Hi guys!

I've only been a member on here for about 2 days and I've already got a lot of feedback and answers to questions, which is so lovely.
First off, I just want to say that although I'm not overweight, I'm interested in losing weight and changing my body and habits for the better. I hope you can realise that my goals are just as important to me as anyone else on here, even though I have a 'healthy' BMI, etc.

Important details:

I'm seventeen years old- turning eighteen in july. I weight 68kg and I'm 168cm tall. My BMI is 24.1, which puts me in the 'healthy/normal' range. However, there's a lot about my body that I'd like to change, which is why I'm here. My goal weight is 60kg by July (for my birthday!) and 50/55kg by December.. which is, I realise, verging on underweight.. but we'll see if my opinion on that changes.

I wear a size 12B/C bra, depending on the brand.. and clothing size depends of course, on the brand of the clothing. I wear size 12/14 jeans, and usually I'm a size 12/M in tops and shirts. I'd love to get down to a size 10 in jeans again, and be able to wear a bikini confidently.

I'm currently working out for about an hour and a half every morning at the gym. My workout includes cardio (mostly treadmill, bike and elliptical) and weight training. I also make sure I stretch after every workout. I jump back on our treadmill at home for 30 minutes every evening just to get my mind focused and work out any tensions from the day. Exercise is a wonderful method of stress relief for me

Exercise today:
20 minutes high intensity/brisk walking on the treadmill
20 minutes high intensity exercise bike
60 leg presses (60kg)
40 sit ups
60 gym ball squats
20 arm curls (5kg)
40 bicep 'pull down' (25kg)
40 tricep? 'low row' (20kg)
5 minutes jogging on the treadmill
5 minutes on the bike
stretching
20 minutes high intensity/incline walking on home treadmill
more stretching..

I'm very picky about foods, and I like to write lists of what I am going to eat in a day, and what I have eaten, and compare them. I generally eat healthily, but my weakness is definitely grazing on junk after school and while I'm watching tv before bed.

Today, for example, I have eaten:

breakfast:
1 small bowl of rolled oats w/ skim milk
1 small (very very small!) glass of juice

recess:
1 large green apple
water

lunch:
2 rice cakes with vegemite
1 skinny latte
water

afternoon snack:
1 glass of milo
2 wholegrain biscuits
1 mandarin

dinner:
grilled fish with roast sweet potato and pumpkin
fresh garden salad
water.

I'll be curling up in front of the television with a mug of herbal tea tonight, rather than sugary and calorie laden hot chocolate! The extra antioxidants can't do me any harm either..

I've worked out a rewards list. As my first goal is 60kg by July 27th (my 18th birthday) my rewards can also become birthday gifts- I'm a cosmetics addict, so my rewards/presents will come in the form of MAC, NARS, STILA and Marc Jacobs products

My ultimate goal: 50kg by Christmas Day of this year. That's 8 months away.. which equates to a weight loss of about 2kg a week.That seems manageable to me. For christmas, I'm going to go shopping!
I'm dying to fit comfortably into a size 10 pair of Seven for All Mankind jeans with no unsightly bulges from the waistband area or muffin top! (ewwwwww)

Sorry for the lengthy post.
good luck to everyone working towards a goal xx

Weight loss related quiz

Q. What is your current height and weight?
168 cm, 68kg. (around 5'5 and 151 pounds)

Q. If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be?
50kg (110 pounds)

Q. At what weight would you like to be at four months from now?
under 60kg (132 pounds)

Q. Why do you want to lose weight?
to feel more confident about my body, to be able to wear anything I want without worrying about looking fat, to feel fit and strong and sexy and capable.

Q. Do you want to lose weight for a specific life event such as wedding or reunion? If so, when is that event?
My 2 main weight goals are to be 60kg by my 18th birthday (july 27th) and 50kg by christmas day.. if you'd like to call those specific events.

Q. What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals?
I suppose I could get sick of my gym routine, or get lazy.
or sabotage my efforts by eating awfully.


Q. Why do you think that you now have a weight problem?
until recently, the amount of exercise that I did didn't outweigh the amount of calories I was consuming.

Q. What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight?
I need to get my butt in gear! I've already made the decision to stop drinking socially- as a teenager,that gets mixed reactions, and can be hard when everyone else is doing it and having a ball. I need to stay focused.

