Becoming the girl i should be.

T

Teegs07

New member
I guess i'll start by saying hey so... hey. :)

The name's Tegan but feel free to call me anything you can think of (the more creative the better) and i just turned 18 a few weeks ago.

Being 18 and having just started university a few months ago i should really be enjoying myself and making new friends but alas i'm not exactly a social butterfly. I've been judged for years by my weight and because of it my confidence has taken a hit and my insecurity is hitting levels that i didn't know existed. In saying that though, my confidence is gradually growing again thanks to having some great roommates who did take the time to get to know me and have seen me for the sarcastic and... 'unique' (their polite way of saying i'm weird but i already knew it, accept it and like it) girl that i am. I try not to show it but i'm really quite self-conscious, a trait that i loathe, i would love to feel happy with myself and who i am which is one of the main reasons i'm here.

Apparently when i moved out my mum took it as a sign to redecorate so i'm now lost in my own home, the scales are hiding in an unknown place and there's noone home to show me the way so for now i'm roughly guessing i'm around 300lbs and 5'8"/9"ish.

If anyone has any tips on how to give myself the kick-start i need or any advice in general then feel free to let me know.

2011 is going to be a fresh start to becoming the girl i wish i was and know i could be.
 
So i've been missing for a few weeks and i have to admit, i've not done much to help myself get to my goal aside from drinking lots of water. Something about the holidays made me feel like i could do whatever i wanted for a little while longer but the excuses stop and i'm officially making a change.

I go back to uni in a few weeks so i'm going to make the most of the time i have left at home before i get stuck back in student life. Tomorrow i'm heading to the gym with my mother, something which i'm very nervous about, i feel uncomfortable and self conscious around people who know what they are doing in that environment...

I've cleared a shelf for myself in our kitchen so i know i'll have a good supply of food. The only problem is i don't quite know what to eat, i'm going grocery shopping tomorrow but so far my list consists of... nothing. I'm not a big fish eater so that's out the window and i'm clueless.

Any tips for about food or anything really would be very much appreciated. :)

I'm also thinking i might dye my hair tomorrow morning too, fresh start, fresh me, i guess i'll find out soon if this is a good idea. Wish me luck.
 
Hi Tegan, I too started university a few months ago, and I also am very self conscious about the way I look.

To be honest, the thing that got me going was going to ASDA and picking up only healthy foods. Weight watchers, yogurts, fruit, chicken. And doing a work out dvd. After a few days I weighed myself and found out I had lost a couple of pounds. That certainly encouraged me to carry on (though i'm only a week into mine), but still you get my point. Maybe you could do the same? You can pick up some scales from Argos cheap enough, I think I paid £20 for my digital ones.

Good luck on your journey!
 
Teegs07 said:
So i've been missing for a few weeks and i have to admit, i've not done much to help myself get to my goal aside from drinking lots of water. Something about the holidays made me feel like i could do whatever i wanted for a little while longer but the excuses stop and i'm officially making a change.

I go back to uni in a few weeks so i'm going to make the most of the time i have left at home before i get stuck back in student life. Tomorrow i'm heading to the gym with my mother, something which i'm very nervous about, i feel uncomfortable and self conscious around people who know what they are doing in that environment...

I've cleared a shelf for myself in our kitchen so i know i'll have a good supply of food. The only problem is i don't quite know what to eat, i'm going grocery shopping tomorrow but so far my list consists of... nothing. I'm not a big fish eater so that's out the window and i'm clueless.

Any tips for about food or anything really would be very much appreciated. :)

I'm also thinking i might dye my hair tomorrow morning too, fresh start, fresh me, i guess i'll find out soon if this is a good idea. Wish me luck.
Click to expand...

It really depends what kind of foods you enjoy. I'll give you an example of what my weekly shopping list looks like (it varies, some weeks I won't buy something and buy something else on the list, but you should get my point!) :)

- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Sliced chicken
- Sliced turkey
- Bananas
- Apples
- Actimel yogurt drinks
- Semi skimmed milk
- Eggs (I usually scramble mine)
- Beans
- Weight watchers cookies
- Snack a jacks
- Deli wraps (just the wrap on it's own)
- Weight watchers bread
- Low fat butter
- Weight watchers spagetti bolognease or chicken curry or chicken casserole
- Frozen chicken pieces (to defrost and put in wrap)

Obviously you can vary your fruit and weight watchers stuff to your own taste. Hope this helps somewhat!
 
