Having Some Serious Issues

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LuLu197
LuLu197 Posts: 7
in Introduce Yourself
I'm 18 and have been overweight most of my life. My mom tried to help me and give me advice, but I would not listen. I loved food too much! Boy do I wish that I had listened to her now!!! Amazingly she was right. I now am 5"4 and weigh 167 lbs. My heaviest weight was 176 lbs. I had lost 20 lbs., but have gained about 10 lbs. back. I'll loose weight and then gained it back. I am not very consistent.

I could go on for pages, but I'll make it short. With every holiday, special event, and summer I set goals to loose weight and have never achieved them. I believe that I set unreasonable expectation and am just looking for fast results which is not the point. I know it is a lifestyle change rather than a short term change, but I can never seem to remember that. I am embarrassed with my body and it affects me a ton. I want to change that! I'm am young and do not want to have such worries.

So, my goal would be to loose 30-40lbs by summer. I would like to look good and wear a bikini for the first time this summer. I set this goal every year. I don't want to keep setting goals and not achieving them. I am tired of the cycle, but do not know how to break it. I am also very impatient. I am also gluten and dairy intolerant which complicates it. I also have to avoid yeast, coffee, fried foods, oats, and sesame seeds. I just recently found out about this a couples week ago. The transition is hard, but I am also struggling avoiding the foods that I am supposed to not eat. I am also a Freshman College student. Cafeteria food has no nutritional value whatsoever.

Help? Suggestion? I am so frustrated and want to quit, but also don't want to live the rest of my life unhappy with my body and trying to loose weight!

Replies

  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    Hi there - I'm 5'4" and I started out in July at 165 with a goal to lose 40 lbs. I've lost 27 so far (just under 6 months) and while I would love to lose some more, right now I'm just really happy that I'm in a healthy weight range and I'm exercising to get into better shape. If I keep losing weight, great, but if not or if it's very slow, I'm not going to stress over it. Being 5'4", once you get down to 145 you will be considered at a healthy weight. (I think our healthy range is anywhere from 107-145). Once you get there, re-evaluate your goals based on how you look and feel. You might be surprised when you get there.

    Also, try to set smaller goals for yourself. Seeing that big goal looming and feeling like you're never going to get there can be discouraging. Celebrate every 5 lbs or something like that - every little bit is a success. Also, try setting other non-scale goals to keep yourself motivated. Some people set goals to drink more water, eat more veggies, eat less processed or fast food, or even fitness related goals like working toward being able to run a mile or 5k. Those kinds of goals can help keep you motivated even during rough weeks where the scale might not budge. Also, and this is ESPECIALLY helpful if you're going to be exercising - take measurements at various points on your body and write them down. If you are working hard at your goals and exercising and start getting discouraged if the scale isn't moving fast enough, you can take new measurements and compare them to the old ones to see how far you've come. Sometimes when you've been working out you can see bigger results from the tape measure than on the scale. And exercising during your weightloss will make you look even better in that bikini next summer. :-)
  • rjpittner
    rjpittner Posts: 70 Member
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    I love you already - what a great introduction!
    Welcome to you, dear! You will find many many encouraging people on this site...it is absolutely amazing how many healthier decisions you will make simply by being held accountable (even if it is to people you have really never met). Best of luck to you - you CAN do it!
    Feel free to add me as a friend...I would love to support and encourage you on this journey!
  • LuLu197
    LuLu197 Posts: 7
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    My biggest problem is consistency. I eat really well all day and blow it at night. Since I am eating gluten-free my meals are either fruit, veggies, good carbs, and good protein. But at night I'll eat popcorn and candy. Or over eat even on good food. I think I just get frustrated and at the end of the day say screw it. I've done measurements and not weighed myself for a while. I'm making progress in other areas of health, but weight loss is the tricky one for me. I work out at least 5 times a week and no results. So I know that this all is a matter of me eating too much. I have muscle under my fat. You can even see it sometimes. I need to be more diligent and need acceptability. My sister and I over the summer were doing much better, but I went away to school and lost ground. I need to get it back. I just need to do it, but I feel like my brain shots off. It's just food!!! Oh dear.
  • LuLu197
    LuLu197 Posts: 7
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    Haha thank you girl! I added you. Definitely could use come encouragement and accountability! That would be a huge help!
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I love to snack at night myself, so I intentionally budget a bunch of calories to be leftover after dinner so I can snack in peace. LOL. Anywhere from 300+ of my daily calories comes from nightly snacking. Usually significantly more. Nightly snacking is okay if you can work it into your goals. Try planning your day in advance and making sure you plan for a couple of snacks. That way you know what you can have without blowing your day, so when you reach for a snack in the evening you aren't automatically going over your calories and then thinking 'screw it, I'll just eat the whole bag'. Plan it out in advance, it really does help. That and keeping lower-calorie snacks in the house. My standards are fat free yogurts (80 cal each), bananas (around 100 cal depending on the size), and weight watchers ice cream bars (130 cal each). Those may or may not do you any good depending on your preferences, but the basic idea is just to figure out what will work for you without throwing you over your goals for the day.

