20 years old and sick of being over 250lbs!!!

Hi Kirsty welcome to MFP.

Teddy Bear gave lots of good advice.

If you really want to lose weight (and you should really want to) you have to go all in. Read all about diet and exercise, find healthy foods that you like, stop all the take away and the sugary & high calorie snacks, get up, get out and exercise and keep at it.

It's not just a diet, it's an entire lifestyle change, and guess what? It's a total blast! Join in, give it your all and reap the benefits. It's all good and it's all for the good.

Good luck!

Make sure you have planned meals and snacks... To many calories in a quick grab type thing... I find that if I wait to long to eat a meal or snack, I tend to eat to much, to fast and to wrong!!1

Hey Krist! Just started a week ago (@265lbs). I am not much of a snacker (which is not necessarily a good thing). However, with my new plan I am trying to do the eat all day thing. For snacks (so far), I have found Skinny Cow products, The Real Deal Veggie Chips (you can eat like 100 pieces for only 120 calories), lots of fruits and veggies, Hummus and crackers instead of chips and dip, and homemade smoothies with fruit, GREEK yogurt (not yoplait), a little honey, a little milk and ice (no ice-cream). As far as drinking, i think wine, especially red, is a good alternative. Good Luck!!!

I know its been stated numerous times already, but protein.

When I was 250 lbs, I struggled with the hunger. OMG did I struggle. I am one (yes even now still) that gets this euphoric sensation when I am stuffed, and its amazing. I don't stuff myself anymore, but have learned to curb this sensation with protein. The thing I hated about dieting was the always starving feeling. I couldn't handle it, it broke my diet millions of times.

I read a book called the fast food diet and though the diet itself was too demanding and not for me, it had some great common sense advice.

Protein= Feeling full. I usually try to make sure I get at least 14 grams of protein when I eat a meal, and when I snack, I make sure not to snack on anything less than 4grams of protein. This has been the staple of my weight loss.

I agree re protein. You say you snack on chocolates and crisps, and if you read up on what this does to your body you are staggering between insulin highs and lows. When you eat concentrated sugar it breaks down and hits your bloodstream too quickly. Your body leaps into action with insulin to bring the balance down again, but this has the effect of taking too much sugar out of your bloodstream so pretty soon your tired and hungry again - and what do you reach for? You need to break that cycle.

I think it's so important to kick the sugar habit I'd be watching the content of my food rather than the calories in the beginning. I'd steer clear of almost all carbohydrates except leaves, stalks and fruits for a couple of weeks. I'd even advocate doing the first stage of Atkins to retrain yourself - but you must get the carb ration from as wide a range of veg as possible. I used Atkins successfully but I'd never stay on any kind of restrictive diet - it's not realistic and it's not interesting.

The other really important thing is to monitor everything you eat. You can be surprised in either direction. A week after I kicked off my current project to drop some pounds, I had folks coming for Sunday lunch. I knew it was going to be a tough one but decided it would be a day out and I'd get back to the regime next day. I monitored what I ate. I'd had the usual 250 calorie breakfast and my lunch was roast beef, yorkshire pud, potatoes and green veg Pudding was rhubarb crumble and custard and it was all washed down with a big glass of wine. My guests left early evening and I decided to punish myself by entering in the contents of my meal. Amazingly, I was still around 100 calories inside the upper end of my daily allowance. It made me realise I wasn't that hungry and I just munched an apple for supper. If I hadn't done the count up I would probably have eaten another meal even though I didn't need it.

And the last thing - exercise. If you don't want to do anything else just walk. It's summer, it's a relaxing thing to do, it burns calories and it keeps you away from the biscuit tin. Good luck

I'm Kirsty from Bury and I recently went to the doctor for a check up and was told i have a 'horrendous body mass index'. Which scared the life out of me!!!

I want to finally be healthy i'm currently 265lbs and really need help!!! I'm a snacker and love anything from chocolate to crisps. Love takeaways and i'm a big binge drinking too!

How do you guys find the motivation to eat healthily? And can anyone suggest healthy snacks that actually fill you up????

