just stepped on the scales 140lbs to lose (gulp) how did I let myself get this bad

catherinemills1232

Hi I just started my diet yesterday and to be honest am acared witless. I don't know how the heck I ignored my weight for so long and want a chance to feel human again, I could really use the support of others who have so far to go

debubbie

You can add me as a friend if you would like. I still have about 70 pounds or so to go before I reach my goal and I have lost over 50 pounds so far.

ShannonMpls

A few tips from someone who lost 130 pounds and has been maintaining for 2.5 years:

1) Break this weight loss up into chunks. 140 pounds is a steep steep mountain. But 20 pounds? You can do that. That's achievable. Once you've done that, do it again.

2) I hated knowing that I wouldn't be at my weight loss goal for more than a year if I was lucky. But you know what? That was the wrong attitude. Every day I pushed closer to my goals was a day of accomplishment. Every time I lost another 20 pounds it felt amazing. I began to look good and feel like a super hero. Your life isn't on hold until you hit goal weight. It's - sorry to be trite - beginning anew today.

3) Stop focusing on the stupid things you did to end up at this weight. Instead be grateful that you caught it now, before it got worse - health issues, mobility issues, an even higher number on that scale.

4) There's a reason you're 140 pounds overweight. There's a reason I was, too. So what I decided to do was use the weight loss period as a time to learn how to live my life, healthfully, forever. As a result, I didn't make any change I wasn't willing to live with forever. No fad diets and I didn't spend hours and hours in the gym. Instead, I implemented a number of new habits that I stick with today - exercise, logging, planning.

5) Because this will be a long process for you, please don't make yourself miserable. Give yourself a break now and then. Eat a reasonable amount of food, no starvation required. Work little treats into every day. Eat real foods, learn to cook if you don't already. The best part about how I lost weight was that it didn't feel like I was restricting. It just felt like a new way of eating. I was happy, I was rarely hungry, and I didn't feel like I just wanted to hit goal to be off my "diet."

6) When things don't go well or it gets hard, remember that time is going to pass whether you start/continue this process or not. On February 25, 2016, you can be healthier, happier, more confident, and smaller - or you can be exactly where you are now, or worse. You might lose 100 pounds this year or you might lose 40. But every step forward is still a step. Choose to move forward.

My blog might help: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls

You got this. Good luck

WhirledPeas1205

Im just beginning too!!!! I thought yhe exact same thing!

WhirledPeas1205

I am here for support! Changing my lifestyle is a challenge but I know I need to do it ! Lets go get em

gaurdgoose

Don't be afraid to try new foods , new recipes, new vegetables and new combinations.
Learn to appreciate real food not processed factory prepared meals uggh
Being on this web site and tracking everything you will help a lot and help open your eyes to what you were eating and you will find lots of support to make the changes you need to. I have lost 100 lbs on my own over the last 2 years and I am on a medically supervised plan to lose another 140 lbs It can be done. There is a learning curve but we can do it. We are winners

ElectroJay

ShannonMpls is spot on with her list of tips. I especially agree with avoiding fad diets. Good luck!

catherinemills1232

thanks everyone for your kind words. I am really trying to have a healthier lifestyle not just for me but for my family. I have started as i mean to go on making healthy meals, little to no processed foods i have even started making my own bread, yoghurt and kefir water, everything I can make from scratch I will try to, is there anything else i should do, other than portion control?

TheCriz76

You can do it

wizzybeth

It's okay....the best thing is you are here. One pound at a time...it probably took you way more than a year and a half to get here...so don't feel bad that it will take you that long to lose it...enjoy each day.

ShannonMpls

catherinemills1232 wrote: »

is there anything else i should do, other than portion control?

Log as accurately as you can - get a kitchen scale if you don't have one, and use the recipe builder here to calculate calories in your homemade food.

Find some sort of exercise you enjoy - walking, even. Exercise burns calories, sure, but more importantly, it helps to change your attitude toward food and your body.

Don't give up.


