89kg [200lb] and only 17. Questions..

First, congrats on making the decision to take control and begin a healthier lifestyle. That's a huge step.

Second, and I'm sure you won't like to hear this, but 88 lbs in 2 months is not a reasonable, or healthy, weight loss. It won't happen and you will only set yourself up for disappointment if you keep such unrealistic expectations.

However, PLEASE don't let that discourage you. In 2+ months you should be able to make quite a bit of progress. And if you do it in a healthy way, it is more likely that you will keep it off.

It sounds like, with your current regimen, you may be eating too few calories. You should try to stay within 100-200 of your cal goal each day, especially if you have your loss per week goal at 2 lbs. If you go under that, your weight loss is more likely to stall. Here are some threads that help explain metabolism and the best ways to keep it running at an optimum level.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

I think if you read those, it will really help you understand the best ways to lose weight at a good rate, but in a healthy way.

I hope this helps, and please feel free to add me if you'd like. Good luck to you!

Don't worry, everyone is new at it at some point - or we wouldn't be here. And you won't learn everything overnight. It's a process that takes a while. But it is, of course, well worth it.

Well, keep in mind that carbs are not the devil! lol Your body does need some carbs. It's the source of those carbs that is important. For example, eating a donut is obviously not the same as eating an apple - yet both have carbs. You should try to make sure that you get good carbs - from whole grains, fruits, veggies - and avoid the carbs that come from processed sugar.

Same goes with fat. You don't need to worry if you go over on fat - IF it's coming from good sources like lean meat, eggs, fish, nuts, natural oils like olive oil, and avocados. Try to avoid processed food.

I think you'll find that if you focus on eating healthy foods - lots of lean protein, good carbs, and good fats, you can meet your cal goals and still stay under fat and carb goals. If you aren't sure what kinds of things to be eating, you might want to try looking at some people's diaries to get some ideas.

Hi J,

Good on you for taking the first step to getting healthier! I'm in Australia too and weigh 2 kg more than you - I'm older than 17 though!

Please have a look at the links posted in the second message - they have some really good information about how you can actually stay overeight if you don't eat enough. I KNOW this doesn't seem logical, but your body is smart, it knows if you are trying to starve it and responds by holding onto all the weight it can!

I also suggest picking a smaller target to start with. How about aiming to lose 5kg, then when you have lost that, go for the next 5? This way you are much more likely to succeed and not get pissed off with the whole process. And you'll have a great 18th anyway, it will be much better to get to April knowing that you are right on track with getting healthier and fitter, instead of being sad because you didn't reach the too-big goal you set yourself.

Go for it, you can do it, you'll find lots of good support here.

Ruby

@Ladyhawk; Thanks a lot. You've helped heaps.

I think I started thinking that carbs were the devil due to the Atkins diet that I kept hearing about from people. I tried it for 2 days, and gosh I was starving, I was so lost due to rice being part of my normal eating habits [Being chinese and all].

I'm currently filling in my MFP and it's adding up... They're all passing the daily goal, it's upsetting to watch haha.

If you don't mind me asking though, where can I find the diaries? Sorry for asking.

Don't be nervous - a lot of us are fat, but I promise no one will eat you! :laugh: I've never seen one person here who would criticize you - you're trying to learn and that says a lot about what a smart, strong young woman you are.

Rice is not totally off the table, especially since it's a part of your cultural environment. What you can do is limit your portions of it, and if/when possible, use brown rice instead of white rice.

You can find diaries for others by going to a profile for someone (just click on their picture) and then clicking the view diary button under their age, etc. Some people have their diaries private or only open to friends, so you wouldn't be able to see those. But if you add them as a friend, then you can usually see it. Feel free to add me if you like - mine is open to friends - but for heaven's sake, remember I'm human and I don't have a perfect diary every day. :laugh: Add more friends and you'll have more people that you can get food ideas from (both what to do and what NOT to do lol).

I am from South Australia. I have about 54kgs left to lose (I am aiming for 60kgs by my 30th birthday) Weightloss is so up and down. I have been going to the gym now for something like 13 weeks, watching what I eat and still only lose just under 1kg a week. I wanted to be down 20kgs by my 29th Birthday. but. doesn't look like I'll get there. 10kgs in a month is a bit far fetched from my body's perspective. ha.

Good luck, you are in the right place, you should easily be able to get rid of 10kgs in 2 months, especially if you're strict with yourself.

My downfall is my inability to stop added sugars. grrr. haha.

You'll be right we'll help you through. We're all here for the same reason, to lose the healthy way

If you have a xbox or nintendo wii there is a biggest loser game! I have the wii game it is really good x

Believe me. If I could magically snap my fingers and be 80kgs or less I would do it Mary Poppins style. ha. RIght NOW.
I am so impatient. It'll give me good character at the end. haha.

