lets say you:\ntook 3 years to lose 45 lbs.You were so happy!\nthen you go somewhere and in 7 months gain back half of it,and to make it worse you live with a stick figure of a person who looks like you when you were thin.\nYou go through mental anguish and depression, you have to see a nutritionist , who then says you need to see psychologist to help with self-esteem issues.When your thin friend is gone you try on her clothes ( which are 3 sizes to small) and cry/wish you were thin again.\nhow would you deal with the mental anquish you face?\nhow would you deal with the physical side? You constatly feel like giving up, but because your so determined to be thin you do everything! you even concidered inducing anorexia because you just want to be thin again. You look at other big people and think they actually look cute, but you could never say that about yourself, even though you ARE smaller than they are.\nwhat would be your getting back plan?\nremeber, you go up and down about the issue...
200390
There are self esteem issues you need to work out with a counselor. I have plenty of really skinny friends that they still rag on themselves for not being this and that and not liking how they look in clothes or bathing suits. Just because you are skinny don't necessarily mean you are going to be a happier person. You will be happier with getting more attention but just going on looks likely to be more negative attention. You need to be happy with yourself no matter what size you are! But, you also want to make sure you keep yourself healthy. Just eat right or just moderate what you eat altogether don't go on this diet food kick and if you can try to get out and walk around the block or if you can afford it join a gym. They have new classes like belly dancing, exotic dancing and jazzercise to make it more interesting. Try to look at it as being more healthy and making healthier choices not just as being skinny. There are skinny people that are out of shape and not healthy that can end up having the same health problems as someone who is overweight. Hope this helps.
523660
You don't usually notice the weight you've lost for a while... but others do.\n\nDon't worry about it.\n\nEventually, those that know you will compliment you.\nAnd you'll feel awesome.\n\n<3\nstranger.
270369
Hey, I know you do not want to hear this, and it comes from someone who should know, but you have to work at it and neither of those last to options works well anyway.  Once again, I know.\n\nTry one thing before you start out on a sensible plan, of exercise, eating in moderation and lots of water and rest, try loving yourself the way you are.  Try looking at what got you where you are, and come from that point, I have started that journey.  It is hard work, try keeping a food journal, honestly.  It keeps you on track to be accountable, and try doing it with a partner.  Blessings.
177947
I will go against the PCness and say absolutely !!!\n\nI don't mean skin and bones, anorexic looking but I certainly have done it....Even if you don't get the person, you (I anyway) feel so much greater ! And..what about all those things to get rid of pimples, get the hair done, grooming, new clothes..etc etc ?\n\nTake it as motivation....I did it quite a while back but I was plump and didn't feel great. One guy was already fancying me, I wanted to be "better"....and the motivation stayed ....actually !:-).\n\nA lot of girls want to lose weight but gain it back..they get fed up and go back to bad habits thinking "what for anyway" : lack of motive and food ends up again as their best friend.\n\nAn ultimate goal ,even elusive , is the best motivation.\n\nThink about all the actors/actresses who have to lose/gain weight to play a role..well there's money no ?? (the pianist, the machinist..etc).\n\nMuch the same for about everything in life actually if you think about it.\nMost people want to study more, not for the knowledge, but to get a job, more money and all - whether you deem it good or bad, does not matter -.\n\nQuestion of mentality. Some people like to live on a day to day basis and others need to have a goal in mind.
213757
Ya its nice to lose weight and feel good about yourself just dont lose to much weight like i did. Every women has something they dont like about their body. There was alot of stuff i didnt like so i did something about it and now my husband is more happier. Things just got out of hand and i lost more then what i wanted i look anorexic so just becareful how u lose your weight cause it can turn to and addiction. Just be happy with the body God gave you i wish i was.
