Just started my journey... Advice and support needed

Casey4588

Casey4588

New member
Hello everyone. I've been looking through all of your pictures and it's just wonderful. I am currently nineteen, though I will be turning twenty in a couple of months. Any advice to start my journey would be wonderful.

I currently weigh 226 I believe, lost three pounds in the last five days because I quit drinking soda. Honestly, I'm not an over eater, I just loved my bubbly drinks. I decided to throw the soda out all together, and when I do have that craving, I reach for a diet Dr. Pepper. I have been drinking at least six bottles of water a day, along with gatorade. I am substituting certain meals with a slimfast shake and have been eating very very slowly. It's amazing how full you feel when you take it one bite at a time. I have also been taking our dog for one walk a day, which is amazing because he's so out of shape he gets tired before I do! Well, here's my stats, any helpful advice would be WONDERFUL. Thank you in advance!

I am nineteen, female
I weigh 226lbs
I am 5'5" tall
Have been chubby forever, want to change that!!
My weight ballooned when my fiance and I moved in together, he's a soda junkie as well as a fast food junkie. (And still manages to look good!!)

I don't have a tape measure... Although I am quite large lol.
 
Update: I just did the math and was taking in over 1000 calories a day in soda! :eek: wow. Glad that craps out!
 
Congrats on cutting out the soda. When I used to drink soda before it was always diet, but I have cut out drinking diet as well. I may have an occasional soda, but I don't even remember the last time I went to the store intending to buy soda.

Now I crave WATER, how about that? LOL. So it will get easier for you, at least it was for me.

You will be dropping weight so fast now.

But a good place to start is to go to this site:



It'll show you how many calories you need per day in order to lose weight.

Also, add some exercise to your routine. 30 minutes or more of cardio a day, 3-6 times a week. :)

And start a journal here so we can all get to know you better. This site is extremely supportive.

Good luck to you. :)
 
Check out Walmart's Sam's Choice Diet Dr. Thunder. It's 78 cents for a 2 liter and it tastes just like Diet Dr. Pepper. Cutting the soda alone should have a huge impact- 1,000 calories/day extra is 7,000 calories a week- that's 2 pounds! Get yourself a digital scale and weigh all your food. Go to - on that site you can find just about any food, even for a lot of restaurants. I weigh my fruit and then put the weight in to get the exact amount of calories I am eating in fruit. I have gotten obsessed with weight loss- I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not-

It is tough at first to give up the foods you like now- but a weird thing has happened to me just like dreamingblue said- I crave healthy food now- and bad food actually makes me sick. My wife and I did a 5k walk in Columbus and we both got sick from eating down there because we have been eating healthy for so long and we were actually craving healthy food the next morning. I would recommend getting rid of all the junk food in your house and only having the healthy food around you plan to eat. If possible, split your day up into 5 meals- that way you will never be hungry. You may be at first, but your mind and stomach will adjust. For example, if you eat 1750 calories/day, that's an average of 350 calories per meal. You can do it- don't give up- even if you have weak days and do happen to slip!
 
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Thank you so much. I will definately try that. And yes, I bought the diet Dr. Thunder, much cheaper and calorie free! I have On Demand, and I hear the have exercise tv for free. I'll check that out! Thank you for your support!:seeya:
 
Wow. That calorie counter thing says that I can reach my goal weight with 2235 calories a day. Doesn't that seem a little high? Would it hurt me if I dimmed it down to 1300 calories a day as long as I'm not starving/hungry?
 
It depends on a lot of factors. Are you gonna exercise a lot?

People really have a hard time understanding how many calories they should have and become kind of scared when something tells them that they should be eating a lot of calories.

The general rule is to just eat less and exercise more. You don't really have to count calories or focus on a specific number. It just depends on what type of person you are.

I count my calories because I'm a nibbler. I reach for anything in sight and I just start eating it and like 10 minutes later I forgot that I ate it. So I have to keep track of how many calories I'm consuming.

However, if you're not that kind of person, then you don't really have to be so strict with yourself.

But here's what I say... You can have 1300 calories a day, but let's say you have something special one day, you decide to go out for dinner or whatever. It's really very nice because you know that you can get away with eating up to 2235 calories a day, and that you aren't truly hurting yourself. And on top of that since you are eating 1300 calories a day, then in an entire week you have about 6500 calories that you can do whatever with. It's all math.

You do want to watch out because if you're not eating enough your body can go into starvation mode. Remember that your body isn't getting that 1000 calories a day that it got from the coke. Plus you decreased the amount on top of that with only 1300 calories. And then you decreased the amount even more because of exercise.

