I'm a 28 year old female. I've always struggled with my weight. At the present time I'm about 230lbs (maybe a few pounds under). About 4 years ago I was about 179-185. I look back at pictures now and see I really didn't look bad at all. I'm 5'9" tall and I really look good in pictures taken back then. I was still about 15-20 overweight but I carried it well, and didn't look bad.

I was just recently married and never thought I'd be this big for my wedding! I'm very depressed about it. I can't ever seem to stick with an exercise plan. I get discouraged fast. I'm doing Weight Watchers right now. I've been in it for about 8 weeks. The first few weeks I lost a total of 6.6 pounds, then I just started gaining. In 8 weeks my total loss of weight is only 4.2 pounds. All of my clothes are tight and I feel like a stuffed sausage. I don't feel attractive (obviously) and I have very low self esteem, even worse then before.

I have a treadmill in my house and it is like brand new. I'll work out for a few days and then for weeks I'll go with out it. I never stick with it. Does anyone have any suggestions? I really want to lose this weight. My knees ache, my back hurts, and I'm wanting to start a family soon. I don't want to get pregnant at such an unhealthy weight. If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate hearing from you

My suggestion would be to pick one thing or the other TO START. Either start exercising or start taking better care of your diet. For many people, trying to do both at once AT THE START is too difficult. I usually tell people who ask for my advice (I've lost 21 pounds in the past 10 weeks) to focus on doing ONE thing so well that it becomes second nature before trying to add in other components. So pick which area you feel confident you will be able to change first, and do the best that you can in that area.

So where do you want to start?

I'd say I want to start with eating. I follow the points system with Weight Watchers, but on a day to day basis I go over my alloted points. I know I can do it, cause I have before. I guess it is just up to me. I feel like it is just an uphill battle.

My wife is on the Weight Watchers Points system, so I know from which you speak. I think that the WW system is good at giving people some guidelines to work from, but it fails to truly educate people about what they are eating and how it relates to their body and their weight.

If you are going over your points total on most days, you probably need to look more closely at exactly what you are choosing to eat on a daily basis. Have you tried keeping a food diary to track your diet and nutrition?

I can't help you on the dieting side, I've been much better, but I still have my late-night carb cravings. I just make up for it by doing incredible amounts of cardio.
In regards to the exercising, and sticking to it. I know exactly what you mean about motivation. Several times in the past I've tried exercising regularly, and I start out on a good schedule, and keep it, but I end up slowing down and finally stopping. My first problem was exercising in my own house. It's distracting, I dont know, something about it is not condusive to regular exercise. I would highly recommend joining a gym with great facilities, even great showers, lockerooms, etc are all important (at least to me). They keep me motivated, keep me coming back.
It's like quitting smoking or something, the first few weeks are the hardest. You won't notice results really so you'll become discouraged and that's where the motivation drops off. You need to force yourself to keep going, like I finally did and within a month I began to notice results. The more I noticed, the more often I went, and it became a cycle. Now I am addicted to it! Especially with the weather so bad, it's my oasis. I go at lunch for my weights, then at night when I have a lot more time, I go straight from work, do an hour of cardio while I watch TV or listen to music, then sit in the steam room, or hot tub...treat myself.
Another reason I joined a really nice gym besides what I mentioned, is the price. Because of how nice it is, I pay top dollar, so in the beginning, before I really started to look forward to working out, I kept telling myself "you better use it, you paid so much for it"...
But basically get yourself through that first month, then you'll find yourself increasing the levels on the machines, increasing your days, and especially in conjunction with a better diet, you'll start noticing results.

I think that the WW system is good at giving people some guidelines to work from, but it fails to truly educate people about what they are eating and how it relates to their body and their weight.


I ABSOLUTELY agree with this. In order to have real, long term success you need to understand why some foods are better than others, why timing meals is important, how your body uses what you eat etc. Education doesn't guarantee success but it gives you a solid foundation compared to the alternative of blindly following a "plan".