80117
well, you need to nip this in the bud now, or you will be plagued by it your whole life\n\nlife is a lot easier when you stop caring about what other people think\n\nmost people learn that lesson as they get older, making them wish they had learned it sooner\n\nwhen i look at photos of myself in high school I think I look so cute!! at the time I DESPISED myself....and for what?\n\nyou have to accept you will never be as well dressed, as good looking or as put together as some.....\n\nand that you ARE in fact better dressed, better looking and more put together than others\n\nit's a huge world we all live in, people come in all shapes and sizes\n\nlove yourself, you are all you have got, and you are worth it
221636
I highly doubt that they get some use out of it. I'll bet the answers do help them out. But usually people who are out of shape and are looking for guidance need more than help with their weight. Most people that are dealing with weight also have to deal with depression and other symptoms. In order for them to complete this goal of weight loss I beleive they need to treat the one with the other. When this is done, then results can be made. \n\nIf your happy and motivated you can do anything. But if your depressed and over-weight, how can you possibly deal with your weight in that state of mind.
384237
This is a tough one.\n\nTo feel completely separated from your sense of Self and your body goes hand-in-hand with eating disorders. Do you self-injure, too?\n\nAn eating disorder is actually a means of someone asserting control over their life when they feel they have very little. It is rarely a symptom of someone who wants to be thin, though it's very common that someone w/an eating disorder hates themself and wants to do themself harm.\n\nBulimia is a very common disease with successful, charismatic women who endure a lot of stress at work or in life in general.\n\nI had to come at my bulimia and self-harm from a few different angles. Firstly, I got myself a good book -- The Secret Language of Eating Disorders by Peggy Claude-Pierre. I read it and took note of the things she said that resonated with me most.\n\nI saw a therapist once a week for two years. It was pricey but completely necessary. It helped more than I can describe. Just telling someone about how awful you feel and how alienated you think you are, and having them console you and validate your feelings, is powerfully healing.\n\nStart to write down things you like about yourself. Keep track of details  during the day that make you feel connected to yourself. Treat yourself to things throughout the day -- a positive thought, an inside joke with yourself, a cup of tea, anything.\n\nI can relate to wanted to go back to your eating disorder. It feels safe and consistent and when you look at yourself and see your body as the result of your own control, well, it feels great. A therapist will help you with this. find a support group and meet with the people there. The strengths of others are extremely powerful during times like these.
487657
Well my first suggestion would be to exercise.  Walking is an excellent way to start.  I would say to keep doing that.  I agree with one of the earlier answers to join the YMCA.  I belong there and have made many friends.  It helps to keep me motivated.  That being said, it sounds like you are an emotional eater.  ME TOO!!!  When I am upset, when I am happy, when I am depressed, when something good happens, when something bad happens etc.....  I use food to fix all issues and celebrate the good one.  \n\nSo I joined LA weight loss.  I love them.  I am only saying that as a suggestion.  But I will tell you what they taught me.  \n\nFirst and most important is journaling.  Write down everything you eat and be sure to include portion sizes.  \n\nNext I would concentrate on portion sizes.  Keep track of how much of each thing you eat.   Now you have a starting point to where you can start to make smaller portions and healthier choices.  \n\nIf you don't already, start eating more fruits, veggies and lean proteins.  Grill your chicken, steam your veggies and loose the fast foods.  I love chinese and have had my share of depressed chinese eating but if you find yourself there, just have a smaller portion and fill up on water.  \n\nThat is the next important point.  Drink water and pleanty of it.  At least, if not more, 8-10 8oz. glasses a day.  Stay away from soda as it is empty calories and makes you dehydrated.  \n\nAnd keep your chin up.  It will not happen over night but it will happen.  I have on my refridgerator a list of all the reasons I am trying to lose weight and what my reward will be.  I am 10 lbs from my goal and my reward is getting my belly button peirced.  I have lost over 50 lbs so far.  If I can do it, so can you.\n\nIf you would like to email me you can.  My personal email is ejniver@hotmail.com\n\nElicia
