350 at 18.

I was over 300 lbs in my teens and finally reached 432 lbs in my 20's. this site is very helpful and has lots of support to give. Welcome and good luck.

This site is amazing )
Although... food & exercise comes along with it!
The support you get is soo good!
congrats xD the first step i guess is realising, this is it. I need to lose weight!

Hey,
I think this website is great for tracking your food. When i first started tracking my food I was astonished by how many calories I was shoving in my mouth each day. I am now able to make better decisions about what food I choose and am able to eat all day long if i choose to. i just started using this site, but I also utilize the website www.livestrong.com. I find that the support in some of the groups I have joined help me tremendously especially on the really hard days. The best group I have joined there is called: Go Diet GO(I beleive). The girls there are all there for different reasons but are all on the same page somehow. When I was not losing and was frustrated one of the members was able to boost my spirits and also look at my food diary and notice that certain things in my diet were higher than usual such as my sodium intake was really high during those days. I had not payed attention to this detail cause I thought if i just watched how many calories and how much fat i was taking in I would be alright and lose weight, But I took her advice and became more aware of my sodium intake and have started losing weight again. Great support there anyways. Good luck on your journey. Remember it took a lot of years to learn bad habits and put on the weight and it will not come off over night and you will have ups and downs and at times want to give up, but just keep trucking and maybe set a goal (realistic) for yourself and remind yourself of it everyday(like getting a new pair of jeans when lose 20lbs or something like that) Those are great reminders and motivators. Well I didn't mean to write a book. Good Luck and can't wait to hear about your success.

Hi Emma - Welcome!

I am new to this site myself and am amazed at how useful it is. I was always a yo-yo dieter and tried various deprivation diets. I found out very quickly that they don't work for me. When I changed my outlook and began to focus on how I can be healthier and feel more confident instead of just be skinny (which I'll never be - I'm on the curvy side) I began to feel different. I made small positive changes over time that I have become pretty permanent: replacing almost all soda and sugary drinks with water, drinking just one cup of coffee a day, including a lot more fresh produce in my diet, and experimenting with new recipes. I am still working on making exercise more regular and fun (I hope to take a dance class) but I feel much more confident in myself now than ever.

My general advice is this: If you find that more extreme techniques or drastic diet changes aren't working for you, than try to make at least one healthy change and stick with it. As it becomes second nature, bump it up or add another. And don't give up because of a bad day or two! Each day is a chance to start fresh. Best of luck!

Hey,

welcome to this wonderful site :-)

My advice is: take small steps. Don't try to change things drastically, that only leads to giving up. Slowly changing quantities you eat, exercise you do, chosing healthier food... but do it slowly, with small steps.
Give your body time to get used to changes.
It will take terribly long to lose weight this way, but the longer it takes, the better it is!

Good luck!

MM

Hey, Im Emma.
I am 18 and moved to california 2 months ago from arizona.
growing up i was extremely spoiled, and because my mom didnt have things when she was growing up.. including food..
she decided to give me whatever i wanted whenever i wanted...
probably not the best idea.
i am 18 and weight close to 350 lbs. The most i have weighed is 375 ( i think)
im trying this website because i have heard a lot of good things about it and i want to be able to know how much im taking in and this site makes it incredibly easy.

if you have any tips.. please share them
i will check this everyday

share your stories too please!!
xoxo,
Emma

Hi Emma!

I happy that you made the decision to lose weight at 18... I waited till I was 41 to do it... so i'm still doing it... NOW is the right time! You will have to make changes everyday... Don't change everything at once or you will get discourage and quit! Tell yourself that THIS IS NOT A DIET... instead tell yourself that THIS IS A NEW WAY OF LIVING...

Your first few steps should be to:
EAT THREE TO SIX MEALS A DAY
EAT AT LEAST YOUR MINIMUM CALORIES PER DAY
DRINK AT LEAST 8 GLASSES OF WATER EVERYDAY
ENTER ALL YOUR FOOD IN YOUR JOURNAL

I am no expert... I am telling you this because I learn the hard way... I'm still learning...

I have lost 43 lbs so far but still a long long way to go... My first BIG goal is to lose 50 lbs... I have never lost 50 lbs in my entire life... I know I can do this and so do you!

We can do this together if you want... I have great friends on here that are there everyday to encourage, celebrate and answer my questions along the way! It does help to stay on track!!! If you fail today, tomorrow is another day... Just do better the next day... Everyday is a new battle! It sure ain't easy but It's for the best!

Just have fun doing it...You are 18 and you don't want to be trap in that body forever! Right?

Best of luck on your weight loss journey! Be strong!

Let's do this together!

Chantal:flowerforyou: