Dear fellow husky members of society,

My name is Matthew Hollingsworth and I have been obese for the vast part of my life. I am around six feet tall and weight close to three hundred pounds. I am writing this note as a cry for help, information, and personal contact, but not for sympathy. I am ready to change my life. I am currently a junior at Jacksonville High School, in Jacksonville Alabama. I am interested in learning about ways to reduce my weight through nutritional supplements, a healthier diet, exercise, or any other legitimate means. If you think that you might be able to help me in my fight send any helpful information to:

Matthew Hollingsworth
704 13th ave NE
Jacksonville AL, 36265
USA

I do not mind telemarketers calling me if they are selling wieght-loss related products, or if any of the heavy people of the world would like to call me to discuss different strategies please contact me at:

1-256-435-2594

I hope that I will recieve response via the telephone or postal mail as I much prefer those methods of communication. I am eager to gain any help that I can in my struggle including joining support groups, gaining information about low fat recipes, and hearing of others personal experiences. Please call or write me a letter soon.


Your large friend,


Matthew Hollingsworth

Matthew
I am an aerobics instructor and personal trainer and have had great success using herbal supplements with many of my clients. They are very safe and extremely effective. They work by suppressing the appetite (especially cravings for fats and sweets) and increasing the metabolism. I would be happy to send you more information on their ingredients and how they work. Feel free to email me directly at TBFitness@aol.com
Anjali

Matthew... the big problem is that you will only recieve the "quick fix" ideas from most of the people who will contact you.

Here are some "helpful" hints that you can do that don't have a gimmick attachted to them. I created them for diet month of November.. pre-holiday diet.


1) eat a bit less at every meal.
2) eat more healthy.
3) skip desserts.
3b) if you need to have desserts, try an orange or apples... avoid chocolates
4) exercise at least 3 times a week.
5) start a food and exercise journal
6) get extra support.
6a) go to extra meetings if you can.
6b) chat for support at least twice a week.
6c) chat every saturday in november.
6d) visit diettalk's bbs at least every week.



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Thanks
John
hosts@diettalk.com
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Matthew,

First of all - YIKES re: putting your address and phone number on the web. Won't your parents kill you when you start getting a bunch of calls? There are a lot of wackos out here, so please keep that in mind.

OK, now down to business re: losing the weight. Here are some questions for you:

What does your diet consist of?
Do you exercise?
How much water do you drink?
How much sleep do you get?

That's to get you thinking a bit. Now I want you to take a few days and record everything that you've eaten. I don't want you to change how you are eating (yet), but I want you to record it and then start analyzing it to see where the problem lies. Ex: Write everything then down (portions, what you ate, time), then go to a site and look up the nutritional information on all of it. I suggest using something like www.dietwatch.com (http://www.dietwatch.com) to help you get a sense of how many calories you've been putting into your body and how many you've been burning off. They have a diary you can use to record and look up your food and record your exercise, and it's free.

You need to have a balanced diet. The no-fat won't work because you need some fat. The no-carbs won't work because you need those, as well. What you need to learn is moderation, not deprivation.

Here are some Do's and Don'ts that have been a good rule of thumb for me to follow:

DO Exercise 5 times per week. Yep, that's 5 times. If you want to lose weight that is what you need to do to start changing your metabolism. 3 days a week is for maintainance, and you need to lose. You don't have to exercise for any great length of time. You can start out with 10 minutes of brisk walking if that is all you can do. Work yourself up to working out 20-60 minutes each workout.

DO eat a balanced diet.

DO drink 8 glasses of water per day.

DO workout in the morning, when possible, as that will keep your metabolism up there for a while during the day.

DO NOT deprive yourself of anything. This does not mean eat like you are used to. This means changing your portions and getting control of the food.

DO NOT drink alcohol. I know you're only 15 but I'm sure it's available to you. It's empty calories and leaves you feeling sluggish the next day.

DO NOT take pills. Yes, it's an easy out now, but you are young and need to learn to change your habits rather than thinking you can take a pill for the rest of your life. Your weight issues will return over and over again until you make a LIFESTYLE change.

DO get encouragement and motivation from others. Do you have a friend who needs to lose weight, too? Do you have a Weight Watchers program that you could join? (I really recommend that one.)

DO checkout the chat here, or www.dietwatch.com, (http://www.dietwatch.com,) or www.3fatchicks.com, (http://www.3fatchicks.com,) or www.cyberdiet.com. (http://www.cyberdiet.com.) There is a wealth of information out there. Don't be sucked in by something that seems 'too good to be true', because it usually is.

I suggest making these changes gradually, not all at once. It takes about 21 days to establish a habit so the first few weeks will be the hardest. Know that you should be losing about 1-2 pounds per week to keep it off. At the beginning you might lose a bit faster. If you lose too much more you are either losing water, or muscle. Muscle is so important because it's a) leaner, and b) burns a lot more calories than fat.

OK, I wrote a book. Anyway, your post implied that you are ready to make a LIFESTYLE change and I wish you a lot of luck. There are many people that come to this chat who have lost 80+ pounds. I suggest finding one and using him/her as a mentor, too.

Good luck!

Matt,
here is some terrific advice!! steph nice work and John great tips too....I think i need to start remembering these things with the holidays coming....scary thanks Dina