on the long road to losing 120 pounds... lord help me lol

michaelafoor916

so yeah, I've treated my body badly and I'm paying for it. I need to lose at least 120 pounds to be a "healthy weight" says the doctor. I really lack the motivation and support for this... need and willing to take any advice

omma_to_3

Start small. Set a goal to lose your first 20 lbs (or maybe even 10). Work strictly on portion control at the beginning. If you do too much too soon, you'll likely fail. Use MFP's suggestions to start and see how it works for you. With that amount to lose, you're OK aiming for 2 lbs. a week, but if that feels too restrictive, go for 1 lb. per week goal.

Exercise is not necessary at this point, unless you want to include it. I started working out about 5 months in - after I had lost the first 30ish pounds.

Continue setting small goals along the way. Don't look at the entire 120 lbs. you need to lose - it's likely too daunting a number.

wizzybeth

Well I started in January, needing to lose 100 - 110 lbs....so I feel ya. Just keep at it, plug along, one day at a time. I've lost nearly 46 lbs since the end of Jan. of this year.

michaelafoor916

Thank you. My boyfriend is a huge help in this process, but sometimes, he overwhelms me with all this information. I think I need to do one thing at a time. I'll probably take your advice omma_to_3 and start with the eating and get that down to a science and then start working out. and wizzybeth, that is awesome progress!! I love the before and after pictures. thanks both of you hoping to share great progress with you guys

JamesSmedleyCP30

The most important thing is diet, and tweeking with small things, meaning if you drink coffee with sugar and milk, try reduce the amount of sugar and milk every few days/weeks and this will slowly lead you to a healthier way of life. Create yourself a diet plan, no need to be too stict but it is important you recognise the good nutritious food compared to the bad (eat better and your body will be more satisfied and you should be able to eat smaller portions without feeling hungry). Do not be to hard on yourself, just lower your calorie content and make adjustments to certain things you could do without and think of how will your body like this food!

hbm616

I would suggest starting off by logging everything that you eat, without trying to stay below a certain amount. This will not only allow you to see how much you have been eating but will also help you get into the habit of logging every day and being honest with yourself. Next you can take a look at where easy changes can be made. Instead of soda, drink water etc. I would also suggest buying a food scale for measuring your protein portions to prevent eating more than you intended. Best of luck. This truly is a life long change so be forgiving and loving to yourself always. Some days will be easier than others.

Ninkyou

I started by just logging everyday. Try to meet your calorie goal, but if you go over a bit, don't sweat it. It's all a learning process.

Also, once you begin losing weight it helps to look at it from a different angle. Instead of looking at it like "I have 120 lbs to lose" think of it like "I've already lost 20 lbs!" and such. Glass is always half full or half empty, depending on how you look at it!

michaelafoor916

thank you guys! I have logged everything the past few days. You don't think about how much you really eat until you start logging it. This app is such a god send for me.

VeroniqueBoilard

I'm also 100+ pounds overweight. I lost the first 30 pounds and then I was pregnant and put back around 20 pounds and now I'm back at it again.

FOOD
Remember: it is 80% food, 20% exercise. Men have a easier time it seems to just up their exercise and not up their calories without counting. If you are like me, exercise will mean hunger and eating more without realizing (a little bite here and there). Concentrate on eating first - log for at least 2-4 weeks, you will then have added all your "usual" food and many recipes and it will then be easier to log.

Food scale: you need to weight everything, but if it's too much, at least weight things like meat, dairy, pasta... I weighted everything for a couple of weeks and then I weight from time to time to make sure I'm not uping my portion.

Work on adding healthy low calories meals option to your diet. Try new things and by adding them to your regular diet, you're not just dieting, you are learning healthy eating for the rest of your life (it will be easier to maintain after). Don't think about "I can't eat this or that" think about and plan new low cal meal and try to stick with the plan. I hate planning every single meal, so I have a couples of option for breakfast around 300 calories, same for lunch but with 400 calories, some snacks idea under 100 and if you're like me you can plan ideas for supper and do the one you feel like eating the most when it's time to cook (the easiest for me for supper is any kind of meat with a lot of lightly grilled vegetables) . It feels less restrictive then planning every minutes.

