Hi.
I'm not new to the 3FC forums, but I am new to this thread. I've been 300+ for the last three years and I can't seem to get below that number.
I graduated college at 285 and ballooned from there. I've been hovering around 330 for the last few years. I've tried everything from Atkins to WeightWatchers, but I get discouraged because everytime I get close to breaking 300, I plateau and go right back to eating the way I shouldn't.
I'm going to try - again - and thought this would be a good place to start. I'm not necessarily following a plan this time, though I am considering alli. I'm simply starting by eating healthier. And so far, even though today is day one, I think I'm doing pretty well.

I really need some help and support this time around, so I'd appreciate any helpful tips that anyone may offer.

I'm going to try to do this in 10-lb increments...that's 15 of them! And I'd desperately like to be under 300 by the time I turn 30 in December.

Thanks for reading! Hope to get to know some of you a little more!

Femgineer - back to 3FC. Being under 300 by December seems like a very reasonable goal. Do you have any idea why you end up sabotaging yourself every time you get right around 300? I know one of my own personal revelations that completely shocked me was realizing that a part of me wanted to stay fat. I wanted so much to be thin that at first I couldn't perceive that I actually got some benefit from my weight. There are many reasons that being thin (or at least thinner) scares me. One of them is being worried about dealing with too much attention from men. Another is having to face that certain failings of mine have nothing to do with my weight. As long as I am large, my size is a great excuse for all kinds of things in my life to be wrong.

One of the things I think is really important is to try and find a plan that you feel really comfortable with because you are going to be doing it for a very long time. Something that is too restrictive probably won't work well. There are a few threads on alli in other sections. I don't know if anyone here in the 300+ group is taking it. Personally I didn't consider it for too long after finding out how much it cost and the nasty side effects. Personally the boost it gives you didn't seem to me to be worth it, but everyone is different.

Please feel free to join in on the numbered chat threads. There is also a great exercise thread where we set personal goals and then count minutes together.

Hi,

NotTheCheat has the right idea, in that you should try and figure out why you keep sabatoging yourself. One thing that many health proffesionals agree on is that those of us who are obese usually have emotional reasons for being and remaining in that state.

For me, it was anger directed inward due to childhood abuse from someone close to me, that I felt I could not or did not want to be angry at. This prevented me from even excercising to any great extent, because once my physical body started to release tension, all of the emotions, the anger, would surface. And so I would feel more agitated, more frustrated, etc. So I avoided it. Now that I have started to deal with these issues, I can excercise and get past it, I know why I want to overeat and cut myself off.

We all have differing reasons ... and sometimes they are hard to find. My doctor once told me that as I lose weight, even if I didn't know what the issues were ... they would eventually pop up and hit me in the face as I lost pounds and if I forced myself to just go through whatever I needed to go through emotionally at the time, I would learn better coping skills.

So you don't necessarily have to resolve the issues before losing the weight, but simply be prepared to deal with them because they will likely surface.

Welcome, welcome!!!

Most of the action around here does take place on the numbered weekly threads. They can be a bit fast at first, but it's a great place for support.

I just started with eating healthier and watching portions. Today, that's still the basis of my plan (I'm a calorie counter).

Welcome! I wish I had found a support group like this when I was your age. Instead I'm still starting over at 40. You've learned one important thing--set reasonable goals.

I really hope you'll stick around and post regularly. If you commit to posting even when you're not doing well--posting, for example, to report that you went off track in your eating for a day--you might find it helpful. I have found it helpful, at least, in not letting a single bad day or bad event turn into weeks of not caring about my weight.

I wonder if we're fellow PSU alumnae? I lived in State College for 15 years and took 3 degrees there (not to mentioning working in staff jobs all over the university). Still miss it all the time.

I am not new to 3fc either, but I did just start reading the thread...so welcome to you, and to me, lol.

Welcome Femgineer and also to WinterStarzz. Losing the weight is ALWAYS so much harder than it was to put it on. As has been said the best thing to do is to aim for small goals rather than looking at the bigger picture and the MASSES that most of us have to lose, that seems just far to daunting.

I think that most of us will hit plateaus at some stage and also I am sure that most of us will sabotage ourselves for one reason or another at some stage.

I hope that with the support of the great people here you are able to stick to your plans this time around and succeed in this weight loss journey.

Take care,
Jennylee