130 lb to lose, starting today. Any tips?

RhapsodyWinters

I am buckling down and starting my weight loss. Currently 5'4 at 260 lb, I need to lose 130 to be well within my BMI. It's crazy to think that I currently weight two people.

I am headed to the gym after work. This is a membership that I started 2 months ago and haven't gone in yet. One legit reason being needing a sports bra (which came in yesterday…really hate online shopping for bras because then you have to deal with returning too large or small sizes). Anyway, so I’ve been very confused on what I should be doing. I grew up in poverty raised by a single parent (who didn’t graduate college) and three siblings. We lived paycheck to paycheck, and our diet consisted of a lot of pasta. Spaghetti, Hamburger Helper (without the meat), and toast. I used to be a small kid, but somewhere around when I was 11, I became depressed due to change of friends, and I stopped going out to play. I stayed in my house and read. The poor diet combined with no exercise must have been the cause of me gaining weight. In high school I was around 175 lb. My depression grew, and I ate my feelings.

Snap back to now. I have a pretty good idea that what I need is a bigger focus on meats and vegetables, but without cutting out the occasional pizza or pie (so that I don’t lose control and binge eat). Now I need to figure out the combination of how much I should be eating as well as what exercises. I want to work my thighs, core, chest, and arms (so everything). However, I do not want to be a muscle [wo]man. I know that some resistance training combined with cardio is probably my best bet. I want 30 minutes a day, but I also need to fit in walking my dog 1.3 miles a day into the equation. (which will start only when it gets cool enough to where my dog doesn’t start panting due to heat as soon as we go out of the door)

Now my request is for advice regarding limiting excess skin. That is my number 1 biggest fear. I want to lose the weight at a healthy rate so that I don’t get all that loose flabby skin that some people get when shooting down 40 lb in a month.

And, any tips overall would be much appreciated.

ashleyShades

Don't give up. Get a food scale and weigh whatever food you can. Drink a lot of water. If you have a bad day and eat poorly, let it go and move on. Don't try to cut everything out of your diet at once because you will probably binge and go crazy if you deprive yourself too much. For example, if you drink pop, decrease your intake over time instead of just quitting cold turkey. It's really hard for most women to get really muscular (like what CrossFit athletes look like) so don't be afraid to do strength training with weights too not just cardio.

VT802VT

You can set a goal of 1-2 pounds a week simply by taking in less calories. Eat 3 low calorie meals a day, with healthy snacks in between. Simply go for a 20 minuet walk for exercise and you can easily lose 1-2 pounds a week. The kitchen is the main part of weight loss. Don't starve yourself though, if you feel hungry have a snack. Starving yourself by only eating a meal a day will cause you to fail quick, i learned that the hard way the first few times i tried dieting. I would suggest going to Bodybuilding.com and check out their nutrition section, it has a lot of helpful stuff. (bodybuilding.com is for bodybuilding and weightloss) My friend did the quick method by having a calorie deficit everyday, and lost extremely quick leaving him with a lot of extra skin, it took about a year for his skin to readjust to his new body. Defiantly better to do it the healthy way unless your life depended on the weight loss.

2snakeswoman

Good tips above. Start keeping track of your eating, even if you don't do it here. At least carry a notebook around and write it down, even if it looks like this: "one fried egg, one sliver of cheese, 2 cups of coffee, 4 tablespoons cream ...." Etc. I find that just the act of having to write it down makes me more careful about knowing what I'm eating and how much. And when I find myself awash in guilt over not being able to remember the last time I logged what I was eating, I have to forgive myself and pick up my notebook again.

Good luck to you!

johnnylloyd0618

My coach just to tell me, "You didn't gain your weight in 6 months, don't expect to lose it in 6 months" Moral of the story, you are changing a life style, embrace it, stay positive, it is a lot of fun at the end!

soccermom134

My biggest problem, and I know I'm not alone, is processed foods. If you can eat clean, that is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself, in addition to losing weight. Sugar is in EVERYTHING and it is so unhealthy for us. I want to lose weight but more importantly, I want to feel good and be healthy. I am starting over TODAY because I hate being bloated, sluggish and miserable. Good luck!

tryett

I started the end of May and am currently down about 24 pounds with another 75 or so to go. I started in the kitchen, new pots:pans (mine were really old and really worn out), lots of new recipes so I wouldn't get bored (so far it's worked) and just added the gym (mainly cardio) about a month ago (after tracking and increasing daily steps prior).

