I was the same way. I wasn’t comfortable and was always self conscious and now i’ve found myself worrying less and less about my body, but i still want to look good too (so close to a bikini) ;)
So here is what i’ve been up to…
My family has always been trying to lose weight so i knew about what foods to eat and not eat (whole grains, low sodium, veggies – that’s what i focus on) Try and cut small stuff out of your diet first (diet is more important than exercise, and together they are great) Start by cutting out sugary drinks and replace them with water (i never liked pop so this was easy for me) try to drink 8 glasses a day and it will help with the hunger too! Cut sugar and refined sugars like white bread and pasta–use whole grain instead. I got a MyFitnessPal which is an app that helps you count calories and track exercise and it was really helpful. It’s easy to use at home because you just scan a barcode and all of the nutrition is there! This really helps you realize what exactly you are eating.
I’m at college now, so I pretty much have 24/7 access to a huge gym and that was super helpful for me. I started out going to the gym everyday or at least 5 days a week. I went on tumblr and found workouts that i liked (because i don’t like working out.. ew i will never do a burpee). Today I do more weight training. I started out using 5lbs dumbbells with some easy workouts i liked. After 15-20min i would do cardio. FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE! (running, elliptical, body weight exercises, biking, swimming, zumba, blogilates…) I like running, so i run almost everyday. I also walk at a 15% incline when i don’t feel like running because it burns just about the same amount of calories. If you’re just beginning do this in intervals (2min run, 2min incline walk, 1 walk).. using intervals really helps burn more calories–it keeps your muscles from “getting bored.” Another way to do this is switch machines every 15min or so rather than just going on the elliptical for an hour.
I found that this whole process left me happier (exercise gives you endorphins!) and feeling better about myself. My skin is clearer too! Now that I’ve lost a majority of the weight i wanted to lose i spend more time doing weights and toning my body (1hr) and will to 15-30min of cardio after. It took me about 4 months give or take to lose the weight. Generally you lose 1-2 pounds a week so plan your goals accordingly. Also, 3500 calories = 1lb .. so burn this much/diet restriction* a week and you’ll lose a pound
*what i mean is that a person your height/weight should eat X cal, and say you cut out 500 a day, then you add that to your 3500 for the week (i don’t think i explained that well) don’t cut calories extremely..limiting yourself to 200 cal a day is BAD, this is super counterproductive. you should at least have 1200 calories each day..
I hope that helped. I think I covered everything. GOOD LUCK! if you need anything else let me know! i have pages saved that i can point you to if you would like.. Also check out my page it’s kind of like a journal i kept. Also funeralformyfat has a lot of good tips too! The most important thing is stick to your word! Since i wrote that post i think it was a more concrete promise for me to keep especially since it was out there in the public. I also made reminders in my phone like “way to go” “did you workout today?” and “keep it up” stuff like that to keep me going ;)