[reginaskywalker]

Hello everybody!

My name is Stephanie (Steph is the preferred nickname); I've known about this forum for many years, but just now decided to join. I'm a 27 year old full time Computer Science student and absolutely extremely nerdy. I am single and have no children. I come bearing...questions and musings.

I was never a particularly thin person. I've always fought with my weight, and I was dieting and exercising vigorously as young as 12. I have had issues with both purging and starving myself in the past, though I haven't done either in quite some time.

I was closer to my goal weight back in 2012, just after my first back surgery (which was basically a complete spinal fusion, from T-2 to L-3) when I was eating low carb and working out nearly constantly (or as much as my body would allow). I got down to as low as 160 pounds, which was amazing for me. I have since stopped living that way and my weight gain in the intervening years has been a bit out of control, and I am now up to 246*, which is my absolute highest weight and higher than I ever, ever thought I would be.

My goal is to lose about 100 pounds in total, with a 'mini' goal of at least 70 by October. I have a comic con I'm going to on the 26th of Oct that I would like to look good for. I've been heavily considering Weight Watchers, but being a student...even their 3 dollar a week plan may be a bit high. My main thing is that I need something that won't require a LOT of my time to stick to, because I do go to school full time and that sucks up a lot of my time/energy.

Because of my back issues, I am also disabled with chronic pain, so I'd have to start out slow with any sort of working out.

I'm still willing to try Weight Watchers, and I've looked into FitDay which seems like it could be good, as well. I'm just looking for the best plan for my lifestyle and a lot of support/accountability. I already love salads, chicken, fruits....though pizza is also a favorite food of mine, so that's always tough to stay away from!

If anyone could offer some guidance, that'd be much appreciated!

*just stepped off the scale 15 minutes or so ago. Hadn't weighed myself in a long time before that. Not as high as I thought I was, but still certainly higher than I want to be.

Thanks for your time and any help! I look forward to talking with you all.

Exit, pursued by bear.

[JayZeeJay]

Hi Steph and welcome! Nerds are the best.

You'll get a lot of ideas about different approaches to eating on this site. The good news is that there are many free tools, like online calorie/nutrition trackers (My fitness pal, Livestrong, etc) if you choose to count calories. Other people choose to alter their timing of meals (intermittent fasting), or omit/reduce certain types of foods (simple carbs in particular). There are sections of the forum for calorie counting, low carb eating, intermittent fasting, and many sub-forums for specific groups, e.g. 20-somethings; dieting with obstacles (including physical disability). There is also a subsection on Intuitive Eating in the general diet section. Just jump on in to whatever threads appeal to you and start chatting. There are some sticky notes at the tops of some of the subforum pages with useful info/prior discussions that are also good places to start.

[never_quit]

Hi Steph! I'm a newbie to the forum too, and it looks like I posted my intro just a few hours after you did. (See "Super slow loser" thread.) I'm familiar with several different diet plans - Weight Watchers, South Beach, Sugar Busters, and Atkins. The simplest method for me turns out to be good ol' calorie counting, with the aid of My Fitness Pal for tracking. For me, accountability is the other important ingredient to successful weight loss, so feel free to let me know if you're in need of an online weight-loss buddy! I have some chronic health issues of my own, so I can certainly identify with how that impacts a person's weight-loss efforts. Best of luck to you!