Hi, so I've been horribly overweight my entire life(Not even joking, I was allowed to be in a grade 4+ Girls on the Run program at 6-7 years old and various dance classes because my school wanted to help me) but every time I try, I give up so quickly! I can't seem to stay on it because I don't see results fast enough even though I know completely that I won't see two pounds go missing after a week.

I am only 19 years old and about 5'3" but I weigh 268 lbs. I just started doing the 30 day Ab and Squat challenge for the umpteenth time and really hope to stick with it longer than a couple days this time, as well as use the elliptical I own. My diet isn't very good at all but I'm trying very hard to work on it, it just really isn't helpful when I live with just my mom who is also overweight and doesn't seem to want to change her lifestyle. On top of all this, I have severe anxiety, depression issues, and a confidence level of 0 that comes with the weight and after only two days of trying to change my life, I'm worrying about how my body will look--if I'll have that dreaded loose skin and what all the stretch marks covering my entire body will look like /if/ I ever manage to lose the 100+ lbs I'm hoping for.

I currently can't even use the elliptical for more than five minutes at a time before my legs hurt so bad that I need to take a break. I know that will get easier the more I do it but it's a bit upsetting to know that I'm that unhealthy at such a young age. I really don't even know the right and wrong things to do when trying to get healthier. *Sigh* The problems of being a teenager, I guess...

Any help I can get would be so appreciated! Success stories, people who've been big their whole life, tips and tricks, ANYTHING!! Please help! :S

Hi Shay! I'm Dani, I'm 28 and have been overweight for most of my life … I've lost weight before and put it back on…

For starters, you have youth to your advantage so your skin will regain its elasticity and wont be as loose as it would if you were older (this is also down to genetics). My brother lost 100+ Ibs and although he had loose skin at first, five years down the line his skin has regained its elasticity and you wouldn't have a clue that he was ever big. Also, a bit of loose skin isn't as bad as being overweight and unhealthy. And almost everyone I know, big or small, have stretch marks somewhere.

From my experience losing weight in the past it's about 80% what you eat and 20% how active you are. In order to lose weight you must eat healthy and natural foods and not starve yourself or binge eat on anything. Exercise is very helpful of course but the healthy eating is absolutely essential. I have found the only way I can lose weight is to stop eating or drastically limit things that come out of packets and cook my food from scratch. I'm also into smoothies at the moment (lovely for summer).

Have you tried talking to your mum about you wanting a lifestyle change? While its impossible (and unfair) to try and force your mum to make a change too, you can ask her for support in your lifestyle change, tell her that this is something that you need.

Most importantly though, you need to love yourself and know that this is something that you deserve, and do it for yourself. I'm here if you need someone to talk to!

Welcome

I will tell you that your endurance level can get better irregardless of your size. When I started, I too could only do 5 minutes of an elliptical but eventually I could go for 30-40 minutes or more if I wanted. Walking is great exercise and lots of people start off by doing a little here and there and increasing as they go along.

Anyway, I'd look around the forums, there are various sections including an Exercise section, a food section and the Weight Loss Support forum is popular for generic support.

You can do this

Hay ShayRose!

I'm going to throw you a lot of info here so please bare with me

I'm Caireen, I am 26 and I have been big since around 7/8/9. I'm not quite sure when it started to build up because I actually was quite a healthy and active youngster. But my parents were near pennyless. We had a roof over our heads and a car but there was no food, and if there was it was frozen and cheap. I think I was brought up on chicken nuggets, chips (fries), and beans, or burgers or fish fingers. It was easier for mum and dad to buy quick made food for them and their 3 children, nutrition wasnt exactly popular knowledge back then (even just 10 years ago).

My little brother hates any type of healthy food, my mum gets really bored with healthy food and my sister didnt really like anything unless it was pasta or something fried. Luckily my sister is now 28 and has her own house and family of her own, but my brother (now 21) still lives in the house with his pregnant gf. So to the issue with your mum.... I totally understand!

If your family does have a little bit of money and your mum would allow you to go and buy fresh groceries just for yourself then that is great. But if not your in a tough decision.

Just now I am doing a soup challange... I made it up myself possibly. But I basically make up a large pot of low calorie soup, I have it for lunch and as a snack late at night when I get bad food cravings. Each cup is around 40 cal, Its that low. For breakfast I either have Porridge (like a hot oatmeal if your from across the pond), or boiled eggs on a slice of toast with a little slither of ketchup. Then all I need to do is battle with dinner, Luckily I cook the meals as my mum works during the week until late, so I can usually cook a pretty healthy meal. But in your case you just need to try your hardest to add vegetables wherever you go.

