18 yo, 5'5, goal: lose 30 lb in 4 months

maggie735337

Hello!

I am 18 years old and I'll be going to college next year. My goal is to lose 30 pounds (155lb - 30lb = goal of 125lb) by June because I feel like my weight will definitely hold me back socially in college and I am shy enough as it is. I would really like to start with my best foot forward.

I would appreciate any advice, encouragement, or friend requests! )


If it matters, here is my history with weight struggles:

--Until middle school I was a perfectly healthy weight without having to worry about it.
--Then, in eighth grade my family moved from the state I had lived in my entire life. Soon after I started a new school I started emotional eating. A year later, I was probably about 15 pounds overweight and I was REALLY self conscious because I did ballet at a professional ballet school/company. I took class every day and every day I worried about it incessantly.
--A year later, I became ashamed of eating and I couldn't eat in front of people.:indifferent: I was really paranoid about food, and I wouldn't even eat a single chocolate chip if someone offered it to me. My brothers would always tease me about not eating. I lost 35 pounds, putting me at 85lb, which was significantly underweight for my height and frame. I felt tired and weak, my hair got really thin, and my skin was sallow.
--My family moved again, I went to a new school, and again I put on a bunch of weight over two and half years.
--We moved again to where I am now. I am currently 30 pounds overweight and VERY self conscious.:embarassed: i feel like I spend way to much time worrying about my weight and I want to get rid of the issue so that I can get on with life.

(In case you couldn't tell from my username, I am a girl )

Thanks for any advice in advance!

aless820

Hi! I'm 18 and also 5'5, but am a college freshman! You can do it! I just started my own routine last week as well

maggie735337

Hi! It's so good to hear from someone the same age who is in a similar situation! What routine are you doing?

Ashley2Bfit

Hi! I hope it all works out for you! I am also trying to lose the weight I have gained within the last year. Its very hard to do. I love to eat, but recently I am eating more fruits and vegetables. I always been told that if you drink a hot cup of water with lemon in it, in the morning, it will energize your body.

trogalicious

That much weight loss in that period of time is realistic, but it sounds more like you just have self image issues. What if the 30 lbs loss is muscle, too.. because you're pushing too hard or eating too little...? Then you're stuck with "OMG, I haz flabby underarms!" and "my thighs are fat!"

If I can offer anything, take your time with it. Don't starve yourself. Consider heavy lifting... and read about your new hero, Staci. She's awesome.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

It's related. Take a few minutes to read that story... and don't fall into any fads. Lemon in water does nothing special, for example.

In fact, here's a huge wall of text that might help.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

and make sure to read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

also, why does your profile say you're 27 if you're 18?

koleebug

I'm eighteen as well, trying to lose thirty pounds! I've had the same issues with being very self conscious all of the time because of my weight and not really bringing my best self forward because of it. Maybe we can help each other out. good luck with everything!

maggie735337

Trogalicous, Thank you for this sound advice! I appreciate the time you took to write it. You are absolutely correct; I definitely struggle with image issues (especially because there was such pressure to be super thin at ballet. Leotards and tights hide NOTHING). Strangely enough, the days I forget about my weight are the days I find it easiest to eat less. Thank you so much for the links; I'm absolutely going to figure out how many calories I should (reasonably) have. 1200 is what I had when I got so thin and sick so I know that's definitely not the way to go.

I think lemon water sounds like a nice way to spruce up water (sort of like lemonade without sugar) so I wouldn't discount ashley's advice entirely

(P.S. My profile says that I am 27 because when I first made my profile a year ago I was paranoid for some reason and I didn't think my aged mattered. After researching about weight loss/bmi/calorie intake etc. I realized that my age DOES matter. I really am 18 and I'd appreciate any advice specifically for teenagers. I promise I'm not shady lol. I can't figure out how to change it to 18 so I guess I'll just hide it x) )

maggie735337

I'm eighteen as well, trying to lose thirty pounds! I've had the same issues with being very self conscious all of the time because of my weight and not really bringing my best self forward because of it. Maybe we can help each other out. good luck with everything!

Yes, I am so glad you understand! I would love to help you out however I can. Confidence has been something I have always struggled with and weight just made it worse, but even just hearing that you have the same struggle is encouraging. I wish you all the best!

maggie735337

Hi! I hope it all works out for you! I am also trying to lose the weight I have gained within the last year. Its very hard to do. I love to eat, but recently I am eating more fruits and vegetables. I always been told that if you drink a hot cup of water with lemon in it, in the morning, it will energize your body.

Thank you! Yes, fruits and vegetables are the way to go. Thank you for the lemon water idea; I bet it would be really good with ice.

trogalicious

I'm absolutely going to figure out how many calories I should (reasonably) have. 1200 is what I had when I got so thin and sick so I know that's definitely not the way to go.

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to read this.

Also, I'm not knocking putting lemon in water. I do it. I just love lemon in water, but there's no weight-loss benefit for it.

