Hello I'm coming here pretty much out of desperation. I'm 23 years old and weight 262 pounds. I have been trying to lose weight all my life. I've always been overweight and felt I missed out on so much of my life due to it. I just want to be at a healthy weight so I can have more confidence to start meeting new people. I've been exercising weekly for the past 2 years with only 15 pounds lost to show for it. I know why that is but find it so hard to change. My family is no help whatsoever. I'm in college and living at home (about to enter pharmacy school so no extra money to move out) everyone is overweight in my family and they do not mind it. The temptations at home are down right ridiculous. I don't want to blame them I know that what I eat is my choice alone but it is just so hard. I feel like I have to be gone most of the day just so I can eat somewhat healthy. I've started the p90x program 2 weeks ago and I really like it. Like usual I stick to the exercise part (I enjoy exercising actually) but the eating always slips. I wish I could find some motivation or something that makes my willpower stronger. I've tried making myself blog in hopes if I had to write it down I would not want to write down cheat foods but that didn't work. So I'm turning here in hopes I can finally change my life. I need a change. I will be entering pharmacy school in the fall of next year and I want my life to be different. I figure it's a new opportunity to start over in a new place. Sigh. My goal weight is 130 and I'm going to make this year the year I change my life. Any tips or advice on how everyone here avoids cheating would be great!

Hey!!!! Welcome to 3fc...well our stories are a bit different being that i am not exaclty overweight...however all of the women in my family are...this past year I gained about 35 pounds...I, like you, decided this would be the year I am gonna change my life...I am also trying to get into pharmacy school...counting calories is working for me so far...ive lost 4 pounds in a week...but i also hired a personal trainer...i hate workingout so i need the extra push...I know you can do this...you have the right attitude!!! Its gonna be hard for sure...but thats why we are all here! Good luck sweetie!

Thanks for the support and good luck getting into pharmacy school! That is something hard to do in itself. I think I will give calorie counting a try one more time.

You're weight and age are just like mine! I started at 265, lost about 15lbs, and now trying to go the full run. I'm also new to the site but you'll quickly see these people are so nice and supportive!

I'm on Yahoo if you have a name on there, I'm definitely up for a new friend.

im on yahoo and aim...add me oksoitsjen =)

Welcome Dyrel!!!! U just have to make up your mind and tell yourself, I DO WANT TO CHANGE! It's gonna be tough especially when u have temptation all around from your family and no support system. But we r here to help u. I finally decided this year that I don't want to be fat anymore. And that I really do want to change and I set mini goals so that I won't get discouraged. I've tried many diets and lost weight, but always gave up and gained the weight plus more back. I took pics of myself in tight clothing, and I never ever take pictures, just so that I could see what others see when they look at me. I DID NOT like what I saw. But they r going right on my refrigerator.lol. Exercising will also help with keeping u motivated. And when the scale doesn't budge for a week, don't give up, just work a lil bit harder and then u will start losing. I didn't lose weight for a week and then this morning when I weighed myself, I had a 2lb loss. Just stay strong. If u need support I will help u along the way. Theres this quote that I like and it goes "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". I was getting urges for food that I didn't even eat when I wasn't on a diet, like hostess cakes and twinkies, I bought one and after I finished eating it, I felt ashamed. I realized that I am only hurting myself and my weightloss by giving in to those temptations and making it harder for me to lose weight. Ever since then, I have not cheated. If I want a sweet snack, I will have a sugar free popsicle. Those r pretty yummy. I think of that quote when those temptations start stirring up inside of me.lol.

Dyeral!!!!!!!!

I joined this site last month and it has been nothing but a blessing!!! I had no hope for any progress when i first started, I never followed through on anything! I have been following the weight watchers point system, however, Im not technically a member. To my amazement ITS WORKING!!!! I love to eat, and I get to eat. I love sweets, I get to eat sweets. My diet stays around 1650 cal a day. I exercise everyday,or at elast try to. I'm on day 29 and have lost 14 lbs. This site is so supportive and everyone is always willing to answer your questions or be your back bone when your ready to give up! I can def use another friend in this journey!!!! I wish you the best of luck and let me know if i can do anything to help u!!!! my email is nikkic718 at yahoo dot com. email me anytime!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i look forward to hearing from you!