I have travelled a lot over the last 4 years which has meant that I have stayed at home in my parents house so that I could afford to travel. Next month I move out and to the City (Glasgow). I bet I will loose soooo much weight not being in the house, because I will be able to make all the food decisions and not the unhealthy folks around me.

I think you will have to realise that to really be healthy you might have to wait until you go to college or move out. It really will help unless you feel you are able to persuade your mum to the healthy side.

Your young age really does have extra baggage due to having to rely on your mum for a lot.

For your exercise..... Do short burts throughout the day. when you are on the elliptical, when you feel that horrible burn, try and hold it for just one minute. It will hurt like **** and you will have total jelly legs once your off, but like you said the more you do the better you will get. Start off with 2 sessions a day on it (even if it is just the 5 minutes). Then build it up to 6 minutes and 7. Go for a walk at a slightly fast pace for just 20 minutes and it will burn extra calories. It really is just about using what is in your house to take those extra steps and keep your heart rate flying. Messy room?? No worries.... tidy it up... calories burned.

Just think about it this way, When I was 19 I was the same weight.... I am now 308 and at my largest was 319. DO NOT GET THERE! it is not fun and it is even harder to pull yourself out of. You can do it..... just believe in yourself.... one day soo if you keep motivated, you will be able to do anything you want, and it wont be your weight that is holding you back. A lot of your confidence and anxiety issues are stemming from this extra weight. Find out who you are... who you want to be.... and it will make it much easier to shed those pounds.

Caireen

xx

Shay! It's taken you years to get to the weight you're at, so you're going to have to have a little bit of patience in losing that weight. It's not an immediate process, but it is so worth it! We certainly want to help you if we can! I assume there are some very unhealthy foods in your kitchen, but are there also healthy choices? If not, would your mother agree to bringing in some healthy choices? If not, do you have a job or any income of your own so that you could do your own grocery shopping? If not, you may simply have to limit your portion sizes until you can start eating better foods. As Dani mentioned above, diet is 80% of weight loss. Exercise is great for overall health and fitness, but don't believe all the hype in the infomercials about how it can help you lose all this weight. What you do and don't eat is what will cause you to lose the most weight. With what foods you have in your house, try to make the best choices you can. Don't eat sweets regularly, try to cut down on foods like bread, pasta, and potatoes, and eat meat and eggs (if you're not vegetarian), and if they are available, lots of vegetables and moderate helpings of fruit. And do exercise! It will help with your depression and it has many other health benefits. Just take it one day at a time, doing the best you can, and don't give up! I wish you the best!

@unicorn22

Hi, Dani! My sister, post two pregnancies, has a lot of loose skin as well as diastasis recti and is always complaining about how hard it is to get rid of—her youngest is nine months old and her oldest is just over 2 ½ . She, though, lost almost sixty pounds after giving birth and is very short so her stomach was a huge ball, almost like the ones you see at the store that kids always manage to find and convince you to buy, so her loss was extremely dramatic but she's the only one of my immediate family that has gained weight and then lost it all at so I have no idea how my genes are as far as skin elasticity goes... I understand completely how much better it would be to have a little loose skin than to have an extra 100 pounds haha.

I try to count calories using an app on my phone called Lose It and it does help IF I remember to use it. I'm always on the edge of becoming full-blown anorexic but since I know what to look for, I catch it before it becomes a serious disorder. Usually, I go a couple weeks getting sick every time before I realize what's happening and force it away but it's a bit nerve wracking to know that it could pop up at any time when I know how unhealthy that is, too. I try to cook from scratch as much as I can but I'm very interested in baking so I end up making some sort of treat every week and before I know it, I've had five cupcakes in a day without having a meal because I don't feel like cooking at that time. I've gotten into the habit of making onigiri(Rice balls) and keeping a couple in the fridge at all times so that I can have a healthier snack than anything in my cupboard but I know that too much rice isn't very good for me, either. I'm able to keep more fruits and vegetables in the house since it's summer but I get bored of them very quickly since I have a hard time deciding which of the million things I can do with them to try.

