Hey everyone... so I recently started my weight loss journey. I didn't have a scale when I first started, but I went out yesterday and bought one.

I had thought that I probably weighed about 155. I weighed 145-50 in high school, and I knew I had gained some weight in the past two years at university.

So... this morning I step on the scale. 167.5 lbs!!

I just feel so awful right now, and so ashamed and so disappointed in myself. How did I let this happen ????

It's completely my fault, I have no excuses. I spent that last year at university eating utter garbage- I mean really, I can't even tell you how often I had a large bag of chips for dinner.

Gosh, I just feel really hopeless. I mean, I wasn't looking forward to losing weight starting at 155, but starting at 167.5??? ME? really? ugh I'm just so depressed.

How am I going to do this? I just feel really discouraged right now and I have no one to talk to about it

I know how you feel. I have gained 70 lbs in 10 years. I have 100 lbs to lose and I am very discouraged but I am taking it on by making small goals. It really does help.

It's okay- we've all done it- I used to be a trim 150 lbs, swam two hours a day, and so on. THEN by the time I was done with college I was 190! THEN when I started my journey and had been married 3 years I was up to 235!

I have 70 some odd pounds left to go- it's discouraging but I'm still going to do it! And so can you

I went through all of college thinking I was 160 lbs, no more than that surely! When I actually weighed myself and saw 172 on the scale, I almost fainted! Ok, that's a little dramatic, but I did get a sinking feeling in my tummy when I saw that number.

I lost 2-3 of those initial water weight pounds within the first week or so, your water weight might be more. That's always encouraging to see that first drop.

Also, no matter what your starting weight, as long as you are overweight, you will have to adopt a plan to lose that weight. So, just commit to the plan for the long haul and those lbs will drop in no time.

Good luck! We're all rooting for you!

Honey, if people who have 50, 60, 70 or more can truck along and stop long enough to encourage us to keep it up, then I think we are all alot stronger than we thought!!! Just start and u will be so surprised at what u can really do!!

you absolutely CAN do this. Many chickies here have lost that and MORE!

Pick a plan, stick to it, and post here to keep yourself accountable. I can't wait to read of your progress!

What's that saying? Knowledge is half the battle? Well, BEFORE you bought the scale, you thought you weighed 155... and that was enough to motivate you to get in gear and start losing, right?
Well, look at it this way... now you KNOW you weigh more than you'd like to, and you know how much you want to lose. Let that be your motivation! Break up your overall goal into little bitty milestones, and celebrate each one as it comes. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you gotta start somewhere, right? You can do it!!!

I know how disappointing it can be to weigh more than you thought you did. But, it sounds like you have chosen to do something about it, which is what matters now. You can do it.

J

No, you're not bigger then you thought. You're exactly the same size as you were before you weighed yourself. Now you just happen to know the number....

The numbers are unimportant. Work on those behaviors. Work on changing your eating habits. Lose those chips. Add in good healthy foods. Work on those good habits and you WILL lose the weight. Each and every excess pound gained, is a pound that you can LOSE.

And how are you going to do it? One day at a time. One foot in front of the other. Start today. Now. Formulate a plan. Map it out. Form some strategies. Stock up on healthy foods. Make a commitment to "do this" and then go out there and do it. Remember this is within your power, your control.......

oh, i know how you feel- i've so been there! the first time i was weighed at the doctor's office, after i had gained "a little weight," i was so confused i asked if that were kilograms. (no matter that i would have had a far smaller number, i just was in total and complete denial. how embarrassing!)

the important thing is that i didn't take the hint back then, and went on gaining a few pounds a year for almost ten years. you're going to be fine. i've lost almost 20 pounds in under 3 months, mostly by good eating habits (no deprivation here) that are easy to stick with as long as i do a little planning. you can do the same, and in no time you will be back to your comfortable weight, with a healthier lifestyle to boot!!

i avoided the scale for a long time and thought i was 160 ish before i stepped on and saw 195. THAT was my wakeup call. You WILL be able to do this! All it takes is commitment and support (which you'll find tons of here!).
Like many people have said, setting mini-goals helps a lot and take it day by day!
You can do it!!

Thank you so much everyone really- thank you, thank you, thank you.

In all of my weight loss attempts I have never actually had people to take the time and say "you can do this". And I honestly never thought that it would help so much, but it really has!

I think just seeing those numbers... and realizing that as far as BMI goes I am now officially obese.. that was painful.

I've never set mini goals before either, so that sounds like something I will have to incorporate into my plan.

From now on things are only going to get better... I'm going to make sure they do!

And maybe with just a little bit of help from you guys... I'll be posting progress pics someday in the (not so distant?) future.

Thanks so much guys- I'll definitely keep you updated!

Yes, share your progress here. I am losing and I feel so much better about myself and I know you will too. I am new here too and the support is great! I really dig the people on this site.

Rose you can definitely do this! This exact same situation happened to me when I was 21. During high school I was always between 145 and 155 (sometimes going up to 160), finally at the end senior year at 18 years old I finally broke into the 130s (138). I was so happy but I made the mistake of thinking "I'm okay now I don't need to worry anymore" So I stopped weighing myself and figured as long as my jeans fit I'm good. Every now and then my jeans would feel tight and sometimes I would have to put on an old pair but I didn't worry. Finally at 21 I stepped back on the scale thinking okay I probably gained back the weight I originally lost, that's fine. When I stepped on the scale instead of 150 I got 170. Like you I was mortified, but it was also the encouragement I needed to give it all I got to get my weight back down and it also taught me that once you do lose the weight you have to keep eating healthy and watching the scale so you don't gain it back. I took some time but by the time I was 23 I had lost more than I gained bringing me down to 136. So I understand your frustration since I was in the exact same situation but YOU CAN DO THIS