Q. Have you lost weight in the past? If so, what has worked in the past to help you lose weight?
More exerciseeee I used to dance 8hrs a week, that kept my weight down. I didn't really change my diet though.

Q. Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back?
I quit dance when I started college and I let school take over my life. I thought I was too busy to exercise, when really I was just making excuses.

Q. What, if anything, has not worked for you in the past in helping you to lose weight? Why do you think it did not work?
skipping meals.. barely eating. I just got hungry and ruined it with my snacking!

Q. Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time?
I've already started to do so

Q. Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook?
I live with my parents, and my mother cooks everything. I'm very lucky to have her- she's a brilliant cook and also very healthy and aware of my nutritional needs.

Q. How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go?
my girlfriends and I often go out in our lunch break at school. I always always get a chicken teriyaki sushi roll (rice, chicken, cucumber and lettuce in seaweed) water, and a skinny latte. Yummmm. I don't eat fast food though, it's not tempting to me at all.

Q. What are your three favorite foods?
green apples, blueberry bagels, rockmelon

Q. What are your three favorite restaurants?
mee's sushi, italian restaurants. nothing very specific.

Q. What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food?
avoid snacking on ridiculously unhealthy things.
stop after 1 cookie!
stop mindless eating.

Q. If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different?
my clothes would all be too big :P
I'd be so thrilled.. and feel very confident and sexy.and I'd really want to go shopping.

Q. Do you eat when you are not hungry?
yes, i graze in the evenings unfortunately.

Q. Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)?
no, although sometimes when my girlfriends and i are having a movie night, i may eat a few too many chips or pieces of chocolate.

Q. Do you hide your food or eat in secret?
no. although i don't like people watching me eat, it makes me very self conscious.

Q. Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed?
i must admit i have been guilty of the "i have my period, i need chocolate" routine on occasion. but i find that exercise relieves stress and anger far better than food.

Q. Do you eat as a reward?
no, i eat because my body needs fuel to make it go.
i buy things as rewards- new lipgloss, get my nails done, etc.

Q. Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer?
when i'm infront of the tv at night time i'll drink a mug of hot chocolate or eat some cookies without really thinking about it.

Q. What do you normally eat for a meal?
depends on which meal.
breakfast- always a small bowl of rolled oats and skim milk and a glass of juice
recess - always a big green apple and water
lunch- varies, but always includes a mandarin and water
dinner- varies, but always includes fresh vegetables and water.

Q. What type of snacks do you eat?
i love fruit, and almonds, and little tubs of fat free yoghurt. and unfortunately, i have a thing for cookies.

Q. In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing?
an hour and a half in the morning at the gym of both cardio and weight training, and 30 minutes in the evening.

Q. Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home?
gym, and I also use the treadmill at my house.

Q. What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise?
i love to dance, power walk, and take an hour long high intensity yoga class.

Q. What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals?
'em- you want this. just get off your butt and MOVE"

Hi everybody.
Hmmm, so as the title of this post suggests, I'm feeling a little under the weather right now. Very nauseated, a bit headachey.

I've begun to notice that when I eat something I haven't eaten in a while, or am naughty and graze, my body reacts almost immediately in a very negative way. Instead of a happy stomach that I'm feeding with yummy things, it clenches and squirms and makes me want to throw up. Case in point- right now.
I'm going to blame the milo I had about 5 minutes ago.
Ewwww.
I know I should be grateful that my body welcomes things like cold water, crunchy apples, sushi, coffee and mandarins, but it's scary to think that it's going to reject everything I haven't eaten in a while.

On a more positive note, I've been getting a lot of compliments lately about my weight loss, so apparently it's noticeable. I'm having a hard time picking up any differences in the way my body looks but as my friend said 'you see yourself every day, so its harder for you to spot the changes' and i think she's right.

My parents have both told me how great I'm looking at the moment, my friends are super complimentary and even my friends parents told her to let me know that they think I'm looking wonderful. Hearing that kind of stuff makes me happy, yes, but I'd really like to see a change! I figured that I can judge my changing size and shape by how my clothes fit.