Best of luck! Check out that link about Staci. Seriously.

cpcoursec

Don't mean to hijack this thread but it's starting to frustrate me that people continue to post that a person can only lose two pounds a week safely. Yet when they see a large # like 30lbs....they immediately say it can't be done.

I'm no mathematician, but in your case.... if you were dedicated and worked hard you could "safely" lose 32lbs in 4 months.

SixPack17

Hi! Your goal is very realistic. It's an average of a little less than 2lbs a week. By being honest with yourself here on MFP, and including EVERYTHING that you eat, even if you go over your caloric intake limit, you'll definitely reach your goal...AND MORE! Good luck to you!

nightshutter

I second using scoobys weight loss calculator. There is a ton of good info on that site. When I updated my weight loss goals MFP gave me 1260. That's crazy. So I changed that. Now I'm doing 1755 daily with the scooby calculator. At a -25%. Which is a lot but I'll try that out for a few weeks and see how that goes. I don't eat as much as I used to. I'm no expert but listen to your body. If your having a hard time keeping in your daily goals adjust it. It's better to do it healthy so you won't binge.

Remember it doesn't matter what's on the outside. What really matters is who the person is deep down in their heart.

trogalicious

Don't mean to hijack this thread but it's starting to frustrate me that people continue to post that a person can only lose two pounds a week safely. Yet when they see a large # like 30lbs....they immediately say it can't be done.

I'm no mathematician, but in your case.... if you were dedicated and worked hard you could "safely" lose 32lbs in 4 months.

....who said that the OP couldn't safely lose that amount of weight? I'm not sure what your comment is referencing.

maggie735337

I second using scoobys weight loss calculator. There is a ton of good info on that site. When I updated my weight loss goals MFP gave me 1260. That's crazy. So I changed that. Now I'm doing 1755 daily with the scooby calculator. At a -25%. Which is a lot but I'll try that out for a few weeks and see how that goes. I don't eat as much as I used to. I'm no expert but listen to your body. If your having a hard time keeping in your daily goals adjust it. It's better to do it healthy so you won't binge.

Remember it doesn't matter what's on the outside. What really matters is who the person is deep down in their heart.

Thanks for the encouragement. You are so right about listening to your body; every time my family goes on vacation I lose weight even though I'm not counting calories because I'm not focused on food; I just eat until I'm not hungry and move on.

JumpingDog

I think it's great that you want to be healthier and realize that under-eating is dangerous and not the way to do it. I'm personally 22 and 122lbs right now. As you can see from my ticker, I have lost a substantial amount of weight for my height. I eat around 1500 calories a day usually and am relatively sedentary.
I started losing weight in my second year of college after I hit an all time high of 163lbs. I saw how fat I was in my graduation pictures. A good amount of my weight came off in the first 6 months but the rest slowly trickled away. I was losing weight for about a year and then started maintaining.
I don't believe my social life was affected at all by my weight. People ignored me then and ignore me now - I'm just a normal amount of fat now. As far as making friends, if your "friends" don't want to be friends with you because you are fat then you don't need them anyway.
Now losing weight might help your self image and esteem if that is actually the problem. Many times low self-esteem and bad body image persists after weightloss because it's a mental thing. Weightloss is slow and a thinner you becomes the new normal you that you learn to hate just as much. The only way to fix that is to change the way to judge yourself and think about yourself. It will be up to you to decide where your problems stem from.
Regardless, be aware that this might take more than 4 months and you shouldn't restrict yourself to that timeframe to accomplish your goal. It took years to gain 30lbs, your body deserves the time to get rid of it as well.

maggie735337

Don't mean to hijack this thread but it's starting to frustrate me that people continue to post that a person can only lose two pounds a week safely. Yet when they see a large # like 30lbs....they immediately say it can't be done.

I'm no mathematician, but in your case.... if you were dedicated and worked hard you could "safely" lose 32lbs in 4 months.

Yes, I agree. I think that the people who seemed to be disagreeing were actually wisely suggesting that I should not fall into the trap of making my life all about losing weight for the next three months, which I am prone to do with my history of eating disorders. (specifically anorexia)

I bet I'll lose the weight I want to in the time frame I set if I stick to my plan, but I also know that I shouldn't put my life on hold until I lose weight.

FalIenAngel

I'm 18,5'5 and about to start college as well.And I also have a goal of 30lbs to lose.XD
Add me if you want !

maggie735337

Hi! Your goal is very realistic. It's an average of a little less than 2lbs a week. By being honest with yourself here on MFP, and including EVERYTHING that you eat, even if you go over your caloric intake limit, you'll definitely reach your goal...AND MORE! Good luck to you!

Thank you! I have been unreasonable in the past and it just made me miserable, so this time I want to do something I can healthily stick to in the long term. Good luck to you as well!

superspork2

It sounds like you are on the right path . I totally understand you wanting to lose the weight before you start college and that would be a great feeling! And your goal is realistic but I just don't want that time frame to restrict you either. I used to put deadlines for my goals and it just didn't work out. Take your time, do it right and don't stress about meeting a deadline and the weight will come off and stay off. I wish you the best of luck!