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Old 08-28-2004, 11:28 AM   #1  
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Hello!

I am a newbie here, I'm hoping to lose 100 pounds healthily! (After 5 years of living incredibly unhealthily!)

I am curious what diets work for you?? I have tried Atkins and WW, but at the time were both real drastic changes that I wasn't yet ready to make!!

I'm 21 years old and "Super Overweight" acording to FitDay.com my goal is to just live like a "normal" kid in their 20's, and be a little healthier!
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Old 08-28-2004, 11:40 AM   #2  
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I'm personally doing WW flex points plan. I love being able to have anything I want in moderation and also having the flex points for an occasional splurge.
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Old 08-28-2004, 12:34 PM   #3  
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I tried WW...and have OFTEN thought of going on it again... but I just can't find the time to go to the meetings (And I've lost my points tracker)
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Old 08-28-2004, 12:50 PM   #4  
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I'm counting calories/fat grams and making better choices! I make sure that my calories are coming from healthy/well balanced foods. I use www.fitday.com for tracking and its a pain in the butt at first but once you get used to it, it RoCkS!

Also, be sure to have as much water as humanly possible and lots of exercise! Those 2 things are key with ANY program!

Welcome to the Board! I'm 21 as well.... Post often and Jump in on the Challenges!
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Old 08-28-2004, 01:01 PM   #5  
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If you are worried about drastic changes, then I'd figure out a few small changes to make and work into some bigger changes.

I started slow at first, I made the decision not to eat anything with added sugar or processed carbs. That cut out a lot of things, including candy, pasta, white rice, etc. Then I went to a low carb diet drinking low carb shakes, low carb bread and a lot of low carb products. Then i realized what was in the low carb shakes and decided I wanted to get away from processed low carb products. That is when I started South Beach Diet and I eat 6 small meals a day, filled with veggies, lean meats, legumes, healthy complex carbs, etc.
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Old 08-28-2004, 02:22 PM   #6  
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Thank you girls!!
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Old 08-28-2004, 04:30 PM   #7  
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I am without a doubt a calorie counter. It is the only thing that works for me. Each person is different. The key is to find something that you can continue with after you lose your weight. In order to maintain health and weight you have to keep on track with your food! It is a total lifestyle change.

I went full force from the beginning. I was so determined to really do it this time that nothing stood in my way. For others, starting with baby steps is the best thing. As I said above, each person is totally different. Experiment with different plans, and find the foods that you like and incorporate them.

Exercise and positivity is absolutely key no matter what food plan you choose. If you ever feel overwhelmed or feel like you can't do it, realize it can be done and it can be FUN too! Don't lose your momentum and even if you fall off every now and again, pick yourself right back up and get goin! There are some pretty amazing ladies on here that have some amazing stories. Listen to them, its inspiring. You can do it! We're here for you ever step of the way!

Good luck on your journey!! Welcome aboard.
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Old 08-28-2004, 08:22 PM   #8  
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Hello! I have only been here a week myself actually, but from my brief experience, everyone is very nice!

Myself, I'm just watching what I eat and more importantly, MOVING. In my previous weight loss experiences, exercising is the key. I had lost a bundle of weight about 7 years ago and was going to the gym several times a week. When my father was diagnosed with cancer, I quit going and slowly the weight crept back on. But what I found during that time of working out, is that I did have more flexibity with what I could eat. If I wanted, let's say, a steak and cheese sub, I could have one and not see a gain from it. Mind you, eating that was not something I did every night or even every week, but in not having to deny myself something that I was occasionally craving, I was able to be much more successful with my eating.

I hope you enjoy your stay here! There are folks from all different parts of the weight loss journey, very eager to help!
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Old 08-28-2004, 08:48 PM   #9  
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I am a Weight Watcher member and it works well for me. I like the support of the meetings and I love my leader--very motivating. I also exercise about an hour or more a day, drink lots of water, and remember to take my vitamins, but it appears only when we have a weekly challenge.

