Help Please

shellielosinghalf

Hi everyone!
Ok I have tried to lose weight time and time again but I want this time to be it. I plan to start nursing school in the fall and I want to be on my way to weight loss by then. I'm 25 years old and I'm 5"2 weighing 270 pounds. Diabetes and high blood pressure run in my family and in fact my mom died at 39 from complications of these things and I don't want to be the same. I have a gym membership I've researched clean eating but where do I start!? Do I make a schedule? Do I make a meal plan? I'm completely out of shape! Help please!

ndachndlr

Food is my problem so that's where I started. Figure out what causes you the most trouble and take baby steps to improve on it. If you eat a lot of fast food try to make more meals at home. If you're addicted to sodas cut back to 1 a week. If you think meal planning and prepping will work try it. It's all trial and error until you find what works for you. Hope this helps.

sndrd49

Make sure you log in everything you eat. MFP will break everything down for you so you get a visual picture of what you're eating and show you what changes would be most helpful to you. It worked for me. I was way high on carbs and not enough protein. I've adjusted and it works. Baby steps my dear. You Got This!!!

jklei169

Two things that helped me was eating a more plant based diet. I found when I started logging my food I would go days without eating any fruits or vegetables. Now I eat them with every meal and as snacks when possible.
Also, be aware of any triggers for unhealthy eating. For example, if I went to see a movie I would get a large popcorn extra butter, pretzel bites and a slushie. Now I bring raw vegetables and get a water before the movie. Little changes add up quickly.

kbmnurse

First, slow down. Baby steps. I would make some small weight lose goals. E.G. This week I will exercise 3x for 20 min. Start watching your portions and logging your food. My suggestion buy a digital food scale and weigh all your food. You will be amazed at what a true portion looks like. It is a reality check. That's enough to get you started. Remember it will take a while before you will start to see a difference. But, if you stick with it the reward will be tremendous. Then you can say you took your life back. God speed.

CassidyScaglione

Hey,
This Website is a great tool for helping you keep track of what/how much you eat.
Like other people have advised, i would suggest you start by making just a few changes, rather than having to jump into them all at once. You will find when you eat a lot of ready made foods, or fast foods, that your daily calorie allotment will vanish pretty fast, so I would look at phasing that stuff out fairly quick. I'm not really sure how often you go, but assuming that fast food is almost all that you eat, perhaps you can commit to only one visit to these places every day, and to bringing those visits down to every other day, or once a week.

Try to log as much of your day ahead of time, since this will prevent you from eating something without thinking it through and logging it only to find that it has eaten up all of your remaining allotment. This was probably the hardest for me, since I tend to graze all day. Get in the habit of carrying your lunches to work with you if possible, and look into foods that you can eat more of, in order to feel like you are not starving yourself ( I like broccoli because you can eat lots of it, and makes your plate look very full)

Finally, with respect to meal planning, I would suggest that you *Do Not* limit yourself in terms of variety... if you come up with only 1 or 2 ideas for breakfast/lunch/supper, you will get bored of eating healthy and will be unable to keep it up. Choose at least 5 recipes for each meal, which will give you 15 to work from. If one becomes boring feel free to cycle it out, and always feel free to explore new things. Leave yourself room in your plan for a few of your favorite things now and then, since trying to cut yourself off from things that you enjoy will only make you miserable.

Hello Healthy (Linked to my fitness pal) has some great recipe suggestions to get you started.

tiggerlove

It's not the easiest thing to loose and keep it off but stay positive and log in everything everyday and use it as your guide to eat better. Take small steps cause just diving right in doesn't work. Time & Patience is the key.

shellielosinghalf

Thank you everyone I'm going to try taking my time as suggested and be patient which will take some effort.

MominTX80

Hi Michelle! I would suggest for you to get an accountability partner to keep you motivated and on track. It shouldn't be a spouse. I also follow Fitness experts like Chalene Johnson and Heidi Powell to keep me motivated. Either get a personal trainer or join a class that meets at least once a week to keep you motivated! Take care!

shellielosinghalf

Thank you! I've never thought about a class keeping me accountable but that makes sense and I will also look at the two experts you provided! Thanks :-)

Monnie67

Start with changing how you look at yourself. First understand that this is a life style change. Your health and the death of your mom is your motivation. Baby steps start drinking water it's good for you has no calories, cleans toxins from your body and keeps your skin clear and hydrated. I'm 49 trust me the water works lost 14lbs have 12 more to go but taking my time. Also, When go shopping stay on the outside of the aisles that is where your healthier food is. You have to fine time to cook and plan your meals snacks included. I won't lie to you it's expensive to eat healthier. And at times you will be hungry but your body will be going thru a transformation this to shall pass. But it takes time you didn't put it on overnight you not going to lose it overnight either. Lifestyle change is just what it is changing your life style how you eat and what you eat it takes time. Don't beat yourself up you will get frustrated that is what the community is here for to help. Good luck and embrace the journey towards change.

nancycaregiver

When you start logging your food (every single bite!) it really makes you take a good look at what you eat. That alone should motivate you to make changes. It doesn't really matter if you go low calorie, low carb, low fat...just make healthy changes. After 21 days, those things that seem so hard will become habit. But take it one day at a time. Log in everyday, even if you screw up. And when you do screw up (and we all do), don't throw in the towel!! Get right back on that horse. Do the best you can and then try to do a little better tomorrow. You can do this!