New Begginings

Hi everyone!

My name is Monika, I am almost finished with my freshman year in college, and I am... dare I say... 197 lbs. How did I get to this scary number? I have no idea, but I am sure it has to do with stress from school, being away from family, feeling lonely, new responsibilities, freshman fifteen, unhealthy food choices at school, and practically no time to exercise. Anyways, I am about 5'3" and my weight should hang around 135-145 ish. I do have a very curvy body being of mixed nationality, and would like to have those curves accent me, not be hidden by my round figure. Anyways, I've been exercising (cardio: jogging, running, speed walking, kickboxing, upper body training) for almost 3 weeks now, and haven't lost zip. I changed my diet to this insane cereal and salad diet I read about online but I feel like a malnourished hamster everyday. I could lose 20 pounds in 5 weeks, but, gosh, it might be too much. Anyways, I have no idea what I am going to do...

another thing is that I am a sucker for taco bell, so that will be tough.


The BEST part is that I am planning a trip to Arizona and California over Christmas break, so in seven months I wanna be able to fit into (and look nice at that) a bikini. My FIRST bikini! I need HELP!!! Hopefully we can all work together at this. Best of luck.:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • amberrenee813
    amberrenee813 Posts: 395 Member
    Welcome! You can still have Taco Bell. I did last week and still lost weight :) Don't overwhelm yourself trying to cut out all the "bad" food since there is no bad food. Just be smart about your choices and remember moderation is key. Good luck!
  • kjuve
    kjuve Posts: 15 Member
    Welcome to MFP :) As said above me, moderation is key. I LOVE food, so instead of just jumping right into dieting, I practiced eating smaller portions. I did that for a couple weeks, and started switching out some foods I would normally eat, with healthier choices. I had the same problem where I would work out all the time, but I wasn't losing any, but once I started with the smaller portions and healthier choices is when I really saw the weight drop. Feel free to add me! Best of luck :)
  • em_glidd
    em_glidd Posts: 10 Member
    Welcome! I've been tracking on this site ever since the end of my freshman year (on and off) but have not posted much on the boards. Feel free to add me!
  • lpellicer
    lpellicer Posts: 8 Member
    You don't know how much that means to me! I am going to start this off with moderation, thank you :)
  • Heyy!!! I'm 28, 5'5, and I'm the heaviest I have EVER BEEN! 282 lbs YUK! =( I'm ashamed, BUT being ashamed ain't gonna do me no good, is it?! =P

    I just came back to MFP a couple days ago!!! I am more than happy to be your friend! =)

    I joined a gym and got a personal trainer last week! Hoping to stick with it this time!!!

    I agree with the others, Moderation! It's all about portions. You will be surprised at how full you actually get even though it might not seem like much!!! (Sometimes it helps, use a smaller plate and eat slow.) Try to cut out the worst things like I did... Pop (My worst enemy) and SUGAR!!! Those are the bad ones. A Taco every once in a while is OK!!! =D

    Another thing, since you are working out, DONT TRUST THE SCALE!!! You should always measure yourself. The scale can lie saying you gained five and meanwhile you lost 2 inches!!! =D I love my measuring tape!!! HATE THE SCALE!!! lol I measure, and weigh myself once a week. It is very motivating to see inches falling off. (Neck, Arms, Bust, Waist, Hips, Thighs, Calves.) You will be surprised!!!

    Hope I have helped in some way! =)

    Good Luck to you and everyone else!

    LETS DO THIS! YEAA!
  • Don't forget to record your measurements and weight so you can compare each week!

    That way if you gained you can go back through your food diary and see what you did differently and try not to do it again!

    You can get a flexible measuring tape from the sewing section in any store... (Dollar store has them)

    =)
  • OH!!! Not to go on and on but I just found this new app for my phone, MapMyWalk, it connects to MFP so you can track your exercises (There's about 300 different exercises it can track) and it counts the calories and adds it all to your food/exercise diary on My Fitness Pal! I have only used it yesterday to walk for about an hour but I burned 585 calories that I would have never even knew I burned!!! =D Check it out!! I love it!!
  • ninav1980
    ninav1980 Posts: 514 Member
    Hi everyone!

    My name is Monika, I am almost finished with my freshman year in college, and I am... dare I say... 197 lbs. How did I get to this scary number? I have no idea, but I am sure it has to do with stress from school, being away from family, feeling lonely, new responsibilities, freshman fifteen, unhealthy food choices at school, and practically no time to exercise. Anyways, I am about 5'3" and my weight should hang around 135-145 ish. I do have a very curvy body being of mixed nationality, and would like to have those curves accent me, not be hidden by my round figure. Anyways, I've been exercising (cardio: jogging, running, speed walking, kickboxing, upper body training) for almost 3 weeks now, and haven't lost zip. I changed my diet to this insane cereal and salad diet I read about online but I feel like a malnourished hamster everyday. I could lose 20 pounds in 5 weeks, but, gosh, it might be too much. Anyways, I have no idea what I am going to do...

    another thing is that I am a sucker for taco bell, so that will be tough.


    The BEST part is that I am planning a trip to Arizona and California over Christmas break, so in seven months I wanna be able to fit into (and look nice at that) a bikini. My FIRST bikini! I need HELP!!! Hopefully we can all work together at this. Best of luck.:flowerforyou:

    You can have 3 crispy crunchy fresco tacos for under 500 cals at Taco Bell, trust me, I know :) . Most fast food menus these days provide nutritional values. This makes it easy for people like myself who dont like to cook! Eat what you want, and just watch the calories. Thats all there is to it my friend. Oh and patience, dont ever give up. In 7 months its physically impossible to not be in better shape than you are today. You can most def do this!!!