Lots of love, Kirst xo

I wish I had come to that realization when I was 20 rather than 30, which is well over ten years ago and I'm still not there. All those wasted years. Sigh....

Good for you. The only way to get started is to start, and the best time is now. Get your proteins, carbs, and fat in balance, then bring your calories down and start some workouts (and make sure you are fueling those workouts, because the most depressing thing I can relate after trying to reach "normal weight" for the first time in my adult life is that losing weight too quickly leads to plateaus and "giving up").

Thanks so much guys great tips. I've been struggling abit to keep off the snacks but i think it's just habit of going straight to the fridge when i get home from work!! In time i can change the way i think. And everytime i'm hungry i try and head to the fruit bowl!!

Great tips on the protein i will deffinatly take that into account!!

But as for the drinking... I think that's my biggest downfall. I have a busy lifestyle and i'm very sociable.. Most of my friends invite me clubbing/ out for meals etc. So it's learning to drink more moderately and pick sensible foods to eat when i'm out and about!! Opting for mash instead of chips is so hard for me!! Hahah

Thanks again everyone for welcoming me. Here's to a new chapter in my life. Xoxo

I found a good way to cut back on the drinking - not perfect but it helps. When you are out clubbing or whatever, have your drink - but make the next drink a tall glass of water, club soda or something like that - then have another drink. It slows down your drinking as well as keeps you hydrated. It does help

my motivation was a number of things. I started feeling the downside of being unhealthy with having a minnie stroke when i was 42..that wasnt enough though because i continued on with my wonderfully unhealthy lifestyle.. turning 50 was a major turning point in my life. when you are 50 you start thinking you dont have much time to live. on top of that i work as a nurse in a nursing home and am taking care of folks my age more often and it scares me that may be me some day. im a new grandmother of two little ones too. so when i turned 50 i asked myself what i wanted to do with the rest of my life.. the answer was to live life to the fullest. 80lbs down so far . i have 40 more to go. my life is better now than it ever was .

dont let all them years slip away. at 20 you have a head start from where i was. what it all boils down to is ..its all your choice how you want to live your life. as a nurse you really are a time bomb ticking down the road of medical problems when you are overweight and eating wrong. that should be motivation enough right there but its something you have to want and you have to be the one to make those choices. its a whole new lifestyle. i would suggest going to a gym and hanging out with people who live healthy and are active. you are who you hang around with so hang with those who have common goals as yourself. they will be your biggest support and motivators too!!

You can do it! The biggest advice that has worked for me is logging things before I eat them, that way I can see what the damage is before I eat it and then make a decision if I really want it or not. I would recommend setting you goal at 1 pound a week and use portion control for the things you like rather than cutting them out completely (I know if I try to do that then I just want it more!). Actually count out the chips and cookies and measure your servings. Good luck!

Do you have Clif Bars in your part of the world? Good chocolate flavors and not the artificial taste.... have you tried protein shakes in the blender? I like the Chocolate powder, mixed with bananas or strawberries.

:flowerforyou:

I found a good way to cut back on the drinking - not perfect but it helps. When you are out clubbing or whatever, have your drink - but make the next drink a tall glass of water, club soda or something like that - then have another drink. It slows down your drinking as well as keeps you hydrated. It does help

^^^^ Second this! I always order a beer or drink or whatever with a large glass of water. I try to make sure when the drink is gone, so is the water, by simply alternating between the two. It becomes a natural thing very quickly. Sip of wine, nibble of food, guzzle of water, sip of wine.

A lot of bar food is intentionally salty to make you thirsty. When you're THIRSTY, drink deeply of the water. When you want to enjoy your beer or wine, have a modest sip and savor the flavor and mouth-feel of it. Hold it in your mouth for a few seconds and let the flavor sink in.

One beer lasts me as long and is just as enjoyable as three used to be.

It's tough when you're trying to be social but you don't have to ruin your social life by trying to eat well. Also, getting in 30-60 minutes of exercise will really help with this because you'll be burning off some of those extra calories.