I've been talking to her about it at least once every few months since I was 13 but all I get in response it usually something along the lines of “Yeah, that's a good idea” or “We can't do that right now”. I've given up trying to change her since she's almost 50 and very ingrained in her ways but I'm still young and trying to fix myself and she won't or doesn't know how to help considering the fact that she's never do it.

Thank you for your help and support! I'm really trying to keep myself motivated and just do it.

Thanks! I used to walk a lot but haven't had the time or will to really do it, lately. I'm hoping that since I'm now working from home, I can load my nephews in their stroller and just start walking but it gets a bit complicated working around their naps. When you were only able to use the elliptical for a few minutes, did you do it several times a day or just once or twice to build up your endurance? I plan on spending A LOT of time searching this site for tips! Haha


Wow, that's a lot of REALLY helpful information, Caireen!

That's very similar to my life, I didn't have much growing up and my mom was always working so it was pretty much whatever my older sister could make. Actually, all we ate was everything you listed! Just add instant mashed potatoes and corn(the only vegetable my mother will eat and one of the few I really can't stand anymore) and you have all I ate growing up.

Haha, I think we had spaghetti three times every week just because the only thing all four of us kids and my mom liked was pasta! It's so much harder to eat healthy when you're not in charge of the grocery shopping like you are when you live alone. I am usually able to go pick out fruit and vegetables but the only grocery store within about a half hour drive has a very small selection and they aren't very good quality so I'm hesitant to buy from there but have very limited options for getting better produce so I end up only getting a couple things and going through them in a day or two so they don't go bad before I get the chance to eat them.

A soup challenge? Do you usually use store bought soup or make your own from home? I tend to like soup that has noodles or lots of things added to it to make it more filling, otherwise I'm hungry again in an hour. My favorites are things like chicken noodle and chicken and rice so if I made a low calorie version of that, do you think it would work the same as something like split pea or tomato? I also have to add things to my oatmeal like maple syrup or brown sugar and cinnamon just because I'm not a fan of bland flavors. To me, if it doesn't have a ton of flavor to it, it isn't worth eating. By boiled eggs, do you mean hard boiled eggs that are turned into egg salad or just boiled eggs cut up and put on toast? My mom is always home by 4:30 pm so she makes dinner every night and I usually end up making something for myself since we disagree on everything.

I would love to travel! I've never gone more than two states in any direction from my hometown... Actually, I am trying to push through all of that so that I can go to college since I'm sure that's really the only thing that will help. I'm getting my High School Equivalency diploma next week and should be going to community college college by fall then transferring next year to a different college away from home. That's going to be the healthiest thing for me, I think.

That's what I'm going to try to do, a few minutes in the morning when I wake up and then at night before bed and just keep going even if it hurts. I know that I have to just push through it but that still doesn't make it easier—although no one in the history of the world has ever said that losing weight is easy! I actually live in a second floor apartment and I'm trying to make more excuses to just go up and down the stairs a few more times a day.

That's exactly why I'm trying to get it under control before it gets that far, I'm terrified of waking up one day and wondering how I got to be like that so young and how much worse it will get the older I am. Hence, the trying so desperately to get better and not just ignore it! I'm sure that I'll have plenty of motivation now that I'm on this site with so many other people going through the exact same thing~ I'm already feeling better!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me! I really appreciate all the first hand knowledge!

Thank you!! Patience is a virtue that I don't seem to have haha! I'm trying to get over it, though~ My house seems to be filled with quick, simple dinners that can be made in just a couple minutes rather than ones that we plan. The good part is that since it's summer, I persuade my mom to buy more fruits and vegetables but the grocery store we always go to have a very limited stock that usually isn't very fresh and is soooo expensive. The only other stores are almost half an hour away so we rarely go there but the produce is cheaper and better quality so I try to go as often as possible but it's only once a month or so. I do have to work on my portion control because I tend to eat only two, maybe three, times a day but I eat larger meals and snack in between. I really wasn't aware that it usually isn't lack of exercise that's the problem so I'm glad she mentioned that! The foods I eat the most are pasta and rice, I never seem to have meat in the house because I don't really any of it. I only ever eat steak and chicken but my mom usually buys other things that she likes more so I tend to go without meat but eat a fair amount of eggs. I'm hoping that since I'm starting a new job, I can convince my mom to let me buy food that's better for me—and better for us! I'm trying to start exercising in the morning and at night just to get more energized since my sister is paying me to take care of my 9 mos old nephew and my 2 ½ year old nephew and they're pretty exhausting. Thank you so much!!