As far as loose skin, I fully expect to have some partially due to my age and partially due to how long I have been overweight. That being said I gave heard it is mainly a function of genetics and my skin over all is in pretty good shape. Another way I look at it is I would rather have the loose skin than the health problems that can come along with the weight.

ecmont032

I'm 5'4 and 274. I had a baby 16 weeks ago. I was 325 when I gave birth. This is the biggest I've ever been during and after a pregnancy. I'll add you as a friend. Oh...I'm trying to get to 170. So I also need to lose a whole person. You're not alone.
I would agree to get a food scale...it's changed my life. LOL And try to get in water (which I'm struggling with). Being a new mom of three it's hard for me to get to the gym so I did a workout video at home.

BpChinoXL

Hello. Welcome to the group. I want to let you know I read your post and it reminds me of me. When I was kid learning the culture here in the United States and keeping the culture of the old country was a very confusing transition. I found myself adopting Americas way of eating supersize my happy meal. Unfortunately, I wish i could of adopted the building credit...lol... it was more of the eating habit that caught my families attention. I reflect back on the way the american diet and the central american diet was . I consist of starchy salty and greasy food. One example of it was french fries or even bake potatoes with butter and not a tsp, I mean a butter shower. The central american was not to different it was rice beans and tortilla made with lard with little to no vegetables.
My advice to you is if you are trying to limit the carbs like spaghetti, and pasta limit your serving to half a cup 4 times a day and eventually replace them with alternative. the one thing I would do is monitor how much you eat and exercise to achieve slow and steady weight loss. I was nearly 400 lbs. I have loss 70 lbs with in a year I hear your concerns in loose skin. Weight lifting wont bulk you up like you think it will if any it will tone you up. I read a article that in order for a female to bulk up you have to be on the steroids to achieve that. My advice low weights and more repetitions. The skin will tone as long as you don't do a drastic weight drop. 2 to 5 pounds a month should be okay according to my doctors. You also need to see how well the elasticity of your skin is as well if you don't retraction on your skin then their could be the possibility its has no elasticity. As long as the collagen is present you should be okay. You can get collagen from cooking chicken broth with the chicken bones.
As a personal dog owner and lover, I would recommend for you to also incorporate your dog in you activities my dog walks 2 miles every other morning with me and goes for 3 mile run twice a week with the family. I find it easier to do early morning or late at night before going to bed. I time myself and see if we can push the walk a little farther in the same amount of time. Remember strong posture mean your Abs are working more to keep you in the up right position. Be sure when you go out for your walk no just your feet, knees and legs feel it but your abs as well.
My compliments on your hard efforts. So, hard effort to you on your journey.
Need more insight just add me to you friends list.

SueInAz

Just think, when you reach your goal you can tell people that you're "half the woman you used to be"!

First of all, forget what you think you know about weight loss. You seem to have the right attitude about what to eat and what to avoid. Balance is key and you'll want to lose weight eating the things you know you'll be eating once you reach your goal. You don't need to eat "healthy" or "clean" unless you want to. There's no magical combination of foods to eat (or avoid) unless you have a medical issue. Eating after a certain time of day won't store fat. No foods "burn fat" and you can't reduce fat in one specific area by doing something special. Drinking lots of water doesn't have an affect on weight loss. I think that covers most of it.

Baby steps! Start slow. Don't go crazy changing everything about your life and then burn yourself out. It's simply not necessary. 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 and drink; 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, with how many calories it contains.

Use MFP to get a calorie goal and try to stick as close to that goal as possible. If you're worried about loose skin, choose a weight loss goal that is less aggressive so you'll lose more slowly. The tendency to develop loose skin is partly genetic, partly age and partly how fast you lose weight.

If you don't own a kitchen scale, buy one and use it daily. Most food should be weighed, not measured, even salad dressing and peanut butter packaging gives servings in grams. If you're inaccurate with your logging your results will not be what you think they should be.

After a week or so of logging, 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 focus on those things.

You're right that a combination of cardio and strength training is the best way to get the results you want. As a woman who is not taking it to extremes you won't get bulky or big. What you will do is preserve some of the muscle your body has built up to move around your extra weight. Maintaining muscle you already have is much easier than building new muscle later. If you can keep most of the muscle you already have while losing fat, you're going to look amazing when you get to your goal weight! You'll also lose more fat as you lose weight and your metabolism will be higher throughout the process. I highly, highly suggest lifting heavy weights in a progressive program.

