I'm brand spanking new here, not only to this forum, but to ANY forum. Well, the participating part, that is. Guess I just missed this portion of the tech revolution by... a couple decades? And I've barely lived that long haha.

Anywho, I'm Emily. And man "Weight Loss Support" seemed appropriate, more or less, for filling the Giant Gaping Hole in my whole get-healthy plan.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who one day feels like I could lose all the weight, no sweat, and maybe even save a busload of orphans and nuns on the way to school, but give it a few days and I'm at Taco Bell with my friends after a night of beer pong.

Well... maybe not that specific, but still, I'd love to hear the best keeping-on-track tips you know. From the best food diaries to healthy fast food, anything to keep a distractable college girl on track would be amazing!

Hi there Emily. I posted about a calorie tip website. You could get an idea about your BMR--and maybe find a few tips at that website too? But mainly, welcome and we are here to support you!

Welcome Emily!

I think the best advice I can give someone getting started is to find a food plan that's sustainable for you. One you can stick to through weight loss and beyond. It may take you a while to figure out what works, but that's okay!

And then COMMIT to your plan. How will you get past those temptations 3 days from now?? What can you do to keep yourself on track?

I use Weight by Date to track my calories but a lot of people use sparkpeople.com, fitday.com and thedailyplate.com . I think it is more important that you are keeping track of everything you take in rather than which site or method you use to do so. It is more about preference, I reckon.

Exercise is a big factor, for me, in weight loss. I say for me because I don't like to assume and group everyone together. I started out walking in place 5-15 minutes and now I do 390-450 minutes of exercise per week including strength training. I believe you should find something that works and you like and you can stay focused with and not be bored.

Write a list of your goals. Keep it visible and at the start of every day, read that list and every time you feel discouraged or frustrated with losing weight, read that list.

For me, it helps that I am always reminding myself that only I control if I succeed or fail at this.

Keep strong. Believe in yourself. Never give up.

Hugs
Michelle

The best keeping on track tip?

DECIDE to do this. Decide that you want to be all that you can possibly be. This very minute. Today. Not sometime later in the year or next week or Monday or tomorrow. But TODAY. End every day. DECIDE that you don't want to look back years from now and wonder what the heck happened. How'd you let this get so out of hand. And why were you settling for second best when first best was well within your reach.
Don't rely on motivation. Make a commitment - that'll keep you away from the beer and the poor choices at Taco Bell. DECIDE what matters most to you.

Oh and please don't look at turning down certain foods as denying yourself or deprivation. The real deprivation is being less fit and less active then you can be and that you're capable of. And not having as many clothing choices! And that's just for starters.

And then make a plan and go out there and get it. Try fitday.com or thedailyplate.com and start tracking what you eat. Become accountable to yourself. Plan out your food in advance and stick to that plan.

Welcome to 3FC. Please stick around. This is a great site for encouragement, advice and support.

Thanks for the warm welcome

Robin- You make a good point. Though I'd like to think being more healthy would be a good enough motivator, for the day-to-day being able to shop at Urban Outfitters every now and again and FIT in the beautiful clothing I'm missing out on pushed me to "DECIDE". They only go up to 10/12 and I'm very solidly at 14/16 right now. Sounds silly, but whatever works, right?

Chic- I actually found a really useful one for me (that's free! bonus!). caloriecount.about.com has a really cool toolbar to keep track of exercise, calories, and the quality of the food I'm eating even when I'm facebook/doing homework. Kind of a nice "Get off facebook, get off your butt, and go run!" reminder lol

Heather- I'm going to go the workout buddy route, last time I did that I lost 50 pounds, and this time I'll keep it off!

Jendiet-Thanks, I support should help this whole endeavor, plus all these people made it, and kept it off, so I have no excuses

Yep - the absolute biggest, most important thing that you can do is to COMMIT to making your healthy lifestyle changes, for life, and to getting back on track even when you slip up. That COMMITMENT is way more important than any kind of "love affair" or "motivation"...motivation and infatuation with a new plan are SO fleeting. But a strongly felt COMMITMENT to lead a healthier lifestyle does tend to stick.

I also have to agree on the idea that you have to have a sustainable plan. All of the commitment in the world won't help you maintain your weight loss if you lose it in a way you can't continue for the rest of your life.

Hi Emily! I'm Katie, I'm a 20 something like I think you are too.

I think the buddy weight loss way is a great way to go. I'm still working on digging up a buddy from around here but so far none of my buddies wanna sweat. If you are able to spend the money, a gym membership with a few sessions with a personal trainer are great. The trainer should be able to design a workout plan with you that promotes lean muscle, which are our calorie burning machines.

A lot of members have weight loss blogs and sites in their signatures. I love these! I have some from here and a lot that I've found offsite bookmarked or I follow with google reader. They are so inspiring, especially the blogs I've found that people post often on. I normally read through them a while every morning while I am eating breakfast before I go to the gym, I tend to do a better work out then.

You might want to think of doing a blog too. They are a great way of holding yourself accountable. I gave the link to all my friends and family so I would feel like they were watching me Here's a link to my blog.

Welcome to the site! Stick around, you can get a lot of motivation here!

Mandalinn- So far I'm just eating less calories (keeping track of everything I eat) and exercising more often, as well as trying to eat higher quality/healthier food which has always been my main problem. I love to experiment with cooking so now that I have the money for groceries that should be waaay easier.

Katie- Your blog is a great idea, and SO cute! You better stay on your game 'cause I'll check in!

I definitely need that, someone to keep me in check. My freshman 15 are going down.