[Mama of 2 Girls]

I am a newbie to this forum and to the weight loss world as well. I am at the highest weight I've ever been, and I'm only 24! I have two girls so I think that is where most of this excess weight has come from, plus, I just don't have the motivation.

I am at mid-200's when I used to be 130-140, and me only being 5'1 is definitely unacceptable. I don't have access to a vehicle since my husband takes it to work and we don't have a walking trail, park or anything of that sort in a walking distance (we live out in the country on a busy highway).

I've always told myself and my husband that I need to lose weight, I feel ugly, fat, etc and my husband keeps telling me to do something about it instead of sitting here and whining. So last night as I was looking through old pictures of myself from high school and college, I had a mini-revelation and realized I really DO need to get off my rear end and make a change, not just for myself but for my girls.

I joined a gym today online and plan on going this evening when my husband gets off of work. I bought a premier package so I can bring a guest free of charge with me, which will be my husband, and they have free childcare which works out for our favor.

My thing is, I am scared. I am scared of the pressure of eating right, fast food, and things like that. We enjoy dining out and always end up at Tex-Mex, seafood or anything else unhealthy. Plus, I love my margaritas. I'm afraid that my goal of losing 50+ pounds is unrealistic with what I enjoy eating. Plus, sometimes we're in a hurry or something unexpected comes up and we tend to get fast food (Mcdonalds, Burger King) so I'm not sure what a "healthier" alternative would be.. Subway?

Thanks for listening to my novel. I guess I just needed to get this all out. I am excited to go to the gym tonight, though!

Good luck to you all!

Forgot to add, I am breastfeeding at the moment so I don't want to do some type of diet that would hurt my supply! Or else I would've gone with Atkins or Weight Watchers.

[nomorejellybeans]

If you go out to eat Tex Mex (I live in Austin, Tx), try to order the fajita chicken salad and cut out the cheese. Only use salsa or ff/lite dressing (take your own w/you if you have to). Burger King, McD, and most fast food places have salad. Change out the chips, enchilladas, etc., for one month and you will notice the difference. Also, if you are breastfeeding, I'm not sure if you are drinking margaritas right now. If you are, try fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice or a little oj from the store (try to get the Tropicana 50, water, and add a white tequila. Lots of ice and shake. They also have diet mixers but I don't know how you feel about those and I'm sure they are not good while breastfeeding. Otherwise, just cook your own food (two days worth of protein at a time (saves time the next day), use plain Greek yogurt as a sour cream or mayo substitute, drink lots of water (lemon or lime is great in this) and just take it one day at a time. Also, load up the baby and go for a walk, twice a day, for about 20 minutes to start.

Good luck!

[nomorejellybeans]

WOW! Just noticed you live in Austin, too!

[Lakilaulea]

Welcome! I think if you're scared about all losing a big amount of weight or all these big changes you might be more likely to slip a little and just give up. At least, that's what always happened to me. I'd say I'd need to lose some huge amount like 50 or 65 or whatever, and all I could think about was that high number and everything I'd have to do to make it. Then I'd slip up by eating something bad one day, then just say 'forget it all' and completely toss my weight loss to the wayside. I think instead of thinking of this huge goal, think of it as a bunch of tiny ones. Don't focus on that 50lbs. Think about 10 or 15lbs. instead. After you lose your fist 10, make another 10lb. goal. Same thing with food. Instead of thinking about all the things you can't eat, just take out one thing at a time. Give up soda, then once you see how easy it was after a week, give up fries as well and so on. Take a whole bunch of baby steps. Read the calories and fat content of everything before you put it in your mouth. Once you get more confident with your weightloss regimen, you'll look at the nutritional info of your food (and margaritas) and realize that most of the stuff you want isn't worth stalling your diet for. My big thing was giving up whiskey (Jameson). But after I was on a roll with my diet plan and took a good look at how much empty calories I was consuming by drinking it (especially since I always have it with soda), I realized drinking it wasn't worth it right now. Maybe once I get a better grasp on this weight I'll have a glass, but right now my goal is to lose weight, and losing this weight is more important to me than a few drinks. Also, another thing that has helped me out a lot was cooking in advance and prepacking my lunches. I have a regular 9-5 and was always running out the door to work without packing any lunch which left me with the cafeteria downstairs. The only healthy choice we have down there is Subway, but I can make stuff better and cheaper than that, so I had to get into the habit of cooking on Sunday night and prepacking my stuff in little containers so all I'd have to do Monday morning is toss one of the containers in my lunch bag.

You'll have to figure out what changes you wanna make and how those changes may speed up or slow down your goals. But if you think it's daunting, just start slow. Little changes over time add up to big changes. You can also take a look at some of the challenges threads here. They've really helped me out because they hold me accountable for updating them with what I've done exercise and food wise and we also have weigh ins. Having that kind of accountability makes sure that even if I stray from my plan, I don't go too far off. Good luck and I hope to read up on your progress!