Take "before" pictures so you can better judge your progress visually. Results on the measuring tape are more important than those on the bathroom scale. 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.

musicathy

Hey there... we are about the same height, and same weight (I'm 2lbs heavier), so... basically the same amount to lose (though I will admit I'm less focused on a specific number as I am about generally being healthy, active, and seeing that scale drop in the process - where it lands and what my doctor and I agree upon may end up being a higher number... but our journey is the same). I've been doing this a month, down 10lbs so far so feel like I have a good groove going so far.

Log everything, even if you think you "shouldn't be eating it", just be honest - at least that way you can learn from mistakes. Remember that theres no "bad" food if consumed in moderation and with balance. Exercise is super helpful for preventing loose skin and to promote health - but 80% of weight loss is from diet.

My approach is to eat pretty clean, but allow myself indulgences (within a reasonable limit), and exercise regularly - things that I enjoy (which right now is walking, yoga and a bit of biking).

I keep my diary open to friends, so if you want to add me and get some ideas (though ill say right now; some of my days are better than others), feel free to add me. But not matter what: good luck, don't give up. Losing this much weight is a marathon, not a race. So, take it slow and steady, and don't get discouraged if the scale doesn't drop every week... its all about the journey!

Spartan_Gingi

I think it's great that you've started! And know that you're not alone on your journey. It's definitely a process, but well worth it. I'm down 13 lbs in about 20 days. Good progress for anyone, and great for myself. My advice would be sleep! Good sleep is soooo important! Plenty of water, and I walk on my lunch hour. Or half hour. Whatever you can squeeze in. Sometimes, I make the family spaghetti, and myself scrambled eggs with mostly egg whites to avoid carb loading at night. I've made a huge effort to eat as natural as I can, and I absolutely don't eat major carbs after lunch time. I love pasta and bread, but have been avoiding ( NOT eliminating them) to the best of my ability. Hope this helps! Best of luck!!!

the3dwizard

My tips for you after reading your post and skimming the others (hey at least I'm honest)

Remember that it is a marathon and not a sprint. If you lose the weight slow it could take you a year and half to two to lose the weight. You might lose quicker but if you accept in your mind it will take this long then any little set backs become less of an issue and I think it makes it easier to get back on track.

Do included the weight training. Do not worry there is no way you will become a muscle women unless that is your goal and you really, really work hard at it. Weight training for weight loss will not do it. Adding on a little muscle will help a little with the loose skin, though in some areas it may not be avoidable but ask yourself, "is loose skin a reason not to lose the weight?"

When starting out I would suggest doing your cardio on the days when you are not doing resistance training. You may not have the energy to do both and we don't want you to get discouraged.

Use this MFPto calculate your daily calorie requirements. Make sure you are eating your calories but unless you are really exercising hard then I would not subtract out the calories like MFP wants you to do. I think they over estimate the exercise calories. If you find yourself losing weight but being sluggish then you might want to up your calories.

Try to get 80-100 grams of protein per day, (lots of benefits but I won't go into it here), then the rest of what you eat can be healthy carbs and fats. If you find you have trouble getting that adding in a protein supplement is okay.

Use the MFP app on your phone to keep track of what you eat. Someday you may get to where you can eyeball your meals and keep them under certain calorie range but it will take some time. If you track then you know how many slices of pizza you can have, (though not at every meal ). Think of MFP as diary or log in your new journey.

You may see some people say weight your self once a week, some every couple days, etc. I personally weight myself every day. My mentality is I do not get depressed over it, I find it encourages me to stick to the plan or double down in it. If the weight is down that day then I get a little boost in self-esteem. If the weight is up then I am determined to stay under my calorie range and not to skip the gym that day. This is not true for all people, you have to find what works for you but you do need to take measurements on some regular basis. It helps you know what is working.

Most important is to experiment and find out what works for you. Lot easier to stick with a plan when you personalize it.

Cheers!

I have a Ph.D. in Chemistry and not an M.D. so please don't consider this as medical advise.

ecmont032

I'm in the process of adding you guys as friends....I lost 70lbs with MFP a couple years ago without any friends but I have to admit it is more encouraging when you have a lot of friends telling you "good job" when you do something simple like losing 1 lb

desperatetoloseweight2016

I have about the same to lose, so your welcome to add me as a friend a d we can get it done together.

ListenSunnie

Great tips here!