By the way, what a cute weight tracker! Where did you find it?

I clicked on a link that 3FC provided to get my ticker/tracker. This gives you all the information you need about them: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/anno...questions.html.

PASTA!! Its the bain of my life, I love it...... thats the problem.

Its not so great that the veggies and fruit you have access to arent so great, but can you get frozen veggies? its better than none at all, maybe little bags of steam veggies?

Like you said it just doesnt last very long which is horrid. And here in Scotland we have a limited supply due to certain stuff that just doesnt grow here, which means its been shipped and usually rotton by the time it gets here.

My soup challange is homemade soup, now dont be thinking I am some sort of soup master chef lol I am faaarr from it . Yesterday I actually made chicken noodle soup. I filled my big pasta pot with boiling water, added 3 chicken stock cubes (Knorr bouillon cubes, in the states?). Then I added once the cube disolved, a small amount of spaghetti broken into very small pieces. Once the spaghetti was cooked, I added little bits of cooked chicken and left to simmer for about 5 minutes. The whole process took about 15 minutes max and it made enough for around 7 big cups of soup.
It is about 60 cal per large cup/bowl

It is litterally the best snack ever.

You obviously can have quite a few cups a day, but like you said because there isnt much to chew in it you can feel a little hungry about an hour or so after. I could imagine split pea being not so far from that though and tomato. As long as you dont add any extra salt, the stock cubes have a lot of flavour in them anyway. But as long as the majority is water and you choose wise on what goes inside, then it should work well.

My oatmeal has like 7g of Honey in it and a sprinkling of cinemon. Cinemon actually works well with your body to not make you feel so hungry (apparently). Sometimes if I have a big soup day planned I will also cut up a bannana and stick it on top of the oatmeal just to bring extra flavours in, but i really need to rely on the honey to feel the sugar.

The eggs are hard boiled eggs. I just throw them into a pot of water in the morning, give them a few minutes, then instead of butter, I spread a thin layer of ketchup on my wholemeal slice of toast. I take my 2 eggs (full of protein) and peal them, cut them (like you do with a salad) and then lay them on top. I have it with a cup of tea and it is actually quite filling. If its a really long day ill have another slice of bread and make it a sandwich, but I can mostly do without the second.

To be fair, If you pick say 8 or 10 meals that are easy and cheap and quick, you can alternate between them. I have a meal plan that is really easy for the week if you feel you would like some ideas that dont involve hundreds of ingredients.

Travelling is great... I have been to 15 states. I spent the last 4 summers working in summer camps and then coming home to scotland to study. Its awesome, I love America.

At first it is all about baby steps and learning to create a better healthy life environment, as soon as I tell myself Im on a diet I give up. So instead I decided to change a lot of things. I now only drink water and treat myself to about 2 cups of tea a day. I also dont eat fries for dinner, instead I pile high the veggies. I have never been a huge junk food fan, which really confuses my family as im the biggest, but the healthiest.

I honestly hope you stick in there and realise that you may only loose 1lb or 2 lbs a week, but in a years time youll be glad you stuck at it because you will have lost so much over the months.

Hi there Shay and welcome!

I have read that frozen vegetables aren't exactly that bad. They might even have better nutrient content than "fresh" vegetables that have been stored for too long. So I would definitely not count those out!

BTW, when it comes to pasta - I recently heard from someone that fintely grated zucchini that has been lightly fried is a great substitute for pasta. I haven't tried this yet, but just might the next week or so.

Shay, first off WELCOME!!!

Be patient with you. You have always had an issue with weight. It will take some time to loose it. Also find things you enjoy when it comes to exercise. And like many have said, when they started out it wasn't for very long/fast/intense, but that came with time & continued effort.

Try taking it one day at a time. Eat healthy, change out one "bad food" for a more "healthy food". Drink more H2O than soda, many sodas have lots of sugar, even diet has quite a bit of sodium which makes you crave more of it.

Break your exercise up through out the day or "sneak" it in. Walk/use eliptical for 10-15 mins. a couple of times a day, & before you know it you'll be walking upwards of 30-45 mins!!! Or instead of parking close to the store, park a little farther away...this leads to more walking.

One thing that has helped me in eating is keeping certain foods out of the house all together! No chips! No cookies! No cake! I also ask myself a very important question before I just stuff food in my mouth, "Am I hungry? Or am I just bored?" If I'm bored, I need to do something active not eat.

