Having just been introduced to these forums by a very inspirational friend of mine, I wanted to say a brief hello. I'm very excited to have such a wealth of knowledge to delve into. More importantly I'm excited to hear about the personal experiences of others and see how their knowledge can apply to my journey through weight loss!
To offer a bit about myself… I'm a recently 29 year old woman who has never, before now, ventured down the path of actively seeking to reduce my weight. In younger years I was oblivious to the fact that I was a bit underweight and I believe it impacted my life negatively in contributing to anxiety disorders I have suffered. Having started to eat more healthily over the years as I became more financially secure and aware of my own body, I've moved into dabbling into a little (delicious, delicious) excess here and there.
At 138.5 pounds, I'm at the higher end of what is considered a healthy weight range for my height and now I'm seeking to explore what is right for me specifically. Currently I know I have a few pounds that are extraneous. What my range of experience indicates is that 138.5 is too much and 120 is definitely too little. I'm setting a very flexible goal of 125 that I will re-evaluate as I go along, to make sure I settle on a number that feels healthy to me as an individual.
Right now my goal is to eat limited carbs and lots of healthy fruits/veggies/proteins/fats. Since adjusting my regular needed amount of calories (1575 if the calculator is correct) for a deficit that is conducive to weight loss doesn't leave much room, I will be aiming for 1200. As I understand that is the minimum I can hazard while not negatively impacting my health. That leaves me with a fairly low rate of weight loss, so I'm hoping that I can remain motivated despite the slow rewards!
I'm also going through a period of real struggle in my life. I'd never had my heart broken until now and some of my motivation to transform my body comes from a desire to regain self esteem that has been severely wounded by the events of the last weeks. As such, I'm trying my hardest not to let my lack of appetite stemming from depression convince me to restrict my calories too much. I'm doing my best to track my caloric uptake so that I can supplement my consumption until I'm at or past my daily goal of 1200. Every day I come up short I worry that I'm immediately compromising a metabolism that has been good to me for many years.
So here's to a goal to maintain good health, self esteem, reflection and perseverance. Cheers!