Hi everyone

I am a new poster here although I have been reading this forum for a while.
In a little over 3 months I'll be 22 years old which means I have been overweight for almost half a decade now. I don't know how it happened. When I was younger I trained to be a ballet dancer so I was in fantastic shape and I hope this doesn't sound vain but I really loved the way I looked. Anyway, I stopped dancing when I decided I wanted to be an engineer and so went off to university instead. I started eating alot more and exercising less but I didn't even realize how heavy I had gotten untill my doctor told me she was concerned about my weight and made me step on the scale. I was horrified to discover that I was at 193 lbs which means I have gained over 75 lbs in 5 years.

So here I am. I really just want to take care of myself again and get back to being happy and comfortable in my own skin.

Welcome to the forum!!
Do you know what food plan you are going to follow? There is a ton of information about many different food plans on this site. Pick a plan that fits in your lifestyle and you can follow long term. I chose calorie counting because it is free and flexible. It allows me to eat almost anything I wanted as long as it fits within my calorie range for the day and there are ton of free apps out there to help you track your food.
Give up the sugary drinks and drink lots and lots of water.
Incorporate some exercise into your weekly routine. You do not have to join an expensive gym try to walk more, use the stairs more, download videos off of YouTube or Hulu.com to work out to. There are a lot of things you can to do with spending a ton of money.
Lastly, if you have a bad meal, a bad day, heck, a bad food week. Do NOT let this be a reason to throw in the towel. Get back on track at the next meal. You can do this!!!
Best of luck to you!

Hi NEMom

Thanks for the warm welcome and congratulations on your weight loss achievement. I really appreciate the advice you gave me as I have no idea what I am doing. Anyway, I think I'll try calorie counting since I have heard lots of good things about it.

Fria, welcome, glad to have you join us. I suggest you look for a Challenge or Support group to join; small check-in groups make it easier to connect, get involved, and be accountable. We have groups centering around specific diet plans, themes, or age groups, so find one that inspires you and just post to join. Be sure to check out the 20-somethings