My size 12 jeans are becoming looser, and I have a size 14 pair of black skinny legs which now need a belt or they'll fall down. I can also feel my hip bones. I HAVE SOME!
My breasts are shrinking. That makes me sad!
But it's fat, I guess, and atleast it's coming off..

Exercise wise, this weekend, I went for a nice run/power walk along the lake for about an hour on the saturday and on sunday I did a 30 minutes weights circuit at the gym, an hour yoga class (which my abs are aching from!) and another run along the lake. Then I walked over to the markets to get a skim latte and a blueberry bagel from the gorgeous man who always flirts with me. *sigh* Haha, maybe one day I'll learn his name..?

Not weight-loss related but my 'boyfriend' and I stopped seeing each other on Saturday. Rather, I decided I wasn't interested in him any more..
Also on Saturday, it was my friends birthday. A large group of us went bowling. I made sure to eat before I went and was not at all tempted by the McDonalds everyone else was snacking on. I AM drinking far too much coffee at the moment though. I should work on that. I just like the taste so much.

My body has always been such a big issue for me and now I feel like I'm doing something about it. It's nice. I'm feeling a lot sexier, a lot more confident already.

As always, my routine is thus:
Mon-Fri
6.30 - 8.00 AM in the gym

After school:
Lake run/Power walk (50 minutes ish)

Saturday:
7 - 8.30 AM in the gym
Lake run/ Power walk

Sunday:
9 AM - circuit class or cardio in the gym
9.30 AM- 1 hour yoga class
10.30 Lake run/ Power walk

Still eating, and maintaining......!
Basically:

1 small bowl oats with skim milk
1 small glass of orange juice

1 large green apple
water

1 sushi roll
1 mandarin
water

1 milo / 1 mandarin

dinner
water

I'm never really hungry much any more, which may be a result of all the exercise?

I hope everyone's well <3

1 small bowl oats with skim milk
1 small glass juice

1 apple
1 skinny latte

1 mandarin
1 milo

...

I've barely eaten, so why do I feel sick and full?

Sometimes I feel like that, especially on the weekends! Then other times I am completly ravenous.

If you are feeling sick sometimes your appetite goes?

My Ultimate Goal Weight is 50kg too, and I am around your height at 170cm. I've gotten a lot of criticism for it but I know my body and how my body is at that weight, although it is VERRRRY hard to lose those few last kilograms. I got down to 54kg then binged my way up of 57kg but trying to get back down there!

50kg is underweight for your height though, with a BMI of 17.7, which could lead to some health problems?

You and me sound similar, with our food and everything. Ill be looking forward to hearing your progress!

yeah i know, a lot of people have said that 50 is far too light but i think for my frame it'd be nice and slender but not too skinny at all.
what exercise are you doing? and what are you eating/not eating? i'm always looking for new things to try!

good luck with your goals!
xx

heya emma. Im agreed that 50kg is a bit to light or your height, but 55-60 would look great on you. I know what you mean about 'technically' not being overweight, but there is that 'chunky' look and then the slim look that just makes clothes hang right. The only difference between the 2 is about 5-10kg and a clothes size or two!
Im in the same chunky range as you at a size 12 (sometimes a 10, never a 14), im 73kg though fairly athleticly built. My ideal i think is that 8-10 sizing. i think any smaller would look skeletal, but i definatly want to be out of that chunky thighs and butt part!!

dont worry about feeling unhungry when sick, go with it, cant do any harm

Well... I haven't had much luck lately with losing weight so I probably shouldnt tell you how I am doing!

But when I DID lose the weight I ate a lot of fresh, unprocessed foods. And just kept my calorie at around 1300-1400. Drank LOTS of water and tried to do 30-60 minutes cardio every day. Resistance training also helped a lot.

Im actually going to a gym tomorrow to get my body fat percentage done, they are also going to assess my fitness and tell me what I need to do to lose weight! It will be good to get a professional assessment done.

You could always consider something like that? Once you know your LBM (lean body bass) you can determine your Basal Metabolic Rate, then you REALLY know how many calories you need to eat per day to lose weight.

I think, if I work hard enough, and stay focused and disciplined, it is possible for me to lose 20kg by July 27th. That's 10 weeks, which roughly means, 2kg weight loss per week.
It sounds tough. but I'm so determined.