New, Young, Skeptical...

C

Chubs92

New member
Hi all...

I'm new here, and I'm very skeptical/afraid/reluctant and SO many other feelings at this point. I've never joined a forum before, and I'm nervous as to how this one is going to be.

I'm a 16 year old girl, 240 lbs, and the only fat kid in the family! My mom swears she treated (fed) all her kids the same, and isn't sure why I turned out so big...

I've been the chubby one all my life, and I just wanna get rid of all this flab. I've tried accepting it, telling myself BIG IS BEAUTIFUL (and while it definitely is) I don't feel it's who I was meant to be. I just don't feel good, and I feel as though it's holding me back.

In the past few years I've made promises, to me and those closest to me, and all methods have been total failure. That's partially because I'm stubborn, and there's no one I know who can personally or literally relate. Then I just feel as though I'm making excuses for myself. ARGH!

My biggest obstacle is exercise: I have no exercising equipment (and my dad is skeptical to buying me things because he doesn't believe I'll use them), and while I do walk occasionally, I'm not sure what other beneficial workouts would be best (and that can possibly be done in the comfort of my own home). I'd love to join a gym (sort of), but I'd like to start off by myself first if possible...

I hope I haven't ranted too much, and thank you to anyone who has read this. :)
 
Let me start off by saying welcome to the forum! This can be really great place if you utilize it, there are tons of very knowledgeable people here and tons of ideas to help you on your journey, not to mention lots of support!

At your present weight, you can actually do a chunck of your weightloss by working on your diet alone. It sounds like you have a slow metabolism, and possibly a problem with your thyroid. Have you been checked out by a doctor for that?

Before you begin, use some online calculators to determine your BMI and determine the amount of calories needed to keep you at your present weight, then subtract that by 500. Most people fall between 1400 and 1600 calories when you do this, which is a very safe and healthy amount for weight loss.

I would recommend that you begin with a simple diet program. If you can, get your parents on board to help you with this! Their assistance and support will be a huge help to you. Make sure that the meats that you are eating are as lean as possible and only eat carbs during the breakfast and lunch time meals (because carbs are your body's fuel and you go to bed shortly after eating dinner so you don't need more fuel then!). Look at your portion sizes as well: a meat serving should be approximately the size of your fist, pasta and/or rice should be around a cup in serving size, and vegetables can be used to make you feel full so eat as many of those as you can! Since you are reducing your portion size, add small snacks in between your three meals. Some great snack ideas are: fruit (apple, orange, banana, kiwi, melon, etc but avoid high natural sugar ones like grapes), nuts, raw veggies, 250 mL of chocolate milk, a pudding cup, low fat yogurt, etc. Try to have 3 snacks a day (the third one should come about a half hour before bed and be some type of citrus, because citrus stimulates the metabolism to work overnight!).

By eating smaller bits more frequently during the day, you're sending signals to your body that it is time to shed the stored fat on your body because it doesn't need it anymore! The worst thing you can do while trying to lose weight is to reduce your food intake to less than 1000 calories a day. The idea seems appleaing to some people but that sends your body into starvation mode and rather than burning fat for energy, it burns muscle and clings to fat storage like super glue! And whatever you do, don't forget breakfast! Eating breakfast is vital to losing weight.

When you're ready, introducing cardio to your exercise routine will be the best thing to help you shed the weight. Toning isn't really necessary until you get within your target BMI amount, because you won't really see the results! There are a lot of TV shows that have easy cardio routines to follow at home, I suggest taking a peak through your TV guide and taping a few to use when you have the time. Keep up your walking, but make sure you get at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise at least 5 times a week if you can.

The last thing I can say is keep your expectations realistic. The worst thing to kill your motivation is to get to your goal in a very short time or to do it with no work or lifestyle change. Ignore the numbers on the scale and focus on how you look and feel! You might be aiming for 120 and find that at 150 you are toned, fit looking and feeling healthy and that is what you want to try for: healthy, happy and fit. If I can be of any help to you, please let me know and definitely read the stickies around the boards for ideas on meals and exercise programs and what not. Best of luck to you my dear, keep us posted on how you are doing!
 
hi chubs92,
i want you to know that whatever you are going through, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. and no matter what, there will always be someone who has a longer way to go than you do...but we are all on here big or small trying to encourage each other (just joined a few days ago myself). i'm 28yrs old and weight 146kgs (320pounds), so you can imagine how much i have to loose?

anyway, i thought to write because you mention your 16 and weigh about 240lbs and thats more or less the weight i was when i was your age. i've been the fattest kid i know all my life! and just like you, i'm the only fat person in the family. when i was living under my mums roof she put me under every diet known to man, but i did them all half heartedly and they got me nowhere. after i moved out of home to go to uni i just started eating all junkfood in sight and haven't stopped till only about 2 months ago. i decided enough is enough.

so as of 2 months i've started health eating, and i'm now on week 3 of my exercise regime. at my high weight i'm currently doing about one and a half hours on the treadmill (2 x 45mins) and in between that some weights. There are some days instead of doing the second treadmill session i'll instead join in on an aerobics class which is alot more interesting for me. i don't own a weighing scale but got weighed at the gym on week 1 and will be weighed again on week 6 to know how much i've lost. i'll get weighed every 6 weeks. i'm hoping to loose 45kgs this year and 45kgs next year...baby steps. everyday i wish i could wake up thin, but thats just not realistic. it took me 28yrs to put this weight on, so a year or two loosing it should hopefully go by quickly.

just thought you should know if at my size i can start on an exercise program and healthy eating, then you shouldn't fear either. i'm in no way saying go cold turkey and just start everything at once, but every little small change helps.

my initial motivation was reaching out to a friend who i went to high school with and whose weight has increase just like mine and we weigh kindof the same now, and we just talked and talked about how we hated our lives and need to do something. thereafter i wrote an open letter to my mum explaining to every last detail how i really felt about the weight thing (she could never understand and so we always fought about it), but this time she listened, and i now have the support of my family and closest friends. i talk about my weight openly to them since they are the people i love and love me back. before i thought i was on my own but now i know i'm not anymore.

so wishing you all the best...your young and you have your whole life ahead of you...what i wouldn't do to be 16 again! I'm now 28 but if you ask me what i've done with my life the last 10yrs...i wouldn't have a clue, all i can tell you is i've spent them wallowing in sadness, low self esteem and pity. but i've decided there'll be no more of that whatsoever.

the point of realisation comes for everyone, my time is now...i hope yours will be soon. here's wishing you ALL THE BEST! you can do this!
 
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I know exactly how you feel. i was the same weight. so many people picked on me. but if you keep a steady diet you will get where you want to be
 
lacey gave great advice about diet. if you modify your diet you should be able to see results without exercise, at first, since you don't have equipment or anything at the moment.

you don't have to exercise every day, although i know a lot of people do at first because they are so motivated, but that can lead to getting burnt out. you said that you do walk on occasion, but walking a 3-5 days a week for a half hour is a good way to get yourself started on a workout plan. then you can eventually add in going to a gym or walking for longer or even running...whatever you feel comfortable doing.

good luck on your weight loss journey!! keep us updated on how it goes.
 
You really don't need equipment to work out. Some people find having an exercise bike, treadmill, or elliptical around to be really helpful, but it's not strictly necessary. There are tons of bodyweight workouts for strength training where you just use the weight of your body to provide resistance. But for weight loss, there's nothing quite like walking briskly. If you start with 30 minute walks and gradually increase to 45 min or an hour, you'll notice the difference.
 
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