Hi everyone!

I'm Lauren and I just wanted to give a quick 'hello' to all you guys! I'm 20, i'm a college student and i've been overweight for basically my entire life and i'm really really trying to do something about that once and for all after years of yo-yo dieting but never making it close to my goal weight. I also have a history of eating disorders so that complicates the matter....

I'll be weighing in the morning but i can guess that i'm probably in the high 260s or 270s as of now... (eek) and i'd like to get to 150, which would be a healthy weight for my height (I believe)

I'll update more in the morning, but I just wanted to say Hi before I went to bed. I know I haven't told you all much about myself and my 'situation' but i'd appreciate any support I can get at this point!

<3 Lauren

Hi Lauren - welcome! Good luck and feel free to ask for any advice you need. There's tons of support here

Lauren,

Welcome, coming here is a great initial step, there's a lots of good information for you and regardless of what you've been through there's probably a number of people on here who have been through some similar things.

A lot of people view yo-yo dieting as a failure, but I would encourage you to take another perspective. All of that is in the past and it has given you a wealth of historical information about something nobody else is an expert in...YOU!

Take that knowledge and when you build out your plan build it to fit you. There are probably things you are really good at, maybe it's limiting foods, maybe it's portion control, maybe you're a good cook...and probably some things you're pretty bad at. Whatever plan you develop should fit your personality.

Good luck

Hi Lauren
Be sure to join us in the '20-Somethings' forum!

Hi, Lauren! You may have been overweight your whole life, but you have even more of your life ahead of you. If you can get svelte now just think about how much healthier and happier you will be in the long run! I'm glad you started your journey.

That's a really good point. I'm 23, and have been focusing on how long I've been overweight. I've never really thought about how long I can be at a healthy weight and enjoying my life. I'm stuck on dwelling on the past and all the failures, but like someone mentioned above: I'm DEFINITELY way more educated on weight loss than a lot of others.

Thanks for the welcomes everyone!! I am looking forward to getting to know you all! :-)

and renwomin - it feels like i've been overweight for so so so long, but your advice makes a lot of sense. thanks for the reminder!

What a great perspective! It's taken me a very long time to realize just that. No 'boxed' diet is going to work for me. Now I do intuitive eating with just a little calorie counting and I work out. All this time I was trying to make it so complicated and stick with someone elses 'plan' that it never worked. Well here's my plan! Very wise, indeed.

I agree with everyone about how unique a perspective it is to view yo-yo dieting as a trial and error experiment to learn more about yourself. I'm a perpetual yo-yo dieter too. People say weight loss has a lot to with the attitude you bring into it, and this just high lights that point.

No day but today,
Dana