EXERCISE
When you are within your calories for a couple weeks (you will most likely lose a lot in the first few days and then it will be steadily 2 pounds a week) or feel like it you can start exercise. I bought an HRM monitor that tells me with my weight and heart frequency how much I'm burning. I subtract 1 calories by minutes (so if I did 30 minutes and it says 230 calories I only add 200 calories to myfitnesspal). Some people do not eat exercise calories, some people eat half and some people save them for a treat on the weekend. I eat them usually, it gives me an insensitive to work out (If I go for my run I can put cheese in my lunch and have ice cream after dinner, etc.)

If you want to exercise, lot's of sedentary people here (like I was) started to exercise with 30 day shred level 1 by Jullian Michaels (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pc-NizMgg8).

It will kick your *kitten*, but you get very good results (look on Google image for 30 days shred results) (take pictures before an after, it feels good to SEE results) and take measures with a tape, you will loose inches.

I also used the app C25K (couch to 5km) where you learn slowly to run for 5k! I love running, I'm just the laziest person and running can easily burn 400-500 calories in an 1h and I just love the feeling you get when you find out you CAN actually run! I stop when I was pregnant and I want to go back to how good it felt before!

And if exercise really feel like the worse thing in the world I suggest to at least take walks! I love gadgets, it keeps me motivated, so you can get a pedometer and give yourself steps goals for the day or the week!

MOTIVATION
Just browse the success story of the forum. If they can do it, we can too

Good luck.

mccarol1956

Set small goals maybe 10 lbs. At a time. Do not use food as a reward for weight loss. Plan something non food related like a trip somewhere, a hike to a new place, a new shirt.

Make your goals reachable. Every time you meet a goal set another reachable one.

I do not weigh my foods but I do measure. Weighing is a bit too unrealistic for me.

Stop before you are full.

Eat lots of fruits and veggies throughout the day to help you feel fuller.

Use the recipe builder to incorporate your favorite homemade foods. Figure out the portions you can have. I use veggies to add to my foods for bulk and flavor, they stretch regular meals and make them less calories. For example i make spaghetti sauce with 93/7 ground beef or turkey. In the sauce itself I use 2 shredded carrots, 1 or 2 shredded zucchini, a bag of spinach copped, and a shredded yellow squash. I also add chopped mushrooms, red,yellow, and/or orange peppers, onion, and fresh garlic. I use tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste and then I cook the sauce for 4-6 hours. You can not even tell those veggies are in there. It is a great way to be able to have something I like and still save on calories. I add the same shredded veggies to meatballs and meatloaf just not quite as much.

Get exercise. Join a walking or hiking group in your area or form your own. Get out and move, it does not have to be fast or far at first. Moving is the most important thing. As you get fitter you will go faster and farther. Make the walks fun and try to go to places that do not bore you. Find places that bring contentment and make you want to be out there. For you that may be a gym, for me it is the outdoors hiking/walking.

Log what you eat even when you over eat. Own what you do. Make your food diary public. Allow people to give advice and opinions. Sometimes the truth hurts but it really helps.

Get friends on MFP with your same goals to help you be accountable.

A fitbit helps tremendously but if you can't afford one use one of the apps on this site. remember some work better than others. It will help you keep moving.

I am 59 and on my 2nd go around with MFP. In 2012 I lost about 65 lbs on here the last time. I maintained my weight for quite awhile until I developed a neurological disorder that stopped me from moving much. I gained all my weight back. I restarted 12 days ago and set my activity goals lower so I can have days I do nothing when I am in bad pain.

12 days back and committed! 100 pounds to go 10 lbs at a time!

Send me a friend request if you want!

Good luck, you can do this!

michaelafoor916

the most I've lost was like 30 some pounds a few years ago... I got down to within 40 pounds of my goal weight and I hit a plateau and gave up. I kick myself for it every day but i'll get there. I used the C25K app and I LOVED it. I know I'm big but I do enjoy running. I'm going to start walking tonight and then once I get the eating down, i'll start kicking up the exercise more and start back to my c25k. Taking before pics tonight and get a baseline to go off of without stepping on that awful scale for a while.

whatatime2befit

It can be done. Be patient with yourself. Don't expect the weight to just fall off after a couple of weeks or months, it takes time. Take baby steps, work on improving one thing at a time.

Don't quit when you've had a bad day or week. Just get back to tracking and eating healthy.

I often go to the success stories board when i'm discouraged, so many on there have lost amazing amounts of weight. They are no different than you or I, they just committed to their journey, and stuck through it even at difficult times.

Good luck. You CAN do this

michaelafoor916

thank you guys. so many great people on here willing to help complete strangers. I love it

michaelafoor916

Yes I would love to.