Trying This Again but I'm Nervous After Last Time

lmcan1223

Hi all,
So like the subject says, I used MFP for about 3 months a few years ago, then stopped. I was a sophomore in high school, and I became really body conscious. I was by no means overweight (130 lbs, 5' 7"), but like any teenage girl, I started to be jealous of others and really hate my body. After about two month of use, I was losing some weight, burning fat, starting to see a bit of progress.

Then I became obsessed. I counted every, single calorie, making sure the brand was correct and that was exactly how much I ate. If I was in the red at the end of the night, I would go for a run until I was in the green, no matter how long that took. If I knew I was going out to eat, I would plan what I was getting and make sure I had enough calories for that meal, even if that meant limiting other meals.
After about a month of this, my mother (a physician) cut me off. I was losing weight but not in the right way. She became worried about my physical health. I got down to about 122 lbs and was /almost/ happy with my midsection. But she sat me down and talked to me. The way I was doing this was unhealthy. I was going to hurt myself. etc, etc. She was right. This was becoming dangerous. So I stopped. I tried to keep eating healthy, content-wise and amount, but without the obsessive logging.

Now, starting my sophomore year of college, I avoided the Freshman-15, but I would like to try and become more fit. I'm 5' 9", about 140 lbs. I've started exercising regularly. Now that I'm off the meal plan and preparing my own food, I'm ready to start logging again. I'm going to try and do this right this time. Put good in, get good out. I have about the same goals. Lose any necessary weight to tone my body. I would like a slimmer stomach and thighs, but I know that there is no such thing as target weight loss.

I'd love to find other college students or people cooking on a budget to motivate and support. I'd love workout routines. Right now, I do about 45 minutes of soft cardio (140 max heart rate) then 10 minutes of hard rowing, followed by an ab circuit.

sstermole

You could say I'm a bit calorie obsessed too....if we go out to eat, I feel like I have to go to th same restaurants where I already know the calories for meals - if we go somewhere else, I get panicky!!

Logging is very important, though, but it's hard to find that balance of logging and trying not to get completely wrapped around it.

As for workouts, do you go to the gym or workout at home? What do you like to do the most? You mentioned cardio, but do you do strength training too?

Annie_01

You have a good mom...she obviously loves you.

Oh...and you made a very wise and mature choice in listening to her.

lmcan1223

I go the the Rec center at the University. I usually do the elliptical, arc trainer, or sliding stepper (don't quote me on the names). I can't do the treadmill, I just get annoyed since my pace changes a lot. Then I'll row.
I haven't done strength training yet, but a few of my guy friends are coming back in a few weeks, so I'll start doing that with them.

Dhemeyer

I think "put good in, get good out" is a fantastic philosphy... very wise for such a young age. If you're eating clean you don't have to worry so much about how many cals you're eating.

If you're going for the toned look, pick up those weights chick! Not that I've ever been in "perfect" shape... but if you take a look at my photo's, the first row is just cardio (keep in mind I was losing weight after a baby... so my body probably doesn't look anything like yours ). Then the bottom row (except for the last 2 pics) is what I started to look like while I was lifting weights and doing cardio. I think I had a much stronger and less squishy looking when I lifted.

Just keep at it, try new things, and have some fun!
Best of luck!