Freshman Forty needs to go...

rosec005

Hey all,

I've been looking around the boards now for a few days and finally decided it was time for me to post something here! I've always had a lot of issues with my weight since elementary school. I went from being the biggest girl in 5th grade to being average during middle school to suffering from disordered eating during my first year of high school that led me to dropping 40 lbs. Luckily I've recovered from that but unfortunately I gained back about 40 lbs during my freshman year in college. I'm a sucker for fast food and chocolate, but this time I need to lose a healthy amount of weight the natural way and keep it off. I'm already incorporating more fruits, veggies, and water into my diet and I'm starting to exercise, but it's hard for me to stay motivated or not fall back into my old habits.

I'm always looking for people to share my weight loss with and to keep me on track, especially anyone who is still adjusting to being on their own or anyone who has had problems with eating disorders before.

ladyhawk00

Welcome! MFP is a great tool and the community is awesome! You'll find tons of support and information. I recommend reading the "sticky posts" at the top of each forum to find a lot of really helpful posts. Good luck reaching your goals! :flowerforyou:

msowens

Good luck to you. I too had an eating disorder in high school that resulted in significant weight loss and significant weight gain in college so I know where you're coming from.

I have two questions for you -- well, one question and one piece of advice.

First, what is "a healthy amount of weight loss" for you? Your goal appears to be to lose 57 pounds. That's 33% of your current weight, which seems to me to be an awful lot (you certainly don't look obese, much less overweight, in your picture). How tall are you? What is truly a healthy goal weight? For example, if you are 5' 9", 110 pounds is *underweight*, even by the messed-up BMI calculator.

My advice is: figure out why you are eating, and work on the root cause. It sounds to me like you eat for emotional comfort -- I've been there. One suggestion would be: if you are feeling down or lonely, go for a walk around the campus. Go exploring and check things out. Replace eating for comfort with physical or social activities for comfort.

Hope that helps, good luck!

rosec005

Hey Msowens,

I'm only 5'2", so 110 is still within the healthy range (BMI 20.1). My body used to like being around 112 lbs, so I'm hoping to go slightly below that and then see if my body naturally maintains there.

I know I'm an emotional eater and luckily, I've started to stop some of those habits already. I've definitely discovered that a good 20 minutes on the elliptical relieves a lot more stress than eating cookies and ice cream.

Thanks so much for the advice!

CollegeGirl19

I've got the freshman 26 going on. I like your goals, by the way. BAMF.

collinskathleen

I'm a freshman as well! The best of luck to you, and hopefully we get to places we can be happy with!