hello! determined to lose weight :)

ashleemcfly

My name's Ashlee - friends call me AJ - and I've been on and off dieting for a couple of months straight but can never seem to put my foot down. Friday night I went to a night club for the first time and I swear I was the biggest girl there - made me realise I can't go on like this anymore. I felt horrible, I was with my friends and enjoying myself but all the good looking people around me kept making me feel worse about myself which was not great.

I'm 18 and don't want to spend any more of my young years unhappy with how I look

TwentyTen

Welcome AJ. glad you could join us. :flowerforyou: You will find all the support and tools you need here to reach your goals. You can do this!

BrenNew

My name's Ashlee - friends call me AJ - and I've been on and off dieting for a couple of months straight but can never seem to put my foot down. Friday night I went to a night club for the first time and I swear I was the biggest girl there - made me realise I can't go on like this anymore. I felt horrible, I was with my friends and enjoying myself but all the good looking people around me kept making me feel worse about myself which was not great.

I'm 18 and don't want to spend any more of my young years unhappy with how I look

Hi Ashlee, and welcome to THE best site on the web! :flowerforyou:
Between the easy to use food counter (which by the way is SUCH an eye opener!) and all the wonderfully supportive members, you WILL be able to lose the weight that you want to, AND, it'll "almost" be easy doing it!
I recommend logging ALL your foods BEFORE you have them, rather than later, as it tends to lead to better food choices. (not to mention you'll know if you've got enough numbers left to have a night time snack, like I ALWAYS try to do!) Some people also like to weigh and measure some things, such as meats, rather than just estimating and possibly being WAY off! :noway:
Don't go making the mistake that if you have LOTS of numbers left at the end of the day that you'll lose even faster, because that DOESN'T happen. Feel free to read any info about the site in the "help" section at the top of the home page. And also under "Community", then "Weight Loss and Healthy Living", then "general diet and weight loss help", and then check out the first few threads. They'll REALLY help you understand how MFP works.
Before coming here, I had tried just about EVERYTHING out there, including hypnosis, TWICE, and nothing really worked until MFP!
Just the word "diet" would make me cringe and set me up for failure. :grumble: It meant depriving myself of all the "good stuff" out there, and as a result, I'd only last just so long, (maybe a few weeks if I was lucky!) and then I'd "cave" and go right back to eating all those "goodies" again! :embarrassed: But, MFP ISN'T a "diet". :noway: It's a "lifestyle change". (When I first read that, I said "Ya, SURE it is!", thinking that it WAS just another diet. :grumble: But, it wasn't! :noway:)
The main reason that I've managed to lose the weight that I wanted to is because I HAVE been able to eat "real/good" foods. :bigsmile: (Not Slim Fast or any other easy, quick, fad "wacko" diets!:noway: ) Through MFP I learned that I just needed to "work for it", through exercise, and watching my numbers (MOST of the time! ) As long as I do that, I CAN occasionally have stuff like Chinese food, a double cheeseburger, pizza, and even homemade ice-cream!
As far as exercise goes, it doesn't always have to be awful. :noway: For my exercise, I walk almost every day, (weather permitting! ) I also dance to a fast oldies CD that my husband made up of all my favorite old songs. (Like "Love Shack", Wild, Wild West", "Mony, Mony", "Footloose", and "Gloria") :happy:
It's free, (unlike a gym!:grumble: ) fun, and I can even watch tv at the same time, so I never get bored! :happy:
I also have Wii Fit, and jog to that, which is a lot of fun, and easy too!
So, to make a LONG story short, make good food choices, eat in moderation, get some exercise, and you WILL lose the weight that you want to!
MFP REALLY, REALLY, DOES work! :happy: Give it a chance, and it WILL work for you too!

workoutqueen628

You can do it!!! You're young and want to get your weight under control so you can be sexy in your 20s! You just need to focus on nutrition and exercise. Clean out your pantry of all junk food so you won't be tempted to eat it. Stock up on fruits and veggis and go for these when you're hungry. Get a pedometer if that will motivate you to walk more!

ashleemcfly

Thanks guys All of that really helps. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on what alcohol I should be sticking to? I know it's not great for you but I think I'd be kidding myself if I tried to cut it out completely.

gisii

hiiii and welcome!! have fun while u loose and remember even if u have a bad day u can always start fresh the next!! good luck!!

brendac72

Welcome.....

I have been in your shoes before, not feeling good about yourself when everyone around you looks great. You are 1/2 way there already, you have decided to change your ways. What alcohol do you normally drink? There really isnt any that is good for you in my opinion because of all the calories but if you drink beer definitley stick to a light one. I usually drink beer, wine, or Bacardi & diet. I have gone off of the rum & coke because I don't drink pop anymore. For me, the summer I drink beer, winter I drink wine but I drink a ton of water with any of it to try and help with the calories. Not sure if that helped at all but if it didn't there is always somebody else that will help on here.

dougspot

Welcome Aboard!
As an experienced drinker I'm also looking at the numbers for various types of alcohol and their effect on my diet. For me it's been a question of quantity of alcohol instead of what I'm drinking. So, I've pretty much switched to vodka & cranberry juice. It's not perfect, but I don't drink every day, just when I want to let loose.
So ignoring the social questions (how much, how often, that's too much, that's too often) just use common sense and if you can skip it, skip it. If you can't skip it, then SIP it. Be sure to keep track of everything, alcohol, exercise and food. If you club and dance the whole night, that's valid exercise. If it's a booth night and you're chugging pitchers, good luck keeping track! :drinker:

So best of luck, glad you're with us and keep at it, you're not alone!
D