Loads of great advice in this thread.

I'll second the "baby steps" point. It's important to make small changes and stick with them before making more changes. These changes have GOT to be permanent otherwise you'll just end up back where you started.

Many years ago, I swore off soft drinks and I'm convinced it's why I stopped gaining weight at the rate I was. Now, I only drink water, green tea, black tea and the occasional coffee (oh, and alcohol LOL). The only time I drink cola is when I have a JD and coke at Christmas. Even then, I only really like Pepsi Raw because it has no funny business in it (no FrankenFoods).

The next step was to drop fast food, except as a very rare treat. Now I don't actually like it that much. My friend is pregnant and called me to bring her an emergency MacD Fillet of Fish, last week, so I got a burger as well. I figured I hadn't had a MacD's in something like a year, so why not? Anyway, I only ate half of if as it was just awful, not at all how I remembered them to be and I can't think I'll ever have one again.

After that, I swore off white bread and "american long grain" rice. I now love brown basmati and eat rice 3 or 4 times a week. I love Japanese rice as well, though I eat much less of it as it's a faff to cook.

I've never had much of a sweet tooth, thank the gods, but I crave chocolate something awful at my TOTM. So, I just have 2 or 3 small pieces of really good quality chocolate and it has the same satisfaction factor as a whole mars bar or similar.

The next thing I dropped (except as a treat) is deep fried food, only because heating vegetable oil to that temperature makes it toxic.

Then I started reading everything I could get my hands on about nutrition and I don't mean the rubbish the government touts about saturated fat and cholesterol (all unproven theory, by the way) but the real stuff, backed by real studies and real evidence.



The important thing is to not panic. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time, one choice at a time. Find some weight loss blogs that inspire you (I like www.priorfatgirl.com). Educate yourself. There is no magic here. Get out, get moving, get fit and the weight loss will come.

Good luck, lady

@Rubybelle;
When I said the goals to myself, it sounded logical. But then my godbrother said it wasn't logical and that I should go for 10kg per month, does that sound logical...?
I don't even know what's reasonable >_<;

I think that even 10kg a month is a really big goal. That's 2.5 kg (about 5lb) a week. Sounds too much to me.
I think it might work better to set a goal like 5kg and just see how long that takes - if you are steadily losing .5 - 1 kg a week you'll get rid of some of the weight pretty soon and then it's easier to stay motivated.

You've made a great start by deciding to make some positive changes, that really is smart!
The baby steps is definitely the way to go. and don't get sucked in by the ads on TV promising "lose 5 kg in a week" - they are just marketing spin and DON'T WORK. If they did, we would all have used them and be at our goal weight already!

Pick small changes and keep them up - I've read that it takes 21 times to make a habit. Why not pick something like having a healthy breakfast and make that a habit. Once you are doing that it will be easier to take on the next one.
And log what you do. I've only be doing it for a week and it really does make me accountable when I think about whether I want another drink or seconds at dinner.

Stay strong, you can do it!

First of all, don't ever say "can't". You CAN and will when you're ready. It's OK if you're not ready now. Baby steps

Ice tea is not a soft drink if it's made from tea bags LOL If it comes in a can, then check the ingredients. (I bet there are even some chemists who stumble on those words!) It's probably much less sugar laden than coke or whatever, so it's all about making gradually better choices. Pepsi Raw is a version of Pepsi you can get here in the UK that has no artificial ingredients. It's still loaded with sugar, of course, but no frankenfoods. Not an ideal choice, but better than FrankenPepsi!

The sauce in a big mac is just ketchup and mayo with some herbs thrown in. Make your own mayo (egg yolks, olive oil, mustard and vinegar) and add some tomato puree (less sugar than ketchup) to taste. Much healthier than the stuff in a jar.

That goes for bread, too, by the way. Making your own bread is dead easy and you can make half white/half wholemeal for a superb loaf of bread.

As for deep fried food or whatever else, have it! Just not ALL of it, and not every day. You"fix it" by changing your mindset about it.

I LOVE FOOD so would never ever ever not have something I really want, but it comes down to:

1. eating something because I really want it and enjoying every mouthful (intuitive eating, google it)

OR

2. eating because I'm bored/angry/sad/want to get away from my desk, etc or just because it's there!


When you're given a plate of food you love, ask yourself: "Is this the very last time ever I'll be able to eat this food?"

The answer is almost certainly no.

So, you don't have to eat every single thing, do you? Have a little and love it, knowing you can have more another time.



Oh, and get plenty of sleep!

Yep, it's hard, but one day at time, one decision at a time, one bite at a time - I think you're going to do really well


My accent is really weird. I'm an American expat who's lived in the UK for 23 years. No one ever knows where I'm from LOL