Reaching Out for the First TIme

erinmccallum91
erinmccallum91 Posts: 4 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hello Everyone

I'm new to the FitnessPal forums, only having posted on here once or twice before with some technical questions. My name is Erin, I'm 22, and I've struggled with my weight my entire life.

I got the FitnessPal app last June, as a first step towards yet another attempt at a diet, which ultimately failed. I've been going through phases of dieting since I was 12, hardly ever with any luck.

I think one of the reasons I might have failed in the past is because I lacked a support system. Sure my friends/family/boyfriend all wanted me to do well, but they never really understood where I'm coming from or knew how to help. So I decided I might try to reach out on here for a support group, something I've never had before, and hopefully this time things will be better.

I'm not exactly sure what my goal is. I'm over weight for my height and age, but not significantly so. A lot of people don't really understand my desire to lose weight, my boyfriend for instance. They don't really understand that I'm just not happy with my body as it is right now. It stems from the fact that as a kid I was surrounded by people who were naturally very skinny, my little sister and all my close friends could eat whatever they wanted and they didn't gain a pound. I got teased a lot because of this. I also have a lot of issues with my body because my parents used to criticize me for my weight, my dad was the first person to ever tell me I was fat, I was 11 at the time. Ever since I started university my parents have been much kinder to me concerning my body, I think my mother realized that as a child I was really affected by all the things they said to me, and I think my father might have stopped because he realized that almost all my bad eating habits I learnt from him.

I also am insecure about my body because I am a theatre major, and I am constantly surrounded by beautiful, thin actresses. I worry that with them as my competition I'll never get work.

So that is where I am at. I'm going to try losing weight once again, and I'm hoping that this forum will be a help.

-Erin

P.S. I write a blog about body image, self esteem, and I would love to share it here, just in case anyone else feels the same way I do. If you are interested in reading, you can find it here:
http://erinweighsin.wordpress.com/

Replies

  • Project_Jodie
    Project_Jodie Posts: 171
    Hi Erin,

    I don't think it matters what other people think, if you are unhappy then you need to do something about it. The first thing I think you need to is set yourself a goal....I think its hard to work towards something when you don't know what it is.

    My current goal is to get down to 70 kilos, 20 percent body fat, tummy under 80cms and a BMI in the healthy weight range by the 8th March 2014

    Create S.M.A.R.T goals.

    You sound like you lack a lot of confidence, which is not surprising considering you were teased and how your parents treated you. You are beautiful girl - I think that maybe you just don't see yourself that way?

    I love MFP and I love how I feel by eating healthy and working out and seeing results. I'm so much happier within myself

    Make the change, you won't regret it - add me as a friend if your looking for some extra supportt :) x
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
    As Project_Jodie mentioned - get clear on what your goals are. Because you've said some slightly worrying things here.

    You're not *really* that overweight, yet not happy with your body. I've seen quite a few posts from people who reached their goal weight or size and still weren't happy. Figure out what you really are unhappy with and set specific goals that will help you be happier.

    You do realize most actresses and models strive for a fairly *unhealthy* degree of thinness, right? So is that a price you want to pay for the profession, or do you want to be fit and have a healthy bodyfat %? I'm not dissing the business, just pointing out that many pro female triathletes would be considered "too fat" for film. Get super clear about what YOU want. That's 80% of the work right there -and what will keep you going, and later, keep you maintaining!

    Also, if you haven't already read this MFP classic, do!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

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