Intro and Questions- Around 80lbs(?) to lose.

NicolleLindgren

Hi, I'm Nicolle I'm 24, 5'9" and I *think* I'm about 260lbs currently (I don't have a scale!!). When I was a senior in HS, I weighed around 180 and on my frame, that was about my perfect weight- yes, still overweight, but I enjoy being curvy. Who knows.. when I get down there, I might decide to keep going (I also considered 160 as my goal weight. We'll see!)

I could use some friends/support!!

I used to be TINY- around 120ish until sophomore or junior year of HS, when my metabolism finally caught up to my terrible eating habits and I quit swimming to get a job. There are many reasons that my weight got out of hand, none of them good ones- Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome, probably addicted to food, having a child, desk jobs, not working out enough, having bad knees, being too poor to maintain a gym membership, etc. I decided a couple weeks ago that enough was enough, and I'm changing things. I started eating a LOT better and tracking everything on here (staying around 1500 calories), walking when I can, but the weather has been so crappy the past week or so, that it's hard to get the motivation to be outside (another bad excuse, I know).

So, anyway.. a few questions.

1) What is the best way to get back into the working out routine? Last year, I started going to the gym almost every day for a few weeks and ended up losing quite a bit of weight, however my knees got so bad that I could barely walk for over a week afterwards, and I lost most of my motivation. As I said before, I've been walking, but what else can I do/how do I get started? I've never been a runner, and I don't know how to start now. Any advice would be wonderful!

2) Any advice from anyone dealing with PCOS? What medications do you take (if any) and has it affected your weightloss?

3) What is the ideal daily caloric intake to optimize my weightloss/does my 1500 per day seem about right?

4) Any good advice/tips on how to stay motivated with so much weight to lose? Any good websites or resources that have helped?

5) How do you curb your appetite or deal with cravings? I love food

Thanks for reading!

mspasdechat

1) What is the best way to get back into the working out routine? - Find something you love! Losing weight is hard work, but it doesn't have to be boring work! Look into dance classes, join a walking club, whatever you like to do. I prefer to think more about 'moving and getting sweaty for awhile' instead of having a set routine.

3) What is the ideal daily caloric intake to optimize my weight loss/does my 1500 per day seem about right? - It all depends how much you are exercising. Everybody is different. I'd say that is a good starting point. If you're not seeing results, maybe reduce your calories, or vice versa. Listen to your body - if you're hungry, eat! Eat slowly and stop when you are full.

4) Any good advice/tips on how to stay motivated with so much weight to lose? Any good websites or resources that have helped? - Always keep your goal in mind. I've been chubby my entire life, and I am just so SICK of it. It's hard, but when you *really* want something, it's not so bad.

5) How do you curb your appetite or deal with cravings? I love food - I love food too! I haven't mastered the whole 'craving' thing. I don't think a minute goes by when I don't want to devour a half a dozen bagels and a few boxes of cereal...the best thing is to keep good food in the house. I love fruit, I love hummus and crackers, etc. Having fun things to snack on makes it easy to avoid binging. Also eating smaller portions more often helps a great deal.

Best of luck! Feel free to add me. You're going to do great, I believe in you!

CysterWigs

<- As the name implies, I also have PCOS. It's the worst. Good for you for trying to get a grip on it now. It becomes really, really hard to control once you get a little older.

1. I hate exercise. My body is heavy (I weigh about 240 @ 5'8") and just standing for too long can be painful. I really enjoy swimming and yoga. Making it a routine has been a challenge so far. I just signed up for a walking group at my college (don't let this fool you, though: I'm 32) and they are going to do a full metabolic work up on me! For free! And they're paying me! And there's peer support! You should check out local colleges to see if they have a metabolic studies department. They may lovingly take you in as a lab rat, like they did for me.

2. PCOS is horrible and metformin is the devil. I am on a 2000mg ER dose and it makes me ill. They said the side effects would subside after about a month. They didn't. Please friend me if you ever need advice or want to vent about this!

3. 1500 kcal/day seems pretty moderate. I eat between 1200 - 1400, generally.

