Not in a good way. He was going to put in the order for my commencement gown and he asked me how tall I was and how much I weighed. When I told him, he was shocked. I weigh more than my father. That's not good. Not good at all.

My name is Chelsea , I'll be eighteen on Monday. I am 5'5" and I weigh 269.8 pounds. That's a BMI of 44.6. Pretty bad.

Today, I'm making a change in my life. Reading some of your threads on how you reached your goals and how great it feels is motivating. I want to be like that. I want to be able to fit into normal clothes and wear a bathing suit at the beach, but most of all, I want to go to horseshows and not be the fat girl who has to impress everyone. I want to just be impressive on my own. Not "pretty good for a fat girl". It's not fair to me, and it's not fair to my horse if I don't even give us a chance. I want to lose 140 pounds. Not sure of my timeline. I would like to aim for 15 pounds a month, or 3.75 pounds a week...but I'd be happy with three a week.

Today I change.

Tips and advice are greatly appreciated because I really have NO idea where I'm starting with this whole diet and exercise thing.

You can do it. Start with small changes.

I am doing the IP diet now and it is the only one that has worked for me, I don't know if it is something you would be interested in. It is expensive. You should read some of the threads. Many people like to count calories (many helpful websites with that) and Weight Watchers is a very well liked, easy program and their are threads for all of the above. Good Luck.

welcome!! and congratulations on the upcoming commencement!

there are so many great groups and sections here on the forum and so many great tips and advice!

i wish i had started being serious about my health when i was as young as you are i think nearly 4 pounds a week is too much to lose per week though, not healthy and very hard to sustain....healthy weight loss is about 1-2 pounds per week...initially the weight may come off faster, but once you settle in for the long haul, it will slow down somewhat....

you can do this!!!

Hello Chelsea, and welcome to 3FC!
It can be really confusing when it comes to diets. For me, I'm just doing it the old fashioned way by portion control, eating better foods (rather than pizza and burgers), counting those pesky calories, and being more active.
I think most here would agree that it all should start with baby steps. Change one thing about your normal diet and activity (i.e. aiming to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day, taking a 10 minute walk, etc.).
Do your homework and find works best for you. Good luck to you and your weight loss journey!

Welcome, happy birthday and you can do this

Thanks BellaMack! I will look into those for sure

AlaskanLaughter - Thank you for the information ... I really don't know much yet, so I wasn't sure what would be a healthy amount to lose in a week!

MaineFiddler- I think that's what I'll be doing..portion control and regular exercise, because, at the moment unfortunately, I'm not doing either!

And thank you irishcanary

Welcome Chelsea! It can be tempting to try and lose a lot fast (like Biggest Loser or MTV'S I Used to be Fat), but I always remember the phrase 'You didn't put all the weight on in a day, so don't expect it all to come off in a day.'

I'm aiming low to start because I'm not so good at changes and new routines, so I'm doing a pound a week and calorie counting because I feel it's most flexible. Generally from what I've read here and throughout the internet, aiming for 1 - 2 pounds a week is considered safe and healthy.

I wish you luck on your journey and happy (early) birthday

You're in the right place!! Lots of good info and advice on 3FC. And lots of supportive chickies!

When I sorta set my goal timeline out, I planned on 1% lost each week. And thats 1% of that week's weight, so it changes as I lose weight. For me, it was the best way to adjust for the fact that losing big #'s is easier when you weigh big #s! And I started at 288lb, so I know! I wanted a level of weight loss that was good, but not overly ambitious. I didn't want to set myself up for feeling like I failed if I wasn't achieving amazing loss. BTW, I used Excel to set up a timeline by week. It was sorta fun to be able to look ahead at certain dates and see my potential to weight and motivating!

Welcome! I'm new too and trying to get things figured out! I'm following the 1800 calorie diet that would be given to a diabetic. It's really helped me with my portion control, eating often, and eating a wide variety of foods. I'm bad about not eating all day then binging at night. I was put on the 2200 calorie one when I was pregnant with my daughter so I knew I could do it. I did a few web searches to find out how many calories I need to consume to lose 60 pounds by Jan, 31 then picked the plan that worked for that.

It really helps me to journal and measure everything for a week or so and when I plateau. You'd be amazed how much bigger portions are than what they should be, and sometimes I'm even surprised by how much I CAN eat! Good luck with everything! Start with the mindset that it's not a diet it's a lifestyle change and it will make a huge difference!

Hi Chelsea!
So glad you found this site, its full of great people and support. You're a very beautiful girl and you can be as healthy as you want to be A lot of us started with small changes & worked our way up.

Welcome! I share alaskanlaughter's sentiment - wish I had started that young. I mean, I started trying about a million times, but never succeeded in any way that stuck.

Be proud of yourself, and don't give up! You can do it!

You can do it! Little changes can be a great start. For me though, I had already given up soda, juice, and white breads & pastas (and was stuck at a weight I wasn't happy with) so I chose to go a more direct route, chose a diet, created an exercise plan and jumped all in. But that is the kinda person I am, all or nothing. Whatever you chose to do, believe in yourself, and know that every little change counts and whether or not the scale is moving that week, you are doing something that is healthy for you.

Thanks everyone! When I woke up this morning, I was down 0.8 pounds, which isn't a lot, but it was really inspiring!

Welcome, Chelsea. You are smart to start getting the weight off now at a young age. You might want to go on SparkPeople.com for additional help. My advice is start by walking every day, and try to eliminate sugar from your diet. Try to get in the recommended 5 fruits and vegetables a day to help fill you. Best of luck to you.

Never stop. It can be an embarrassment knowing your weight, but feeling 'gained' from 'losing' weight and fitting into smaller sizes can sure keep you going.