As a first step, you might want to take a look at the Body For Life plan. Even if you decide not to follow the whole program, it has a lot of great information that *everyone* needs to know. But fwiw, I think it's a pretty great beginners program for your average person who just wants to be lean and healthy. I got my mother on it and she loves it. :) You still have to do all the work (including restraint) but if you know why you are doing ceratin things and you SEE a difference in your body, it's a heavy impetus to keep going. Good luck!

Phillydude:

Yes you are right I do agree! Yes I keep a food tracker with me at all times along with the Weight Watchers book, so I can record all of my points. I can give you an example, for today.

I'm alloted 28 points for the day according to my weight.

This morning for breakfast I ate a cup of canned lite fruit. It was 2 points. Then just now (lunch) I had a Lean Budget Gourmet dinner which was 2 points. It was a turkey green bean one. It was hardly even close to being filling. I ate some SnackWells Cookies which were 3 points, and I have a snack size cup of Jello which is 1 point. I asked my co-worder to pick me up some Lean Pockets from Giant Eagle when she goes at lunch time cause I'm still hungry :( I know those will be 2 in a box and about 6 or 7 points a piece!

Tonight my brother is coming over for dinner and I'm making LASAGNA with Garlic Bread...so I know I'm going to go over my points, even if I still measure my slice of Lasagna and eat a piece of garlic bread, I'll be over!

Ok enough babbling! :) Thanks for listening and trying to help me

As for getting a membership to a Gym-I've done that before and it isn't my thing. I'm much more comfortable in my own home, not to mention I do not have the financial means to join one. Thanks for the thoughts anyway! :wave:

I'm going to be blunt here... sorry in advance if I offend you.

This is a PERFECT example of why Weight Watchers won't help you.

YOU ARE EATING NOTHING BUT CRAP!

Breakfast: Processed and packaged fruit. All sugar-based carbs which were burned off quickly. No starchy carbs to give you energy and carry you until lunch. No wonder you were still hungry, even AFTER lunch.

Lunch: Processed and packaged meat and veggies. Not HORRIBLE, but still not good. Probably a lot of sodium and chemicals too. At least it was portion controlled.

Mid-Day Snacks: Cookies and Jello? Even though they were "diet" snacks, still all sugar-based carbs. You were probably feeling "sluggish" from not eating any real food, and I'm sure the sweets picked you up for an hour, and then you crashed again (harder) when they burned off.

Mid-Day Meal: Processed and packaged meat and bread. Again, a horrible choice, loaded with sodium and chemicals. And you admit that you are only eating it because you are still hungry... if you ate right throughout the day, you would never be hungry.

Dinner: Lasagna and Garlic Bread. Carbs, carbs, and more carbs. Processed white bread, processed pasta, lots of cheese (fat) and sauce (sugar). Yuk.

You're eating your "points" (and more), but you're not eating the things your body needs to facilitate any weight loss. And you are hungry and unsatisfied with what you are eating. You're on the wrong path, my friend... you are not going to have any meaningful long-term results with this diet.

Your experience of losing a few pounds at the beginning and then gaining some back is a good indicator of the fact that it's not working. With proper nutrition and some easy-to-change behaviors, you CAN do this. I've lost two pounds a week for ten weeks now, and I'm eating six or seven meals a day, and I hardly ever feel hungry. There are some REALLY smart people on this board who can help you... so keep asking questions and we'll help you out.

Well, I'm not a big fan of fruits and vegtables. So tell me how you eat 7 meals a day and still lose weight.???? :cool:

If you are not a big fan of fruits and vegetables, that's fine. You can work around that. The first thing is to write down what it is you do LIKE to eat. If your new nutrition guidelines don't include the things you enjoy, you'll never be able to stay with it for the rest of your life.

You'll notice I'm not using the word "diet" when talking about what to eat. When someone tells me they are "going on a diet" I assume that means that someday they will "go OFF the diet too." You have to look at it as a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. If you are 230lbs now, and want to get back down to 185lbs, that's 45lbs you have to lose. And you admitted that at 185lbs you were still 15-20lbs overweight. It took you four years to gain that weight. Expecting that you will lose it in four weeks, or even four months, is unrealistic.