The above three things will get you really far

rbfdac

I'm 57 in to 100. Feel free to add me, but make sure and include a message or I will accidentally decline!

catherinemills1232

thank you all, i hadnt seen the recipe builder that will help alot

SueInAz

ShannonMpls wrote: »

A few tips from someone who lost 130 pounds and has been maintaining for 2.5 years:

1) Break this weight loss up into chunks. 140 pounds is a steep steep mountain. But 20 pounds? You can do that. That's achievable. Once you've done that, do it again.

2) I hated knowing that I wouldn't be at my weight loss goal for more than a year if I was lucky. But you know what? That was the wrong attitude. Every day I pushed closer to my goals was a day of accomplishment. Every time I lost another 20 pounds it felt amazing. I began to look good and feel like a super hero. Your life isn't on hold until you hit goal weight. It's - sorry to be trite - beginning anew today.

3) Stop focusing on the stupid things you did to end up at this weight. Instead be grateful that you caught it now, before it got worse - health issues, mobility issues, an even higher number on that scale.

4) There's a reason you're 140 pounds overweight. There's a reason I was, too. So what I decided to do was use the weight loss period as a time to learn how to live my life, healthfully, forever. As a result, I didn't make any change I wasn't willing to live with forever. No fad diets and I didn't spend hours and hours in the gym. Instead, I implemented a number of new habits that I stick with today - exercise, logging, planning.

5) Because this will be a long process for you, please don't make yourself miserable. Give yourself a break now and then. Eat a reasonable amount of food, no starvation required. Work little treats into every day. Eat real foods, learn to cook if you don't already. The best part about how I lost weight was that it didn't feel like I was restricting. It just felt like a new way of eating. I was happy, I was rarely hungry, and I didn't feel like I just wanted to hit goal to be off my "diet."

6) When things don't go well or it gets hard, remember that time is going to pass whether you start/continue this process or not. On February 25, 2016, you can be healthier, happier, more confident, and smaller - or you can be exactly where you are now, or worse. You might lose 100 pounds this year or you might lose 40. But every step forward is still a step. Choose to move forward.

My blog might help: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls

You got this. Good luck

This is some really great advice.

I'm a huge proponent of your life while losing weight being similar to the life you plan to lead after you've reached your goal. If you lose weight doing crazy things you'd never normally do how will you learn to maintain that loss after? So, live your life now the way you'd want to live until your last day. Eat now the way you'd need to eat to maintain your goal weight and you WILL eventually reach your goal weight.

Until then babysteps! Don't try to change your entire life overnight or you're bound to end up frustrated and overwhelmed. Start slow. Make little changes and keep doing those things until they become habit then add another change. Right now, that change should be getting into the habit of weighing and measuring your food and logging every single thing you eat. Everything down to chewing gum and vitamins. You don't need to change what you're eating or how much you're eating yet, just log it all and be brutally honest with yourself. You may not like what you're seeing but you'll learn a lot more if you can correlate what you're eating, and how many calories it contains, with why you were gaining weight.

After a week or so, look back over your diary and figure out where you can make some substitutions that will have big impact. Smaller portions at meals. Swapping one or two sweetened drinks with water or something zero calorie. Strive to stay at or just under the calorie goal MFP sets for you every single day. Don't worry about sugar, carbs, fat and protein for now. Once you get logging and staying under your calorie goal you can worry about those things in addition to anything more complicated like your TDEE, BMR, etc.

Exercise isn't needed for weight loss but it's important for fitness and overall health. Don't join a gym right away (babysteps!) just start moving more. Find an activity that you like whether that's walking, running, swimming, biking, Zumba, or whatever. Do something you like so that you'll want to stick with it. Working out shouldn't be something you dread each day.

The measuring tape is a better tool than the bathroom scale for judging your progress. In addition to "Before" pictures, measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs and any other body part you want to track and start recording them in MFP now. When the scale isn't moving your body might still be shrinking especially if you're lifting weights.

You can do this!

catherinemills1232

i didnt know i should start recording vitamins thank you. as I said earlier I am trying to live the life i want to, I am a hippy at heart and would love everything to be as simple as possible (even my food) my 10 year old wants to grow his own fruit and veg, so i think my exercise will probably be gardening as he never sticks to anything lol.