hey everyone, i'm so happy i found this thread! i am 21, currently weighing 197.4 lbs&only 5'0! i have been struggling with weight my entire life&am finally ready to take control. i know it may not be healthy but i am attempting to lose 30-40 pounds by the end of july. i know if i can lose it i can keep it off! currently i am doing the weight watchers plan but rather than the 25 points they tell you to eat, i am eating about 10 points a day. i AM losing weight, in 3 days i lost about 3.5 lbs...

everyday i am working out for 30 minutes, then i eat a sugar free jello, then i eat some fruit during the day&grilled chicken with veggies at night... throughout the day i find myself STARVING but i do not want to cheat. is there any way to curb my hunger without hurting my body with toxic weight loss pills?

any tips would be so helpful! thank you!!!

Hi there and welcome!

The reason why you are so hungry is because you are simply not eating enough. 10 WW points is roughly 500 calories and that puts serious stress on your body, which will eventually begin slowing down your metabolism in an attempt to save energy. I know that it seems scary at times to eat when you are trying to lose weight but by starving yourself on so little food you are only setting yourself up for binges and sending your metabolism all out of whack.

The 3.5 lb loss is a great start, but it could be water weight, and when you aren't eating enough the loss comes from fat as well as muscle, which will do you no favors in the long run. It is great that you are incorporating exercise into your plan, but that is creating a bigger calorie deficit which will make you even hungrier.

My honest advice is to eat the 24 points, keep up with the exercise, and you will see that you can still lose weight at a steady and healthy pace. 3.5 lbs every 3 days is not a healthy pace for someone at your weight. I completely understand wanting to get the weight off as quickly as you can, but starving yourself will not do you any favors in the long run. Losing weight with this method will make it nearly impossible to keep off. The moment you start eating normally again, the weight will come back on because chances are, your metabolism will have slowed down. I know it probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but it is the truth. In the two or so months until the end of July, you could safely and healthily lose 15-20 pounds, give or take a few. 30-40 pounds in two months just really isn't a reasonable goal. I'm sorry.

All that being said, I wish you the best of luck on your journey and hope that you stick around the boards.

Hi Nikki, the #1 and most important "tip" I can give you is eat ALL your points! You are not eating enough and it's going to backfire on you in the long run. Even if you lose a lot of weight quickly you are not going to be able to keep up that kind of diet for long. Even eating the full 25 pts per day you WILL lose rather quickly in the beginning without having to starve yourself.

For goodness sake eat...why starve yourself?