New To MFP. Looking To Spread Advise.

I'm now 18 and 5'10. August 2011 is when I realized that I need to get back into a healthy lifestyle. At that time I was 175 lbs, the heaviest I've ever been. I cut out all soft drinks and now drink only water, with the exception of herbal tea and smoothies. I haven't had caffeine in over 8 months now.

Caffeine isn't detrimental to weight loss. In fact scientific study shows it helps with inducing it.

These are just a couple of the things that allowed me to drop down to 125 lbs.

If you're 5'10 and 125lbs at 18 you're underweight. At 5'7" and 18 I looked really skinny, which is why I worked to gain weight.

Then there was the diet changes. I eat a small meal every 2-3 hours, and this is something that I highly suggest. Never starve yourself! That is the worst thing for someone trying to lose weight. When you do finally give your body food, it will just store most of it as fat, because it doesn't know when it is going to get food next. So, that is a big rule.

Starving yourself isn't good, but you DON'T NEED to eat every 2-3 hours to avoid starvation.

Another thing to do is to cut down on ADDED sugar! You get plenty of healthy sugars from fruit and vegetables, there is no need in adding dangerous amounts of unhealthy sugar into your body. And when you cut out this extra sugars your taste buds will respect the natural flavors of foods so much more. Rutabagas and sweet potatoes are great vegetables that do not need any additives. They have plenty of flavor all by themselves.

Sugar whether from food or processed is broken down the same way by the body to it's simpliest form. It's the total amount of calories that matters more.

The next important step is eliminating red meats. Saturated fat is so dangerous. It scares when I see how much of it people are putting into their bodies. Lean meats and fish much better forms of protein. And if you are a vegetarian, beans are a great option (try to make use dried beans, try to avoid eat from a can. sodium is also dangerous).

Red meat is fine in moderation. Saturated fat isn't DANGEROUS since you need some of it to live. It's the overconsumption of it that's the issue. And sodium is really only an issue if your sensitive to it or have high blood pressure. Please stop making unsupported claims.

I'm tired of hearing the excuse that healthy food is expensive. That can be true, but it doesn't have to be. A meal at a fast food joint is $7-9 dollars on average. I can get a bag of dried beans that lasts me 20 servings for $1.00. Fast food is definitely more expensive when you factor in the future medical bills. I lost 50 lbs just by changing my diet. I rarely set aside time for exercise. I just try to incorporate it into my semi-active lifestyle. If you are serious about getting healthy, I am here to give you the advise you need and to possibly learn from you too. I am currently working on building some muscle, which is kind of a challenge since my acid reflux gets worse when I do a vigorous workout. I am saddened by the fact that people don't feel that they have the ability or will to get healthy, so that is why I'm making this post. I want to help everybody live longer. So contact me if you want to join me.

It's good to give advice if what you're stating is factually true. What you're advising worked for you (although the BMI scale states you're underweight along with other weight parameter charts) and not something that all would actually benefit from.
But IMO you need to bump that weight up.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Way to take away the excitement away from someone that is on here trying to help in the only way he knew how....by stating what worked for him. I mean isnt that what all of you do? Try to tell people what works for you or has worked for you? He posted that this morning and already deactivated his account. Great supportive community.