Desperate Need of Help

letthemseeyourlonglegs

Hello! My name is Emily. I'm 20 years old and have had issues with my weight for as long as I can remember. I've always wanted to lose weight but could never stick to it. Im currently in college which does make it a little bit more difficult but I know it can be done.
Does anyone have any advice on how to get started on this journey?

Rdsgoal16

1. Log everything for a week, see what impact the foods you eat have on your calorie count. Then use wise choices for calorie count, staying under your recommendation.
2. Eat a deficit, every day
3. Monitor fluid intake, 8 (8) ounce glasses of water every day
4. Increase your exercise, even small amounts...calories in calories out. That is the formula for losing weight
5.Good luck!

perkymommy

Measure and weigh all the foods you eat. That seriously will make a difference once you actually 'see' how much you are eating.

Try to eat as many one ingredient foods as you can (fruits, veggies, nuts, cheese, etc).

faithsstaircase

All of the above, but - invest in a step tracker - even if you just use one on your phone. I thought I was moving a lot, until I got a step tracker and realized I wasn't even hitting 5,000 steps a day. If you drive to class, park a way back from where you are going and walk the extra little bit. Those things add up! Take the stairs when you can, or walk around the campus whenever you have time.

julyrunner

Be careful about gorging on tater tots in the dining hall "because you can". Speaking from experience

Afura

Don't get discouraged, we all have great days and bad days, we're living life.
Measure and weigh I'll agree with, scales cost around $20 and are so helpful for exact measuring
Read read read. MFP is an open forum, some of what's said is try, and a good deal is not, so educate yourself, if something looks weird (ie fad diet that are guaranteed to lose weight quick!) ask for the study. Especially read Most Helpful Posts Getting Started which has some really great information in it.
You can stick with it, and you can do it, just remember you're doing this for you, and it's not an instant results thing.

jennnco

honestly what I am finding REALLY helpful is the community aspect of MFP. Find friends that will congratulate you on your workouts and good logging (and do the same for them) and it will feel really fun to post those updates because of all of the LOVE and SUPPORT you get. I'm loving that.

jwcanfield

College - even though it was a long time ago I DO remember the beer parties and deadly fruit punches! Of course, you may be more controlled that I was at 20! Anywayyyyyyyyy Following the guidance of those who have already commented - and if you're on any kind of campus where you rush from building to building for classes - you're already on a good weekday path.

Maintaining control on weekends will depend a lot on your social circle or preferred free time activities. Maybe if you mentally assign Saturday night at first as your social evening you'll train yourself how to be moderate in all things. All that said, don't take the easy way and just hide while you're watching your food. That's not a solution. College is supposed to be a social time and that is important, too!

jaloomis03

I have the same problem as you. I always struggle with my weigh. I started tracking EVERY calorie I put in my mouth, no matter how small the calorie is. I soon realized I was consuming way more calories that I thought I was when I added them in my head at the end of the day. When you seriously track your calories you will realize how quickly they add up. Then set a calorie intake. Once you have a set intake you will start to realize that eating something higher in calories, I.e. french fries, will eat up your daily amount and you will realize you don't want to waste your calories on non filling foods. To start and ONLY because I need to drop a few lbs quickly to motivate me, I set my daily calorie intake at 750. After the first week I will move it to a more realistic goal of 1,000.