5. My number one tip is don't go out to eat very often. Make a special thing out of it. NEVER eat fast food again. It's not really food. It is infinitely easier to control your calories and ensure you're eating all the right nutrients when you make your own food. This is super important with PCOS because we need to watch our sugar...and hidden sugar is in basically everything that's pre-packaged, processed, or served in a restaurant. This is a big no-no with PCOS and without making this change you'll only end up frustrating yourself. Then, once you can get the sugars down, the cravings will go from a loud roar to a little whimper. They never go away completely because we're living in a society that visually triggers us to eat bad food all the time. Just keep in mind that with food, as with most things, if they have to advertise it, it's probably bad for you.

NicolleLindgren

Thank you guys for your responses! One of my main struggles is that I live in a really small town kinda out in the middle of nowhere, so there's not really a TON to do. Aaaaand I'm fairly broke these days, so that doesn't help any, lol.

CysterWigs,I will definitely check at the closest college though and see if they have something like that in my area! I took Metformin for a little bit a couple years ago, but I took it at the same time I was taking Phentermine, so I'm not sure exactly how my body responded to it. When I lost my job, I lost my health insurance, so I'm waiting for my new insurance to kick in so I can go in.

I heard something on Dr Oz that if you want to lose weight, you just need to take your body weight times 12 and eat that many or less calories. I wonder how accurate that is, because that's quite a bit in my case. I was going to set my limit at 1800 per day, which is still eating quite a bit less (quantity and often) than I had been. I'm really looking at my portion sizes, and it's insane how small they are compared to what people usually eat. I'm also trying to keep my house stocked with healthier choices, but I'm so picky that it's harder than it should be- I'm working on this too, lol.

brummett1947

I weight over 300 pounds . .I just eat & at times even forget I ate so have started taking a note book to write what I eat when not home etc .I am 65 years old & have tried several diets , lose some then add 2 times what I lost so it is like a roller coaster .I have WAY over 100 + pounds to lose .I am a border line diabetic as well as am on cpap MACHINE & my aim is to get offf the machine of a night + other health problems .I walked 1/2 mile & for my first walk that is not bad .

MzPix

Hi Nicolle,
I'm 5'2", starting weight 252, and also have PCOS. Like you, I also liked my curvy weight before putting on too many pounds. My goal is 139, but honestly, I will be content at 150.

1. This is probably the worst (most candid) advice ever, but I keep myself motivated to work out because I know the more calories I burn, the more late night snacks I can have. For real. My net calorie goal is 1200. If I do not work out, I only get 1200 for the day. The more I workout, the more food I can eat.
I bought a bike and I love it. I usually ride my bike anywhere less than 5 miles that I need to go. It not only promotes my health, it also helps me meet my environmentalism goals. I was a runner, but at my weight, it is too rough on my joints. I will probably start running again when I'm down to about 215.

2. For PCOS, I take Metformin. It has worked well for me. My doctor actually recommended a hysterectomy, which would be great advice if I weren't afraid of surgery. I might someday get up the nerve. In the meantime, Metformin helps. I used to be on spironalactone, but it increased my blood pressure and I saw no positive results from it, so I stopped it.

3. I started my diet at 2000 calories a day for a few weeks. Then I bumped down to 1800 for a few weeks. Then 1500. Now I am at 1200. 1500 might work for you.

4. To stay motivated, I do a few things.
First... I am one of the few people on this site who is just kind of apathetic at times about my weight. Am I trying to lose weight? yes. Is that my priority in life? no. Its a bummer I let myself get obese. Its one of the things I'm working on. But I just don't put the pressure on myself to be skinny. I want to lose weight because I love me, and I'm going to treat that the same way I would treat any of my loved ones who wants to lose weight: with compassion, patience, and love. If I die fat, I will still love me.
Second.... I am learning to fit my weight loss goals in with my other life goals. Yesterday I made a goal to go out and work in my garden for a minimum of an hour. I had a row of lettuce that was starting to come in, but it needed thinned and weeded. I took a bowl with me and as I thinned the lettuce, I put the excess in a bowl. For dinner, we had a huge salad with new baby lettuce that otherwise would have gone in the composter. I go to physical therapy 3 times a week. I ride my bike there. I volunteer more often so I am staying busy while giving back to my community. Small things like that have made me healthier and contributed to weight loss.
Third... I stay in contact with others who want to live active lifestyles, and join them when I can.

5. To curb the appetite, I just do more exercise before I snack. Either the craving will go away, or I will bank enough calories to indulge.

Feel free to friend me if you'd like, and welcome to MFP!