First thing is to remember than when you get a plate of food at a restaurant, they usually give you enough for two people. Ask a friend or two if they'd like to split it with you, or ask for a take-away box so you can split it in two right from the start. This will help keep your portions reasonable. Stick with choices like grilled meats and choose veggie sides but ask for them without sauce. Skip the potatoes altogether if you think mashed won't be as satisfying as chips. And don't be fooled by salads - there's usually hidden things in there like WAY too much dressing, croutons, cheese, etc. Get light dressing and get it on the side, just don't pour it all over because they usually give you twice as much on the side as you would've gotten mixed in. And if you're getting something like a taco salad, ask for it without the shell and no cheese - keep the quac though, it's good for you.

As for drinking, I like the suggestion already given about having every other glass be water or club soda. You can also lighten up your drinking by skipping the cocktails as many have sour mix or fruit juices that put the calories through the roof! Instead order something like a rum and diet cola. If you like beer, stick with the light/low cal ones. If you like wine, ask for spritzes - you get a full glass but less calories.

ETA - nothing wrong with liking your sweets but, as with the meals, keep them at normal portions. It's ok to have a square or two of chocolate but not the whole pound. Trust me, I know this is the tough part, I'm a sweet eater too, especially chocolate! There are some pretty good substitutes out there too - low cal snack bars, protein bars, etc.

Like the exercise tip Madga!

Hey! When I first started on my weight loss adventure I was 18 weighing 228 lbs(5'7"). I am now 24 years old and 174lbs. My advice is this:

1. If a friend confesses they feel insecure invite them to join you!
A friend invited me to go to weight watchers with her, and I was amazed with how many people came out of the woodwork wanting to join me. I was still in High School and had my mom, 3 friends, one of their sisters, and one of their moms going by the time I graduated High School. It was the support that really helped me. I lost 40 pounds by the time I started college.

2. Don't be afraid to tell people you are dieting.
I wanted to act like I was comfortable in my own body and not vain so I was afraid at first, but losing weight is about more than that. Its about being healthy, and good people respect and support that. When I let people know what I was doing, they stopped pressuring me to try their cookies and started accommodating my requests to go to restaurants with healthy options.

3. Snack on veggies (and some fruit)
Yes protein fills you up but protein is also higher in calories and many high protein foods are high fat foods. If you eat when your bored even if you aren't hungry (like I do) thats a problem. Eat veggies! find a spice that you like to make them more interesting! I love to snack on fruit too, but fruit is high in sugar, so beware of overeating it.

4. Cut calories wherever you can by reading labels
READ labels carefully. That means notice the details like what a serving is, not just the calories. labels can trick you sometimes

5. If it tempts you don't bring it around.
I love peanut butter. I love it SO much I will eat an entire jar in 2 days easily. (and not a little jar). In fact I once ate all my boyfriends peanut butter while he was at work and just as I was preparing to stash the evidence and buy him a new container (I was even going to scoop out the correct amount to make it look like I hadn't touched it) he came home. He no longer buys peanut butter because he knows I can't deal with it.

6. If you must give into a craving, buy a small amount
I don't buy anything bad for me in a quantity with more calories than I am willing to eat in 1 sitting. Because I WILL eat it in one sitting...

As for drinking and going out

7. Plan ahead.
look up nutrition information for drinks and food before you go out. Decide what you can have, be honest with yourself about how many servings you are given(if you order a single and it looks like a double glass, the bar tender was probably being generous, its still double the calories), and stick to it!

8. Ask for a to go box or a second plate in the beginning and put what you shouldn't eat on it before you even start the meal
if you are like me and will clean a plate this is really helpful, keeps me from thinking I've barely made a dent in the food when really I've eaten most of what I should eat in a day. Also saves money by making it into 2 meals!

Hope these are helpful!
Anyone is welcome to be my friend, I'd like some support while I try to work off the last 30lbs!

-Emily

Read the book Dr. Dukan it is more of a way of eating than a diet, and might interest you because you still get to eat a lot of great foods, dairy, lean meat, oat bran (most diets take away all carbs this one allows oat bran) The book is in all libraries and book stores...it also only requires that you take a 35 minute walk everyday...who can't do that! Make time for yourself and remember you are the only one that can make any change happen...you are stronger than you think! Best wishes and tons of success!