I'm Tina and I'm new here. I came across this forum a while back, have spent some time lurking and finally, now that I'm at the beginning of my weight loss journey again, decided to join.
I'm 23 years old, a college student in Atlanta (studying psychology), and hope to loose 107-110 pounds within the next year or two. I started out at 302.2 pounds back in October and recently dropped to 287 (slowly but surely), and would like to get down to 180. I would love to be at 150 or 160 eventually but I'd prefer to break that down into multiple goals once I get closer to 180 (tends to keep me motivated & not seem so impossible after all).
I've been overweight all of my life, despite being a competitive swimmer & dancer since I was a child, and I've just had enough. I'm tired of being "the big girl" or the "fat friend" and struggling to make it across campus in time for my classes without breaking a sweat, getting extremely red in the face, and being unable to breathe while everyone around me doesn't even bat an eyelid. I want my husband (just recently got married) to be able to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder again without straining like he used to when we were much younger, and most importantly, I want to get able to grow old and not battle heart disease/cancer/diabetes like so many of my relatives have. And trust me, there's plenty more reasons where those came from!
My biggest problem has been emotional/boredom eating and drinking my calories. To be completely honest, I really don't eat that much in a given day, but love sodas/sugary drinks (at one point probably 10 or 12 a day), late night snacking, and haven't been active enough to burn off what I've consumed. Being newly married and fairly new to any cooking that doesn't involve brownie batter, I haven't been that great at making the best nutritional choices and found it easier to just pull through the drive-thru.
In the past, I've tried most of the popular diets and found the most success with Jenny Craig, but fell off my plan when my mother passed away in June 2009. On top of the stress of being an only child and dealing with her death, I got bored of the same foods over and over again, stopped working out, started coming up with excuses to cancel my appointments with my consultant frequently, and struggled to pay for the food on a regular basis without sacrificing other financial responsibilities. I've learned enough about portion control, nutrition and calorie counting from JC & watching my mother diet for most of her life, I've decided to give it a shot on my own the old fashioned way.
I managed to lose about 50-70 pounds back in middle school, but I was literally killing myself. I starved myself to try and fit in with the other girls and limited myself to less than 700 calories a day. On top of that, I worked out for 3 hours each and every night until I was at the point of passing out. I did lose the weight, but as I got older, I've learned how unhealthy that was, why I ended up gaining the weight back, and why that won't ever truly work.
After a few poignant moments in the last year that made me realize I don't want to live like this anymore, I've decided to stop dieting and make this a lifestyle change. My plan is now to lose about a pound or two a week by eating to live, not living to eat, making healthy choices and staying active. I want to be healthy and the best me possible.
I'm really excited to hear about everyone else's experiences in battling weight issues (what works for some people, what doesn't work for others, etc.) and am already inspired by all the before and after pictures in the Goal section!
I know exactly what you mean about having trouble making it across campus without breaking a sweat. I would literally hold my breath when i'd get into a room for as long as I could, because my breathing would be so out of control. I felt like the elephant in the room just for that reason. Everyone else acted normal and here I was dying to catch my breath, lol. Hopefully all of that will be in the past for both of us soon.
I know what you mean about holding your breath all too well. Sometimes, if I have time, I swing by the bathroom on my way before walking into class so I can just stand there for a minute and get myself together. I can't tell you how many times I've recently decided to take the stairs in an effort to be more active and burn more calories, and people at the top have watched me coming up looking like I might keel over at any point and they're prepared to call 911. It's getting better though. 