Hi there,
I'm new here so I'll give a short introduction. I'm 23 years old and about 40lbs overweight I think (correct me if I'm wrong) and classed as obese going by my BMI (I was told that by a professional over a year ago and I didn't even weigh as much as I do now). I'm 5'6" and weigh 196lbs. I haven't always been overweight, in fact from the ages 14-20 my weight stayed between 124lbs (lowest) and 147lbs and I never would have imagined I'd get like this, I've gained lots of weight in 3 years. I'm an emotional eater and it's a real struggle for me to even get started on a diet, it can make me feel very depressed. Also, If I exercise heavily I tend to end up binging and eating the calorie deficit plus more so I feel like I've been in a really difficult situation.
Basically I have had enough and I need to lose this weight and feel good about myself and confident again. I need to stop avoiding social activities and seeing my relatives and friends and my boyfriends friends and family because I feel like this fat me is just not me and I want them to see the real me when I've lost all of this weight and not the version that I am now. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
One other motivation for needing to lose weight is the fact that my chest size is large - I was a double G cup last time I checked but I have a feeling that I've gained a cup size. My breasts cause me chronic back pain and are a source of embarrassment for me and obviously make me look even bigger than I am which I could do without. I'm hoping to God that when the weight comes off I will also drop a few cup sizes up there. I find it difficult to exercise and the more physically active I am in a day the more back pain I experience.
Anyway sorry that was such a long introduction I've gone on a bit there. I have come here for some help and advice from some experienced dieters.
Basically two weeks ago I weighed about 10lbs more than I do now. I started barely eating for a few days - less than 1,000 calories a day sometimes as little as 500-600 - this was for about a week. This was the only way I feel like I could get myself kick-started on my way to weight loss because it caused some loss of appetite after a few days. I know I know I know 100x over that this is the wrong way to achieve a healthy, sustainable weight loss but believe me I am desperate. I have been eating as healthy as I possibly can on those limited calories - I'm a vegetarian and my diet for 2 weeks has consisted of mainly vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and pulses. I eat small amounts sporadically throughout the day to keep my metabolism going and have a 500 calorie or so main meal in the evening. This worked brilliantly helping me lose a massive chunk of weight to begin with, but now I've upped my calorie intake to about 1,300 as I was so exhausted I literally couldn't move off my bed at one point, and my appetite has returned but I haven't lost any weight in 4 days.. in fact I have gained 1lb
I suppose my question is this.. How do I now make the transition from practically starving myself to eating a healthy diet that will enable me to lose weight without making me pile back on everything I have lost so far? How can I give my metabolism a boost? I have the motivation and the willpower I'm just worried I've already messed up by eating so little for 2 weeks.
Also I'm worried about 'loose skin' if I lose a large amount of weight, I don't know if anyone knows UK dress sizes but I am currently a size 18 and would like to be a size 12-14 at the end of this all. Should I be worried about loose skin and if so is there any way to prevent it?
Any help & advice is appreciated, thank you all ever so much
I'm new here so I'll give a short introduction. I'm 23 years old and about 40lbs overweight I think (correct me if I'm wrong) and classed as obese going by my BMI (I was told that by a professional over a year ago and I didn't even weigh as much as I do now). I'm 5'6" and weigh 196lbs. I haven't always been overweight, in fact from the ages 14-20 my weight stayed between 124lbs (lowest) and 147lbs and I never would have imagined I'd get like this, I've gained lots of weight in 3 years. I'm an emotional eater and it's a real struggle for me to even get started on a diet, it can make me feel very depressed. Also, If I exercise heavily I tend to end up binging and eating the calorie deficit plus more so I feel like I've been in a really difficult situation.
Basically I have had enough and I need to lose this weight and feel good about myself and confident again. I need to stop avoiding social activities and seeing my relatives and friends and my boyfriends friends and family because I feel like this fat me is just not me and I want them to see the real me when I've lost all of this weight and not the version that I am now. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
One other motivation for needing to lose weight is the fact that my chest size is large - I was a double G cup last time I checked but I have a feeling that I've gained a cup size. My breasts cause me chronic back pain and are a source of embarrassment for me and obviously make me look even bigger than I am which I could do without. I'm hoping to God that when the weight comes off I will also drop a few cup sizes up there. I find it difficult to exercise and the more physically active I am in a day the more back pain I experience.
Anyway sorry that was such a long introduction I've gone on a bit there. I have come here for some help and advice from some experienced dieters.
Basically two weeks ago I weighed about 10lbs more than I do now. I started barely eating for a few days - less than 1,000 calories a day sometimes as little as 500-600 - this was for about a week. This was the only way I feel like I could get myself kick-started on my way to weight loss because it caused some loss of appetite after a few days. I know I know I know 100x over that this is the wrong way to achieve a healthy, sustainable weight loss but believe me I am desperate. I have been eating as healthy as I possibly can on those limited calories - I'm a vegetarian and my diet for 2 weeks has consisted of mainly vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and pulses. I eat small amounts sporadically throughout the day to keep my metabolism going and have a 500 calorie or so main meal in the evening. This worked brilliantly helping me lose a massive chunk of weight to begin with, but now I've upped my calorie intake to about 1,300 as I was so exhausted I literally couldn't move off my bed at one point, and my appetite has returned but I haven't lost any weight in 4 days.. in fact I have gained 1lb
I suppose my question is this.. How do I now make the transition from practically starving myself to eating a healthy diet that will enable me to lose weight without making me pile back on everything I have lost so far? How can I give my metabolism a boost? I have the motivation and the willpower I'm just worried I've already messed up by eating so little for 2 weeks.
Also I'm worried about 'loose skin' if I lose a large amount of weight, I don't know if anyone knows UK dress sizes but I am currently a size 18 and would like to be a size 12-14 at the end of this all. Should I be worried about loose skin and if so is there any way to prevent it?
Any help & advice is appreciated, thank you all ever so much
