hi im new to this forum i hope im in the right place to post this message. i have been about 40pds heavier most of my life.  i am a 39 year old woman who has a chronic  disease but its under control.  (lupus).   i just started the alli program yesterday. and am exited to lose this weight once and for all.  i am only 5ft 1in and weigh a wopping 180. when i look in the mirror i dont see what other people see. they tell me that i need to loose weight and it makes me feel so awful and i even cry about it constantly.  i am a happy woman overall but when it comes to my weight i am just the most unhappy. one of my downfalls is that i like  to drink on saturday night and i think i  over do it and weind up putting tons of calories in my body from the alcohol and the food that i consume that night. 

i know that i need to stop this imediatly if i want to see results with this diet.  i cant wait to get rid of these horrible 40pds of fat once and  for all.   thank you for reading my post

Hi fumin, 

Thanks for writing and welcome to alli!  You should be very proud that you've made the decision to be healthy once and for all!  With a low-fat, nutrient dense diet, regular exercise and the help of alli, you should see positive results!

I would definitely encourage you to watch you caloric intake with "extras" or empty calories such as alcohol.  You are right that it can pack on the pounds, and typically you eat less healthy foods and more of it when you're drinking.  Alcohol in and of itself is not bad for you... in fact research has shown that in moderation, it can be good for you.  However, until you have your weight under control and are on the way to making progress, I would do my best to abstain from it or keep it to a maximum of 1-2 drinks on that night! 

Additionally, incorporating regular, structured exercise into most days of the week is critical in the long-term success of your weight loss!  Ideally, you should be getting in 30-60+ minutes of exercise per day.  This would include cardio (walking, jogging, swimming, water aerobics, biking, hiking, dancing, tennis, etc.) as well as strength training!  The alli website provides helpful ideas and animated demos (for ST) under "my activity."  One pound of fat is = to 3,500 calories.  Therefore, in order to lose 1 pound of fat per week (7 days) you'll need to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day.  You can do this by cutting calories in your diet and by burning extra calories through exercise!  Exercise also promotes fat loss and builds lean muscle mass.  By reducing body fat and increasing muscle, you'll become metabolically more efficient as muscle requires more energy to function than fat!  In other words the more lean muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn all day long.... even at rest!

Stay committed, work hard and stay positive!  I strongly encourage you to stay plugged into the alli community by regularly posting messages on all of the alli circles! The forums are here to support, encourage, educate you and to keep you connected to other allli customers. 

Best of luck and please keep me posted with your progress!

Your friend in fitness, 

Kelli