Fighting severe morbid obesity

EmCoco1128

At the beginning of my journey, thus far, it was September of last year (2014), I weighed in for a wellness program for my new job - tipping the scales at 447 lbs. I was super crushed. I have been "fat" for my entire life. I was always the bigger girl in school. My senior year in high school I think I was about 350 in high school. Now, I am 24 and I definitely decided I wanted to change for the best. 447 was just too much and it was getting to the point where I couldn't find clothes to fit anymore, I struggled with simply going up the stairs to my apartment, I felt so ashamed I didn't even want to get out of the car to go into the store (or ANY PLACE) and would rather just send my boyfriend in to get whatever we needed.
Not only was I struggling with my physical appearance but I was having terrible hormonal issues, it felt like I was going into menopause WAY too many years early before I am actually supposed to be experiencing hot flashes, night sweats, horrible mood swings, and lack of any drive. It was awful.
I started getting a little bit more active with my new job and I think the steadiness of my full time job hours... Mon-Friday 8-5 helped a little. I lost about 10 lbs and started this new year of 2015 at 437. I knew it was time to kick it into gear. I completely changed my eating habits on a day to day basis. NO more McDonald's or any fast food, no more buying candy bars, no more cheetos from the vending machine, no more soda/diet soda. I increased my vegetable and fruit intake. Less carbs. I drank a lot more water. I utilized MyFitnessPal to set my calorie goal and stay UNDER it. I also went out there and got a y-membership with a couple of my friends. (I had to do that since I live in Wisconsin and that was not ideal outside conditions!). I started seeing the weight drop right away.
As of today, I have gone down a couple sizes in my scrubs and I can finally fit back into the clothes I have! I am currently weighing in at 382 lbs. That is 65 lbs lost!!! I am so excited and completely happy but I am always reminded that I have made a dent into a very large road ahead of me. My super absolute goal would to get down to 200 but I know that you need to make small steps along the way to keep it reasonable. I find it easy to go take a walk but sometimes I just have this uncontrollable urge to just eat anything that's bad for me. So I do struggle with that. Did I totally want to order a large extra cheesy pepperoni stuffed crust pizza tonight and eat ALL of it for supper? YES. Did I eat oatmeal with a banana/cinnamon/almond milk instead? Yes I did. As far as my internal health, I had a lab check up in February for the wellness program at work and everything was in the range it is supposed to be at! And my hormonal issues have pretty much disappeared. It is a great feeling. I know I am doing good but every day is a challenge.
My dream is to become a runner but as of right now I can barely run around a football field track without getting winded badly. So I just walk. I walk walk walk walk. I don't necessarily count mileage but I try to do at least 30 minutes a day during the week. I am no longer taking the elevator up to 2nd floor at my work and I choose the stairs instead. Going up the stairs is killing me less and less... It is a really good feeling but sometimes I get so scared that I am going to slip and just not have the energy to keep making this change.... I get very frightened... I know this post has gotten a little long but I feel like I really need to talk about it...
I get discouraged easily... but I keep going...
Any tips for me? I guess just anything will help...
I signed up for a Zumba class next week that will run until the end of May ( I previously did a little zumba a couple of years ago and i loved it)
So im hoping that will help. My weight dropped fast at first but now I am probably dropping 10 lbs a month.

CrabNebula

Good luck! Weight loss is a mental game. You have to be strong, stay the course, and persevere. Just keep up the good work.

TheLegendaryBrandonHarris

You need to make sure to check in with all of us regularly...
Everyone loves a good success story, and yours is going to be one! I believe in you.

Brandon

ginny92802

Congrats on your success!!

Porter1008

Congrats on your success

Jenskiski

I don't have any tips, because you are doing so well. Keep walking and keep trying. FWIW, I'm proud of you!

jenncornelsen

u are doing amazing! u can totally do this. u can inspire so many people maybe making friends on here and knowing that will help when days are hard. everyone on here understands . we all have bad days. i wish u all the best of luck.

DaneanP

Look at how far you've come! Very impressive...you should be so proud of yourself because making the decision to do something about it and THEN DOING IT is not easy. (If it was easy, we'd all have figure it out a long time ago.)

Tips? Keep doing what you're doing. Yes, the weight loss will slow down and you may need to adjust your MFP goals over time. Remember, slow and steady is the key to success. It is tempting to do things that promise rapid weight loss - fasts, cleanses, shakes, etc. Those are gimmicks and never work long term. Just keep at it. If you have a weak moment, log it and move on.

Take pictures and measurements along the way and look back at them from time to time and remind yourself just how far you've come. Keep in mind this is a life change, not a diet.

