Help?

[KaylaMarie25]

Hey everyone. My name's Kayla. I'm a 23 year old from a small town in Illinois (originally from Chicago). I need help losing weight. I've always been "bigger," I've tried the diets and the exercising. Counting calories doesn't work for me, I'll go through with it for about 3 days then give up. I LOVE to dance so I do that in my room at least once or twice a week. I'm about 5'6-5'7 and close to 320lbs. I hate the way I look and ever since I was in about 4th grade I've been made fun of my weight and it hurts. My own grandmother has even told me to "stop eating cause I have enough fat to last me 2 years" and she refers to us (my family) as "the fat family." It really hurts. I just need a way to help me get encouraged enough. Maybe a workout/walking buddy?

[KaylaMarie25]

I actually have a pool, but it's not hot enough to swim yet, in the summer I'm always swimming (I usually do about 20 laps). But I'll definitely try out the bicycling thing in the pool =]

[Barb135]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all had access to a pool, so we could do the pool exercises?  The closest pool, with public access to me, is about 25 miles, at the Y and I'm not inclined to drive that far.  Have you reached your weight goal?

[dgrabova]

I hate to exercise and have had about 2 years of injuries from a car accident to falling off a ladder at work and breaking my leg and ankle. It is very hard for me to exercise lately but I remember when a doctor gave me pool exercises to help me when I had ruptured a disc in my back 4 yrs ago. I basically get in the pool with a pool noodle between my legs and do the bicycling in the pool for about an hour three days a week. Its really easy because you are weightless in the pool and you dont sweat because your in water so it is not hard to stick with. I lost about 20lbs in 6 weeks.

[KaylaMarie25]

I have kids too. I just started working out yesterday. OMG my legs and glutes burn lol

[mrstruth444]

I kno the pain I'm only 22 and after having two kids back to back I gain over 60lbs and I was already over weight. Just kno that u can do it just don't give up.

[Barb135]

We're all here on the forum together, to provide support for each other.  Welcome to the forum.  

If you'll let us know what type of support you need, we'll do our best to help you.

[Manzakas192]

Hi KylaMarie23,
I'm also 23 years old but I'm from Estonia and i live in London. I have decided to make big changes. I joined the gym, stopped drinking 12 days ago and feeling amazing. I'm so motivated and working hard to lose weight. It's really hard work but I can see that my weight is going down and I'm eatiend healthier than before. We could start to support each other. My some friends are really supportive but other friends are telling me that I'm eying boring because they are drinking and partying but I'm sober when I'm going to party and I'm thinking why I'm going to party when I don't like it :/ We could start supporting each other and give motivation. I'm full of motivation at the moment :)

Have a wonderful day.
Lots of sun :)

[Barb135]

Good that you drink mostly water........

I'm not a real veggie fan either, but I'm learning........lol   Don't forget that raw carrots, celery, radishes, onions, sweet peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes all qualify as veggies and are all good for you.  I like the California Steamed Veggies", too..  Try to experiment a little bit and add some herbs, spices, lemon juice, oil & vinegar, etc to the veggies; adding condiments often changes the taste enough so you actually like them.  That's how I've learned to eat a few more veggies.  I still can't do sweet potatoes - the texture makes me ill; nor can eat beets, because they taste like mud.........  

Do the best you can with veggies and be sure you stick to low/no fat dairy (3 servings/day is recommended) and whole grain breads/pastas, brown rice, etc.  Most important, watch portion sizes.  I think that's what gets most of us in trouble; it's often not WHAT we eat, it's HOW MUCH.

[KaylaMarie25]

And it's harder for me to eat healthier because I really don't like vegetables. I never was a fan of them. Though I will eat the "California Steamed Veggies' that has carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.

[KaylaMarie25]

I rarely drink soda.. but when I do, I choose Sprite. I generally drink water and use Mio or Crystal Light.  

[Barb135]

Even though Sprite doesn't have caffeine in it, it does have a lot of sugar.  You should switch to water and drop a lemon slice in, to flavor it.

"Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like nobody is watching"........

[KaylaMarie25]

I don't eat back 7-8pm. I rarely eat sugary snacks and sodas. My soda of choice is Sprite but I do have an occasional Dr. Pepper lol. I'm starting to dance more (mainly in my room since I don't like people watching me lol). But sometimes, I'll go out with my sister to dance. I rarely ever drink, but I'll have one or two to "loosen up and not feel as self conscious" lol

[Barb135]

It's really hard to get past the derogatory remarks, but we have to do it.  I remember one time my mother in law came to visit us - she lives in another state and we hadn't seen her for a couple years - the first thing she said when she saw me was "Well, I see YOU haven't lost any weight"....... That was before I diagnosed with hypothyroidism and didn't know what was causing my weight gain.  Yeah, it hurt......

