[kirklove]

Hi I am new to dieting and not sure how to go about losing weight. Im getting married in 14 months and want to look good in my wedding dress. I would love you someone could give me some tips or anything that will help me get to my ideal weight. Thanks!!!

[indiblue]

Welcome! Congratulations on your engagement! I hope/think you'll find tons of support and motivation from 3FC

Basically weight loss boils down to calories/energy consumed < calories/energy expended. You have to eat less than you burn off. I know this may sound wayyy dumbed down but when you hear a swirl of atkins-lowcarb-highprotein-medifast-fatsmashers- intuitive eating, etc etc that very simple equation gets lost.

The specific TOOLS you use to ensure your calories consumed is less than your calories expended depends on your own health factors, personality, schedule, etc etc.

For me, it's a few simple common sense rules:
- count calories carefully, sticking to the specific number a day I'm allotted right now
- get 45 minutes of cardio in 3-5 x a week
- get 15 minutes of strength training in 3-5 x a week
- reduce salt and sugar intake
- drink lots of water
- eat almost exclusively whole foods (i.e. nothing processed or packaged- fresh fruits/veggies/grains/homecooked as much as possible)

For others, it may be going on Atkins to reduce their carb intake, going on weight watchers and using a point system, etc. These are all just tools to get to calories/energy eaten < calories/energy expended. Perhaps learn more about these different tools and pick one that you think fits you personally best. You can always change tools (switch from calorie counting to South Beach to intuitive eating, etc) if one isn't working for you. Bottom line should always be the same though: Move more, eat less

I'd peruse around the General Diet Questions and Weight Loss Support threads- these are super helpful for tips and basics. Especially look at the "sticky" threads at the top of each forum- these are the 'permanent' threads that stay at top because they offer general basic advice as opposed to the specific advice in the threads which move around below.

Definitely ask questions- there are a lot of knowledgeable people here who are happy to share their experiences. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress!

[krampus]

I'd say first off just following "eat less, move more" will help you shed your first few. Don't try to change every single behavior at once or it will be overwhelming. You don't need to start off eating only 1200 calories a day and running for 2 hours 7 days a week - in fact you will probably never need to go to such extremes. Maybe build brisk walks into your daily schedule, watch portion sizes, cut back on desserts or pasta/rice/bread, drink more water - there are lots of things to be done.

My belief is that it's best to keep weight loss simple for as long as possible. It's a big headache getting wrapped up in weighing and measuring all your food and trying to balance macro/micronutrient ratios. Also while fad diets/extreme measures are tempting, they tend to result in rebellion/binging/"falling off the wagon."

[A Me]

I'm new too! I'm finding drinking lots of water to be especially helpful You're hungry less, and water is just plain good for you.

[audri8301]

Do you have a plan? If not, make one, right away! I think having a plan to get where you want to go is key.

Also, don't give up if the weight doesn't come off super fast. Remember that any loss is a loss, even if it's not the crazy amounts that people lose on those weightloss tv shows. Stick with it and you will get there!

[MiZTaCCen]

I monitor my food, but I don't count calories (I tried it for a month but it wasn't something for me). I find if I stress and think way too much about my diet I lose nothing. When I'm carefree and whatever it works better for me. (but it doesn't work well for everyone. I can walk away from temptation most of the time unless it's pizza haha or if I just don't give a flying rats butt.)

Remember you are human and there wiil be times you will have a set back, the major thing is NOT to beat yourself up for it, this isn't an easy journey.

You will find yourself dropping weight fast in the beginning and then get stuck we've all been there or are there. You just need to remember why you are doing this and keep being committed. Drink lots of water, make water your bestfriend, and slowly cut out all the crap you normally eat. It took me forever to kick my pepsi addiction, now I find pepsi taste gross after not having it for so long. Keep on the outside of the grocery stores that's where all the healthy food is, most things in the middle are processed.

Do a cheat meal once a week (for me it helped with my binges in the beginning, now I mostly binge on TOM...woo hoo) Also remember what Audri said about reality tv shows, watch them but don't follow that crap! Most people who lose weight on TV are doing excessive crap that we in real life can't do like work out hours on end and have people cook our meals for us. Most of them gain back their weight anyways.

You are doing this for yourself, be strong, keep being positive and enjoy the bumpy ride!

Good luck! Oh and come on here often for support!