You got this. You are amazing.

KathleenCora

You already are an inspiration. Congrats on your loss so far that is wonderful! As someone said above keep us posted yours will be an awesome awesome awesome success story.

carlaunderconstruction

Congrats on your success so far! Realize that this is a way of life, and that you will never be able to stop monitoring your food intake and exercise. The other advice I can give you is deal with whatever motivates you to eat other than physical hunger. Why does the urge strike to eat an entire pepperoni pizza? I don't want to say all, but most of us who have a lot of weight to loose have some emotions that are associated with eating that we have to deal with.

kazaargrandcru

You are a success story in the making, you have already made giant strides toward your goals and it sounds like you have what it takes to see this through. Keep doing what you're doing, you are making excellent progress!

NorseMaiden

You are doing a fantastic job! One day at a time one pound at a time. I look forward to seeing your progress!

LauraHasABabyJack

You're doing an amazing job! Ten pounds a month is a great loss and no doubt will make the next month's walking even easier. When you get discouraged, think about where you were a year ago and where you'll be a year from now if you keep at it. And I admire you for not caving to the pizza monster like I did tonight- I will remember your hard work when I'm trying to avoid the leftovers tomorrow

amyk0202

Good job on your progress! I know you can keep it up. I love zumba as well--just be careful of your knees.

MackieDrew

Great work so far! I'd absolutely love to see more of your journey and help anyway I can. I have not been so large, so I don't know what works in that case but I'll give some advice I've best heard.

1. Exercise is important, but diet is about 5 times important at this stage. I'd love to see more specifically what you've been eating.
2. Stay accountable, get people on MFP as friends to help scrutinize your food/exercise routines.
3. There is an app for Android and iPhone called Pact, if you make fitness goals you get money for yourself, if you fail even a little you lose money big time.
4. I highly recommend less cardio until you lose more weight especially running long distances. It can ruin your knees like you wouldn't believe! Weight loss is important, but if you want to be a runner, you should wait just a bit!
5. If you can manage, I highly recommend lap swimming as cardio, really easy on your joints, and it can help improve your lung capacity and get your body used to increased cardio without overheating too hard.
6. You probably have like a massive amount of lean mass under your fat, this is some peoples dreams, this is a really positive thing and I think it's worth trying to maintain if you are planning to build muscle in a serious way post weight loss. Best practice dictates you should attempt to workout the muscles you'd like to keep most, however, the more important factor is getting 1g of protein per day for every kg of LEAN bodyweight. I'd need to know your body fat % to do more calculations, but it's important to eat that amount of protein over the course of the day. The absolute maximum metabolic absorption rate for protein is 10g/hour, so you need to spread it out across waking hours in 4 even 4 hour intervals. But this is just if you want to maintain more (not all) lean mass.

PaulaWallaDingDong

You've done awesome! I know what you mean. I'm not as big as you, but I've always been the heavy one, always been told I was this or that and I wouldn't change, so I just sort of let it happen. Before I knew it, I was at that hypothetical point I told myself I'd never allow myself to reach. But, once you realize that, you know what you have to do, and the only thing you can do is just do it. Even if you stall or get discouraged, just keep doing it. There's no place to go but forward as long as you keep at it.

EmCoco1128

Thank you all for the kind and uplifting responses. It really does make me feel better..... I am so positive about everything. For additional info for those who may have wondered. I have lost 24 inches since the first. I am going to attach 2 before pictures from the beginning of January and today. I am wearing the exact same clothes at both times.

LBuehrle8

Wow!! You are amazing! I have no tips I need them from YOU! Clearly you have a plan in place that is working! Such an inspiration!

Liftng4Lis

Fantastic work! Keep getting it!

PeachyPlum

Girl, look at you! You are such an inspiration, thank you so much for posting your story and progress!

gmallan

Here's a tip for the running. Make sure it's a slow and steady build up. Running uses a lot of muscles in different ways to walking and it also puts a lot of stress through your joints and tendons. Ease into it, invest in a professinally fitted pair of shoes and listen to your body.

Good luck!

minties82

Wow, you look absolutely amaaazing! I especially love the happy expression in the after pictures.

I started out very morbidly obese also (BMI around 51-52) and I know what it feels like to see such a hard and long road ahead. I've still got a very long way to go.

You've done ab amazing job. I can't wait to see you at your ultimate goal weight.

ilovemypeekapug

Amazing! You are doing great! You look so happy in your "after " pictures! .

cosmichvoyager

I know you can do it! I feel proud of what you've already accomplished:) because it's hard.

lemurcat12

You are doing fabulously! Congrats for all the progress you've made so far. You definitely do look happy and proud and should be.