Well i am no expert but i would start with getting your BMR and figuring out how many calories you are going to be eating. so figure cutting like 500 calories from your BMR () never go below 1200 calories.

Then plan your meals from there. Breakfast, snack, Lunch, snack, Dinner.
make sure to use good portion control and start doing some activities. like walking. that is what i do because its easy on the joints and well its really easy to stick to it.


If you decide to start walking pick up a pedometer or if you have a smart phone download an app that can calculate your distance for you ( Runstar). keep a log of what you eat so you can hold yourself accountable (start a journal on the diary page). keep a log of how far and how long you walked and how many calories you burned. ( apps or pedometer will do this for you ) Keep your self motivated and don't make excuses. if you can manage to burn 3500 calories a week ( thats from cutting from your diet and exercise) you will burn one pound of fat. Also read the stickies on these forums they are filled with great information and ask questions. you can PM any time if you need to.

I take it your a woman so I agree get your hair done and go buy a new outfit. one that you really like but that is one size to small. your first goal is to fit into that outfit. and from there the sky is the limit.

as far as what foods to get well fruits and vegetables are a start and LEAN meat like chicken. Make sure to trim the fat, Sugar and HFC. NO FAST FOOD! If you feel the need for sweets get a food dehydrator and dehydrate some bananas apples and pineapples.
 
Hi Tegan :)

Ive just started to try and loose weight myself. Its pretty hard going at 1st though, right? But I keep telling myself it will get better, and it will for you also :D Its great that you have got yourself some good new friends who have given you a confidence boost, and im sure once you start to feel better in your body, the more confident you will feel. Im pretty clueless when it comes to food aswel tbh because im so used to eating crap! But a good thing to start with it fruit and veg, drink plenty of water (something I can never do) also yoghurts are good and of course yummy :D Why not try picking up some of those low fat ready meals? Maybe that will give you more of an idea of the sort of foods you should be eating? :)
 
Thank you for all your advice and support, it really means a lot to me. :D

I've been to the gym 3 times this week which i'm ridiculously happy about, i'm fairly sure that i've already been more times this year than i did last year...

Gym visit no.1
Bike: 10 minutes (got sore and tired far too fast) - 2km
Stepper Machine (not sure what it's actually called): 5 minutes (wowza, it burned)
Treadmill: 20 minutes (walking, hopefully progressing to jogging/running)
Cross-Trainer: 5 minutes (feeling the burn... badly)

No.2
Bike: 15 minutes - 3km
Cross-Trainer: 7 minutes
Rowing Machine: 5 minutes
Weights: ? (got distracted)

No.3
Bike: 30 minutes - 10km
Treadmill: 10 minutes
Stepper: 10 minutes
Rowing Machine: 10 minutes

I'm gradually improving although i'm still unsure of what i'm doing, i don't follow a pattern i just randomly hop on available machines...

Should i be following some sort of plan? What works best? Should i do more weights?... I'm clueless.

I'm also eating a lot healthier than i used to, mostly veggies and chicken because i don't really know what else to eat yet. Breakfast seems to be a problem though. I don't like to eat first thing in the morning, i just can't stand food but i know that it's important so i'm trying to work it out. So far i've been having fruit smoothies but i don't think it's enough...

Another issue i've had this week is sleep. I don't know if it's the lifestyle change or something else but my sleeping pattern is crazy. I'm hoping it'll fix itself soon or i'm going to be in serious trouble when i'm back at uni.

First weigh in tomorrow. Nervous but excited. I'm hoping i've lost at least one pound. Keeping everything crossed tonight. I'll be back...
 
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Yassssssss!

Baibai 4lbs, you won't be missed but hopefully lots of your friends will be joining you soon.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Now i have a headache from being too happy... ( :D )
 
Teegs!!

THAT'S GREAT!! *pops a bottle of non-alcoholic, low fat, no carbs, great tasting champagne* You should be very proud of yourself!

