Hey yall,

I joined here a while back probably in March or something. I had started to work out but it quickly faded once finals and other matters of life occured since I'm in college.. anyhoo needless to say I have not lost any weight but I am not giving up! Last week I started again! I am now taking a really intense African/congolese dance class on Tues and Thurs and working out the other days. I am trying to be mindful about what I eat and actually am deciding on healthy foods. I came up with a lil quote for me to abide by "Decide on something healthy" and this week, every time I go eat I think on that quote and I've been doing good so far but yeah

Anybody got any tips or encouraging words.. it's hard but I want to be able to lose 40 lbs by my 21st birthday, Sept 22

That 40 by Sept might be very feasible! My goal was 40lbs by my bday, in the middle of July and fitday said I had to lose 3.3 lbs a week to do that...so I'm sure that your goal is more easily reached!

Keep up with your quote! If it works, keep it up! Enjoy that feeling of triumph when you DO make a good choice!!! I've found that feeling is better than the reward of a wrong choice! I have such weak willpower that me exercising it is a joy to me...lol.


Good luck! Keep coming here, there's so much support and motivation here that it would be hard NOT to keep going!

Kim

You can do it!!! I lost 50 pounds in 4 months. You can lose 40 in 4 months. Im not saying it's easy...but it is possible. We are all here to help.

Thanks ladies!! Today I used my quote a lot... I had lunch with my boss and co-workers since the job is over for me and I'm moving on and I kept thinking "Decide on something healthy" and I did. Everybody else had fries and burgers, and lots of carbs lol I got a chicken sandwhich with veggies only and a salad on the side and it was good and it filled me up! Same with dinner I got my fav. chinese food but I didnt' eat it all just a small portion with water...

Good Job! I am doing "baby steps". Trying to make a healthier lifestyle. I think every little healthy choice makes a big difference!

You can DO it!

Look at your stats compared to mine. They're the same

Eating healthy is a great start, but that's not all that's inside the box, I'm afraid. Healthy foods have calories as well and they can add up. You can get fat eating nothing but vegetables or lose weight eating chocolate. Not that I advocate eating chocolate to lose weight, I'm just trying to make a point - all food has calories, regardless of its nutritional value, and if you take in more calories than your body needs to burn for energy, you're not going to lose anything.

The best thing to do is play around with a few online calorie calculators and find out, according to your weight and height and other stats, how many calories you need to take in per day to maintain your current weight. The usual rule of thumb is to subtract 500 calories from that total (called your "maintenance" calories) and that will cause you to lose at least a pound a week, which is nice and slow and safe.

Then set yourself up with a fitday.com account (many of us here use fitday) and keep track of everything you put into your mouth. Get used to weighing and measuring and recording everything you eat. It seems a tedious task at first, yes, but eventually it becomes so second nature that you can't imagine life anymore without doing it.

Believe me, I tried just about every diet there is. Which is how I got fat. I'm not on a diet anymore. This is a lifestyle change for me and I'll have to do it the rest of my life to keep off the weight I've lost. But I love eating healthy, I love being in control of what goes into my body, so I'm ready

I've been over weight for as long as I can remember. While I'm not at my heaviest I'm pretty damn close.

I was noticing that my stats are similar to Intrigued and LLV and just thought I'd say hey.

I'm taking those baby steps and and currently using a calorie counter on spark people.

I think my beggest problem is lack of exercise. Of course I don't get much support from hubby either. He has never seen an extra ounce of fat in his life and thinks I should just be able to "melt it off."

It's so nice to find a group that really does understand that losing weight is not a quick thing!!!!

Good points ladies and thank you! I am going to make an appointment with my nutritionist. She told me how many calories I need, I just hate counting calories. I've just been cutting a whole lot back and drinking nothing but water..

I work out and I like to do fun work outs. I have an African and Congolese dance class and it is wonderful! It truly works me out! I have it today but I'm not going due to horrible PMS but I will hit the gym tonight once I feel a lil better...

I am currently a full time student as well as working part time so I know exactly how hard it is to find some ME time. I think it sounds like you are off to a great start. What has helped me tremendously is planning. I plan out all my meals ahead of time, make sure I have little snacks available when I want to munch, and plan my exercise schedule at the beginning of the week. Of course things come up and it does not always go as planned, but it runs much more smoothly than just winging it. Make one mini goal a week to accomplish. And treat yourself to rewards - just not FOOD rewards! Good luck!

Thanks for the advice!!