I'd say that without some serious aerobic exercise as part of your plan, you're going to need about 26 weeks to lose the weight you want to lose. That's six months of staying focused on your goal. Can you do it?

Do you want it bad enough to do whatever it takes to lose the weight?

Well of course I WANT TO DO IT! I'm confused now cause in the beginning you said I needed to choose either exercise or food and focus on one. Now you say I have to do serious areobic exercise. The exercise I do, is on my treadmill. Jumping or jogging or doing step videos just hurt my knees too much. I walk at a fast pace so I think I do well when I do it. I usally stay on at least 20min to 30min. As for foods I like, man I think none of them are heatlhy for me...well some may not be.

I like chicken, steak, & fish. I know it is all in the way u prepare them. Usually when I make chicken I broil it in the oven and brush a little BBQ sauce on it, eat w/green beans or mushrooms. I get sick of green beans after a while though. I try not to eat potatos or rice too much.

When I make steaks I usually have baked potato and vegi with it. I rarely make fish although I do like it.

I like spegetti, pizza, (I'm Italian LOL), lots of breads..fast foods! I know all BAD BAD BAD! I'm not willing to do Adkins cause I don't see it as a way of life, so cutting OUT the carbs isn't an option for me, but cutting down may be. :)

A good exercise video you would enjoy. Something fun. Richard Simmons has some good videos that aren't too difficult and are fun with familar music, plus they don't have those glamour tooth picks on them. Mucho Sudar is a good one. He has the studio set up like a Latin dance club. It's also relatively inexpensive. Also, stop bashing yourself. It takes time to get things going. You might not be able to complete a whole exercise video, but maybe you can start with 2-3 songs and gradually build up to the rest of the tape. You could even think of rewards you could give yourself for exercising for a certain length of time. Right now, exercise probably feels like work to you; but later on it will feel like play time. You just need to get started. Also, don't worry about what time is best to exercise. The best time of the day to exercise is when you have the time. If you need to wait until everyone's asleep in the house, then that is what you do. If you can't get up early in the morning, then evening is best for you. If you work, see if it is possible to start a walking group during lunch time or break time. You'll be surprised at how many coworkers will be willing to join you. Just make sure that you have a "Don't talk about work" rule during walks with your coworkers. This will keep the attitude possitive. You could even make a point to do mini exercises during TV commercials. There's no law that says you must stay in the chair during commercials. A few slow twists, mini leg lifts, arm circles, etc. I know you can do it, but you need to feel the same way I do about yourself. (You're wonderful!) Keep it to aerobic activity first, so you see weight loss. Once you feel you see enough weight loss, then at weight barring exercises. If you add the weight barring exercises too soon, you will loose interest quicker because you won't see the weight loss right away since you'd be adding muscle, which also has weight. :bouncing:

I love latin dance music. My husband is Puerto Rican so I love to dance Merenge and Salsa! I've never heard of Mucho Sudar, but it sounds fun! Where can I get it?

Thanks for giving me positive feedback and a little lift! :)

I have to agree with Phillydude regarding starting one thing at a time. All the times I've tried to eat cleaner I was also trying to exercise regularly. What works..is working..for me is getting my exercise routine down and slowly changing my eating habits. I find that when I just jump right into it I fail. I started with reading/researching/asking questions and then recording my eating habits. It's helped me a lot in seeing how much unhealthy stuff I took in. Once I started changing my eating habits (note I'm not saying diet....someone mentioned it but diet sounds so temporary) I found that it's not terribly hard to do.

The way I've stuck with it thus far is be recording my progress in the form of pictures. I take a picture of myself from 3 angles each Monday as a way to track my progress. I think for me the two best indicators of how I'm doing is how my pictures look and how my clothes fit. Recently I fit into a shirt that I bought a while back with the intention that I was going to work my way into it. Now I've found that I not only fit that shirt, but a whole bunch of other things that I outgrew. Once you start getting fit people will notice and so will you. You'll feel great knowing that you've accomplished something and it will keep you going. It has for me.

Keep at it and the results will show. You will be so much happier with yourself and it will show. Good luck to you.