Losing Weight at 18----Disasterous!

Lovelyvoice1999
Lovelyvoice1999 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 25 in Introduce Yourself
My name is Marissa. I just turned 18 in December. I have now reached the 200's and I am scared. I know that I have a big problem with binge eating and I try to stop it but I just love food. I've tried almost every diet I can think of. People may not think it when they look at me because o know how to wear my clothes so that my weight doesn't show, but I am unhappy. I feel as if this community of support and tracking my meals and different substitutes for junk food is my last hope to lead me down the right path. However, I DO need that support and strength. I can't do it by myself. :'( I'm ready for a change. I hate not being able to breathe or move.

Replies

  • Deisler26
    Deisler26 Posts: 357 Member
    Welcome to MFP! We’re a welcoming bunch here and best of luck with your goal!
  • texcaltn
    texcaltn Posts: 9 Member
    I am starting the trackers tonight. Logged all the awful food I ate and then wrote a loooong note and then forgot to save it. Oh well. I am 68 year old teacher and I need to lose about 70 pounds. I have done a lot of yo-yo'ing over the years. I like this tracker because numbers don't lie, and at one time - maybe 6 years ago - I liked the feedback of the charts. Then, I got too lazy to record stuff. So another new start. I also am going to visit an Overeaters Annonymous meeting Monday night; a friend is going to take me. I have tried WW - hated it. Was considering TOPS - Take off pounds sensibly - but need something more structured.
  • daisykesha
    daisykesha Posts: 1 Member
    i feel the SAME way. let’s do this together!
  • finesseyourgoals
    finesseyourgoals Posts: 11 Member
    Goodluck with your goal! MFP is a great place to start. When trying to lose weight it is very important to track your calories Know exactly how much you’re eating.
  • ajennell
    ajennell Posts: 8 Member
    I certainly have faith that you can do it. I was in a size 16 women's when I was 14 and hit 235 when I was 23. It's easy to be active and appear happy to those around you, but still hate yourself and feel horrible on the inside. I'm sure a lot of people here can relate, so feel free to talk in the forums or message people for support. It's not going to be easy to lose the weight, but trust me when I say you can do it. You'll need dedication and a belief in yourself.

    Some tips: track ALL the food you eat (especially the first month before you start changing your diet), measure EVERYTHING (get a small scale! they are so helpful), and try to eat as little sugar, chips, pizza, etc as possible. It's VERY hard at first and feels like a lot of work, but it gets so much easier as you go on. Take baby steps by replacing one thing or cutting out one thing or swapping one thing and you'll see a change. I stopped drinking soda when I was 16 and dropped 10 pounds in a school year; no joke. Now I measure and track everything and have lost 40.

    If you love food, don't stop eating it, just change the way you eat it. I still have venti frappuccinos, pizza, and ice cream once each month (for example) but I've taught myself that I have to change what I eat at OTHER times to make up for those carbs and sugars. Sometimes you'll slip up, but that's ok. Today I ate 4 slices of stuffed pizza when I know I shouldn't have, so this next week I know I'll need to add extra exercise time and more dedication to following my limits. I also know that since I took advantage of my pizza time, I won't allow myself to buy anymore the rest of the month.

    I wish you loads of good luck!! Feel free to message/friend me if you need any support.
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    It’s nice to have support.

    That said, do not doubt that you CAN do this on your own.

    This app is a great tool. You got this!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Welcome!

    Everybody loves food. But many people aquire a strained relationship with their bodies, and food, because of society's and their own expectations of themselves.

    Stop the diets. That's what perpetuates your twisted relationship with food. And stop the idea of "right path". Food should just be food, not ways to signal higher virtue.

    I suggest you stop looking for substitutions for junk food, too, and that you stop calling it junk food. Food is just food, and different foods have different nutritional profiles, that's all. Calling it junk and bad and unhealthy and fattening, drives us to overeat.

