Hello all!

I am a 22-yr old grad student that has given up on simply "trying to eat healthy" to go back to actually keeping track of my food intake. Over Christmas/New Year's I got to my heaviest ever. It's been difficult to find motivation to really keep track of points because I have never *looked* too badly with extra weight on. I'm the type that my friends would agree could lose weight, but they are all surprised when I tell them the number on the scale. I have always carried the extra weight well, and it doesn't help that my boyfriend seemed blissfully unaware of my weight until I set up a Wii Fit avatar (awkward!).

Nevertheless, I know I am not healthy, can't wear all the clothes I'd like to, and don't feel as well as I do when I'm in a good weight range. I am aiming to lose 50 pounds, and my doctor would agree that I could even lose a few more at my height.

So here I am! I last did Weight Watchers in high school with my mother, but I found that I could eat white bread and cookies and still lose weight each week. The last time I dieted, I did South Beach and felt great being forced to choose the better foods while losing even more weight. Now it's my goal to somewhat combine the two. As a grad student, my time is not my own. In addition to my regular academic classes, I teach two labs, attend conferences, do field work for weeks at a time, have weekly meetings/seminars, and conduct my own research. Some days I may be at my office from 8 am until 10 pm. I think combining South Beach foods with Weight Watchers' Points system will make it easiest to stick to a healthy eating plan in my situation.

I really enjoyed the last (SB) forum I was a part of! This is my first time on 3FC, so I'm hoping to meet some good people on here! Please let me know any advice you have.

~SSS12

P.S. I will be doing this without attending meetings. Poor graduate student = no money for weekly meetings. I do, however, have an excellent app on my phone that's a food journal with the WW Points Calculator on it!

P.P.S. Posting this in a few areas since I'm not sure about the appropriate place. Sorry if you've read this in another area!

Hi and welcome! Your stats are very similar to mine... we can do this! I'm 22, and a recent college grad. I'm 5'3" and started here at 189, but now I'm down to 175 This forum provides great support and lots of information. The best advice I've gotten so far is plan plan plan! If I have my menu planned and my workouts planned, I'm much more likely to stick do it, and the results feel great!!

PS: The 20's somethings forum is, in my opinion, the most active area and has a ton of people who relate to each other very easily! Feel free to jump into the weekly chat thread! Lots of great girls there, and it moves very fast Also, the SBD forum on 3FC has a TON of great recipes.

<3, Jess

Hey Jess,

Thanks for replying! It's great finding people with similar stats. I'm glad to hear it's active around here; I will definitely be trying to keep up with this. Anonymous support is really great, I don't need everyone I know here at home in my business. See you around!

Welcome!

This is an AMAZING form. I've been on here for quite some time now and it's helped me when I needed major support, or just advice on which shoes to wear with what outfit We're all 20 somethings, so we're going through roughly the same things in life.

Sounds like you're very motivated but very busy! I use my buiseness to my advantage. The busier I am, the less I am going to snack on foods. I be sure to plan out in advance what I'm going eat that day, when I'm going to eat it, and be sure to pack all my meals the night before. For me - having this set plan leaves no wiggle room and doesn't waste my time during the day trying to figure out what I should be eating


Welcome again and Good luck!

WELCOME!

I'm pretty new around here too, and I can definitely identify with your story. I've always been kind of the cubby friend, but at the same time, I carried my weight well. I was never happy with what I saw when I looked at myself (or the scale) and simply need to change!

This forum is amazing. Whenever I need that little boost of motivation, I come on here and I am right back on track. We all know what you are going through, and how tough it is! As for advice, I agree with garstar. PLAN YOUR MEALS! It helps me keep on track by only being surrounded by the good food that I need to eat, and not horrible snacks. I also plan a "menu" of what I am going to eat when I am at home and only buy ingredients I need to make that menu. Saves on grocery money and I also have stopped impulse buying at the grocery store that was usually bad food.

Good luck!

Hi and welcome! Wow, that's some schedule you have there.

I think the tweaking of the two plans is a great way to go- you make it your own, but there is enough of a basis with SB that takes a lot of the guess work out. It sounds like you're on your way!