Type II diabetes does tend to happen most often in obese people and while I'm not in the obese category yet, I'm close and I've just been diagnosed with pre-diabetes.  I'm working on turning things around and preventing full blown diabetes; you can do the same thing.  Even if you get it, it can be controlled with proper diet and exercise, so the "death threat" is a little extreme.

Eating several good meals every day, with healthy snacks in between is the best way to go.  

Calculate your actual calorie needs, then cut down enough to allow yourself to lose weight.  If you need help, I'll be happy to do what I can. Make sure you eliminate all sodas, and sugary snacks from your diet, because those are simple carbs that cause your blood sugar to spike, which, in turn, causes the pancreas to crank out more insulin, which is considered the "fat storage" hormone.

Concentrate on lean protein, whole grains (complex carbs/fiber), healthy fat, etc.  Limit fruit to 1-2 servings/day because of the sugar content. When you have fruit, opt for whole fruit, instead of juice, since the whole fruit has fiber, whereas the juice is just that.  

Be sure to get plenty of exercise, such as walking, dance, yoga, etc.  Try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise/day, most days of the week.

Also, check out the Weekly Weigh In thread that's posted every Sunday.  It's to help motivate everyone and help provide a way to stay accountable.  Each new weigh in thread has the date in the title, so you'll know if you're posting on the most current one or not.

[Ghettobeez83]

Yeah - don't get your mood down from those pathetic comments *unhelpful and stirring emotion up*. When my uncles and aunties see me, the first greeting is, omg, what happen to you and you looked fatter than before. So mentally I know i am not afraid of those comments, you just have to stand up for yourself. I used to tell them coz I am living a good life, what can you do?! That will shut them up. :) anyhow, it is important to be self conscious of how healthy we need to look. I suggest find a friend in school/work or even gym place and push each other to exercise! It's a kind of motivation. Eating wise, my specialist suggest me not to eat anything after sunset. As mentally affected our metabolism to slow down. Eat a fruit and yogurt for dinner and drink plenty of water to keep you full! Brekkie n lunch eat normal size (but try to escape the fried stuff). Take care and hope you are doing well with this! I am trying to reach my target too! Be brave to look good! ;)

[dreamin4baby]

Don't listen to any of them I'm pre diabetic have hypothyroid  but take it one day at a time don't Waite for their support because all ppl can do sometimes is give cruel criticism start one meAl at a time trust me they shut the hell up once they see the change

[KaylaMarie25]

Well my grandma is a diabetic and keeps telling me that I'm gonna get it and die >.<
she's only on my case about it, and I've tried stuff, but no one here wants to help. None of my friends are "too big" and want to change. It's driving me nuts

[dreamin4baby]

Well wanting to loose weight is a good start I can definitely relate to those cruel comments I come from a big family 3sisters 3 bothers and I was known as the fat one not my name but the fat one killed me it hurt so much then I decided that only I can make the change and I did I decided to make one of my meals healthy started with one a day my breakfast was as healthy as possible cut down on snacks after few months I had dropped some lbs I was so motivated I went to 2 healthy meals a day was so happy I started working out and your own sucess becomes your motivation I'm 5'2 went from 170lbs size 15-16 to 132 size 7-9 take it one day at a time and remember those ppl calling you names only do it to mask their own insecurities

[KaylaMarie25]

o.O

Hey Kayla,

       I'm trying to lose some weight as well. Much like you i don't like my appearance and I'm not happy with my weight. I'm not a calorie counter either and although I'm just starting my weight loss, what I have learned is to be honest with yourself and change only happens with effort. I'm still a student and with a tight schedule its hard to get exercise in. What has worked for me so far is substituting bad/ok foods for even better ones. Also, I'm doing Sunday weigh ins with some other ladies on this community!  Here is a post for an example, every Sunday we weigh ourselves and post how we did and how was our week. Feel free to join :) There's a new thread/post every week.
        Also, don't let other people's negative words influence you, they only get power if you let it get to you.  

https://health.walgreens.com/posts/Weight-Loss--Dieting/Sunday-Weigh-In---April-14--2013/show/1931172