New, Young, Looking for guidance, experience and friends

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cwmw
cwmw Posts: 30
in Introduce Yourself
Hi Everyone,

I am new around here and want to introduce myself. I am 22 years old and currently weigh 80kg, (height 168cm). Finding that I had breached the 80 mark was a strong wake up call for me to take losing weight seriously. Throughout my late teens (16~19), I used to be within the healthy range of 50~53kg. When I was 19, I had a really bad breakup and went down to around 48kg, and since then, I have found a new stable long term bf and my weight has not gone down since.

I would say my recent weight gain is due to these factors:
- Being in a stable relationship with a supportive bf who constantly says he doesnt care what I look like.
- I go out to eat very often (3times a week) because I find it relieves a bit of the boredom of everyday life
- I am working part time currently (3 days a week) and those days I wake up early, but I still sleep very late, resulting in sleeping in the other days that I am not working, missing out on breakfast and having a really late lunch (thus messing up my daily cycles)
- I am under very strong pressure to find a full time job within my field of practice, and have been highly unsuccessful.
- I also had a hobby of trying new restaurants and keeping a food blog to share around with my friends (thus even more reason to eat out)

I wouldnt say that I eat because I am depressed, I would attribute it to eating because I am bored of daily life and want to find excitement in the form of food. I also have a really sedentary lifestyle, and am very very very averted to hardcore exercise that I would avoid it at all costs.

Thanks heaps for reading this, and if you could give me guidance about how to tackle this problem would be great!
Other than that, I am really hoping to make friends here and support each other lose weight together!!!

P.S. I was also wondering, if anyone else knew, the suggested water intake per day is 8 cups, but I usually drink 10-12, would this be a factor in my weight gain?

Again, thanks a lot!

-C.W

Replies

  • cwmw
    cwmw Posts: 30
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    Up Up~~~ anyone out there?
  • Caitlin42490
    Caitlin42490 Posts: 9
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    Hello!

    I cannot answer your question about the water, but I am also 22 and am trying to get down to the size I used to be when I was in high school. Up until a few month ago, I had a really messy schedule between classes and my part-time job...I have found that routine is really what has helped me to stay hooked on my diet. This site has really helped me SO much to discover just how many calories were in the foods I was eating on a daily basis, and to consequently help me make smarter choices. The same applies for the eating out - I now have a full time job which forces me to eat out everyday at lunch, and then me and my friends or family often eat out for dinner in order to socialize. By filling out your food diary every single day, you will start seeing which foods to avoid and which ones to order first! Before, I never ate salads and I loveeeddd pasta and sandwiches - now I try to stay away from a lot of bread and eat more vegetables, including salads. You can make it work, and this is an amazing solution!

    Feel free to add me! xx
  • MrsPixelbark
    MrsPixelbark Posts: 175 Member
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    Drinking too much water shouldn't factor into weight gain, holding water is down to a number of factors including sodium intake.

    What I would say on the exercise front is that you sound exactly like me a few years ago. Exercise was very alien, and I actually started 'exercising' by volunteering. It got me on my feet- lifting, cleaning, walking, running - it wasn't traditional exercise by any means, but it certainly helped kick my weight loss off. If you're bored volunteering somewhere may really benefit you, even if it's only for a few hours a week: it'll get you out of the house, you'll meet new people, it looks fab on a CV, you'll be up on your feet and best of all you'll be helping out people who actually need it.

    Either that or I'd be tempted to start something small and achievable- perhaps C25K, or something like the 30 day shred (perhaps doing it a few times a week instead of everyday). Nothing too heavy, but certainly a good start. I honestly didn't think I'd enjoy exercise at all, but now I can't wait to go out for my run. Or you could do something 'fun'- exercise doesn't have to be boring- swimming, dancing, Zumba, rollerblading - there's hundreds of more fun options out there now to lose a few calories.

    Perhaps instead of writing about eating out- you could try cooking from home (then blogging about that)? That'd certainly help keep you on track with regards to the calories, and you can see exactly what goes into your food.

    What I would say is that I was in your shoes up until a few years back, once I settled down with my partner I slapped on weight for a number of years for various reasons. However, what I would also say is that although my partner always said he was 'happy' with me for all the years where I was larger, he's finding me MUCH better now I've lost a few inches. Stay on this website, log your food, stay within your calories and the weight will come off! It may take time, but it is worth it. :) If you need any buddies, feel free to add me too, I'm no angel by any means diary wise (although I do try and eat cleanly), but friends also help massively in this journey!

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