Hi everybody! I'm Mel I'm 19 and I'm from the beautiful country of New Zealand I have been reading up on everyones diaries and I am SO impressed! I now have the urge to start my own I will try and answer the set questions first but plus comment with tips and questions or anything!!!

-- How much weight do you want to lose?
Ideally I want to lose another 22-27 kgs, that would put me at between 65 and 70kg. I'm 5'7 or 5'8 so that may still be a bit heavy, but I do have a fairly medium-large body shape so I wouldnt mind being on the big side of healthy

-- What is the timeframe for reaching your target weight?
I am never very sure how long losing weight should take. I feel happy doing it one kilo a week so I guess around 4-5 months. Should be a tad skinnier in the Summer months (here in NZ) which I'm looking forward 2.

-- How do you want to accomplish your goal (what methods do you want to use)?
I wish I knew more about food and calorie counting etc but I'm not very clued up on that kind of stuff. I don't want to use any pills or shakes or anything because I love food. I want to eat well, less and up my exercise. I love vegetables but my weakness is Chips and Chocolate!!! and Fizzy Drink (please someone convince me to stop drinking it, I can't get away from it)

-- Who or what can support you in reaching your goal?
Hopefully you guys!!! I live away from my family as I'm as university in Christchurch but my exboyfriend who I live with has also been very encouraging

-- How realistic is your goal?
I think pretty realistic, when I look at myself in the mirror I can tell my body isn't meant to be carrying so much extra weight! I think I will come out of this with a nice body shape!! Losing the weight one kilogram at the time is the most realistic way to achieve my goal I'm sure anyway

-- When will you start?
I started a few weeks ago, must be over a month now


So everyone P L E A S E get back to me with ANY helpful hints or info or encouragement

Hey! Welcome to the forum!
I find the best way to get going is to set small goals - like focus on food or exercise or water at once, then once you've got that down, focus on something else. Water is a good one to start with cause it's important and easy! Drink lots of it Lots of people also really like posting their food daily so they can look back and notice patterns etc - I find it hard to keep track daily, but it does work

Good luck! Hope to read more posts from you soon!
~nicole~

Thanks heaps How much water should I be drinking? I do like water its just sometimes I crave fizzy haha. I will stop that though!! I'm sure my body retains a hell of a lot of water so I might lose some of that if I up my water intake right? I'm looking forward to weighing myself on Wednesday because my time of the month will be over! less bloated!! but I've still got a cold anyone have any ideas on whether that affects the scales?

I'm not sure the actual cold effects your actual weight, but it can effect eating and exercise habits so weight is a byproduct of that...

Okie Dokie, I'l just hafta see how I go I guess! I'm looking forward to my weigh in though for once, should be better than last week!!! I haven't been able 2 eat much today I really don't feel well, and obviously not a huge amount of exercise either

I've heard you should drink anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 litres of water a day - I try for 2 litres...it definitely helps with the water retention and makes you feel better during bloaty times

Still feeling kinda yucky I hate being sick! It is NOT cool! Haven't really been eating much but about to eat some Sushi. I'd assume that was pretty high in calories:S I don't really know though! Looking forward to my weigh in! I brought a size TWELVE pair of jeans yesterday I was happy i almost cried in the store. They are a bit tight but I can do them up and everything!!! I can't believe it haha Hope everyone is having a good weekend

Sorry to hear you're still not feeling great - drink lots of water and it should help your body get better faster (I'm the preacher of water drinking) lol. Sushi is great! You could probably look it up online to find out how many calories

Hello,
SIZE 12 that is my dream, and you are there,You are doing a brilliantly so far and will continue to. sushi is not high in calories and amongst the other possibilities it is a good choice!!

How often do you do your weigh ins?

