I have been on here for awhile now and I have attempted to lose weight but never really had the motivation to do so however now I'm ready. I went to the doctors today and the doctor was really rude to me today about all aspects of my life-- health wise or not. I saw what the scale said today and well...wow. I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to have to plus size clothing anymore. I want to wear what all other 22 years old are wearing. My weight limits me or rather I let it limit me from the world and this has to stop. I just graduated from college and will be starting a new job in a week and a half and I want to face this new chapter of my life with many new and challenging aspects.

Basically, I need help. I need some guidance as to what to do. I don't know a lot about a healthy lifestyle-- I don't know how to read nutrition labels. I don't know what is the best cardio workouts, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm gonna butt right in here ... if you can remember everything you ate yesterday, go get a free account at fitday.com and put it all in. Once you have a look at that, you'll quickly learn where to tweak and change your food intake.
3FC is a wonderful place where there are lots of folks who will help you with that ... and all of your questions.

Welcome!! While I'm sorry your doctor was so rude, I'm glad that you've decided that "enough is enough." Losing weight seems intimidating at first, but it's amazing how quickly it becomes second nature if you stick through the rough spots at the beginning!

The first thing to decide is how you want to lose weight. I've personally had great success with calorie counting & eating a balanced diet, as I find it very straight forward...others find that special plans (Atkins, Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss, etc.) work well for them. I like calorie counting because I can do it on my own (I track what I eat in FitDay), but if you're looking for extra motivation, paid programs with weekly weigh-ins can help keep you on track.

I'm sure that others will be able to explain proper nutrition better than I can, but congratulations on taking this step towards better health! See you around the forums.

I like calorie counting, too.It is flexible, easy to follow and won't cost a penny,

My best advice, is look at this as a new lifestyle...not a diet. A diet is for someone who wants to lose 5-10 pounds....a lifestyle is for someone who wants to lose it and keep it off for life.

I also calorie count...since this is for life, there is no way i could follow atkins, LA weight loss, etc. I have to have a program that will work with *my* life...and my life has a lot of curves and hills...it is just not practical for me to be on those plans. There will be days where i want to partake in someone's birthday cake and i dont want that to ruin my whole plan for the day. So i opt for a program that has no "off limits". Life is not lived "off limits"...but with moderation and planning.

First of all - congratulations on deciding to change your lifestyle! It's a huge step just deciding that.

If I were in your shoes, I would start small. Find a way to move a little more every day this week, even if it's just a walk around the block. You can change the type, length and quality of your cardio as you learn more - for now, just get moving. Make some changes to your diet - I do well with introducing a few small changes at a time, rather than completely overhauling my diet overnight. Stop drinking soda, if you do. Eat one more fruit or vegetable than you normally would. Again, you can change your diet more as you go along.

I wish that when I first started dieting, someone had sat me down and told me to learn about proper nutrition before looking into specific diets. Now that I have a better understanding of what my body needs and why, I can make more informed decisions about how I want to lose weight. If you're like me and want to read as much as possible about things, look around on 3FC. You could also check out the Mayo Clinic's information about healthy eating.

Again - congratulations for making this decision. Start small. You CAN do this!

Welcome! Congrats on graduating college! You have come to the right place for motivation and support. And you have taken a great first step: you made the decision! Now you just need the backing and strength to keep going forward. It is hard being young and overweight. I am 21 and always wish I could do what "normal" 21 year olds do. But my weight has always held me back. So that's why I'm here! And it feels so good to start losing.

Good job on deciding to lose the weight. I'm sorry that the doctor was rude.

You have to decide what plan is right for you. No can tell you. Calorie countring has really worked for me because it's easy, you don't need to really buy anything (except if you don't have a food scale I would strongly suggest you get one), and lastly nothing is off-limits so if you want something you just need to plan it in. However it just depends on what you think is right for you. You might want to check out some of the sub-forums to try and get information about other plans.

If I can make another suggestion, take some before pictures. They may freak you out but after you start losing you'll be thankful for having them.

I agree w/ the ladies here. Look at it as a lifestyle change. I'm trying to do that and when I do it really does help.

I use ***********.com to help count calories/fat/carbs/protein. I find it much easier to use than fitday and it has a larger amount of foods in its database.

ETA: Apparently the website I use isn't acceptable here.

Welcome!

And you used the absolute correct terminology. This is all about a healthy lifestyle. Not "diets" and especially not unhealthy "diets." This is for life. This is for you. You can do it.

Use clothing, ect. as motivation. That was one motivating aspect for me too.