Hi! :D

Whitney080

Hello everyone!(:

My name's Whitney and I'm eighteen years old. I'm still in high school and will be graduating this year and I'm completely sick! Sick of what you may ask? The usual... Being over-weight. I stand at the height of 5'7" and weigh around 228, I believe! Around that area pretty close.(Going to weigh tomorrow to be absolutely sure.) As you can probably tell just from me telling my height and weight.. I am EXTREMELY overweight. It's been that way ever since I was a young girl, but never really bothered me, that is..

When I entered high school my Freshman year I was teased constantly. "C'mon fat girl!" "I can't see over you to see the board!" "Get to rolling down the hall, fatty!" The list goes on.. And while it may seem "Ha ha ha," it hurt my feelings greatly. I tried working out, it lasted for three weeks at the most and then I got bored and quit. However, it is my Senior year, I will graduate THIS year, and I want to be a healthier, better looking me! Time to let out that skinny girl who is being smothered by all my fat and flab! :P

I decided I wanted to lose weight only a couple days ago, and am actually scared to death! What if I give up like I always do? What if I don't lose weight at all even if I'm trying?? I can't picture myself skinny! Not at all! Never been, so I really have no hope. However, I'm trying to stay positive. I want to lose weight SO bad!! My long-term, all together goal is to lose 75-80 pounds, but I'm going to take this slow. Thing is, I don't know how to start!! Help?? I started drinking only water today and a friend of mine is letting me borrow Zumba. I've heard good things about it, but wanna hear it from YOU GUYS! Does Zumba work?
Another thing, does anyone have any suggestions or advise on what workouts to start with first when losing weight? How long? I have a Gazelle and weights(Standard hand weights) and then the Zumba(Will be getting it soon) aannddd.. Billy Blank DVDs. O-O Soo.. Yeah! Oh! And this "Hip Hop Abs" my mother bought about six months ago! lol

I went to the store yesterday and bought a lot of fruit, healthy things like that. Gonna start trying to count calories(Which is harder than it looks for me at least.)

Gah! How am I going to do this? :'S

yeabby

You can do it. Drink water. Eat fruits and vegetables. Avoid the foods you know are unhealthy. Log you food. Move. Move. Move. Log when you move. Know you're going to mess up sometimes. Accept it and keep going.

TaraDenise

You can do it, sweetie! Take it one day at a time, and don't beat yourself up if you make mistakes along the way. You got this!

tnc9424

You can do it. You just have to make up your mind that you want to change and make the changes and stick to them. I will help you anyway I can. I have always been smaller but with 3 kids and a full time job it is slowly creeping up on me. I really need to do this for my health.

Good luck on your journey!!!

ACF2

bring it girl!- quit w the bad image and do the healthy thing! ull be surprised %^)

TeriTee

You can definitely do it! And having this network of people to support you helps so much.

You'll mess up sometimes, and it's okay - one bad day won't hurt. But don't let yourself slack off; treat it as a gradual change in lifestyle. Good luck!! You'll look great at graduation no matter what

matticrew

This is great. My freshmen year i weighed 178 and knew i had to change things. I lost 30 pounds the summer before freshmen year and felt well beautiful for the first time.....sadly I gained that back plus more over that year and am trying to do it again.
I want you to know that you can do anything you set your mind too.
Drink ONLY/a lot of water.
Try running,even if its only for 5 minutes to start out with!

YOU CAN DO IT GIRL!

Whitney080

Thank you guys so much for the support! This is great, love MFP already! ^^

Good luck to you guys on your journeys too!

I'm mind set and yes, I CAN DO THIS! (: One day at a time.. I've heard "Slow and Steady wins the Race", right?!

myslma01

you can do it! Keep your positive thinking that is 75% of the battle. Add me if you want, it's nice to have people to encourage and be encouraged by.

cownancy

I give the same advice with each post, but I will keep repeating them. Go gradually. If you do a complete change all at once, you are more likely to burn out. Make a list of things that will help you and integrate them slowly. This website is a great tool. Keep a positive attitude and do not expect perfection. Do not eliminate everything you like, just try to use this food diary to help you keep the unhealthy foods within the numbers provided if at all possible. If you have a bad day, just keep walking in the right direction tomorrow.
Remember that your body craves more food late at night, so keep good sleep hygiene.
Practice Mindful Eating-sit down and eat slowly, chew thoroughly and do not watch TV, read or have other distractions. Enjoy the taste of your food and try really hard to learn to read your body to know when you have had enough and then stop. You can put the rest of the food away for later.
Sugar and Carbs make you hungry, so try to keep your sugar under 15 grams per serving and carbs under 25 per serving.
Reduce your portions little by little.
If you haven't been working out, be careful...start by walking and gradually add exercises. If you get hurt or bored, you will not want to continue.
Try to figure out the triggers that make you want to eat, or your habits about food (i.e. do you open the refrigerator door the minute you come into the house?) and change them. For me, I cannot go eat to celebrate and I have to do something other than eat when I come in the door. Everyone has their own patterns.
This is just the beginning, but if you keep reading these entries and stay inspired, you'll do fine. If you don't lose weight quickly, you are doing it the right way. You should NOT lose more than one pound a week, though the first week or two you may lose more. If you plateau, change up your routine.
As myslma01 says, staying POSITIVE and not beating yourself up is a huge part of the journey. Best of luck, sweetie!!! I was a fat teen and am still fat (only fatter) at 54, but have lost 45 pounds so far.....finally!