Hello Mel, hope your cold went away but yea.. keep me posted on your results of your weigh in.. great that you can get into the size 12.. i am short but i am heavy for my height... i carry my weight well though i dont even look this heavy but i am!!! i fit into a size 5-6 sometimes7/8 ..my ideal is 1/2 -3/4 ... keep me posted... also ...i am going to start the Gym today with my sister(support eachother) but not really sure where i can burn the MOST calorieS? any suggestions anybody?? I am guessing the treadmill at a 3.5 speed? OR i Dont know! .. but n-e wayz... any body can give me any suggestions on what food to eat? (not good with DIETS) can i eat wheat bread?? ADVICE ME MEL .. or anybody thanks! ttyl

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone I think it is time to start seriously thinking about my calorie intake and posting my foods and exercise online! Hopefully then you guys can encourage or laugh (in good humour) at my accidents haha. I am looking forward to my weigh in 2moro. Although I know its a while off yet, for me, losing 20 kgs is going to be a huge thing for my confidence and I'm looking forward to it! I'm almost half way in my ticker! Hopefully I should cross that mark in the next 2 - 3 weeks YAY

Suzie - I weigh myself at every possible occasion haha on every scale I can find! But for my ticker and piece of mind I weigh once every Wednesday. Sushi is such a weakness for me, but anyway, I try to look at my diet as a lifestyle change rather than a diet and realistically I'm always going to be surrounded my takeaways and bad foods so It's important to find alternatives that I like and are better for me!! So theres my justification for my Sushi/Subway habit haha I'm glad you found my diary yay
Veronica - Yay my cold is going away finally! My boyfriend had it before me and his cough is still here so I think I have a few more days of coughing left but then I should be a okay! I think I carry my weight reasonably well too. Like it seems ridiuclous that I weigh so much. I think maybe that is another reason it is dropping off very quickly. I can't remember what the conversion is for American to NZ sizes etc so ya can understand my Size 12 but I think its either one or two dress sizes down. Correct me if I'm wrong here people but either an 8 or 10 your sizing. Yay as for the gym, W E L L D O N E. I love the gym and I love the feeling I get after a work out. I would advise a warm up, a run and then a tour of the other machines and warm down. Varying your exercise like a circuit helps me burn more calories and stay excited haha I also eat wheat bread all the time. Bread can be the devil for some people but I absolutely need it 2 function. I just eat grainy wholemeal brown bread which I know is good for me!

Hey Mel, hope all is well... so lose any additonal weight on your weight in today? Hope its all good!... Well yesterday was my first day at the gym (mortifying) i am so out of shape i was dying on the treadmill after like 15 minutes! I was sweating EVERYWHERE(which i hope is the idea!) but i did the treadmill at a 3.1 speed and level of 5.0 for about 35 minutes and i did the step climber(dying on that) for 20 minutes.. and i just left it at that!!..lol... today is my abs and more cardio... This better be worth it!lol.. Fill me in on whats going on w/ you! Good Luck!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trying_Hard Thanks for all the encouragement everyone I think it is time to start seriously thinking about my calorie intake and posting my foods and exercise online! Hopefully then you guys can encourage or laugh (in good humour) at my accidents haha. I am looking forward to my weigh in 2moro. Although I know its a while off yet, for me, losing 20 kgs is going to be a huge thing for my confidence and I'm looking forward to it! I'm almost half way in my ticker! Hopefully I should cross that mark in the next 2 - 3 weeks YAY Suzie - I weigh myself at every possible occasion haha on every scale I can find! But for my ticker and piece of mind I weigh once every Wednesday. Sushi is such a weakness for me, but anyway, I try to look at my diet as a lifestyle change rather than a diet and realistically I'm always going to be surrounded my takeaways and bad foods so It's important to find alternatives that I like and are better for me!! So theres my justification for my Sushi/Subway habit haha

Hey girl,

I found your diary! So far it looks like you're doing good and it's awesome that you're looking at things from a realistic view. The tougher we make our goals, the easier it is to fail. Why not take our time, right? hahaa As for sushi, oh man.... I'm from Hawaii and I LOVE spicy ahi rolls. yumm... haha Oh and I also love salmon rolls... yummm.. haha If you need help with counting calories may I sugggest either Free Diet Plans at SparkPeople (I use this and LOVE it.) or FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal Wishing you the best, Mel!

-Sheryl

Hey Mel,

How has is been going the past couple days? Hope all is well and your cough has gone for good (i hate being sick 2) ..but over here im doing good so far..Im eating healthy(hopefully) a little snack here and there so i dont eat everything in sight when i get my urge to eat Doritos or pizza (MMmm) i get baked chips instead fill me in on how things are going!

Hey everyone I'm so sorry I've been so slack, my boyfriend has been sick so we have been in hospital all weekend!!! I hope everyone is going welllll! I've got a trip to visit my parents this week so I'm looking forward 2 wowing them with my weightloss. Hopefully I can lose a kilo before the weekend!!! I'm working hard.