Hello!

Well, I am 19. I weigh 250 lbs. I am unhappy. But I am changing. I started my diet on the 12th September and have lost 18 lbs. I now need to speed things up.

I want to lose weight for a fair few reasons. Firstly, I HATE HATE HATE the way I look. I feel extremely ugly because of how big I am. So, obviously I want to change this. I also want to wear the clothes I want to wear. Also, I want a boyfriend. But mainly I want my life back. I have become the exact opposite of what I want to be. I am fat, lazy and sometimes I feel dead. As cliche as that sounds I really don't feel like I am living at all. Just sleeping.

The problem I seem to have is the fact that food is such an emotional crutch to me. I love to eat chocolate and it has been hard to resist over the last couple of months. I wondered if anybody had any tips/wise words to combat the need to eat bad food.

I wanted to be 210 lbs by christmas. I doubt this is possible. But I want to at least try.

So basically, do you guys have any tips for me?

cheers! x x x x

i would have to suggest you slow down...i think 20lbs by christmas is ambitious..40lbs, IMO is wreckless...it is not a race to the finish line, it is a life long journey. good luck to you, and welcome.

Hi there!

I can relate to what you are feeling. There was a time when I could sleep for 20 hours a day, if nobody bothered me. All I did was sleep, eat, and watch TV. It didn't feel like living at all. It's hard to deal with, and even harder to break the habit. I'm 21 myself, and still struggle sometimes.

What I did first was I worked out my sleeping schedule. I got that fixed, then I worked on food, then I worked on exercise. Doing it all at once just seemed so overwhelming. Some people actually opt for therapy to find out why they use food as such a crutch, and to deal with it. If you don't feel as though you actually need it, then that's fine too.

I've heard that it takes a full 3 months to kick an addiction, which is why when I got rid of things, I got rid of them for the long haul. That isn't to say I can't have a poptart on a rare and random occasion EVER again, but I can't eat them on the weekends or anything, it will mess me up big time. Protein is a big one for keeping me full and keeping me from snacking, and carbs, too. When I am really low on carbs I get irritable and snappy and sometimes even dizzy or feel ill. Also I find that now, after about 6 months of eating better and exercising, I don't really CRAVE chocolates or sweets as much as I used to, and some things I used to love don't even taste as great as they used to.

Another thing is I count my weight loss goals in lbs of 5, it's just easier for me to look at things like that. So instead of thinking, "oh gosh I have 28.4lbs to lose, an then who knows what" I'm thinking "oh wow, only 4 more lb until 165, excellent!" I think 40lb by Jan 15 is really going to put you in a bad spot, it just doesn't seem realistic. I agree with pipernoswiper. If you attempt that you might burn out in the middle and go back to your old ways of eating, thinking 'i'm doing everything I can and not seeing the results I want, so what's the point?' etc. I would shoot for 20 by january 15th, but have expectations of somewhere around 10.

That's just me though, and you can do whatever you want and are comfortable with.

I'm not sure how you should go about starting, maybe start smaller like weening yourself off soda if you drink that, or onto diet at least, or replacing 1 junk food snack with fruit or veggies, then go on from there. I doubt my post is much help but maybe someone else can point you in the right direction, but whatever you do don't give up

I thought 40 lbs would be far too ambitious. I know that it took years not months to put on all of this weight, but I just want it off now and in time for the new year so that I can really start with a bang.

Sleeping is a big problem. I will just stay in bed all morning, and if it wasn't for the fact that I have to go to work I know I would stay in bed all day.

See the problem with me is that I eat fine during the day, sticking to soup, salad and occasionally pasta, but come 5/6 o'clock all **** breaks and I eat rubbish food. And its either, cereal, chocolate or yogurt. Those are the foods I eat to excess at the end of the day. This week, I am ashamed to admit, I went to the supermarket and brought a ton of cereal and ate it all in one sitting. Thats not good.

I can I learn to ignore that big craving I have to just gorge myself to the point that I want to throw up? Also, I know losing 40lbs is ambitious, but is it possible? Like could I if ate really well and worked out really hard?

thanks so much for your commets! x x x x x x x x x

It's possible, some people have lost 50lb in a matter of a month or two. BUT, the people that do that are usually the 300-400lb people who really need to lose it. I don't know how your body works though, it could be possible. But you also have to keep in mind that losing that much weight that fast will really promote sagging skin around your abdomen.

