I do have things pushing me, I have a younger sister who has worked out much more than I have, so she can be my work out buddy, as I know support is very important.
I'm very much in love with my boyfriend, and if I were ever to think of getting married (gulp) I would love to see myself slim and beautiful in my wedding pictures
I'm looking to feel better about myself and feel as beautiful and healthy on the outside as I know I can be.
When I go back to the gym later on tonight, I'll weigh in, and figure out my goal/bmi/etc,,

maybe someone out there has similar bodytype/weight/goals and can help guide me? i hope so.

WELCOME....You'll find a great bunch of people here. Cheering you on to goal

P.S.- I'm sure you'll look gorgeous on your wedding day no matter what size you are.

Welcome! FIRST THING I DID (this is just what I did tho lol) I "calories to lose weight" and found a site that took in my height and weight and spit out three numbers, how many calories I would need to eat to lose weight, how many to stay the same weight, and how many to gain weight. That way I would know what I could eat! My range was 1200-1700 and I usually try to stay about 1400-1500. During the day I eat all day long lol. Small meals. When I get up (about 7AM) I drink a slim-fast (Not following a slim-fast plan, I just like them and they keep me full thru getting ready, getting to work, and starting the day) About 10 I eat a Kroger brand CarbMaster yogurt and a piece of lowfat cheese, I like Weight Watchers brand. About 12:30 I usually have a cup of lowcal soup with a fruit cup and about 3 I have hummus with pretzel thins. If, somehow, I get hungry in the midst of all this my go to right now is clementines (DELISH!!!!) By the end of the day I've only had about 650-670 calories and have plenty left for a good dinner, with small portions. I eat whatever I feel like as long as it is within calorie range. Your main concern with dieting is your food. Its great to exercise because you have to burn more calories then you eat to lose weight... but you are burning calories all the time! So concentrate more on your food intake. I do run on the treadmill 4 days a week, and usually once a week I will do a workout video ( I love the pussycat dolls one lol!) But most of my motivation comes from other peoples success... read peoples stories on here, look for weightloss "maintainers" blogs, research research research!! Its a hugeeeee online world of us "life style changers" and its fun to read other peoples stories!!! SO MUCH LUCK TO YOU!!! ( And its great you have a good man in your life- I don't know what I would do without my amazing husband!!!)


xo
Kati

Welcome!

Unfortunately I'm not quite the same body type as you, but I can try and give you some advice regardless!!

The first thing I did was weigh myself. I then worked out what that meant. I used this BMI tool, and it's the nicest one I've ever used:
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Health...alculator.aspx
It's a UK one, so you may have to do a bit of converting, but it shows you where you are on the scale. I figured I was off the scale obese when I started, and it opened my eyes.

Then I entered what weight I would want to be, and saw if it was in the healthy zone. I adjusted my target weight until I was right in the middle of the healthy bar, and that was my target weight!

My biggest advice would be: cut out the junk food from your life. You know what I'm talkin' about! The soda, the chips, the cookies, the treats - everything! I would then start to slowly make some substitutions to your diet. Wholegrain bread and pasta, fruits, vegetables instead of fries. Cook with oil instead of butter etc. I, personally, don't recommend diets. I think they're too restrictive and can lead to relapse. I would always advise anyone to read on nutrition - what's good, what's bad, why it's good, why it's bad etc. Once I read up on what it all meant everything just made sense and I started to make the right choices.

Secondly, and the most importantly, exercise! You've got the right mindset with going to the gym - but find something you LOVE doing. Running, swimming, home workouts, gym classes, martial arts, dancing - just find something you really ENJOY doing. Exercise shouldn't be a chore, it shouldn't be something you're reluctant to do, you should LOVE it and want to do it! I've achieved the best results losing weight by doing things that I love 6 times a week.

As for calorie intakes, it all depends on how much you exercise. Think of your body like a fire. Your body is the fire, the wood is food and the air around it is exercise. The more you exercise, the more food you need to keep the fire going. So don't starve yourself when you're exercising like a machine, eat the RIGHT food and your body's metabolism will speed up! I exercised constantly for a few months, and when I had a 2 week stall (recently) my body was still losing weight because my metabolism kept going!

Finally, this board is amazing. You can get some amazing support, you can join up to the challenges, you can chat in the threads - it's a great place. I don't know if I would have lost all the weight I have without this place! Good luck!

Thank you ladies,
So, I weighed myself this morning at the gym, I'm at 283, it's pretty scary..
My BMI puts me at 37.35, which is Obese, "damn."
Alright, might as well not mope, cause that won't get me down any weight x)
Funny thing is, I have never felt "Obese" I can run around with my seven year old sister, and yeah, I get winded, but I never have felt like I was that badly out of shape. I've never felt like I wasn't beautiful, I started this cause I wanted to feel and look better, not because I felt I was sick like this.

I've set my goat at 200lbs, on the BMI chart, that's still overweight, but It's a good goal to start off with, in my opinion, I've got a thick build, and I don't know if I'd look healthy at 180 lbs, nevertheless, gotta get to a point where I both look and feel good right?

You are probably very similar to my body type! It's hard being so tall and losing weight. You've got to wait a lot longer to notice any changes when the weight starts coming off. So be patient! Even if you don't think you look any different, keep going! I don't think that I changed pant sizes til about 30 pounds lost.

I was "obese" on the BMI charts, but I never really felt that way either. I mean I was big, but I never thought of myself as that big. What made me start losing weight was I was so tired of clothes shopping. It's hard enough to buy jeans when you're a plus size, it's even more difficult when you're tall. I realized that while I can't control my height, I can control my weight and at least make that part of shopping easier.

Good luck! You really can do it!

I really like this Basal Metabolic Rate calculator: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ It also has a BMI calculator.

BMR is how many calories you would burn laying in bed for 24 hours. I stick to my BMR for my calorie intake and add exercise to lose weight.