[Maggie2011]

Hello all,

I'm a 20 year old male and I've had my share of eating troubles. I've lost weight successfully a handful of times of never been able to fully reach my go not have I been able to keep the weight off.

I'm a college student and keep telling myself during the summer I'm going topse the weight. Well, here is summer and I thnk I've managed to gain more. I'm 6'5" 260 and would love to get back down to around 200-210.

As a guy, I don't think that I have as much pressure as most ladies do with weight loss. I'm in a fraternity at school and, while jokes are abundant, I've never been large enough to warrant mean comments. Nevertheless, feeling "chunky" and out of shape has always been hard on me. While others can tell me I'm not fat, I know that I am not not anywhere near skinny. I yearn more than anything to be thin, toned, and in shape. I alternate between being too easy on myself (which leads to over eating) and bring too hard on m self (which leads to depression). It's a terrible an stressful way to live and I feel like of I can get the weight off then I may finally live in peace.

Right now, my plan is a little rough around the edges, and I look for encouragement and refinement from anyone willing to give me advice. For the rest of the summer, I really want to focus on eating less. Cutting out fast food and soda is a must. I also need to work on eating less and controlling my cravings. I'm also going to cut down on carbs when i do eat and balance my meals more around meat, fish, fruits, and veggies.

As far as exercise, I want to focus solely on my running until September. Running seems to be the most efficient way to lose weight and I don't want to discus as much on toning until I can get some weight off.

I am very active in several forums to discuss various topics of interest. I figure weight loss is a great way to engage in forums and keep my mind where it needs to be. My hope is that whenever I feel failure I can post here and hopefully this place can help me stay strong.
Again, I'm at 260 now, and if I can get down to 230 in the next 8 weeks or so I will be thrilled. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

[LiannaKole]

Welcome to 3FC! You're right, this is a good place to find support and advice - there's a lot of experience floating around here.

I think your plan sounds good, but I wonder how well you'll be able to stick to it while in college and a fraternity. I'm just in grad school this fall, and I know that when I was an undergrad it was murder to try and stick to an only-whole-foods plan.

Maybe try a combination of portion control and healthy foods? For example, eat well for the earlier meals in the day, and if you're going out that night save up some calories or whatever to eat some of the less healthy foods and drinks.

I know that when I restrict too much, I do well for a couple weeks and then crash and burn. I do much better if I make it something I like to do (the same goes for exercise), and when I cut myself some slack.

My advice is to work to stay on plan, but if you slip just catch it as quick as you can, and then let it go and move on (but try to not fall into the same trap). Don't beat yourself up over anything - that just makes it harder.

And wow, 30 lbs in 8 weeks? That would take me like 6 months if I don't crash diet. It must be awesome to be a foot taller than I am.

I don't know if any of that was what you were looking for, but I hope it helped at all. Good luck finding and adapting a plan, and congrats for taking the step to get healthier!

[Borgie]

You are right.... the thing that got me in trouble is the fast food and soda. Get rid of those. If you must eat out, try a grilled chicken sandwich.

It sounds like you know what to do. Its a matter of doing it and sticking to it. You need to make a commitment. I was 456 pounds and decided it was finally time to do something about it. I joined weight watchers, been doing it for 19 months now and lost 242 pounds so far. If I can do it, anyone can.

Its not easy, but it needed to be done, and life is better for doing it.