You are on the right track, and I know how no matter what we feel fatter then others view us. The reason I hate to exercise in front of my family is I feel if I quit then I am a quitter. My boyfriend is so sweet and would never say anything negative, but I still feel bad for gaining so much. It isn't him by any means, but me. I am not like the others in this thread, I am overweight now. I need to get to where i feel good about me. But I understand all of the women in this thread because even at a good weight where I know i look good, I find something in that mirror I don't like. You have such a good attitude about losing, believe me it is catching! :-) . You will do it, this I have no doubt about!

You go girl!

Jody

Sounds like no matter what weight we all are, we're all trying to get back on track on track for the first time. For me, I know I'm not fat..I'll joke about it around my family, but thats about all. I guess I always compare myself to what I used to be though. I'm not trying to get back to 107 or whatever I was though...that was a bit too scrawny...

I'm jsut excited to get back to running and start eating healthy for the first time because even 1/2 a pound lost every few days is a reason to smile

Much Love!

I'm really surprised at how many people are starting at the same place as me and have the same goal! I don't really talk about my "healthy eating plan" with many people because they always say "you don't need to lose weight". While my current weight is considered healthy for my height, I don't feel good. I have a closet full of clothes that don't fit anymore and I don't feel comfortable with myself.

It's nice to be surrounded by others in the same place.

Jocelyn

Ok! The group is setup I named it the "Almost Skinny" group...teehee Here's the web address to go to to sign up for it:

http://*************.com/group/AlmostSkinny

It's an email group, so once you're a member, just send your email to [email protected] and your message will go to all the other members, including yourself.

All are welcome to join! Look forward to seeing you there

Wow! That's impressive! When i was a kid, i loved playing sports...baseball, soccer, basketball, etc. And i was always playing outdoors. There were no girls my age in my neighborhood, so i played with my brother and the boys. We ran around in the woods, swam in the lake, went on hikes...we were always doing something physical. I remember in elementary school gym class, i could do more pullups than anyone else in my class Oh where did those days go?

You're right, starting out is the hardest part! I keep looking for instant results, when obviously that's not how it works My body is not used to this at all so it's gonna take me a little while to find my "groove"

I love carbs too! I'm trying so hard to stick with whole-grain breads/cereals, but those french rolls make such good sandwiches! lol

Same here!

And i have confidence in you as well You've already lost 5 pounds, that's a great start! I'm sure your boyfriend loves you very much and would love you just as much even if you didn't totally reach your goal. Perhaps he could even be a motivator for you. Does he exercise? Or do you think he'd be willing to start so that ya'll could do it together? That's one thing that's great about my boyfriend...any diet or workout routine i want to do, he's right there to do it along with me. Trouble is, *I* have to be the drill sargeant to make him do it as much as i am! lol

Same here! Hehe I was talking about weight loss with my father over the Christmas break and he was like "Weight loss?? Look at your figure!" haha...i just wanted to say "yeah, i hide the flab well don't i?" lol Maybe i should turn Muslim so i could wear a veil over my chubby face...lol! I do the same thing though...comparing myself to what i used to be...it's hard not to!

I couldn't have said it better myself I know people are trying to be nice when they say i don't need to lose weight...but sometimes i just feel like saying "yeah, you live in my body for awhile then see if you would still say that"

You are too funny! My family and friends are the same way ~ little do they know. Ha!

Ok well time to go finish laundry and then forcing myself to go for a run ..I mean yay!

Hey Rainbow Brite,

I'm also 25 and 5'6". Unfortunately I have a lot farther to go than you. I used to have an eating disorder and actually got down to 98lbs. Obviously being the same heighth with a similar frame as me, you can imagine how gross I looked. So now, years later, I feel like I've hit the other extreme. I started Weight Watchers today and weighed in at 150. They say that the minimum amount that someone our age and heighth should be 120lbs. I'm not sure I agree, but that's a big enough goal for me right now anyway.
Unlike you, though, I'm extremely active. I coach volleyball year round on the side of my full-time job as a designer, and I also play flag football, volleyball and softball. My boyfriend and I belong to our local Y and we probably make it there at least 3 times a week. My weakness comes with eating. If I'm unhappy at work, or with my boyfriend, or with life in general, I turn to food. So now that discipline starts.
But there are some exercises I like to do at home. Just run a search on abdominal exercise or arm exercises, or whatever your looking to tone, and you'll have like fifty different websites pop up with at home exercises. Things you can do in 8 minutes with stuff you have around the house.

Good luck, we all need it.

Karen 13

Ha..back at school..I think my scale here is wacked out becasue it tells me I'm 126.5 and I was 130 at home 2 days ago. I think i'll just wait to update my ticker thing till I go weight myself at the gym when it opens on Monday. Havea great weekend girls. I know I am goign to go dance off some weight tonight down town. woot!

-Diane

Heya

Read this thread and just thought I would pop in and say hi since I'm in a similar situation to all you lot. When I was 16 I used to think I was fat but I was in the low 120s. So that was a bit silly of me really. So then I ended up putting on weight and last Easter I was 161lbs. One interesting thing is after I lost weight I feel better now in the high 130s than I ever did before.

Anyway I do still want to lose some weight or more importantly tone up because it would be nice to look really great while I'm young (20)

Katy, I'm thinking that anyone however thin has a double chin when you take photos from silly angles like that!
Fitchick- I know what you mean about people telling you you don't need to lose weight. Some people said that to me when I was 22lbs heavier and in the wrong category for my height. I think the thing is that you do have to be careful about saying you want to be thinner when you're already thin or people who are bigger than you kind of take it as an insult to them. I know that really weight is a personal choice and different people are happy at different weights but i can see why it upsets people. I tend to say I'm maintaining now even though I wouldn't mind being thinner!

Dill

Welcome Dill!! Nice to meet you!

LOL You're probably right. For some reason it's just something that really bothers me. And it follows me in my taste for guys...i love a guy who has a really strong/cut jawbone...isn't that weird? I wish i only gained weight in my butt or something...not my face! haha

Hey Katy
Yesterday I got an elastic exerciser thing and for some reason they sent this thing called a profile toner with it. Don't know if it works but I ddin't even know if that sort of thing existed.
http://www.asontv.com/products/968966344.html
Dill

PS you can get it a few places and probably cheaper than this link, I've only linked to show what it is, sorry if it breaks rules.

Wow Dill, i just now saw your message! I had no idea they made anything like that! I wonder if it'd work for me. Hey, it might be worth a shot if overall fat-loss due to exercising/dieting doesn't cut it. Thanks for the link!!

Just wanted to drop in and give an update - maybe some more "almost skinny" members would like to join our group?

I started my dieting and exercising back on January 10th...and now 2 months later I've lost 7.6 pounds!! And i feel great! There are still days when i feel tired and i've had a couple of setbacks along the way, but overall i'm doing so much better and I know this time I'll keep it off. I've still got another 10 pounds or so to go, but i'm confident i can make it...or at least get close

I wish I had measured myself along the way, because i know i've lost inches as well - my clothes are fitting much looser. But i did finally measure myself today and i'm at 34-28-33 if i remember correctly (i left the paper at home...lol). My bf is very happy with the results i've gotten so far And so am i!

And while i still have my chin/neck problem, my face is actually getting thinner!! Take a look at these two pictures...the first one was taken on January 1st and the other taken just a couple of weeks ago. I'm smiling the same way in both, but notice how much less-chubby my cheeks are





Yay for progress!! How is everyone else doing??