Good luck! you can do it!

Hi Dyeral! I'm new here too and I see so much of myself in what you wrote. I'm also 23 and living at home and am working on losing weight. I used to feel exactly what you described: that I needed to lose weight to start living. I had a hard time making friends, I didn't go to any dances or prom in high school, I went to community college because I was too scared to even apply to a university (I think that I assumed I wouldn't get in, despite my almost straight A average) and I just felt stuck. I educated myself, started losing weight and started feeling better. I've learned that losing weight is all about feeling empowered and I definitely do. Even though I still have weight to lose, I've done things I never would have thought I could do a few years ago- I moved out and went to a university, I jumped off a 30 ft waterfall, **** I even lived in Kenya for a few months! It is SO possible for you to get anywhere you want to go.
As far as "cheating" goes, what really helps me is learning as much as I can about what is really in food. I was amazed when I started reading things about all the crap companies are allowed to add to their "food" to make it cheap, last on a shelf and yes, be delicious. This junk may be giving some CEO's a nice paycheck, but it is definitely not anything I want in my body. Once I really knew what was in my favorite junk "foods" (and it's mostly insanely processed corn) and the havoc it was wreaking on my body, it was much easier to stay away. I think part of this was changing my thinking from eating junk as "cheating" to "putting garbage into my body." Not that I still don't have cravings, but now I am much more likely to satisfy a craving for sweets with organic dark chocolate than with a snickers bar.
Anyway, nice to meet you, hopefully I'll see you around these forums!

Welcome, great to have you here, you will find a lot of support, encouragement and success stories here for motivation.

A couple of initial unsolicited tips I'll shoot your way.

1. "Own" every decision you make in regards to nutrition/exercise. If you eat great for a day, celebrate it, think about why it happened and how to do it again. If you slip up, own the mistake. You didn't eat the bag of chips because a family bought it and it was in the house, you ate it becuase you chose to. Admit it and move on to the next behavior/decision. I find this attitude helps me fix problems, and take control of my life.

2. Figure out how to pay more attention to the diet side of the calories equation. I lost some weight several years ago primarily through being in the gym all the time. But diet is well over half of the equation, and if you don't learn how to eat healthy while doing this process, you might lose weight, but you are very highly exposed to regaining it back (as I can personally testify to). I highly recommend calorie counting through an online tool, helps you stay accountable, see where you are wasting calories, and puts exercise into a whole new perspective (this snickers bar is an extra 30 minutes on treadmill, suddenly the craving isn't as strong

Good luck, check in often to hold yourself accountable.

Wow just the initial responses are amazing! I can see start to see that I really can do this and I think I stumbled upon the best weight loss website ever. I really never put so much perspective on my I'm not losing weight until reading everyones post. Thank you for the kind words and motivation. I really appreciate it! I'm definitely going to stick around here for a while!

HI!! Welcome to 3FC! I'm pretty new here too, just about two weeks into it. If you need motivation you have come to the right place. Honestly I feel that I do have a similar story to you. I am 23 as well and I weigh 277 pounds. Last year I was up to 310 pounds, I found out a the doctor's office. I was shocked. I came here out of desperation as well, I knew I needed to change my life because I wasn't liking where it was going. Only had one boyfriend too, which was a terrible relationship. I however have a family who is pretty much all thin, so they can't relate to why I'm "fat". I needed to come to a site that other people can relate and be supportive. In two weeks I truly have experienced that. You just have to do this for you, which I can tell you are. If your motivation and will to be happy with yourself is stronger than your want of that food you will succeed. I'm doing calorie counting, I have joined the Calorie Counters group on this site. I'm sticking to about 1500 calories a day. And so far I have lost 12 pounds on it. Do whatever works best for you, what you can handle. I think counting calories works, well for me, because I feel in control that way. Whatever you do, don't give up!! This will most likely be the best decision you will make in your life. You're new life starts now! Good luck! And feel free to message me! I'm always down to chat! Welcome!