hello

my name is daniel and im from st louis mo. im 27 and currently in college. i was wondering what tips you have to offer to beginners on this board? i came here from recommendation of a friend and she said that the site offers a lot of support and advice so im looking forward to getting to know you all.

daniel

Hi Daniel and welcome to 3FC!

My advice is to find a plan and commit to it 150%. I count calories and exercise. You can find tons of info on calorie counting and other eating plans at our Diet Central here - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/#diet-central

Good luck with your goals

Hugs
Michelle

Hi Daniel!

Visiting the Success Stories forum is very inspiring... especially the before/after photo albums. I really enjoy visiting people's diet blogs too... I signed up for one here on 3FC and it's a great tool for tracking goals, celebrate victories & vent about disappointments too.

Don't give up! That's the main thing. You're doing great already, and your friend is right.. you'll find LOTS of support here, just ask and you'll receive good feedback.

Welcome to the community!

Welcome!

Tons of good info here, read and ask questions!

thanks everyone. my main questions are

what plans do most of you use?

how do you keep motivated?

I don't have a plan. I started out cutting my portion size in 1/2. Then started the treadmeill 30 minutes every day. Nothing too drastic for me at first, or I would have freaked out! As my body changes (so far I've lost 40 lbs, have 10 to go), I tweak things a bit.

Motivation... for me seeing the weight come off inspires me to keep going. SET GOALS! That's a biggie... write it all down in a diet journal or a blog, and cross it off when you've reached the goal. REWARDS! For real, make a list of things you don't normally give yourself (sunglasses, cologne, tickets to a concert, etc). For me it's every 5 pounds, roughly.

you'll find what feels right & works best for you.

Hi Daniel! Feel free to drop by the 20-somethings forum, there are heaps of people in there on different plans who can help you out. Personally, I started out by decreasing portion size, increasing exercise and then moved onto calorie counting. For motivation I try to have events to train for- usually a quarter marathon in my area. Then I pretend I am an athlete and try to eat and act like one

Welcome, Daniel! There are a variety of different plans, so my advice is to cruise around and find something that fits. And remember; if it doesn't seem to be working out, then you can tweak it or change plans entirely.

I'm a calorie counter, but I started out just cutting back and trying to make better choices. Some calorie counters are laid back and not too strict (that would be me!), while others are extremely disciplined about it, and their impressive weight loss reflects their discipline.

So look around and find a place that you feel comfortable. Best of luck to you!

thanks everyone. sorry for all the questions.

is a structured plan more beneficial? seems to me like the whole "eat better, exercise" plan might not work because its more vague. what do you guys think?

For me, I need structure. I need planning. I need to hold myself accountable for what I eat, what I drink and for my exercise as well. For me, it helps me succeed. For me.

I first started counting calories but the weight loss has stalled for months despite my persistance.

I finally spoke to my doctor a few weeks ago and since I have polycyst ovarian syndrome she recommended South Beach diet. I have loosely followed it all this week until today (my book came in) and I'm hoping tomorrow to break through my plateau!

It depends on YOU- if you feel you can't cut things out- then count calories. If you feel you could live with less carbs, try Atkins or South Beach, if you feel you can live without meat become a vegetarian, and so on...

What keeps me motivated is many things, wanting to wear nice clothes, wanting to be healthier and more active, wanting to have children and be healthy for them, and so on

Good luck!

Welcome to 3FC! I'm glad you're here! Surf around and settle in. We have forums based on age, eating plan, exercise & more!

Lots of good advice so far. I would just add that you don't have to have all the answers to start off with. You might even just spend a week recording all your food in Fitday or a similar online calorie calculator to see where you are starting from. Then from there, you can tweak your nutrition a little at a time.