As for eating in the evening, that's fine. I eat as late as 8 or 10 some nights. BUT only if my calories allow it. It's about 2:39PM right now, and I've eaten 797 calories today. If I eat a 300-500cal meal, I'll still have an extra 100 or so calories left for an evening snack. Eating a breakfast high in protein but low in cals works for me, and eating a lunch decent in calories, because that means I have more calories for the evening. Also portion control is really important. I usually use cups to measure my stuff, but if I'm really unsure sometimes I'll break out the food scale (mostly for pasta, I really need to learn to use that dang thing lol)

There's only so much calorie counting can do for you though if you don't have the willpower to stick to a plan. Make sure your plan is realistic and something you WANT to stick to, otherwise you'll be miserable and be more likely to break it. If you like snacking in the evening, fine, but make sure what you're eating is worth it.

Instead of staying in bed all morning, get up and stretch, make yourself some tea, step outside for a minute. Just get out of bed. I'm at the point now where I've been doing this so long I can get up between 7-8AM on my own, without an alarm clock, something I NEVER thought I'd be able to do. And more often than not, I'm done with my work out before noon. That's just crazy for me, as I would wake up at noon, and work out at around 6PM, then stay up until 2-3AM.

Anyway, I think I've blabbed on enough. Sorry! haha

I do believe you just gave me the motivation I needed! I am going to try so hard to just get out of bed at 7:00 tomorrow. No matter what!

Hi and welcome!
May I suggest calorie counting? I have been doing it for 4 months and have lost 36 lbs. It is my lifesaver. You can use this site to plug in your information
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I agree with the previous posters. Losing that much by Christmas is too extreme. Slow and steady is the single best way to lose weight AND to keep it off.

Good luck on your weight loss journey!

As for chocolate. Try only eating few small pieces of dark chocolate a day to satisfy your choco need.
There are also sugar free chocolate puddings and you can make your own chocolate smoothie for only 150 calories

Do you have an eating plan in place? losing weight is 80% food 20% exercise. So make sure you are counting everything that goes in your mouth. Also, you are in a good place because your binge foods don't sound too bad. Cereal, yogurt and chocolate is fine for you, you just need to portion control.

Maybe eat more of the healthy stuff in the morning/afternoon so you aren't starving at night.

Also, I'm so proud of you for recognizing your weight problem and conquoring it so early in life. I wish I would have done what you are doing when I was 19! Trust me, doing this NOW will make the rest of your life so much better.

Hi and welcome to 3FC.

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

i know you will get the help you need here, just hang in there , it is a learning process.

Hi!
to 3FC!

The journey begins with just one step
As far as all **** breaking loose when you get off work.......P~L~A~N
Know what you going to have, prepare it ahead of time of possible
I personally do Atkins, but counting calories maight be the most effective for you
Little steps add up. Everyday work on getting up and moving around. Perhaps you can go out for a short morning walk Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to sleep, but I also appreciate getting out and taking in the morning.
Don't give up dear, keep trying.
We are here for you

Hugs and support on your weight loss journey

Judy

18lbs since September is a good amount of loss, and 40lbs by Christmas really is too much. Losing weight should never be about losing it fast or about trying to lose weight to get a boyfriend, it should be about trying to be healthier, and losing weight too quickly just isn't healthy. It might be a slow journey, but it's worth it.

As for the chocolate-- chocolate itself isn't a bad food. You can definitely still eat some while sticking to a healthy eating plan. I wouldn't try to cut it all out cold turkey if you're eating too much of it, just decrease your intake little by little. If you usually eat a bar of chocolate everyday, cut it down to every other day, or half a bar a day, then once that is easier for you, cut it down to half a bar every other day, then twice a week, then once a week, etc. Same with any other "bad" foods. I've found that if I restrict myself too much or tell myself no about too many things, then I crave those things more, whereas if I tell myself that I have the possibility of having something like chocolate once a week, I'm less likely to crave it, and most weeks I don't even want the chocolate.