New to Fit 25 years old with 100+ pounds to lose

[Cocoabear]

Hi everyone,

My name is Courtney and I'm about to turn 25 next week. Im starting out at 272 pounds and I have over 100 pounds i would like to lose before my sisters wedding in 18 months. I would love some support and a community to help me do so. I'jm really looking forward to this journey of weightloss and healthy living

Please feel free to add me cocoabear0509@yahoo.com

[JeanMR · Accepted solution]

Dear Courtney:

You are so lucky you decided at this age! You can still eat a decent amont -- 40 years from now, no. You will be eating like a bird.

So -- my suggestions.

Don't say " I won't eat x" say "I will eat x less often." That way you don't feel like you have an unobtainable goal. The things to slowly move away from are sugar in any form, white bread, white rice, and pasta. After three years, I still have chocolate ice cream in the freezer and angel hair in my pantry. I just don't think about them often.

PIle on the veggies. A salad with lettuce, cauliflower, radishes, tomatoes, cucumber, etc. will make you feel so full and virtuous!

Don't forget protein. I have an egg in the morning, something in a sandwich at lunch, and fish, steak, or chicken with that giant salad. I want my body to burn fat, not my own muscles.

Exercise? I hear it doen't help lose weight unless you become totally fanatic. So I would say do things you enjoy, and note how they become easier over time and you can go for longer periods. Your body will be happy, even if the scales don't notice. I just raised my step goal from 1500 to1600 -- pretty lame -- and I am thrilled. Of course I am 78 and have spinal srthritis, but the idea is the same.

I hope others will answer you and cheer you on. Because it's easier with a fan club. If pple around you would make fun of your goals or tell you that you can't do it, keeping it a secret is the better option. I once told somebody I had lost 40 pounds and she looked me over and said, "Oh yeah, you do look a little bit less enormous." You don't need that!

In short, YOU GO GIRL!!!

[Cocoabear]

Thank you so much for your kid message. I really appreciate it. And I wish you all the best.

[Dominique]

Great advice you’ve got from @JeanMR. I agree with almost everything she said, except for pasta and rice. It’s no coincidence Italy and most of Asia have very low obesity rates. It’s all about portion control and what you eat with them.

All the best in your journey, you can do it!

[JamieS_Wisco]

Good Morning @Cocoabear!

First of all congratulations on making the first big step!  Deciding you wan to be healthier and choosing a good way to do it!  You should first celebrate that! 😄

I also agree with @Dominique and @JeanMR on many points.  My view is below.

• Exercise - Find something you like to do.  It is impossible to stick with if it is something you dread doing.  Try not to get in a rut that you say, "I run because I need to drop weight" even though you hate that run.  A person is less likely to keep up with things that way.  Do some trials of some things until you find your "fitness trigger".  Yoga, Weight Lifting, Jump Roping, Dance-Type workouts.  I suggest checking out YouTube, and classes around your area.  For the classes they usually have a free trial class or at least a reduced rate.   There are a million ways to get your fit on.  Try them all till you find the one that also makes you happy.
• Diet - I am not a fan of any restrictive diet.  Try to remember that you are making lifestyle changes here.  If they are not, you may be successful at taking the weight off at first, but it will all come back as soon as you decide that not having your "gotta have it" food isn't worth it.  Everything in moderation.  Learn portion sizes!!  An inexpensive food scale is a really good investment until you can eyeball food portions correctly.  Weigh everything!!!  It took me 2 years before I could accurately look at food and know how close to a portion it was.

For me?  I still eat pasta, pizza, ice cream once in a while.  Because they were things I wasn't interested in giving up.  I did incorporate a lot of better food into my diet and reduced things like sugar where I could.  I just learned portion sizes and having more calories expended than what I ate. 

Lastly, you're going stumble at some point.  I think everyone does.  Just remember not to give up.  Round up a support group at home and as always, We'll be your support team here.  People that will cheer you on when things go well and try to isolate issues when they don't go as well. 

Please keep us updated on your journey and happy stepping!

Jamie

[GiaKat]

Welcome to the FitBit fam!

I will tell you this, everyone below is correct. It's crazy how one can falter one day & find the excuse the next (umm. haa yep me) but what we must always do, is GET BACK OUT THERE and start again.

I would say hit walmart and get an actual measuring tape for clothing and measure your body. Have someone you trust do it.

Neck

Above Breasts

Below breasts

each arm

Largest part of your stomach

waist

Hips

each thigh

That way when the numbers aren't making sense, and your clothes fit differently but you aren't seeing the scale move... CHECK these numbers (once a month) the inches will fall as you build muscle (it weighs more) and the water weight will increase...

So awesome you're starting this new journey.

#KICKBUTT & remember YOU ROCK!

[Cocoabear]

I want to thank all of you all for your super kind words and tips. Im currently doing Cize which is a dance workout and I love it.

[louisem89]

i'm 27 and love having my fitbit. Even encouraged a few relatives to get one including my gran at 77 years of age.

I'm trying to loose weight too. I go to a dance workout class 3 times a week (2 once back at work in a few weeks time) and nearly always max out my steps 🙂 good luck x

[kttyk713]

Hi, Courtney.

Thanks for posting this!  I'm 26 and also have 100+ lbs to go.  In 2013 I weighed in at 300lbs and lost about 40lbs, bringing me to 260.  Unfortunately I've since gained it back (just weighed in at my local gym last week at 300lbs again).  I feel horrible and am looking forward to losing this weight again.

I'm getting married in 2 weeks and am trying to at least slim my 'corset' area so that my dress will fit better on me.  I would like to start a family in a few years with my soon-to-be-husband, but definitely want my weight down to a healthier range (shooting for 180 as my goal weight) when I feel I'm ready to begin trying for a baby.

It feels daunting that 180 as my goal weight essentially means losing almost half my current body weight, but I know I will feel SO much better if/when I get there.  I also look forward to boosting my self-esteem again as my weight goes back down.

It is a ton of hard work, but I wish you the best in losing your 100lbs for your sister's wedding!  I'm rooting for you!

-Megan

[Cocoabear]

I totally understand. And I hope that we can keep each other accountable and reach our goals

Sent from my iPhone

[JeanMR]

Dear Megan:

I had a lot of success losing 60 lbs by setting 5 lb goals.That's spo
much more manageable than 80 lbs!

Jean

--
website: www.ra-info.org
blog: ritualabuse.wordpress.com

[itsOKtobehungry]

you've 18-months to lose it.

first you've to calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) https://tdeecalculator.net

then, -500 cals daily from your TDEE for losing around 2.2 lbs weekly

in one month equal to 8.8 lbs

in18-months equal to 158.4 lbs

surely you can do it, but it needs tremendous discipline. 

i'm pretty sure you can make it

losing weight is simple as CICO (calories in vs calories out)

if CO < CI = gain weight

 if else CO > CI = losing weight

   else CO==CO = maintenance weight

i assume losing weight is lifetime journey, and its good for your mental health.

good luck girl

EDIT : one 18-months typo

[A_Lurker]

@kttyk713 - set your weight goals in smaller increments.  This start to weight loss I started at 360 and set it to 300 lbs as a goal.  When I hit that point I decided to do it 25 pounds at a time.  I'm now working on 275.  If I tried to set it to a true goal weight I'd likely to be too depressed to keep going.

Good luck on the wedding goal, but remember you have plenty of time to lose the weight.  Don't try some silly crash diet and not enjoy your day.  Slow and steady wins the race in the long run.

[LovesPersona]

 I have about 100 lb to go too..and we can do this !! Would love to have you as a friend.