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Hey guys!!

I really want to lose the 15 pounds I gained when I got into college, because the belly really is ticking me off, plus I can't use a lot of my clothes.. which makes me feel awful.

I really wanna get serious about it, but a couple weeks ago I fell on my knee and it's bothered ever since, along with that ankle, so running as cardio has been sorta eliminated as an option till I heal, which might take a while. I don't eat too horribly and the few snacks I have I'm downgrading, and I have to try and start eatting breakfast. But I'm at a loss as to what else to do to help.

I thought this would benefit a lot of people other than me, cos everyone always wants to lose a few pounds. So then, can anyone offer any weight loss tips??

Luff always, Bunny

i tore the hell out of my knee last year, had to have it completely repaired. after my surgery, i weighed 280 pounds because i wasn't able to walk any sort of distance, let alone run. it's been slightly over a year since the surgery and i still am unable to run, mostly because i'm slightly nervous about reinjuring the knee. however, i've been walking everywhere. it's lower impact, but still works for cardio. in the year since my surgery, i'm proud to say that i've dropped 50 pounds, just by walking for at least an hour a day. i've also been paying closer attention to my diet, and have cut out most of the junk food. granted, i wish i could drop more weight faster than what i've been doing, but the main thing to realize is that you didn't put the weight on overnight. it's not gonna come off overnight. the best way to lose the weight is gradually, that way you don't gain it all back immediately. i'm interested in hearing how you're gonna lose the weight, and your progress.

The best advice I can give is to try out lots of different forms of exercise and find one or two that you actually enjoy. This will help you keep it up in the long term. For me, this was dance (I like ballet the best)...there are lots of places that offer adult dance classes. Also sometimes colleges offer P.E. courses you can take even if you aren't a full-time student, a lot of them offer recreation classes. Check out intramural teams of some sport you like too. Exercise, in my opinion, is the hardest part to keep up long term.

As for the diet, I find that the best thing you can do is take a step and realize how much you are actually eating and adjust from there. For me, a site called sparkpeople really helped. smile I just tried basically to eat more whole grains and protein (because they keep you full) and veggies (because you get vitamins and they're low-calorie), and smaller portions of anything else (especially high fat).


I lost 20 lbs when I dieted and also exercised 4x a week for about an hour (P.E. classes). In the long run, though, I felt that I couldn't keep up dieting because being that hyper conscious of what I was eating made me feel really bad about myself sometimes. That might just be me, though. Just don't let your diet rule your life and realize you will have little slip ups, is my main advice.

Good luck! If you need any support, just let me know. biggrin

The dried fruit tip is a really good idea.. I have a bad bad penchant for munchie attacks. I also am trying to watch the soda, because I have to eat out at lunch every day, so it's hard not to drink soda at least once a day.. and eating a burger with water is no fun!! I also have to watch what i eat at those lunches, make sure I make it healthier.. but the french fries are mortally hard to give up. For dinner my mother always serves me a smaller portion, mostly because I'm never too hungry then, so I think I can keep that up... OH, and no more bedtime snacks (bad habits die HARD).

I walked half an hour today and did some upper body reps with a resistance belt, and I'm beat! I am really happy my knee didn't act up, just a tad sore when I did some squats.

Maybe I can keep posting here to keep track of my eating habits, and get support ^_^ I'll return the favor to whoever wants to do so as well!

Other people have given you some good advice. I've never had trouble with my weight, but I wish you luck and offer support. If it weren't for your knee (or maybe when it heals up) I'd suggest Dance Dance Revolution. I didn't use to care much for it, but seriously, it can be a lot of fun, and it's super cardio!

Also, it's important to not only practice good eating habits in terms of content, but also in terms of regularity. If you eat less, or less often, your metabolism will slow down accordingly. It works the same way in reverse.

I feel weird trying to give diet advice. I hope this helps.

i should add that recommended eating habits are hard to do. smaller portions, 4-5 times a day. now, that seems like eating a lot of food. but think of this. 3 of those meals are your main meals, and the other two meals are more snacks of fruits and veggies. feel free to load up on them. they're good for you and very low in calories. and think of this. eating more often like that and only eating until you're not hungry anymore go hand in hand. don't eat until you're full. part way through your meal, ask yourself if you would be fine if you didn't finish your food. trust me when i say this, eating more often will kick-start your metabolism.

it´s great to hear that we could help you.
it´s really interesting what the others wrote, i´m always want to loose some pounds,too.
swimming is really good 3nodding i did it,too. first i was a little ashamed to wear a swim suit cause i felt too fat, but other people doesn´t look better in this things and if you go in the morning you have the pool nearly only for you.
about the dried fruit, some of them are sweeted like pineapple or banana, eat cranberry they don´t have some extra sugar.
i loved to drink coffee with cream, now i´m using low fat milk(1,5%). it took a while to get used to it, i started with normal milk.
about the French fries, my mom makes them in the oven, so they are not full of fat but crispy, sure the fried one taste better, but if you use some nice spice they taste very good ,too.
like the others said try out everything and keep the one you like most. look at your food but don´t get mad about it ,it´s ok to eat some sweets from time to time. i love muffins and enjoy it to eat one once a month.

once i tried out and soup diet together with my mom, it was easy you cooked one special soup and was allowed only to eat this soup. after 3 days i wanted rather to eat nothing than again this soup xp

soon i´m gonna to try out a new diet will tell you more about it later.

but there is one thing i just forgot to say, it´s important for me : the best way to look after your food it to cook it by yourself. that helped me a lot, cause i could improve many little things like using oil instead of butter when i roast meat and choose chicken instead of pork. if you are the cook you can change a lot.

eating before bedtime is a big no-no. your metabolism slows down drastically while you sleep. i read somewhere that you shouldn't eat 2 hours before you go to bed. try veggies, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot sticks in low fat ranch dressing as a snack. they're not only good, but good for you. by the way, i started using all these suggestions this past week and i'm pleased to announce that i dropped 3 pounds. yes, 3 pounds in a week! it might not sound like much, but that's quite a bit to lose in only 7 days.