    Just log your food and hit your calorie target. That's all you have to do, but you have to do it consistently, for real, and for a long time, so focus on that and ignore the noise.

    Yes, you can, and must do it yourself. That doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for help, or do it alone. We're a great communuty. Join us :)
  • ISweat4This
    ISweat4This Posts: 653 Member
    Welcome and good luck. Start with smaller goals and stick to them.
  • ninasnonsense
    ninasnonsense Posts: 39 Member
    I'm sure you'll do great, you just need to stick at it and remember that it isn't a quick fix or a temporary change. It's a permanent change in lifestyle. I've found that trying out different types of exercise until I found one I enjoyed is working pretty well in terms of keeping me motivated without it feeling like I was punishing myself. Finding out what your body is capable of really doing is a huge confidence boost and getting out and about is great for mental health.

    Good luck :)
  • hb789
    hb789 Posts: 5 Member
    heyy, do you mean 200 pounds or kg?
    And Im 19, have the exact same problem as you, Im 115 kg’s and Im 5’8, Ive been doing a lot of diets, lost a lot of weight too, but whenever I did lose it, I’d think oh this is my turn to lose it, being oh so positive about it, thinking oh dont give up everythings ok, thats became ‘oh its okay to cheat sometimes’ which became cheating almost everyday, whilst keeping up a vigorous exercising routine so I thought oh its ok. But I was not eating right again, I would eat right for like 6 months then give up, but even in those 6 months I sucummbed to my addiction to food MANY times, but now its different now I fear my life, because if we’re being honest its life or death for us, I feel that way & thats whats shaked me up out of my false state to really make the change or die. 300,000 people die of obesity every year. its starts small then turns into something we regret. I recently also had gallbladder surgery because I got stones, obesity is a direct cause of this. I never thought I’d go through a health risk like this, and if someone told me I wouldve never believed them. So its the time to make the change or suffer.
  • mrsjhardin
    mrsjhardin Posts: 692 Member
    While I'm not 18 (turning 31 in April) I have struggled with weight since long before I was 18. Feel free to add me and we can support each other! Tracking my food as definitely helped me because while I wasn't eating a lot, I wasn't making the best choices.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member

    Break things down into individual behaviors and habits. Instead of looking at this as an all at once, or all or nothing proposition, find ways to break things down into smaller and more sustainable habits. That makes it much easier to pinpoint where something is not working, and fix it, rather than staring at the whole jumbled mess of NOT WORKING. Plus, when you do backslide, you are less likely to drop everything, just one or two habits, that can then be fixed again. Otherwise, trying to everything at once, means that you are likely to leave out something important (like weighing food), and pay excessive attention to things that aren't. (Like fiber drinks and vinegar)
    Don't demonize foods that don't actually make you feel bad. Obviously if you have food sensitivities avoid those things, but don't cut out all your favorite goodies because they are not "healthy". Think of your calories as a type of currency. You should purchase the nutrient rich stuff first, budget for regular treats, and don't waste any calories on stuff you hate, even if it is theoretically good for you.
    Log EVERYTHING.
    Don't JUST weigh (with a scale is best) everything you eat, also write why you are eating it (i.e, lunchtime, hungry, kind of bored, out with friends, watching tv) and how you are feeling right before, right after and an hour after (hungry, comfortable, normal, full, very full bloated, drowsy, OMG I am so damn sick of this crap I want to throw the whole plate out a window, etc).
    This gives you a baseline pattern for your normal habits and routine. From there, it's just a matter of experimenting. Are you very full after dinner? Cut back on a few things. Does lunch leave you bloated and gassy after an hour, try less or no mayo, and see if there's something you don't mind dropping each meal (fries, or cheese, or maybe only 2 tacos instead of 3).Are you starving an hour after dinner?Maybe more fats during.
    It's amazing how quickly these small and easily sustainable changes will add up to big calorie cuts. Only cut one or two things at a time, until they become habit instead if trying to do everything at once. That way they become individual habits instead of one big "diet".
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