74053
No, it is not easier than it sounds. I will not even begin to make the statement "it is easier than it sounds". First off there are so many variables in each individuals life, I would really need to sit down with you and go over many differant aspects of your daily living enviroment, your home, work, family, freinds, etc to get an idea of what you are facing.\n\nIf you are living in an atmosphere which lacks any true acceptance of you exactly the way you are right now, then your job is much more difficult than most will understand. If you are one of those lucky individuals who are excepted, regardless of size or weight, then your job will be a bit, and I stress "a bit" easier than for someone living without that acceptance. Even if you are extreamly accepted by your husband/boyfriend/significant other, family and friends, you do NOT accept yourself, or you would not be here asking this question. \n\nFirst off, do you really need to lose weight? And if so, is it a large amount or a smaller amount? Do you find yourself to be attractive, in even some small way, or do you think you are compleatly unattractive as a woman? Do you feel that others actually "see" you when they look your way, or do you feel as though others are looking right through you?\n\nThese questions are important, as your state of mind is 90% of the battle in weight loss. If you have a deep feeling of worthlessness as a woman and as a human being, it gets very difficult to do anything, let alone start a demanding 1,200 diet deprevation and an agonizing hour workout.\n\nlets start more slowly. Will you see drastic results? No. However, I can promise you WILL see results if you are just a tiny bit patient. You see the more overwieght you are, the quicker your scale moves. It takes longer for others to see the loss, but what is important in the begginning is for YOU to see the loss. The loss is MOTIVAVATING!! \n\nIt is medically unhealthy to limit a womans diet to only 1,200 calories. Getting down to a healhy weight loss diet of 1,700 is what is reccomended by Doctors who are into keeping their patients alive and kicking, preferably kicking a ball, rather than passed out on the street from a lack of proper nutrition and a starvation diet. Starvation diets also have been shown medically not to WORK!! So don't go there. \n\nHowever, diet and exercise are the key. Like I said earlier though, 90% of the battle is in your head, mental not physical. You need to allow yourself to forgive nature/nuture/lack of proper exercize and a bad diet for getting you to where you are today. Did you know that nearly 95% of overweight individuals eat LESS than their slimmer counterparts? Its true. Genetics are responsible for most over weight today. Genitics and a much more sedentary lifestyle. 100 yeas ago, we did not have fatty, sugar laden proccessed foods, that are so easy obtained, and we worked our butts off, literally!! We did not have dishwashers, washing machines, nor stores to get our daily food supply from. NO we worked for all that, we made our food and worked our tails off in doing so.\n\nSo, 100 years ago, not only would you have not had all this proccessed fatty/sugary foods, you would have been working from dawn till dusk just to put ANY food on the table at all, plus there was the making of clothing, washing and mending those clothes. If a woman was overweight 100 years ago, she was considered rich enough to have maids do all that work for her. In fact, 100 years ago, heavy women were considered beautifull. If only we lived then. Well, a nice dream, but just my luck I would have been a milk maid and not the matron calling for tea from the sittingroom maids!! LOL \n\nAll thay aside, it is garanteed you will lose a pound for each 1000 calories you cut from your diet. When you tnink abuot it that is not too onoriou8s to accomplish. I changed by regular coffee sugar to those imatation packets ( buy the generic at walmart, much  cheaper and
76732
I know how you feel.  I'm 18, not too much older than you and I just used to feel like a failure everytime I ate because I was just so caught up in my body image and felt that eatin made me fat. If I became fat, no one would like me.  It's not weird to feel self conscious about your body image, you just need to know how to control your eating habits.  Eat when you are hungry, you should always eat 3 meals a day and snacks inbetween.  Never skip out on meals because when you starve yourself and then you finally do eat, your body will hold onto the fat and store it because it doesn't know when it'll be fed again.  So work out also. A walk around the block is always great.