Like Gretchen, I'm not a baby step kind of person, but I do know that changing one or two things to start have really helped some people get their groove. Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Old 08-30-2004, 05:23 PM   #10  
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Everyone has given such great advice I'll just give my welcome to you.
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Old 08-30-2004, 05:58 PM   #11  
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barbygirl43 - I'm using Weight Watchers Pure Points Software. It's is like WW online here. It's a British Software Program that a friend gave me. I really like it. I don't go to meetings I use 3FC 100 club as my meeting place. I read the threads and get the helpful info, support, advice and friendship. The software has everything that WW home/online... a cal to enter points, recipes, mind and body helps, weight chart to keep track and it encourages you when you lose if you don't it give helpful hints, it has so many things... if you want to know more let me know.
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Old 08-30-2004, 07:49 PM   #12  
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Try to find an exercise you enjoy, and dont' be shy to "splurge" on something, say, DVDs of a cool dance exercise routine you want to do. If you enjoy it, if you have fun, and take pride in it, you'll keep doing it. Best of luck!
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Old 08-30-2004, 08:06 PM   #13  
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I have lost over 145 pounds on Jenny Craig. Yes, you use their packaged food to start with, but you have plenty of opportunity to plan meals, then entire days, on your own. It is essentially calorie-counting, but in a modular way using exchanges (a system developed by the American Diabetic Assn, and on which the original WW plan was based). If you take it to heart it, like WW, teaches you how to develop a well-rounded life and approach weight loss as an integrated part of an overall lifestyle makeover. There are lots of tools to help you get your head in the right place. I had done WW before and I think it's a good program, but I did not like the switch from exchanges to points. I like that JC still uses exchanges because it's much better at ensuring a balanced diet. I also have found the one-on-one weekly consultations invaluable, and that was the major reason I went with JC this time over WW. I was in such desperate straits when I decided to try one more time to get to a healthy weight that there was no way I could (a) do it by myself or (b) do it in baby steps, so JC was for me. If I had not been successful with that, my next step was to a registered dietitian who specialized in obesity.
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Old 08-30-2004, 10:49 PM   #14  
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Well that funniegirl and her 145 pounds are a hard act to follow , but I'll share what I'm doing: Like Gretchen, I'm a calorie counter (I just count more of them than she does! ) But seriously, ladies and germs, I count calories, and am now cycling them so that they're not the same every day but average out to my overall weekly goal. I also watch my fat and sugar, and stick to complex, high fiber carbohydrates whenever possible. I divide my eats over like 5-6 small meals per day, and I try never to eat carbs without accompanying protein. I also usually keep my sodium intake really, really low. I drink 120-140 oz. of water daily, on average. I strongly recommend making sure you have a good, healthy breakfast and I also recommend meal planning; I make some of my staples like chicken, turkey breast, and fish in bulk and then portion them out with veggies and some brown rice or whatever to take to work along with my snacks, and I'm set up for success!

For exercise, I do cardio -- almost always HIIT (high intensity interval training. If you're interested, do a search here and you'll find some links I provided to some great info on this form of cardio) but once in a while longer periods at a less intense, steady rate. I was lifting weights for a little while and loved it but had to stop, and am definitely going to return to it as soon as I figure out why that's a struggle!

I log all my food and exercise using DietPower and I love it truly, madly, deeply.

That's it in a nutshell.......I could really go on for days with more detail, but I want you to remain conscious so you can make some decisions about how you're going to proceed! It's totally ok to modify or completely change your plan as you're learning about your body and preferences -- the key is just to start! I don't think I could have stayed as focused and achieved what I have if I stuck to baby steps; I need the structure of a full blown plan -- so I created one, combining what I thought was best from a bunch of existing plans and dietary recommendations. For me, baby steps wouldn't have worked because I wouldn't have been as successful right off the bat. Also, I didn't allow myself the option of failure, so why not do more to set myself up for the best results? That was my logic anyway.

Everyone's different, though, and I'm sure there have been plenty of people who've achieved great results by starting out slow and then gradually building upon the positive changes. I do want to say that it's REALLY important that you set about losing it in a way that's sustainable forever. Think about it long term -- like for the rest of your life, long term! For example, don't go low carb, if you're not interested in limiting your carbs in any way after you lose the weight. How you lose it is how you're going to keep it off......so pick a way that's a forever way, and you'll be building a new, healthy life, not just going on a diet.

For you, just wanting to be a "normal" girl in her 20's, I'd say you're going to have to cut way back to get the weight off, and then you can just live a "normal" life, consistently selecting healthier, lowfat alternatives and avoiding crap. You know what the crap is, just don't eat it because you now know what it will do to you. During that "cutting way back" period, it'll be tough, because you won't be able to eat what the people around you are eating.....but you're going to just have to keep your mind on your goals and continually ask yourself how much you want it. As in, "Do I want to eat the potato chips and be "super overweight," or do I want to say no to them and wear a bikini?" It's hard, but you can do it. I know you can!
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