Hey everyone! I' 17 years old and i am overweight I know I'm young and still a kid but I'm tired of being unhappy with myself and my weight and I don't want to keep living my life feeling so unhappy and never doing anything about it, When I first took a crack at losing weight I was desperate I ate nothing but bread and water and tried to make my self vomit (always unsuccessful in my attempts thank goodness) then I would just starve myself but that would only last a few days before I ate like a cow as the end result when I get so motivated to work out and be a health guess what I pull, I pull the 'I'll do it tomorrow' excuse right out of my huge excuse bag! but i don't want just a healthier change till i think i look good goal, i want this to be a lifetime goal that i can continue and be proud of myself for. It's hard to eat healthy in my house because my family is big and they don't really buy healthy foods most the time unless i ask for something specifically. it's like being in a sea of delicious smelling foods, it's hard to look away to the smaller pile of healthier foods.Any help or advice is more then welocme obviously

thanks for reading!!
--Ash

Welcome and congrats on realizing that binge/purge or just restriction are not the healthy ways to eat and acheive/maintain a healthy weight! I know it's difficult when you're stuck eating something different from the rest of the family but just make the healthiest choices you can and be mindful of portion sizes and you'll be on your way in no time!

Hello Ashie.
I understand where you are coming from, weight loss can be frustrating sometimes. But at some point you have to realize that NO ONE can make that decision but yourself. I realized that not long ago after years of making excuses, that I was the only one who could make changes in my own life. You have to start by making small changes too, I mean I went on a crash diet many times and lasted a week or so but then it was so hard I stopped and was back to my heavy eating habits. So now I am eating smaller meals and incorporating more veggies to my diet. May be you can ask your family members to help you in your weight loss journey, they could add more healthy stuff to what you normally eat.
Also am glad to read that you are not looking for a quick fix because it takes time to lose the weight. I started back in September at 199lbs and I only lost 11 lbs in 2 months. It is frustrating sometimes but as long as you don't make yourself sick I guess it's a good thing.
So just start by making small changes and be patient but dedicated and you will lose the weight.
This site is a very good tool because you can get all the support you need from real people like you who are changing their lives for the better.

Ashie,

I totally understand where you're coming from. My family also ate very unhealthy food and since I didn't do the shopping and all of that stuff was in the house, it was hard to control. When I left for college and was put on the meal plan, I actually lost weight, lol!

My advice, similar to yellsa's, would be to start small, so it's not so overwhelming. If you drink soda/juice/milk, etc, cut it out or at least way down and drink water or seltzer (calorie-free!) instead. That's probably one of the easier ways to save on some calories without really trying to change what your family buys or eats, which can be very difficult. Also, maybe see if you can get whoever shops to buy some fresh fruit for you or even some carrot and hummus and snack on that rather than chips or whatever else is laying around. Most importantly, don't starve yourself! Your body will just freak out and you'll end up binging!

Good luck! Poke around in the forums, there's tons of great advice here

Hi and welcome to 3FC.

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Welcome Ash to 3FC, we are glad you are here!