Vulnerable - Weight Loss Message Board

80s_baby · 03-29-2007, 05:54 PM

I am new to the boards and was hoping I could hear some success stories, and maybe a little encouragement.
I am a 24 year old full-time college student, throughout highschool I was an athlete (I actually used to exercise for fun). Since then, I have gained 70 lbs., and now weigh almost 200 lbs. I now smoke and have been smoking for a couple years. I get very depressed sometimes, and other times I tend to suppress these thoughts (often to avoid feeling guilty about topping off the burger and fries). I hate when I see a camera around, and cringe at the thought of looking at pictures of myself.
I just cannot seem to stay motivated, and I throw in the towel without really trying. I know what I am capable of, (I like to think of myself as a "diamond in the ruff"), however, I just need a jumpstart. I am realistic in my goals, sure it would be great to have the Jessica Simpson/Jessica Alba body, but I just want to me again. No quick fixes. Just want a sense of self worth, strength, health, and confidence.
Please, any and all success stories and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Feeling Vulnerable

StenoLady1 · 03-30-2007, 06:29 AM

Baby steps! You didn't become a smoker and put on 70 pounds overnight. You've developed habits that need to be broken.

Don't focus on weight loss. Focus on your health. Walking will help your cardiovascular health. Rather than looking for what to omit from your diet to help you lose weight, think about what you can substitute for health purposes. Look at that baked potato for lunch and instead of thinking how many calories it will have with butter and sour cream on it, think about substituting salsa for the butter and sour cream. Bam...now you've got fiber from the potato skin (good for GI/colon health) and plenty of lycopene from the salsa (good for eye health).

DH & I have lost over 100 pounds combined. We walked and focused on health and nutrition. We learned about what foods are good for the heart, the skin, the immune system, the GI system, the bones ... all of it. We walked every day -- nothing big. Just walked our dogs A LOT

We looked at nutritional labels and ingredients on food packages. If it contained things like high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils, we didn't eat it. We'd either buy something else altogether or learn how to make that particular food ourself without all the chemicals.

And we didn't do all of this overnight. We started with baby steps. First we tackled breakfast and changed out Pop-Tarts or Captain Crunch for fruit, cottage cheese, or oatmeal. Once we felt good and satisfied with our new healthy breakfasts, we moved on to lunch. Then dinner once we felt good about our changes to our lunches.

I realize being at university may have its challenges for finding healthy foods, but you're smart and you have resources available to learn about nutrition.

I know it's hard to look into that crystal ball and see the future, but I really wish I'd taken better care of myself in my 20s.

The smoking I can't help you with. I still smoke. I tackled the weight first, and now I'm tackling the smoking. I never succeeded trying to lose weight and quit smoking at the same time. DH, DM and I all have our Chantix in hand, and we're going to quit together

MariaBB · 03-30-2007, 09:00 AM

Check out the Biggest Losers Bench to see what people are doing and how it helps us with our weight.

If you don't lose the weight you exected to during the week remember that next week you'll have another chance. Be patient and don't beat yourself up when this happens. It's hard to lose weight so be gentle and supportive to yourself. You can do it!