Where will your body get the calories it needs to function properly?

Sorry if I rambled too much and made it more confusing...
 
Oh you didn't, it makes a lot of sense!

Any exercises anyone would reccomend? Remember, I'm pretty out of shape, all I've been doing in the last week is walking my dog. We're very low on money too, (Stupid economy) and I can't afford any dvd's or such. I'm on my own for this one.
 
1300 is dangerously low- you could actually send your body into starvation mode and you won't lose anything. 2235 sounds high- but to start with, it really isn't. Every pound of fat you have in your body burns 5 calories a day. When I started my weight loss, I was 267 and I think I needed around 3,000 calories a day (based on eating 1,500 to 1,750 calories/day- which is too low- don't do that either!) based on how much weight I was losing a week. 93 pounds later, with a metabolism that has probably slowed from eating a lot less for over a year, my maintenance is around 2100. That makes sense because 90 pounds times 5 calories (per pound of fat) is 450 calories. So take 3,000 minus 450 minus a slower metabolism, I get around 2100. I would keep track of your calories now to figure out how much you are taking in and if you are losing weight with that- great! Stay with that- just make sure it's not too low- it's a bit different with women versus men, but I can tell you 1300 is way too low. I would venture to say you need to be around at least 1800 at bare minimum. Did you watch the Biggest Loser this season? There was one episode where one of the guys hardly lost any weight for the week because he actually didn't eat enough.
 
Oh my, well we don't want to NOT lose! 0_o... I'll go with your advice and make 1800 a bare minimum and see where it goes from there. After I lose weight, my calorie intake will be lower to maintain, right? I'm just terrified I'll either
A) Gain it back or
B) Have lots of lose skin. (icky.)

I have a richard simmons tape I plan to break out today if I can find the VCR *lol* Sweatin' to the oldies 2. Awesome songs.

I'm on my way to walmart to buy myself a Lean Gourmet Three Cheese Chicken dinner. I had one for supper last night and it was SO good, at about 300 calories, with yummy bell peppers and such. It has rice in it, which I hear is a good source of carbohydrates. (Eff that no carb stuff.... I want me carbs.)
 
I now have a diary, and am posting constantly. If you don't want to read it all it's fine, I just have a habit of posting every weight-related thing i do.

I just got done working out to Sweatin' to the Oldies 2, with Richard Simmons. He's a pretty funny guy. A little odd. But funny. I feel great, endorphines do wonders, huh.

Did I mention I have lost ten lbs now? /yay
 
I started around 242 and got down to 158. I've regained a little, that's why I'm back (but I'm also shorter than you).

Your plan sounds like a great start, I don't think people realize the calories in pop. Keep at it, and when you hit a plateau, which is NORMAL, just increase your activity. You are doing great, don't give up!!! (like I did! LOL)

My name is Casey too, btw.
 
Well, I've lost almost 12lbs in two weeks. Is that normal? >.> Cuz I don't think it is.

I've started a new workout program, TaeBo T3. It had me sweating so much, and in places I didn't even know had sweat glands, like my legs and arms.

I am NOT starving myself, I always eat so I am never hungry, but my calorie intake never exceeds 1100/day. I don't know what to do. I'm eating healthy. I'm not starving... I'm just not eating Burger King every day anymore.

Could the no fast food and soda be making me lose weight this fast? I'm worried it's unhealthy. I'm eating lean cuisines, and they're delicious.

Check out my diary! :)
 
I drank about the same amount of calories as you did in pure Coca-cola every day. To add to that I didn't drink ANY other liquids.. I think I probably went 7 years without a single sip of water! And Im only 18! Its crazy how the calories in soda adds up. Quitting it straight out is probably the best you could have done for yourself ^-^

For free/low cost exercises (Im in the same boat you are money-wise) I suggest dancing, hiking, renting exercise tapes (a lot of places rent them for free), walking EVERYWHERE, and finding a low cost, active hobby like gardening or something :D

Good luck on your journey!
 
Thank you for your advice. I was the same way, I'd never, ever, drink water, and rarely juice. I can't believe how unhealthy I was being. It's almost emberassing.

I just don't want to lose all my weight then find myself with a million stretch marks. That would be hideous.
 
12 pounds in the first two weeks is normal I would say. Most of it is water but that doesn't mean it doesn't make a difference like fat loss does, because it really does. The only difference it can come back overnight, where real loss does not. Whenever I start a diet I lose a lot in the first few weeks and then slowly come down to losing 1-3 pounds a week depending on exercise, etc.
 
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