Thread: Long story, need help.

First off, I am 17 years old. I weigh 275 with clothes & shoes on, along with my chunky purse :P and I am 6'1.

I have never been small, petite, or average. I remember when I was 11 years old and 5'11 I weighed 175 lbs. Although I do not consider myself fat, I know I am overweight.
My main concern is my belly. I do not want to be skinny, but I don't want to have to search hours and hours at multiple stores for something that fits me correctly.

I do have an hourglass shape, and it's noticeable. I'll post a pic below of what I look like now. What I'd like to know is what kind of food I need to avoid, and what to eat. What kind of exercises can I do, or can I just walk? I have a very bad back...that's a different story though. I can't do harsh exercising though.



I am on a very restricted and fixed income. My monthly budget for food is $200 for two people. That's how it is right now, sadly. I do live on my own, actually with my fiance. (Another story, again) So I haven't been able to afford the huge amounts of fruits and veggies needed for healthy living.

My main daily foods consist of;
Chicken (either baked or boiled)
Some sort of potato
along with frozen green beans or corn.
Maybe once a week will I eat pasta, or anything different.

Around the first 2 weeks of every month I do eat fat-free yougurt once a day.

It's a bad situation but I really need to lose weight. I can feel it affecting my health - I feel like my throat is closing up.

So please gives me some advice and or tips!

Hi there. I have some idea of what you are going through. In high school, around 2006 I was 217 pounds, and at 5' 4" that made me absolutely miserable. I was 17 years old and I couldn't shop at any of the popular stores. Plus, as an added bonus, I didn't have any curves so the big busted plus size clothes didn't fit me at all. As I got busier in my last years of high school I ate less and started to lose weight. I started seeing a psychologist handling my emotional baggage, which helped with eating less.
By the time I got to college I was 167 pounds and feeling a little better about myself. I continued to eat less and started riding a bike to go places (I didn't have a car). I'm not sure if you can bicycle with a bad back but it helps. Take it slow and get a bike with gears (put it on the lowest possible gear to start).
By the time that I was down to 155 (Spring 2010) I had been at a weight loss plateau for about six months (this happened often in the past five years and especially lately). My boyfriend showed me how to lift weights properly so I didn't hurt myself. I started lifting weights first at home then at the school gym with machines. Lifting with a machine is not a good idea right now, but getting some 2lb free weights would be okay. Always talk to a doctor first.
By Spring 2011 I was 136 pounds, though I have shot back up to 140 pounds. I am trying like to get the weight off, going to the gym every other day and not eating anything bad for me (sweets and such).

Here is the biggest problem with losing weight: processed food. Learn to cook. Make your own food so you know what you are putting into it. Try to get things with no added salt and then add some to taste. (avoid lunch meat for a while if you can) You don't need to get expensive food; I shop at a Wal Mart grocery store for 66 cent cans of pretty much anything. Organic food is a waste of money that a young person can't afford. If you start getting exercise soon you will not be one of those people who has extra skin hanging everywhere. Your body will adjust (yay teenage years!).
For eating, try to go with a little bit spicier or more flavorful foods, and don't eat a lot at a time. You can snack every two hours as long as you have little meals at a time. And keep yourself busy. Pick out your talent and use the out of it. Hehe.
Exercise will be difficult at first. Exercise videos make me gag, so try to either get a new one each day off of the internet or avoid them all together. I looove lifting because it only took a few months to see that I had muscles. You may want to start with 1lb or 2lb weights and work your way up. If you want I can give you a list of exercises I used, just let me know. There are loads of exercises out there on women's fitness sites as well. I was a flabby when I started. I couldn't even do one girly pushup. Now I can do at least twenty and a few regular pushups also. It makes you feel strong, and you can be so strong you'll make the boys cry. :P
Don't give up! Keep trying every day because once you get a good solid routine it becomes easier. The main thing you need to earn is discipline. It's not something that some people have and some people don't (like willpower, what ). It's learned through long struggles.
Last bit of advice: drink plenty of water. It keeps you full and flushes all the bad toxic stuff out of your system.

Sorry if this was extremely long but I wanted you to know that you are absolutely not alone. And by the way, you look a whole lot better than I did (and probably have less body fat).

And, if you want to make sure that I'm not some fake skinny , facebook.com/francesca.erni or f.p.ernigmail.com

Good luck!