I need to lose weight this summer, no matter what.
Hello 3FC, I am just writing this post in part to vent my frustration with myself and in part to get some motivation. I can't believe how much I have ballooned in the last 3 years. Three years ago, I lost about 30 pounds and was 150 and at the best weight of my life. I felt so GOOD about myself. However, that didn't last long. I quickly gained the weight back after taking on a stressful job and overeating every single day. It took me 6 months to put on 30 lbs. To make matters worse, over the next two years, I packed on another 30lbs. I am now around 210, although I could be higher. (I have been afraid of getting on a scale the last few weeks.)
To make it simple, I hate my job but I understand that I have to do it and I'm really not here to complain about that. I just have to get myself under control! Every week I tell myself I am going to diet, and every week I do well for maybe a day or two and then totally binge! I did weight watchers to lose that original 30 lbs and get down to 150 three years ago, but since then I just can't stick to the program. Believe me, I've tried. I also did the Flat Belly Diet, and I lost quite a bit of weight at first, but it quickly evened out and I quickly binged and gained it all back.
I am 210 right now, and I need to be 150 by September 17th. I don't know if that is reasonable or not, but that is when I am moving to downtown Portland to go to college at Portland State, and I really don't want to be the fat chick down there. I was down there visiting one of my best friends just a few weeks ago, and it was a real wake up call. No one there was as big as I was, no one. I went into clothing stores with my mom, and none of the clothes were anywhere NEAR being large enough to fit me. It was a real confidence blaster.
I'm 19 years old, almost twenty, and feel like I can't really enjoy life unless I lose weight. I know that is a really, really bad outlook to have, but it is just how I feel. I just want to be able to go out with my friends and not be the biggest person in the club. I don't want to be that girl that is eternally single, the 'fat' friend. My friends love me and tell me I look fine, but I know they are just saying that to make me feel better about myself.
I don't want to sound whiny, and I apologize if I am coming across that way. I am just really frustrated with myself after years of failure. I see everyone on this board, all of you girls that are now looking fab, and I feel like I have somehow failed myself. When I move to Portland, I want that to be a moment when I can shed who I used to be and become who I want to be. Which is why I really want to lose the weight by then. For my height, anything below about 168 would be healthy, and I would be content with anything below that, but 150 is my goal.
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is what you gals think the best approach to losing weight would be for a busy, full time student that also works full time. I also live on about $20 a week for food, so I don't have the money to buy any of those programs that cost money or any specialty foods, unfortunately. : (
Second of all, hello from another Oregonian!! It's sunny today for once.
As for what to do, here are some suggestions for starting out: cut out all sodas and basically every beverage that's not water. That'll save your wallet a goodly amount. Next, count calories. Use one of the free online calorie counters that help you calculate how many calories you should be consuming a day to lose 2 pounds per week. It is possible to eat well on a budget. Buy packs of frozen veggies. There are large freezer bags of chicken breasts and tenders at stores like Albertsons. One of those tenders is a serving, so one bag will last you a long time. For snacks, consider string cheese and nuts.
Ultimately, start watching your portions and again, count calories.
Second of all, hello from another Oregonian!! It's sunny today for once.
As for what to do, here are some suggestions for starting out: cut out all sodas and basically every beverage that's not water. That'll save your wallet a goodly amount. Next, count calories. Use one of the free online calorie counters that help you calculate how many calories you should be consuming a day to lose 2 pounds per week. It is possible to eat well on a budget. Buy packs of frozen veggies. There are large freezer bags of chicken breasts and tenders at stores like Albertsons. One of those tenders is a serving, so one bag will last you a long time. For snacks, consider string cheese and nuts.
Ultimately, start watching your portions and again, count calories.
Good luck!!
Thank you so much for the feedback! Yeah, I think that is definitely what I should be doing. From what I have learned on this site, it seems like counting calories is the best way to go about things. My mom wanted me to do the Adkins diet, since she lost like 50lbs on it, but I love carbs too much. I think the counting calories will work a lot better, I just need to focus on eating filling foods like chicken and veggies, as you said. I actually work at Safeway, so I get 10% off on the safeway brand foods. That definitely helps a bit with the budget, and we are actually having a sale on big 5lb bags of frozen chicken breasts. I'll have to pick some up today after work!
Just be careful with the chicken breasts. Those things are at least 2-3 servings worth of chicken each. Crazy, I know, but you can overeat on the healthy stuff and not lose weight. Just FYI.
My suggestion is to see if you can find an activity that you could replace overeating with that would help you de-stress from work. Exercise tops the list, of course- hiking, biking, walking, jogging, inline skating, swimming, gardening, etc. But anything that distracts you and contents you would be good- a book club, some sort of craft, maybe?
I cut out tea and I've already started saving money. It's hard the first few days, but eventually you get used to the water. I tried some juice the other day and all that sugar almost made me gag. I cut out about 500 calories a day just from that! You could even add some lemon or lime to it if you really must have some flavor.
I agree with ferumbras advice. Don't waste your precious grocery money on junk. Start shopping to get the most nutrition for your buck. You don't need an expensive diet plan, or any of the diet industry's foods to eat well. Fresh fruits and veggies are probably going to be toughest on a slim budget, but going frozen is a good suggestion. Thumbs up on the calorie counting idea too. I use fitday, but there are tons of other sites out there.
Sixty pounds in 4 months is probably an overly ambitious goal, but so what? The most you can do is try. And if it turns out you've only lost 40 by the time school starts, well, you'll be in a lot better place than if you hadn't started. Good luck.
Let's say you have 120 days. To get from 202 to 150 would require a 1500 calories deficit each and every day resulting in 3 pounds per week (52 pounds x 3500 calories = 182,000 calories). While some people on this site have indeed accompolished such quick weight loss -- it is extreme. A more reasonable deficit is 1000 a day would could still yeild a whopping 35 loss and your BMI would be in the healthy range!
