New to MFP and looking for a support group (:

100DaysToGetFitEmma16

My name is Emma. I just started college. And here is a bit about me: I'm not obese but I've always felt like the only girl in the group that was overweight. I've been feeling that way since I was 8. I had some cholesterol and triglycerides problems since then too. My blood levels are thankfully in healthy ranges now, but the levels can get lower and better. The reason for this is because I started exercising more. I haven't lost weight though. I'm slowly gaining this last year. My highest weight was 148 and I am currently 144. I'm only 5'2" so that's a bit too much. I don't want to be what some call a stick. I want to have a nice body. I don't want to worry about having my stomach stick out when I sit. I've always been so insecure about my thighs. I hate that I can actually grab/pinch some of the fat. Now, I'm not asking for anyone to tell me to be happy with my body and I am not depressed or anything of the sort. But I feel like I can be better. I want to work for myself. I'm not here to become "thin." I want to change my lifestyle.

I feel that if I weigh 120-125 pounds, I'll be happy and confident. I don't know what I will look like at that weight but that's really my goal. I am a college student so I don't have time to get to the gym. I can fit in workout videos, whether JM 30DS, FitnessBlender videos, as well as Popsugar Fitness. I've been hearing mixed up things about lifting though. That if you have pounds to lose, gaining muscle will make you look bigger and weigh more. You have to lose some pounds first. I can do at home workouts or go out for a run. What do you all recommend?

I think my bigger problem is what I eat. I feel that I constantly cheat myself. Either by getting a sugary smoothie or coffee, or fast food once in a while. Or just eating mindlessly in the closet. It's not that I'm addicted to food. But I entered the 140s in December and it's increased since then because alI of those little choices add up. I don't want to be that girl anymore. I have my best friend's wedding coming up at the end of November. I'm going to a winter camp thing for a week in the middle of December. I want to look good and be confident for those events. I want to be able to go dress shopping and not feel that I have to "get the next size." I want to wear skinny jeans and feel like the button isn't going to pop or that I look fat. I hate that some jeans can't even go up my legs. At American Eagle (the only store that I can get some jeans from I feel) I'm sometimes a size 8 in super stretch. I just want to be smaller.

I want to get serious about losing these pounds that are holding me back. I'm ready for a new lifestyle. I just need some help.

If you could please help me and give me any sort of advice of better things to eat or fat burning cardio exercises, I would appreciate that.

Emma

All4Me2014xx

Hi Emma, and welcome.

There is a thread you should check out. Under Getting Started in the forums, look at the "Guide to your sexy pants" thread. There are a lot of links in there, but it's a really great starting point to understand some of the basics you will need. Setting your macros, calorie goals, etc.

After that, understand that exercise will give you some calorie wiggle room, but it's really for fitness/health. A calorie deficit is what helps us all lose fat.

And even if you can't get to a gym, there are other options for strength. Bodyweight exercises (You Are Your Own Gym) and you already mentioned some of the DVDs, so that's great. The biggest thing is tracking everything you eat/drink. If it has calories, track it. Even if it puts you over your goals for the day, you will start to get a feel for what you have to focus on to reach your goals.

There are going to be ups and downs in this process. Don't get too discouraged or too overwhelmed. It happens to all of us and the best thing you can do is just keep going. Work on what needs working on. If it seems overwhelming, take one thing and incorporate that into your daily routine. Whether it's focusing on calories until you get comfortable with that before adding in any specific workout routine. As long as you progress, it's all good.

The other thing is to take pictures of your starting point and then take some more if it seems like it's not working for you. Sometimes, the scale doesn't seem to move, but the pictures tell a completely different story. Take measurements too. Even if a measurement changes by a small amount that isn't noticeable in a picture, it's still progress.

Good luck!

All4Me2014xx

Oh and there are some scam/advertisement posts that occasionally push a real person's post down on the list, but the moderators will take care of those. If you don't get a response in a reasonable amount of time, you can always go into your post and just reply with "Bump". That will push your post back up to the top of a forum topic and get it noticed.

Basically, bump means either bump this topic to the top, or if you see another topic from someone else that you want to either read again or have it show up on your Profile page so you can read it later, it marks it so you can easily find it again.

100DaysToGetFitEmma16

Thank you!!!

100DaysToGetFitEmma16

Bump

jnord8729

Welcome aboard Emma! Looks like you're in this for the right reasons. Those links All4Me posted are good. But I can give a little wisdom gained from successes and failures.

People say all sorts of "you must do this" and "you can't do that." Every one of those is either a fad or something that worked for 1 person. Get the basics down and you'll eventually get where you want to go. By basics I mean logging food (accurately!) and maintaining a calorie deficit. Second get a good regiment of a mix of strength and cardio. You want to follow a fancy BeachBody program or go cheap and so a mix of calisthenics and running both work (BTW there is a reason running is so popular and never falls out of fashion, but it's painful and just plain sucks for the first month or two doing it).

Don't worry about gaining weight from strength training for a couple of reasons:
1: Unless you're taking lots of weight lifting supplements, you won't get huge gains, nor will you start looking manly
2: It takes a lot more effort to gain 5 pounds of muscle than it does to gain 5 pounds of fat. Plus, 5 pounds of muscle is hardly noticeable on anyone. 5 pounds of fat is.
3: Strength training (and serious, not the 2 pound dumbbell lifted 10 times) will make your metabolism go through the roof. Therefore you'll burn more calories just sitting there twiddling your thumbs.

Anything beyond this you'll have to figure out what works for you. I hope this helps!