Hmm.. where do I begin?

I'm 25 years old & I weigh 252 lbs. I have been overweight pretty much all my life. I am 6 feet 1 inch tall so that helps my weight look more proportional I guess. I have always been the big girl & quite frankly I'm sick of it. I hate taking pictures because I look horendous in them. I try to act like I'm confident but it's just an act.

I was never able to share clothes with my friends, or even shop in regular stores. I normally have to always order my clothes online especially because of my height. I want to be able to just go to the mall and buy clothes & feel good about myself.

I have tried to lose weight so many times in the past but I lose my focus very easily. I have tried weight loss pills, & many fad diets, with the most recent being The South Beach Diet. The fact that I can't stick to them makes me feel so discouraged. I wanted to try Weight Watchers just to have some support but it is just not in my budget right now.

I am hoping belonging to 3FC will be able to motivate me to stick to my guns this time.

Welcome to 3FC =)

Ignore all diet programs for five minutes. Just put them out of your mind for the time being.

Permanent weight loss requires permanent change. Even as I say that, though, permanent changes do not have to be BIG changes all at once.

As an example, back in April I knew that I needed to get healthier, but I also knew that if I started with too many things that I'd get burnt out and be more likely to quit. So I began walking just 5 minutes a day, and started tracking all the food I ate. I didn't even make changes to the food I ate the first week. I just wrote it down. (Yes, including a whole box of Cheez-its)

My number one goal is not "lose weight", as strange as that sounds on a weight loss site. My number one goal is "NEVER GIVE UP". And so anything that I could do to never give up was and is a success.

To start. I just needed to feel that I could handle the changes. Two small changes were what I could handle. And so two small changes were what I did.

From there, I built up. Slowly, mind you. Very slowly. It took me a month to add in another 5 minutes to my walk. And then a month after that I added in another 5 minutes, and so on. I'm now up to 25 minutes daily. However this NEVER would have happened if I didn't simply accept that I needed to start by committing to a mere 5 minutes a day.

I also changed my food over time. I'm a Weight Watchers member. Currently (unfortunately) meetings are not an option for me, but I use WW Online to track all my food, and to keep up with my good health guidelines.

Not being able to find a program that works for your life right away is not a bad thing. I know at this stage it seems like a very bad thing, but it's not. I promise you.

If you're looking for support, 3FC is one of the best places you could find for it. Everyone here is encouraging and down to earth. We want to see every member healthy and happy and achieving their goals.

Keep coming back. Talk through it. You'll find a plan that works for your life. 3FC members can even give you ideas on how to create plans that will fit.

You can do this!