To achieve that you would need to do a combination of reducing calories and increasing exercise.
For your height, a sedentary person needs 2,200 calories to maintain. So cut an average of 600 from that figure and you have 1400 - 1800 calories a day (lower on weekdays can mean more calories for the weekends). Then exercise 500 calories a day 6 days a week. For you that could mean walking 5 miles a day (1.5 hours) or riding the eliptical or jogging for 45 minutes. Get your heart rate up in the cardio zone to make best use of your time. Add strength training 2x a week, but don't count that towards your burn. One day a week do nothing to give your body a chance to recover and reduce burnout.
That's a big goal you set for yourself - you can do it! I lost 40 pounds in the last 5 months with similar stats (other than age, LOL) so 35 in 4 months is totally doable!
From reading your post, I would surmise that you have a "BINGE" problem. I can so relate! Diet a few days, maybe a couple weeks, then WHAM-O! binge-binge-binge... just about anything can set you off, from a horrible day at work to a night out w/friends ("they're having pizza, I want some too!") -and then of course you've undone any good you managed to accomplish. Oh, yup. Been there.
I can't imagine living off $20/week for food. It costs $25/week just for my lunches Mon-Fri. So unfortunately I can't advise you there. But you've gotten some great advice already, so in addition to that, I'd like to add this: Try reading the Beck Diet Solution. It really helped me with my binging. And for me, that was a huge part of the battle.
Also, I don't want to say "give up on the time table you've set for yourself" - but I do want to say "so what if you don't reach 150 by your Sept 17th deadline?" - what if you only reach 175 by that date? Will you consider that failure? (I wouldn't!!!!) The trick is to lose the weight and keep it off. It may take you a bit longer than you'd like. But if you don't reach "that goal by that date", you risk the "Oh well, might as well give up" attitude... and that's exactly what put you where you are now. So just DO IT. However it works for you, give it the Nike! (JUST DO IT!) and try not to worry so much about meeting that goal weight by that particular date. Your health is worth so much more than a few months! Right? Right!
Oh, to add the discussion about not getting discouraged if you don't hit your magic number by your magic date: keep in mind that lots of people lose inches faster than pounds. Go by how you look and feel, how your clothes fit. No one on campus will know whether you're 150 vs 165 if you're rocking it in your jeans.
@Ferumbras: Yeah, my main goal is to fit back into my old jeans from three years ago, LOL! I would eventually like to be 150, and it would be AWESOME to be 150 by the time I move up there, but I know that is a pretty high goal and will be satisfied to at least be in a near healthy weight range for my height. 170's or lower would be the ideal, but once again even a ten pound loss in 4 months is still a loss. I really need to try and get into the mindset of long term progress.
@Eagleriverdee: Yes, that is one of the things I really need to work on. Normally when I get home from work I just say screw it and sit on the couch and watch TV. I really need to get out of that habit, back when I was 60lbs lighter I played DDR every day, and that actually really helped and kept me nice and active.
@Shishkeberry: Yes, I used to buy Sobe lifewater but, those are about $1 each, so considering my weekly budget is $20, I really need to get into the habit of just drinking water out of the tap. It is probably the healthiest option too.
@Zoodoo613: Yeah, I am now looking at how much weight that would actually amount to in a week and it does seem a bit... much. I have decided that I am not only going to be weighing myself to measure progress, but will also measure arms/tummy/legs to see if I am losing inches. As long as I have a somewhat steady loss of either pounds or inches I will be more than happy.
@NTexas: Thank you so much for the number crunching! That really puts things into perspective, and yeah a 1500 deficit per day does seem to be quite a bit. Walking 5 miles a day seems like a lot but, that is about how much it would be if I would to work and back, so maybe I will start doing that. Thanks for the tips!
@BeachPatrol: Thanks for the suggestion! I just ordered that book a few minutes ago based on your suggestion and positive customer reviews on amazon! ; )
If you truly want to be this “New Girl” you’ll have to change from being the “Old Girl”. Think like a skinny girl and change your old habits into new ones. For things to change for you, you have to change.
What I would do if I were you is to make a list of all the healthy foods that you like. List them in categories like Dairy, Proteins, Starches, Vegetables and Fruits. Then when you go shopping stay true to your list. To stay healthy you must eat from all the food groups. If you’re going to lose weight on a low calorie diet you have to make every mouth full of food as nutritious as you can.
Remember you can always increase your calories to a maintenance level to maintain your new weight after you’ve shed the unwanted pounds and have become that beautiful trim, young lady you want to be.
I’m a calorie counter and I use a $7.00 book called:
The Protein Counter 2nd edition
By Annette B. Natow, Ph.D., R.D.
and Jo-Ann Heslin, M.A., R.D.
REVIEW:
This book counts calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fats in over 15,000 foods, fresh and frozen. It’ll give you the formulas to figure out how much you should weigh, how many calories you should eat per day and how much protein, carbohydrate and fats your body needs.
It also, has a Fast Food section and chain restaurant section for food choices and values. It covers some alcoholic beverages. It's like the "Food Bible."
I know how you feel, because I definitely want to lose weight before I go back to college for the next fall semester. Everyone there saw me gain weight, so that's added pressure. Anyway, I keep telling myself to focus on being healthy and happy. If everyone there notices that I'm a lot happier (just by eating healthy and exercising) then I've succeeded to some extent. But I would like to lose some weight. Try to be reasonable, however. I know I'll probably won't lose 50 lbs in one summer. But 15-20? That's a goal I can reach for.
I need to lose weight this summer, no matter what.
. There's a lot to do in Oregon for exercise-it's gorgeous!
