21 year old on a quest for a healthy life

89brilewis
89brilewis Posts: 27 Member
edited September 20 in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone! I am new to myfitnesspal and I thought I would introduce myself. I have been overweight since I was about 8 years old, and now I am considered obese as I sit at 5'6'' and 254lbs. I was well on my way to losing the weight a few years ago and was down to just under 200lbs, but I fell pregnant and ever since then I have been battling the bulge. I have now run into health problems as far as my blood pressure is concerned due to my weight. I want to be able to be healthy without the help of medication I also want to feel sexy for the first time in my life. I've never been able to look in a mirror and feel happy about myself, or even content. I would love to get down to 140. It is a healthy weight and I feel that if I change my lifestyles I can reach that goal. I also feel if I change my lifestyle in regards to how I eat and how I exercise it will have an impact on my daughter. Which will hopefully prevent her from becoming overweight in her life.

Well that is all I am going to post for now!

Hopefully some of ya'll will offer me some helpful hints to be successful in my journey to a new life.

Replies

  • Laura80111
    Laura80111 Posts: 958 Member
    :flowerforyou: Welcome, just posting is the beginning of a great journey. Get lots of friends from this site and start logging your food and see what kind of exercise will work for you. Glad you have joined the adventure:bigsmile:
  • AnneElise
    AnneElise Posts: 4,206 Member
    Welcome!

    Try pre-logging your food! Make sure you drink all of your water! Remember it takes time!
  • 89brilewis
    89brilewis Posts: 27 Member
    Hello! :) I actually joined the site on like saturday and have been religiously tracking my food and exercise. It is interesting to see what calories I take in and then what calories I burn. I also like how it tells me after posting my food how if I eat the same for 5 weeks what my weight will be.

    I hope to make a lot of friends on here so I can build a good support system for myself.
  • doshie1
    doshie1 Posts: 19
    I have been logging my food now for 1 month, I am only down 2 pounds (not much for a month), but at least it's down and not up...keep it up everyday and it will become a routine...I don't even think about it, I just log the food. I am starting more exercise this month, so hopefully I will loose more than 2 lbs.

    I also spend a few minutes everyday ready posts, the people on this website are awsome! Always encouraging, never judgmental. :happy: Reading the posts keeps my motivation going.

    glad you're here! good luck with your journey to a new you (happy, content and feeling great about yourself)!
  • Hollycat
    Hollycat Posts: 372
    Welcome! I'm starting out at the same height and weight as you, but considerably older - 47. Congratulations for starting NOW instead of waiting 25 years. As I've been telling my daughter for years, who's now 19, if I could go back and do it again, I would exercise, exercise, exercise, no matter how much I told myself I hated it. As a result, she does pilates and kick boxing and calisthenics in between classes to stay in shape. She is a size 4 and determined to stay that way with exercise, rather than dieting alone. After all, she likes to eat just as much as the next person. Dieting without exercise is a dead end and doomed to failure because you can't increase your metabolism and just keep lowering your 'set-point' until you're practically starving and not losing weight. I got to the point where my metabolism was so slow, I gained weight eating 1400 calories a day. Honestly. I was counting.

    Like it or not, daily exercise and honestly, religiously logging ones food intake [1800 calories a day] is the key to getting the weight off and keeping it off. At 19, I was already 155. After 2 babies, I was well over 200. Now I'm 242 because 'I don't like to exercise'. The truth is, if I'd done it anyway, and did it long enough to realize that I really do like the benefits of exercise, and had I NOT given up because my weight loss was sooooo sloooooow, I wouldn't be in this condition. It took me 25 years to realize I do like exercise. If only I'd taken my own advice! Don't wait to start exercising, even if you just start out by walking 30 minutes a day. 25 years of sadness and declining health is 25 years too many. Don't go there. Get moving and get better!

    Hollycat
  • Lisa0711
    Lisa0711 Posts: 1,405 Member
    Welcome to MFP. I just had to reply to your post because I'm also 21, my starting weight was 245, and I'm also 5'6".. Good luck reaching your goals. Just make sure to log your foods and exercise. Posting on the forums really helps too. It's great to have friends in this with you! You can do it!! :happy:
  • 89brilewis
    89brilewis Posts: 27 Member
    Hollycat - Thank you for replying. Already at age 21 I wish I would have exercised more as a teen. While I haven't always eaten the best things I haven't always eaten the worst things. I find myself easily motivated and then there are just some days where I want to do nothing but sit on my butt...then I look at my daughter. While wanting all these things I have nothing that is tangible to relate those wants to, but then I look at my daughter. She is my motivation and my strength when I don't want to move, because I don't want her to have to struggle like I do. If I can influence her habits then now is the time to change mine.

    Blondie925 - Thank you for your reply. You seem to be on a great track to meeting your goal. I was wondering what types of exercises do you do. I would do my normal walking that I do during the warmer months but I can't do those during the winter since I have no babysitter. I would also go to a gym but the cost is so much right now so I have to make due with things I can do at home.
  • Lisa0711
    Lisa0711 Posts: 1,405 Member
    Blondie925 - Thank you for your reply. You seem to be on a great track to meeting your goal. I was wondering what types of exercises do you do. I would do my normal walking that I do during the warmer months but I can't do those during the winter since I have no babysitter. I would also go to a gym but the cost is so much right now so I have to make due with things I can do at home.

    I do all my workouts at home! I just use DVDs. They're a lot of fun and they would be perfect for you to do on your own time at the house. WalMart has a pretty big selection. I also bought some hand weights from there too, a set of 5 and 8 pounds, and do them with the strength DVDs and I can really tell a difference!
  • Hollycat
    Hollycat Posts: 372
    Check out Joyce Vedral. It doesn't cost much to get started and she's always got good deals going on her DVD's and sets of DVD's. Just a workout bench and some light hand-weights - start with 3, 5 and 8 pound weights (which you can pick up second-hand). Most of her workouts are aerobic, as well as strengthening. I love her videos and have most of them.

    Hollycat :flowerforyou:
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    Hi. Welcome to MFP. :) It's awesome that you're doing this at 21! At 36, I can only wish I had done this at your age.
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