Just remember it takes time & practice! We have all been there! Some of us are still there!

Hope to see you here often! We have a good supportive group! Join a few sub-groups & they'll help even more! I personally belong to the 100+ & the 50+ clubs. In these groups there are others who a like me. Hope you find your niche!

Jaqui_D - Thanks for the link! I'm definitely going to do that once I get to the minimum requirements~

Scotsgal – Exactly!! Why does it have to be so dang delicious?!

I'm definitely going to get frozen veggies more often just because then I can keep them in the house and they won't go bad lol I'm not even very picky and I own a steamer, I really don't know why I don't buy them more often other than the fact that I simply don't think of it... Ugghh that's just the worst! I wish there was a better way that fresh foods could be sent places that it's hard for them to grow. Half rotten produce isn't going to get bought...

Omg!!! That sounds so easy!!!!! Cheap, quick, and effortless? Sounds like my kind of food ^0^ I just told my mom that we're picking up chicken bouillon cubes and more actual chicken so I can make that XD You get a filling, healthy snack/lunch AND you get pasta! Yay!! I usually add saltine crackers to my soup to make it a bit heavier but that's something that I've been cutting down on and sometimes don't even use at all anymore. Wow, 7 cups and only 60 calories per? You could eat the whole pot and it would be less than 450 calories! It sounds too amazing to be true. So you could do a similar thing using the same idea with some beef cubes, beef and vegetables for a different way to go? Great!! I love adaptable recipes~

I think I've only used honey a couple times but I'm definitely going to start—I need the sweetness in such a bland meal! It's amazing what a little bit of cinnamon can do, huh?

That sounds a bit... strange to me, lol I might try it but I can't really see that as something I'd eat very often. Unless it actually tastes better than my American brain makes it sounds! I've heard things like that are actually pretty common over there but here in VT, that seems ridiculous I can see doing it with a thin layer of mayo to make it taste like egg salad but the ketchup is what's throwing me off. Mm... morning tea~ I usually drink a cup of coffee with breakfast and then only water or tea the rest of the day. Especially green tea

I would love to see your meal plan! I can never seem to wrap my brain around what to make so seeing what other people are eating is really helpful to me~

15 states? I live here and have only been to five >.> I would love to visit Scotland, someday, but I plan on traveling to South Korea and probably teach there for a little while

I think the most important thing to remember is that it isn't a diet—it's a change. Diets imply that it's short term whereas it being a lifestyle change means that you're going to do it for life! Heehee~ That sounds a lot like my family. I eat the best and and yet I'm bigger than all of them and hate chips(Or crisps as you'd call them), fries(chips), soda, and have mild lactose intolerance so I don't even eat ice cream very often! I just have a weakness for cupcakes and brownies...

I'm hoping for about two lbs a week since that's a healthy loss and when you think about it, 11 ½ months is 50 weeks which is almost a year and if you lose two lbs every week, that's 100 lbs!! 12 weeks at 2 per weeks is a loss of 24 lbs in only 3 months! Of course, that doesn't count any plateaus or if, as it usually does, several lbs come off in the first few weeks before trickling off to a healthy 1-2 lbs. I don't think I'll have any problems sticking to it now that I've found this site, everyone is so helpful and supportive!!!

pigeon – Hi! Thank you so much!!

That's a good point! They're picked only once they're ready and then frozen right away so they don't have much of a chance to lose their great benefits! Zucchini pasta? Interesting... I've only had zucchini once and didn't really like the texture of it but it's been quite a few years since then so I might have to retry it~

MrsTryingAgain – Thanks!!

That's actually why we got an elliptical, it interested me more than getting a treadmill or anything else, really, and we found someone selling theirs online for $20 and bought it lol I'd say it was worth it even if I haven't used it much!

You know, I actually never drink soda. I mostly drink milk, coffee, or tea. I am starting to drink more water, though, since it's now summer!

I try to do things like use the elliptical until it hurts, then wait half to an hour and try again for another few minutes. Unfortunately, my mom does all the driving since I don't have a license so the parking part really doesn't work for me...

I can try to keep them out of the house but when I still live with my mom and she's pretty defiant to change, it's a bit hard haha I work from home so I do tend to snack a lot which I know I have to watch myself on because I'm usually pretty bored and the comfort of being home just brings out the snacking in people

I haven't had the chance to look at all the subgroups—there are so many! I do plan to join a few though just to have more support and just to make some great friends that are going through the same thing I am~