Hey Everyone!

[Airia]

Hi there! New to this site, but very pleased with all the encougement I see from other members. After letting my weight run my life for as long as I can remember, I've finally had enough and decided to get back in shape and be happy with myself. Without really trying, in the past 6 months I've lost 20 lbs. I attritube that mostly to my job where I was working 9 hours a night, not eating much and sleeping for most of the day. I was very sedatary, minus when I went to work.

I currently weight 218 lbs. My highest weight was 239 lbs. The lowest I ever remember being in my life was 153 lbs, which was close to 5 years ago. When I was younger, and first in highschool, I weighed close to 180 lbs and thought I was very fat. I started going to the gym everyday, eating very little (to the point of being hungry all the time) and in a period of 3 months, lost almost 25 lbs. Then I broke, and stopped with the near starvation. I was very tired of it and wanted to enjoy food again...over the next four years, I gained all the weight back, plus some. By the end of highschool, I was 239 lbs. And I hated myself.

Now I'm ready to get serious about myself. I want to stop feeling tired all the time. I want my energy back. Hopefully this site will help me.

My goal is go back to 160 lbs. I've started walking again and drinking lots of water and tea.

Anyways, I'm just looking for support and advice. =)

 

[Omega]

Welcome to the forum.

It is great that you have lost the weight that you have. Having said that - I must admit that I am concerned to hear that you have attempted to control your weight with a "near starvation" approach. This really is not a healthy way to try to do such things. It is actually counterproductive too because people do not want to live like that forever and it isnt really giving your body the kind of fuel that it needs.

It isnt really a step forward to replace one bad relationship with food with another different but equally bad relationship with food.

I strongly suggest that you read the nutrition section and pay particular attention to all the sticky threads there. You should get a free account on and log your food and activity and see your calorie balance which is the weight loss that you deserve. Try to hone your diet so that you not only hit your calorie targets - but more importantly that you hit your nutritional targets (you will see your nutritional break down on fitday) - making sure that you have the recommended amount of protein, fibre, calcium, healthy fats for a person your size. Make sure that you are drinking 109 fluid ounces of water each day and limit your sodium to no more than 2400mg.

When your nutrition is improved you will have more energy which will help you to not only be more active but also enjoy life better. No-one enjoys feeling too lethargic...

You are making a good move in becoming more active. Walking will help. Check out the exercise section and you will see that other forms of exercise will help too. Our bodies do not appreciate it when we live too sedentary a life...

Good luck with your project.