Hello....new here.

Hi everyone. My name is Jonathan and I live in Chattanooga, TN. I just joined this forum last night and I'm very happy to be here. I am 25 years old and weigh around 290lbs. I have struggled with weight my whole life. I have gone on diets but nothing works. I may lose a few pounds but they always come back. I have no insurance and would have no way of having this surgery so my only thing to do is continue with diets. I would love to deal with my weight problem now while I am still young. I have a good friend who had the surgery and she is in her 50s. I'm trying to take her advice on dealing with it now rather than later. I'd love to hear from others. -Jonathan

Hi Jonathan, I'm also 52 and here for you. Try the Adkins diet, or Nutra system. They have great food, and the cost is what it would cost you at a grocery store. Plus Nutra System has a special going on now, and join the ymca. You can do this, you are still young and a lot more energic then we are at our age. Just remember this, post on your fridge, "I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS." We're here for you, and all you have to do is let us know how you are doing, no cheating, avoid fast food places. That puts the weight back on. Best of luck, Kathy

Jonathan, You are in very good company here in the OH board's. Kathy has some very good advice to give, just be sure to listen. Best of luck to you. Sara.

Hi Jonhathan . . Another thing you might look at is South Beach . When it works it is wonderful . I droped 85lbs and have kept 70 of it off . I unfortunatly become very metabolicly efficant and stall. I have been loosing and gaining the same 20lbs over and over the last 18 months even after a restart . Ihave a BMI of 50 and at age 40 Have to get this weight off. Funny thing is I will be eating post op so close to what I eat now .. my body will just be made to work diferantly . Keep up the great work Laura

Hi Jonathan! Welcome to the TN board. . I understand trying to take care of losing weight while you are young. I am 26. I am looking to have surgery in July. I want to be able to live a long healthy life. I don't want to be sick and overweight my entire life. I think the biggest advice I can give about losing weight is to not call it a "diet". It is better to think about lifestyle changes you can make. Eating more healthy and becoming more active can help everyone. If you make it a chore or a diet, then your mood is not going to be good and without a positive outlook and good mood, it will fail. I am falling into that attitude now. I am in the middle of a 6 month diet prior to surgery. I have to go for monthly weigh ins so I have turned every aspect of my life to be about this "diet" and I am failing at it. When I started it, I just thought of it as a lifestyle change and better eating habits and I did fairly well. So, I think having a good attitude and thinking of eating healthier and being more active makes all of the difference. Keep us updated on how you do. Let us know if you ever need anything. Also, if you haven't found it yet, you can also check out the Men's message board on here for some manly advise . Misty

Hi again. Thanks to all for your replies. I do need to change my eating habits. Back in August last year I did stop all drinks but for water and did good on that for several months but then here recently I started drinking diet drinks and now I have read about how diet soda could be harmful to a person because it contains aspartame. Now I am using Splenda. Any feedback on it? Is it OKAY to use? I need to start walking again. I just never get to doing it. Any websites out there to help me know how many calories I should be consuming a day? Thanks again for all the help. Jonathan

Jonathan, I would say you should be on an 1800 calories a day plan. I know a Dr will normally recommend 1200- 1800 a day depending on the person. But I think that is for females. I think for a male, it is higher and closer to the 1800 side. My favorite website is www.caloreking.com. You can put in any type of food from fast food to uncooked food and it will tell you how many calories are in it. You dont have to sign up for anything. I didn't. That site may help you. I have heard about the diet coke thing. I just don't know how verified that is. Many people drink it forever and don't have any problems. I only drink diet drinks. I can tell you that if you ever have surgery, soft drinks are usually off limits. You can not have carbonated drinks. Make sure you drink lots of water - more than 64oz a day. That will help you lose weight. And walking is good. A great place to start. Walk, Walk, Walk. Now, I try to park farther away from the store and walk. I try to take stairs instead of elevators. Just little things like that help. I am planning on getting a punching bag in the next couple of weeks. I think that would be fun. It will allow me to release built up stress I have and it is still good exercise. I can't wait! You just have to find what is right for you that you can stick too. Good luck. Misty