Hey all! I'm not exactly sure what all to include in my introduction so I suppose I'll go with the basics and prevent this from being too long!

I'm new here. I started on my journey weighing my highest of 259lbs. Cutting out soda completely, made me lose 9 pounds and after beginning to eat healthier and smaller portions and majorly increasing my water I am now sitting at 245 (well, last time I weighed - last month). I'm now increasing my exercise (right now I do about 40mins on treadmill and 15-20 of free weights) and fine tuning my nutrition habits. I'm 21 and my first goal is to get to about 190. Once I reach that, I'll set a new goal. I'm proud of myself for sticking with it as long as I have, working as hard as I have and am dedicated this time to changing my lifestyle for good!

Already I can see some small changes but mostly I just feel great these days. I have more energy and motivation than I have had in a long time. I can see this forum is very supportive and I'm glad I found it! I'm also looking forward to learning more along my way since I've got a lot to learn!

Welcome to 3FC Miss Lion!

Good luck getting to your goals

There's something to learn from everyone here so I know you'll learn alot!

Hi and welcome to 3FC!

Good luck with your goals

Hugs
Michelle

HELLO & WELCOME!!!!

I started out at 259 also.
Last November ~ 2008.
Here I am Nearly 80 lbs lighter.

I count calories~May wanna check into that.....I Feel with everything else you are doing that would be extra helpful to ya.
YOUR DOING SO WELL WITH LOSING ~I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND IF YOUR INTERESTED IN COUNTING CALORIES (It's a free thing) Just go to the calorie counting forum~We would be glad to help~oR MESSAGE ME & I WILL TRY TO HELP.

When you cut out the soda ~you cut out caloires which WAS super and help result in the weight loss....Sorry to carryon about counting calories it just saved my life and When I saw your start weight was same as mine I just had to mention it to ya~GOODLUCK!

Wow, that's a huge accomplishment! I gotta tell ya, I really look up to that! And thanks for suggesting the calorie counting, I will definitely need to drop by the calorie counting forum and see what it's all about. I write down what I eat so I don't overeat (like forget I ate something), but I should begin adding calories as well. Thanks! And way to go!

welcome, this is an amazing site, with amazing people.

your welcome~ Here is something I read that helped me make the choice to count calories~Hope you do not mind me placing it on here for you to read.
I just want you to succeed!!! I know you can ~your doing super & counting calories is the final key!!


Heres that info:

Principles
Weight management may be difficult to achieve, but it certainly is not difficult to understand. When you consume food or drink, you consume calories. Your body burns calories to function, burning significantly more calories when you exercise. If you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight. If you consume fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Because your body requires energy simply to stay alive, you burn calories even when you are not exercising. In fact, you burn calories directly in proportion to your body weight. On average, a male burns 11 calories per day per pound of body weight. The average female burns 10 calories per day per pound of body weight. These figures are just averages. Some people will be higher or lower, since everyone's metabolism is a little different. Fitness Record allows you to specify the value which is appropriate for you. If you don't know, it is suggested that you start by using the average value for your gender.
For example, if John weighs 150 pounds, he burns approximately 150 x 11 = 1,650 calories per day. If he exercises, he will burn additional calories on top of that, depending on the exercise activity. However, if he does not exercise, he must eat 1,650 calories per day, just to maintain his body weight. If he eats more, he will gain weight. If he eats less, he'll lose weight.
For the purpose of calculating expected weight gain/loss, one pound is 3,500 calories. Each time you consume an extra 3,500 calories more than you burn, you will gain a pound. For example, Jane weighs 130 pounds, never exercises, and eats exactly 1,400 calories every day. Her metabolism is burning 1,300 calories per day, so she are consuming an extra 100 calories each day. If she does this indefinitely, she will gain a pound in 35 days, since 35 * 100 = 3,500.
Fitness Record uses another term, called Behavioral Weight. The idea is that over the long term, your weight is determined by your behaviors, and is best illustrated by example. Consider Jane above, who eats 1,400 calories per day. After 35 days of this behavior, she will weigh 131, instead of 130. This means her metabolism will burn slightly more calories than before. If she continues to eat 1,400 calories every day, she will continue to gain weight, but at a slightly slower pace. Eventually, she will weigh 140, at which time her metabolism will be burning 1,400 calories every day. At this point, she will stop gaining weight, since she is consuming the same number of calories that she burns. Therefore, by eating 1,400 calories in a day, Jane is behaving like a 140 pound person. Her "behavioral weight" is 140.
Exercise contributes to your calories burned. If Jane were to exercise, burning an additional 100 calories each day, then her calories burned would be in balance with her calories consumed. She could eat 1,400 calories per day, exercise 100 calories per day, and continue to way 130 indefinitely.
You may now be asking, "Why can't I just eat low fat foods?" You can eat whatever you want. But, non-fat foods can still have calories. Check the food label to find out if eating the non-fat version of a food is really saving you any calories -- sometimes it's not. Many programs recommend moderating your dietary fat intake, and that is obviously good advice. Eating low-fat foods happens to be an excellent guideline for keeping your calorie intake low. In addition, moderating your dietary fat intake may contribute to your health in other ways. However, it will not alter the mathematics of weight management -- you still have to eat fewer calories than you burn if you want to lose weight.
The problem with the way the human body works is that calories counting is tedious and difficult. Most weight-loss programs, as well as the so-called "fad diets", focus on other guidelines which are simpler to follow than calorie counting. However, none of these guidelines alter the underlying principles of weight management.

That helps me a lot. I'm actually going to save this excerpt - I find it really useful! Earlier I was wondering how much I'd have to burn to lose weight, and that helps me figure it out a bit. Thanks for forwarding that! Also, it's very convincing about calorie counting. I think I'm going to keep a pad and paper in the kitchen and each time I eat write it down (including calories) and add it up each night to make sure I'm on track. Thanks so much! This was really helpful and I'm even more confident now that I'll do good!

Hello and welcome to 3fc! I noticed your 21 too I just turned 21 last month just feels like I am getting older with the privilege to drink legally now lol. I'm trying to do the same as you and cut sodas and all the unhealthy foods out. Anyways if you ever need some one to chat to you can always message me =) Have fun and Good Luck!

Miss Lion It looks like you've started down the right path, good luck with it!

Welcome to the forums, Miss Lion, so glad you joined. Best of luck in achieving your goals.

Welcome, Miss Lion!

I wish you the best on your weight loss journey.

Cheers,

J