I just joined the site.. *Waves* I want to lose at LEAST 100 lbs. I am 250 now, and would like to get down to 140/150, but honestly.. I have no idea where to start. I have done diets before and lost 20/30 lbs then gained it back. What are others doing to be successful? My biggest problem is soda and fast food. I want this weight off so bad, I want to have energy again, and I want to feel good about myself. I am 28 but feel like I am 80 sometimes with my tiredness. Joining this site is my first step to holding myself accountable! haha.. Now is time for a change. This is the LAST time I will ever weigh 250 .

Sodas and fast food isn't going to aide in your weight loss if it is part of your everyday diet. Try to cut out some of the soda and fast food and use it as an incentive once or twice a week. I use the calorie counting system. My max is 1600 calorie per day and jog 6 days a week with 4 days of weight training. My weight isn't changing much from that but I lost a lot of inches simply by watching what I eat and exercise.

Are you currently doing any type of exercises?

cutting out soda is a biggie! i drink a 12 oz can of soda as a treat for myself after a good week of staying on track.

I haven't had an ounce of soda for over 2 years now but I know what it can do to the waistline.

I plan on giving up soda and fast food, since that is what got me to where I am! haha.. I am going to start walking 2 1/2 miles in the morning after getting my kids off to school in the mornings.

If you are a runner or like to run or jog, try the C25K.

I would start by making small steps, like cutting one thing out, rather than everything at once. Its a bit more manageable, and its easier to maintain and gain some momentum

Hi Sinderelly,

Welcome to these boards! Glad you signed up here, it's a great place and you can find so much information and motivation here. Everybody has their own plan according to their own goals and possibilities.

If you are just starting and are big on the soda and junk food, I would suggest small steps for sure. Maybe drink only half of the soda you drink now, or only 1 can a day, and then after a few weeks go to one can every 2 days, etc. What really helped me is counting calories. Just counting them will tell you the FACTS about what you are putting in your body. You will slowly start to tweak your choices, because all at once it feels like a waste to spent so many calories that your body has to either burn or turn into fat on soda or "just one bite of this or that" when you can have twenty bites of an apple or some nice nuts and eat less calories.

Also try and take note of how much better you feel when you eat healthier. Really, just cutting out the soda and changing it for water or tea (sounds oh so boring, but you get used to it quickly!) will give you such an energy boost, and you will loose weight before you know it.

Goodluck, and really stick around. Even when you read all the posts about people that are taking huge steps that you don't feel up to - because you have to do it your way.

Hey! I'm just starting out too, so I know how overwhelmed you must feel. I've only been on this site for a couple of weeks but I have found it so helpful to come on here and read about all different kinds of people losing weight. It's actually a big part of what motivated me to begin! I haven't weighed in yet, but two days into committed healthy eating and I feel better already.

I think the biggest issue for me is just sticking with it, so start out slow if you need to, whatever it takes to just stay with it. You can do this!

Also - something that helped me was looking up fast food places I eat a lot - go online and seeing the calorie content. Sometimes just knowing the meal you're about to get has ~1500 calories can be enough to shock you into stopping. Also if I'm prepared by knowing "Hey I can get the X salad with X dressing for 450 calories" then I'll make that choice instead. It's not "ideal" but it's a heckuva lot better than most things you can get and it requires less of a harsh lifestyle change to actually see some progress.

That said - you really have to calorie count for the whole day - if you're eating a full-size bag of potato chips for dinner, that's going to shoot you in the foot even though it's not fast food (been there, done that). But at home you usually have a little more time to think through and prepare, look things up online, etc.

Welcome Sinderelly! This site will give you some great tips to help you lose weight so stick around and browse, you won't regret it

I find meal planning to be the easiest thing all together. I'm very organized and I'm TERRIBLE when it comes to eating on the fly, because that's just not how my mind works.

If you go to a calorie calculator to find out roughly how many calories you need to lose Like This then plan out your meals, it's kind of like balancing a checkbook. Weight watchers works the same way, but instead of calling them calories, it's points.

For example, what I do is list out for the following day my breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack and allocate calories (or ww points, or other units) to all of them and add them together for my total.

Eventually you have a better eye for estimating calories for foods that you're used to eating. What makes it even easier is cooking meals and freezing them in portions with calories/points/units labeled on them (you can find recipes with nutritional info online). Then you can say to yourself, "I'll take out that particular meal for tomorrow's dinner" and there is no further thought required.

Not only that, it's a lifesaver on busy days!

Sinderelly, you have come to an incredible place. If you really want the weight gone, you can make it happen.

Like you I also had a problem with fast food. Know what I did? I just flat STOPPED. All together. I had this habit of running errands and before returning home I would drive thru and get me some horrible concoction before returning home. Like you I wanted the weight off. So, when I ran my errands I made a concious decision that I was NOT going to go through fast food lines. Some here will argue and say a little is okay or check the calorie content, etc. For me, cold turkey just made more sense.

Really think about where your biggest problems are. Is it late evening when you are alone? Is it the donut shop on the way to work? Whatever it is, revamp your current routine so you no longer allow for the obstacle.

Welcome. I really like calorie counting--it's free and flexible. I also like a strong emphasis on whole foods because they fill me up much more than processed stuff and make me feel better in general.

One thing is for certain though. You have 3FC for support and it's the best.

Thighs be gone - everytime I see that quote in your sig it makes me smile

Sinderelly - Why don't you join the 12 week challenge I'm running. We have 60+ members and the accountability of weighing in makes a difference. A few people in the last one were really just starting out and managed to lose a few pounds and get going. I'm not trying to pimp out my challenge or anything, just making a suggestion and extending the invitation .

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/20-s...come-join.html

also theres a quote I really like. "Human motivation works best with small steps. It is most successful when you approach it one day at a time and in 5 pound increments." Dr. Stephen Gullo. I like to think I need to lose 5 pounds, not I need to lose 50. It makes the whole thing seem more manageable.