[allycat987]

Hi everyone,
my name is Ally and I'm a student from Montreal, Canada. My weight is something I've struggled with my entire life and has only become more of a problem as I've gotten older. I'm 6'1'' and 38 DDs and have always felt like the "Giant" in my group of petite, skinny friends. I've just recently decided to stop making excuses and try an get into shape but I find myself becoming discouraged at every stop. Last year I did an exchange in England where I met a guy. While he is also tall, 6'4'', he is about 30 lbs lighter than me and during all our time out in public together, I couldn't help feeling self-conscious. Now this summer he is coming to visit and while I am excited, I am also dreading it. In January I had hoped to start working out in order to lose weight. But between school and stress at home, healthy eating and exercise was put on the back burner and now I feel my anxiety rising. My mum has always given me trouble about my weight, expressing that guys would not find me attractive because I was heavier and now I find myself wanting to give up before I even start! To make matters worse this guy I was seeing in England also made a passing comment about how I was a bit on the heavy side and although he has apoligized profusely and says that his comment "was stupid and insensitive" I cannot shake the feeling that he will be less than impressed with my physical appearance when he comes to visit. I carry all my weight in my belly and love handles and that partnered with being heavy chested and tall, causes me to be extremely self-conscious when going out with my much skinnier friends. It is especially frustrating when I'm out with them while they're guzzling high calorie, high sugar cocktails and chowing down on post drinking McDonalds while I sip my diet coke. I want to lose weight for the right reasons, being healthy and feeling better about myself. But I'm worried that my inner voices and self-deprecating personality will derail my potential success. It also doesn't help that i have no support at home. My mother has spent my entire 23 year life monitoring my eating. Even now when I'm out to dinner with friends i hear her voice in my head "Do you really need that? AND you're getting dessert!?" I don't want to face another weight loss disappointment but don't know how to go about getting myself in the right mindset to succeed.

[serenityh]

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy it here and good luck on your journey!

[mhill0823]

Welcome fellow newbie!!! can't wait to see your success!!

[Lovely]

Welcome to 3FC!

I sometimes think that the hardest part of the journey is making peace with ourselves about our choices. Unfortunately it becomes that much harder when there's someone breathing down our necks about said choices.

One way to change negative thinking is positive action. Choose a goal. If you want to lose weight, choose a goal that will lead you in the direction of losing weight. As an example... replacing all sugary drinks with water. Or taking a 10 minute walk each day. For just one week make it your goal to do that one thing. Working towards a positive goal can help put us in a positive mindset.

As you achieve the goals you set for yourself each week, you'll feel more confident about setting more challenging goals and reaching them.

Start small & doable, make it a habit, build up.

You can do this! Can't wait to get to know you better on your journey