KeepTheFaith9

Congrats and good luck! You seem to have a solid plan and are motivated. And you already have some great advice on this thread. Best wishes!

mollypw1994

Wow! Good for you!! Look at how much longer your neck looks in your after pic! That is so cool!!my only advice is to not let a "bad" day (or few days) ruin it - just log it the best you can, and start fresh in the morning. Slow and steady will win this! You can do it - heck, you already ARE!!

jgnatca

Congrats on your progress! That's great! I relate to the fear that the weight is lurking behind me, waiting to catch up.

I'd love to see you reach 200 too! That would be so cool.

NikonPal

emarendt1128 wrote: »

At the beginning of my journey, thus far, it was September of last year (2014), I weighed in for a wellness program for my new job - tipping the scales at 447 lbs. I was super crushed. I have been "fat" for my entire life. I was always the bigger girl in school. My senior year in high school I think I was about 350 in high school. Now, I am 24 and I definitely decided I wanted to change for the best. 447 was just too much and it was getting to the point where I couldn't find clothes to fit anymore, I struggled with simply going up the stairs to my apartment, I felt so ashamed I didn't even want to get out of the car to go into the store (or ANY PLACE) and would rather just send my boyfriend in to get whatever we needed.
Not only was I struggling with my physical appearance but I was having terrible hormonal issues, it felt like I was going into menopause WAY too many years early before I am actually supposed to be experiencing hot flashes, night sweats, horrible mood swings, and lack of any drive. It was awful.
I started getting a little bit more active with my new job and I think the steadiness of my full time job hours... Mon-Friday 8-5 helped a little. I lost about 10 lbs and started this new year of 2015 at 437. I knew it was time to kick it into gear. I completely changed my eating habits on a day to day basis. NO more McDonald's or any fast food, no more buying candy bars, no more cheetos from the vending machine, no more soda/diet soda. I increased my vegetable and fruit intake. Less carbs. I drank a lot more water. I utilized MyFitnessPal to set my calorie goal and stay UNDER it. I also went out there and got a y-membership with a couple of my friends. (I had to do that since I live in Wisconsin and that was not ideal outside conditions!). I started seeing the weight drop right away.
As of today, I have gone down a couple sizes in my scrubs and I can finally fit back into the clothes I have! I am currently weighing in at 382 lbs. That is 65 lbs lost!!! I am so excited and completely happy but I am always reminded that I have made a dent into a very large road ahead of me. My super absolute goal would to get down to 200 but I know that you need to make small steps along the way to keep it reasonable. I find it easy to go take a walk but sometimes I just have this uncontrollable urge to just eat anything that's bad for me. So I do struggle with that. Did I totally want to order a large extra cheesy pepperoni stuffed crust pizza tonight and eat ALL of it for supper? YES. Did I eat oatmeal with a banana/cinnamon/almond milk instead? Yes I did. As far as my internal health, I had a lab check up in February for the wellness program at work and everything was in the range it is supposed to be at! And my hormonal issues have pretty much disappeared. It is a great feeling. I know I am doing good but every day is a challenge.
My dream is to become a runner but as of right now I can barely run around a football field track without getting winded badly. So I just walk. I walk walk walk walk. I don't necessarily count mileage but I try to do at least 30 minutes a day during the week. I am no longer taking the elevator up to 2nd floor at my work and I choose the stairs instead. Going up the stairs is killing me less and less... It is a really good feeling but sometimes I get so scared that I am going to slip and just not have the energy to keep making this change.... I get very frightened... I know this post has gotten a little long but I feel like I really need to talk about it...
I get discouraged easily... but I keep going...
Any tips for me? I guess just anything will help...
I signed up for a Zumba class next week that will run until the end of May ( I previously did a little zumba a couple of years ago and i loved it)
So im hoping that will help. My weight dropped fast at first but now I am probably dropping 10 lbs a month.

Best wishes....so much of this does start in the mind...you have a bit more to go than I did. I ONLY weighed 405! LOL

Just came across a medical report last night from Nov 2013 when my BMI was ONLY 54 & change.

You might find a few ideas on this post I did a little ways back...photos and some food ideas.

YOU CAN DO IT!

Story link -

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10080664/lost-191-lbs-photos-success-after-999-failures/p1

allenpriest

10 pounds per month is super. You took years too gain the weight and it will take a while to lose it but the life changes you are making will be things you can sustain. And remember all you need to do is lose one pound - then repeat that. And again. One step at a time.

girlviernes

Great work so far! 68 lbs is fabulous!