Need friends and weight loss advice! :)

Hi everyone! I am new to this community. My name is Cat, I currently attend an undergrad university, age 19, and I am sure that I have similar goals in terms of weight loss with the rest of you.

I used to weigh around 115 lbs just about a year ago until I got careless and tired of keeping my weight down so in the past few months I gained quite a bit and I now I range between 125-128 depending on water weight and the time of day. Since I am Asian, I am on the brink of becoming 'overweight' in terms of BMI measurements in Asia, which the supposedly healthy range is set to be between 18-23. I am only 5' 2.5", but with a body fat percentage of 26% and a waist of 28 in.

I am looking to shed some of this body fat, especially off my midsection, so I have been exercising 6x times a week alternating between working out at the gym by using the weight machines for about half an hour, and by attending Zumba fitness classes that are 45 minutes each with a 5 minute cool down towards the end. I am looking to reach a weight goal of 99 lbs, or 45 kg, which is not abnormal for an Asian, but I have yet to reach that weight even in the past due to the structure of my bones.

But I believe it can be achieved no matter how difficult it may get. So I plan on keeping up the exercise routine I have following, but to minimize my diet to a 1,200 to 1,500 calorie diet. I want to eat at least a bit more than 1,200 so I do not let my metabolism slide into starvation mode, which I used to do to my body a couple years back when I went on a crash diet. All I have to say from that reflection is: Never a good idea to starve yourself.

So I plan on cutting back on sweets and sugar, even Splenda and artificial stuff, junk food, etc. because all processed foods have unknown chemicals and aspartame sweeteners, all sorts of stuff that is preventing my body from losing weight. I am going to incorporate more vegetables into my diet, and perhaps stick with the fruit twice daily as I have been. One of the reasons why I have gained so much weight in such little time is because of the dining hall and my trouble with portion control. I have realized that healthy overeating is bad for you, because I would eat large quantities of high calorie foods and sweets every day - so now that I think about it, I probably consumed an unhealthy amount of around 3,000-4,000 calories per day.

Back to my diet plan: I plan on eating a healthy breakfast of either egg white omelettes, oatmeal with cinnamon, and half a large bagel for breakfast with 2% milk and/or whey protein mixed into the milk. I need the whey to slim down my stomach, and to replenish my muscles from working out. I work out 3x a week, normally on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

After working out I would drink a whey protein shake of one scoop of whey protein mixed with water or black coffee (chocolate peanut butter whey with coffee tastes like Starbucks!) so I think it would be better to have whey protein with my breakfast on Tuesday and Thursday, but to cut back on how much solid food I consume on those days since whey protein is a very good appetite suppressant for me and I do not want to slip from my diet and binge on something I will regret later on.

What do you think? Should I drink whey protein 5x a week, 6x a week, all 7 days, or just stick with the original 3x per week after a workout like I am doing now?

Additionally, I intend to allow myself one meal out of the week to eat anything I want, but not to overdo it. I would very much like your advice on this topic too - should I plan out which meal of the week to allow myself to indulge, and if so, which meal of the day would be best and would Saturday or Sunday work?

Furthermore, I am taking vitamins such as iron and Vitamin B6 because I can get tired and slightly anemic sometimes. My hemoglobin levels have not really been within the normal range. I have also just recently started taking fish oil pills once daily for the past few days, but I have no idea if it will help me in my quest to lose weight. So I ask you - have you taken fish oil in the past, how long have you been taking the capsules, what strength are you in taking them in, where did you buy it, how much did it cost, and how much weight have you lost from taking it over what period of time?

I am also thinking of taking a fiber supplement, but I think the whey protein would be enough to suppress my appetite because I do have quite a big appetite. I am thinking of switching to and trying whey protein isolate, which carries twice as much protein for the amount of calories (130 calories per scoop). The brand I am taking now is Super Advanced chocolate peanut butter whey - 1 scoop contains 26 g of protein for 140 calories. The whey protein isolate I have yet to try is 130 calories per scoop of 60 g of protein. Since my body weight is 125 lb on an average basis minus or subtract water weight/time of day etc I assume that consuming about 100 g of protein is not too unhealthy for me since I get hungry like ALL the time and need to eat 5 times a day - 3 meals and two small snacks. I need some fiber and protein to fill me up.

I want to cut back on dairy products in addition to the wheat I have been eating almost every day, but I need calcium so do you think sticking with 2% milk is a good idea? My snacks will consist of either string cheese, an apple, tangerine, a mixed green salad with no dressing (maybe a dab), maybe a bit of shredded cheese, and/or a combination of 1/2 cup of fruit and/or half a boiled egg so it adds to around 100 calories per salad as a snack. This is very convenient since the dining hall has so much variety as far as making salads go. I can also grab an apple or orange to go, and I think bananas are not too good since they are so high in carbs so I will avoid them.

So I will have a healthy snack maybe twice a day on Tuesday and Thursday, and once on Mon Wed Fri because in the afternoon I will just stick to a whey protein shake mixed with water or black coffee. Again, I will have whey protein mixed with 2% milk on Tues and Thurs.

Lunch and dinner will range from 300-400 calories each, and I will try to incorporate a good amount of protein, some carbs like (brown) rice or something gluten free (no breads anymore!), and steamed or fresh veggies. Should I stay away from yogurt since that is high in sugar and may contain artificial ingredients?

I will also drink plenty of water throughout the day and make sure to move around as much as possible. I am really motivated to lose all this weight, but I want to do it the healthiest and most efficient way possible. I look pretty fit since I exercise, but I still have a higher body fat percentage than how much a "fit" body should have.

So I thank you for taking your time to read this incredibly long post - there was more I could have provided about my weight loss goals and how I have been on crash diets in the past, but I think I have told you enough relevant information so that you can get to know me and my struggle on the quest to lose weight. I do not have a fast metabolism like some 19 year teen girls so since I have a small frame and am short with a slightly higher body fat percentage than other teens, but I do believe that I can help boost it by drinking plenty of water and eating healthy while limiting my sugar intake up to maybe 75 calories per day - including the 15 calories from the vitamins I take. I want to boost the amount of energy I have because I have been feeling sluggish from overeating so much these past few months.

I appreciate your comments and responses to any of my questions above. I would very much love to hear from you and any advice you may have from past experiences or from any sources you have heard from. I do not want to head into the wrong direction like I have in the past by putting my body into starvation mode again, so any advice you give will be awesome.

I would also like to hear a little bit about you - like, what are your weight loss goals, how far have you come on your journey to get here, and just overall anything you would like to tell me from your weight loss adventure and experiences. Again, thank you so so much for reading this post, and I thank you even more for any advice you may give. I look forward to getting to know you all. Hopefully we can all share our thoughts, ideas, and methods of shedding off some pounds and getting into shape while feeling better than we all ever have in our lives. Exercise definitely is a great energy booster, as well as eating healthy. Please feel free to share anything you'd like!