    Also you are welcome to add me if you'd like. :-)
  • Steph_135
    Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Hey there. You remind me of me. I can't eat wheat and dairy, and on and on and on, as well. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me.
  • LuLu197
    LuLu197 Posts: 7
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    How do you eat gluten and dairy free? Thanks!
  • LuLu197
    LuLu197 Posts: 7
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    Yes, that's a good idea. I just feel like snacking at night is so bad. Especially if you go to bed soon after. The calories just sit there then. That's my only issue. It makes me uneasy.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    Yes, that's a good idea. I just feel like snacking at night is so bad. Especially if you go to bed soon after. The calories just sit there then. That's my only issue. It makes me uneasy.

    Well, for me personally, my 27 lb loss had to come from somewhere, and my fairly well-controlled nightly snacking doesn't seem to have hindered it. :-). I really feel its all about working it into your calorie goal. If you have the calories left at the end of the day, don't feel bad about a snack, just don't let it turn into you going way over for the day. :-)
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    I think you're too overwhelmed right now. I would start out by honestly logging everything you eat, without making any effort to cut down yet. Find out what you're eating and how many calories it is. You may be surprised to find it's not too far over what you would need to maintain your goal weight. By trying to lose fast, you never get used to eating your maintenance calories.

    Once you know what your current intake is, you can reduce your intake. Calculate the calories you can eat to *maintain* your goal weight, as if you are already there. You honestly don't have to cut down that far, but you have to do it consistently. If you don't count the calories, you'll cut too aggressively, get hungry and frustrated, and regain the weight.

    You will start losing weight just by doing this. Once you're comfortable with that, you can try to go under your calorie limit to lose a little faster, but you don't have to feel like a failure if you eat the full amount, because it's the right amount to reach and maintain your goal, just more slowly.

    All your skinny friends are eating candy and popcorn, too. But their appetites adjust downward when they start to go over their stable weights. You just need to do that via manual override, since it doesn't happen automatically.
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
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    Popcorn really isn't a bad snack as long as it's not the kind covered in fat and artificial nastiness. I have a microwave popper and I get the blue popcorn kernels for it. Sprinkle on a little salt and olive oil and it's a fantastic snack. High fiber and low cal. Just remember to budget a snack into your daily calories.
    If you're living on campus there are tons of ways to fit exercise into your day. I was in the best shape of my life after freshman year because I walked or rode my bike everywhere.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    Learn all you can here, set your goals to 1lb a week, then just get to it.
    WARNING!
    It only gets harder as you get older, so if you can master this now, you've still got your whole life ahead with all its wonders, passion and adventure.

    Being fat means you miss out on much of this, but you have the chance right now to turn it all around.

    GOOD LUCK; you can do it!
  • ccadroz93
    ccadroz93 Posts: 136 Member
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    I am sure there is a nurse on campus. I would suggest maybe asking the nurse if she could refer you to a nutritionist that could help you with a food plan that would encompass all your food allergies. My cousins kids are both Celiacs and since this discovery they have both flourished!! So many things are actually labelled now; I encourage you in transition. After being away from those foods for a short period of time if and when you do slip and have something you ought not, your tummy will definitely make you wish you hadn't!! You can do it!! BIKINI BEACH......make way!!
  • adventuring
    adventuring Posts: 178
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    Yes, that's a good idea. I just feel like snacking at night is so bad. Especially if you go to bed soon after. The calories just sit there then. That's my only issue. It makes me uneasy.

    As far as I've read (so take that as you will), there's absolutely no difference between the way your body deals with the calories you consume at night versus the ones you consume during the day. They don't "sit there," but rather do the same thing they would normally. So if you like to snack at night, I—and I suspect many others from this site—would say go ahead, as long as it fits within your allotted amount of calories for the day.

    Weight loss can be pretty difficult as-is, so my advice would be not to psych yourself out on minor things like that. Try to eat an appropriate amount of your healthy foods and your treats when you feel hungry, and you should do okay.
  • CommittedCanuck
    CommittedCanuck Posts: 6
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    Wow! That is exactly the same problem I have. I just can't stop snacking at night. I've even taken to eating later so I don't have so much time to snack. It just seems I'm always hungry at night! The only thing I've found that sometimes helps is snacking on protein. (like a lean chicken breast...)

    Good luck and let me know if you have any tricks to stop snacking!
  • sandyrowe
    sandyrowe Posts: 1
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    I am 52 and the only thing I can tell you is it is easier to loose 30 or 40 pounds than a 100. I have been dieting off and on all my life and it is only now that I faced the reality that there is no easy answer. You must take in fewer calories than you burn. That is it. You can either eat less or exercise more. There is no magic answer. Just do it now, don't keep making excuses. It is difficult but you can do it.

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