444382
i think you should throw away your scales and judge yourself based on different criteria; how do you feel? when you bend over, does anything hurt or get in the way? are your clothes comfortable? can you run around the block without calling 911?can you go up and down the stairs three times in a row without collapsing half way up the fourth time? \nin other words, how much you way says nothing about your personal health.  you should be more concerned with what your body can do, since it is a tool for your spirit.  if your body can do what you want/need it to do without hurting or failing you, then you're at the perfect BMI for you\nalso, as a young woman, you don't want to be too thin.  many people think you're supposed to gain weight as you get older, but in fact, you are supposed to gradually lose it as you lose muscle mass.  If you're too thin to begin with, it may mean serious health problems later, particularly for women.\nfurther, your weight does not tell you what you are weighing.   i"m 5'6" and 120 lbs. but most of that is flab.  if i was in good shape, I'd weigh closer to 130 lbs, but i'd look thinner because the extra weight would be muscle rather than flab.\ni'm 46 and when i was your age, i was 135 lbs.  i was athletic then, and i have never had a problem or a concern about my weight until recently when i realised how much muscle i've lost and how much that has aged me.  just concentrate on being physically fit and you'll weigh what you need to\nkeep well
656248
I think we always have someone that in our minds is better than us, but you gotta get that out of your head. If you wanna stay motivated, wake up every day and look at yourself in the mirror and say " Am I Happy with what i see?" if you are than theres really no reason to put you through the stress of weight loss. If your not then write down what you would like to improve and just stay to it, if you feel like your startin to break down then tell a loved one and i'm sure they will get you through it.
50825
Just keep telling you're self why you want to lose the weight in the first place.  Then tell you're friends why you can't eat out with they as much as you use to.  If they are good friends they will understand.
667270
You have to take the next step, which is the hardest, that is accept it, in it's entirety...unfortunately that means allowing yourself to feel that emotional pain and self-control is key. The process isn't an easy one, but a doable one, and sometimes all we have the strength for are moments at a time, and courage strengthens them into hours, and then days...but we heal.  Friends are a great support system to help you cope, and keep busy, and sometimes just getting away for awhile is also helpful.  I found what helped me the most through a similar situation, was getting back into what I enjoyed doing that I had forgotten all about, which was pertaining to the arts, and I got involved with helping the less fortunate people in my community.  It took time, but as each day passed I regained hope, and strength with the help and kindness of what were once strangers, but now good friends.  A healthy diet, and rest is also very important because sometimes we forget to take good care of ourselves in stressful circumstances, which rob us from being able to focus properly, therefore make sure your daily routine starts with a healthy meal and ends with a good night rest.  Beleive it or not it does make a difference rejuvenating us almost, such a simple task to make an impact on our mind and body who figure?  A check up, with your doctor is very helpful, let him/or her know what you're going through.  Hope this is helpful, wishing you strength towards your steps to moving on forward.  Good Luck!
589147
I feel your pain. I'm 48. put away the chips and salsa and take a few minutes to look around....\nDo you really want to look like some of the other people our age that are out there? Here's what did it for me....There are these two woman at work that are my age. One is thin, fit and nice looking. She has lots of friends and is very smart. She's always going someplace fun and learning something new.\nThe other is a huge cow. She's always bit*hing about how her back hurts and her feet hurt and she has a headache and she smells like chicken fat. I figure that at this age it can go either way. I pick happy and fun filled over sad and in pain. I keep a mental picture of the cow in my head to remember why I'm not eating a container of ice cream.  \nI also have a sister your age that is having all kinds of trouble with osteoporosis. Eat right and walk or be a bent over, fat, sad, old person. Do you really want that? You're going to have another birthday one way or another. Go into the next year with some energy to enjoy it!\nGood luck.
652516
I used to be a big girl, and let me tell you, I look back at photos of myself and think I was so much more photogenic, was stunning, so sexy with all the curves.  At the time I had low self-esteem, but I wish now I could go back to that girl and tell her what she really is: Perfect.\n\nAnyway, if I were a man, I would want a big woman.  If I were gay I would want a big woman.  I love big women, all my friends are big women, I've TRIED being big again (the weight just didn't gain in the same spots as it was before).\n\nI think that when I felt used backthen was when I didn't care enough about myself, was insecure, and so I gave myself away faster than I would make a man work, earn, prove that he deserved me.  If I could do it over again, I'd be big and I would know how worthwhile I was.  Good luck to you, sweetheart.  I went out with one boy back then who broke up with me when I lost weight!  He wasn't having anything to do with a little woman, and he was as small as boys come!