I certainly know what you're feeling. When i look back at my first few years of university - it was hard! I remember going through school thinking everyone was judging me (and when i was younger, that was the case- people are mean! especially kids!). When I got to uni, i was so use to people putting me down and not giving me the time of day, that I just assumed people would always be like that- so I shut myself off. It's great that you've put yourself out there, and found a great group of people who accept you for you (and trust me- there is NOTHING wrong with being weird! It's wonderful! And you should always be proud of you, and you being a unique and individual person!). So two thumbs up for yourself all ready!

Now, losing weight is awesome! And you know what? You've made FANTASTIC progress! You have a diary on here where you can post what you eat, when/how you exercise, and get advice and motivation from us! :) (And I'm new here, and I can say- there's lots of great knowledge to be tapped here!)

The biggest thing I've found with dieting and exercise, and then combining it with a school schedule- is to plan! I do so much better if I take a bit of extra time to plan my meals before I get groceries, and then to plan my food for the next day (for example- what I take for lunch). Buy food out and/or buy processed/premade food is just a way to set you up to be unhappy!!

Try looking for recipes on the internet that are healthy and sound good! If you google for things like "healthy quick recipes" or even "Healthy quick substitutes" you'll find a lot! And as for what you should buy- well, try when you go to the store to buy fresh produce, fresh meat, and whole grains! Changing to a healthy diet is a life changing process- that it slow, and slowly integrate new things into your diet! Or slowly change things!

I find some great easy things are sandwiches (with ww bread, lots of veggies, hummus/mustard, and then maybe some fresh chicken), pasta is great too (ww pasta, and then some easy homemade sauce!), I also like to grill a lot of veggies and meat! You would be surprised at how easy it becomes once you do it for a week or two!!

Good luck! And you're doing FANTASTIC! You should be so proud! And we're all here for you :)
 
Thank you so much for your encouragement, it's been very useful to me this week.

I've just moved back into halls and it has been a very tough week. My eating pattern has become very irregular along with my sleeping pattern. My biggest issue at the moment is alcohol. I really don't like drinking so i don't do it often but noone seems to accept that i'm not. It's hard being in an environment where a lot of the socialising involves alcohol, there's almost a feeling of exclusion because i'm not drinking. I've been fine avoiding it so far this week but tomorrow is the start of the party week and i really don't know how i'll manage to not drink without missing out on all the fun. I'm sure i'll work something out, it's just annoying getting stressed about something so irrelevant.

I've not been to the gym at all this week but a roommate and i are signing up at the gym here tomorrow and i've already found a few buddies who will come along with us. :)

The food side of things is a little strange. Sometimes i feel as if i'm not eating enough but i really don't know what to eat. One of my roommates recently became a vegan and i'm actually becoming quite interested in either becoming a vegan or at the very least a vegetarian. I don't eat much meat anyway so i don't think becoming a vegetarian would be that challenging. I'm still undecided though so i'll think things through for a few days first.

Oh, also left my scales at home so no weigh ins for me until i can get my hands on some, which will hopefully be soon!

Anyway, going back to the gym this week, healthy eating and lots of water should hopefully continue to help me lose this weight.

Time, effort and patience. I can do it.
 
Awesome on losing the 4lbs!
Keep the exercise going. It's one thing you do know you can do. The food will come as you learn more.
 
Hey!

I totally know where you're coming from about the drinking! people just don't understand sometimes that you can have a fun time without the booze! and then they make you feel guilty for not drinking, like it's ruining their time...when it shouldn't!! Keep up the great work! Don't cave into doing something you don't want (it's easier said than done, I know that! I always seem to cave, and then feel guilty!) ... you seem like a very mature and strong person, so I think you can do it!

It's also great that you have a friend going with you to the gym! That always helps!! :)

I think vegan and vegitarian diets are great! People who can keep up with them tend to LOVE what they eat! There's lots of great recipes that don't have meat! I use to be vegan and found that I felt great, lost weight, and ate LOTS of yummy food!!

If you happen to go that route- let us know all about it! I would love to know what you're eating :) I might take some ideas :)
 
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