Last chance to stop the downward spiral.

bfcbiker2013

Ever felt this : you eat too much , then you don't exercise because .... and you keep repeating ... I will confess , it's gotten worse the past (say 10 yrs). I am now 6' and over 500#. I got married last year and found a reason to live .... I have goals and dreams but realize if I gain 1 more pound, I may not make it to see the dreams. My challenge is only 1 meal a day with grilled chicken , the rest of the meals being vegan. Who's with me ?

han7171

I do feel the same way at times. I eat too much from skipping meals. I have also been trying to get back on track. You are definitely not alone.

everher

You got this.

Just one foot forward at a time.

rileysowner

I have a friend here who has lost almost as much as you weigh (420 pounds) you can do this. Get a reasonable calorie goal and start logging everything you eat. Pay attention to what keeps you feeling fuller longer and work more of that into your daily food while sticking to your calorie goal.

JeromeBarry1

Success at this is in making small changes to your habits that you are able to adopt as new habits and lifestyle changes. Going all the way from your Start to frequent vegan meals and occasional grilled chicken is a huge change.

All food is suitable. Portion control is the only issue you have to learn. Get a digital kitchen scale to weigh your food. Weigh meat raw before you cook it. Use the "Search" feature in the discussions to find information of interest to you. Read the sticky messages at the Discussions home. Be patient, be persistent.

HippySkoppy

As Jerome has pointed out success comes from making changes to your life that are sustainable for the rest of your life. Obviously no-one can be in your shoes but there have been many people on MFP with a lot of weight to lose and importantly they have kept it off in long term maintenance.

Whatever you do be mindful of being able to fully commit to a long term project. I don't know if you mean you are deciding to now start eating only one meal per day or the veganism is a new thing for you....if that is the case then I would say this is drastic and may end with you failing.

Now that you feel ready to commit to this for your health's sake and for your partner use this app. to its fullest potential.

Plug all your relevant stats into the app and work from there. Second the digital scale and be diligent in weighing and logging everything that enters your mouth, even where you go over as it will give you insight into your eating habits. Perhaps start with drinking more water and replacing any soda. Eat less take away and try new ways of cooking....the internet is full of recipe ideas. Exercise for you at your size will be difficult I guess but that is not neccessary at this point, your CI verses CO are the major factor.

I would also suggest talking to your Doctor about this new way of life and getting whatever tests done he/she feels are relevant just to make sure you are OK and it will give you baseline readings to compare with - nice to have the data to map your progress.

Bit by bit, step by step you CAN get there. Some days you might feel totally sick of the whole thing and want to give up but this is where persistence and commitment to the bigger picture can come in. Again, this app. can be very helpful in getting support and inspiration when your own feelings of motivation and desire are low, learning too the skill of understandinng that one day or one meal is not going to undo your progress and you just need to keep pushing forward.

Hope this helps. Welcome to MFP and I wish you well.

bfcbiker2013

Ordered a 6" tuna at subways .... didn't overeat .... still have 1000 calories left .... day 2 ....

Can anyone recommend a good cleansing / detox kit ? Or not recommend one ?

rileysowner

bfcbiker2013 wrote: »

Ordered a 6" tuna at subways .... didn't overeat .... still have 1000 calories left .... day 2 ....

Can anyone recommend a good cleansing / detox kit ? Or not recommend one ?

First, good job logging.
Second, You don't need a detox or cleanse. You liver, kidneys and the like do that job automatically. You don't have a bunch of stool stuck in your colon, nor are their "toxin" that you have to get rid of. All that will happen is you will be parted from your money. Stick to logging what you eat. Eat a broad ranging diet of nutritionally rich foods, and meet your daily calorie goal.

besaro

Congrats for taking control of your own health. Couple of things, first you don't need to eliminate foods to lose weight. If you like meat, eat it, just figure out ways to fit it in your calorie allowance. Second, with so much to lose, you really can eat more. Trust me on this. Not sure what your deficit is at but leaving 1000 calories on the plate is just gonna make you cranky and unhappy in the long run. And trust, 195 pounds is a long haul. Third, Get a food scale and weigh EVERYTHING that goes in your gob. Read the forums, theres tons of knowledge here, (theres a ton of nonsense too but you'll figure out how to separate the chaff from the wheat). Fourth, you will stumble, you will eat the second piece of pie from time to time, what matters is you get right back to it.

PAV8888

rileysowner wrote: »

bfcbiker2013 wrote: »

Ordered a 6" tuna at subways .... didn't overeat .... still have 1000 calories left .... day 2 ....

Can anyone recommend a good cleansing / detox kit ? Or not recommend one ?

First, good job logging.
Second, You don't need a detox or cleanse. You liver, kidneys and the like do that job automatically. You don't have a bunch of stool stuck in your colon, nor are their "toxin" that you have to get rid of. All that will happen is you will be parted from your money. Stick to logging what you eat. Eat a broad ranging diet of nutritionally rich foods, and meet your daily calorie goal.

Hi. First of all good morning! It is GOOD that you've decided to dedicate yourself to this. And you WILL have to dedicate yourself to making the right choices. And the right choices are not always what you FIRST think they are.

So a lot of people with a lot of weight to lose think that they have to go at it like there is no tomorrow. Nothing to eat. Exercise 14 hours a day. Biggest loser here I come.

Most of them give up because it is too hard.
Most of them regain the weight for a bunch of reasons some psychological and behavioural. Some physical.

I am here to tell you that a) I've seen people in your position on MFP lose the weight and b) I've seen them keep it off. and c) I've seen people in your position who are gung-ho balls to the wall for a few months... and then disappear.

Maybe the c) people are happily losing weight somewhere. But I doubt it.

MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR YOU.

You have several years of effort in front of you. <-- NO. that is wrong. You actually have a LIFETIME of effort in front of you. BUT. There is effort and there is effort. It takes effort to brush your teeth at night. Or to get a coffee in the morning. But people do both. Consistently.

So the point is to get the "weight management" effort to the level of... routine!

at your height and weight even if you're completely sedentary, which I assume you are, you are able to lose weight at a huge number of calories compared to other people. And you will be able to lose it fast!

There is ZERO point in eating 6" tuna subs at subway. <-- it is NOT a BAD sub. But it is FAR from the best choice. Don't be guided by Jarred!

PLUG THE NUMBERS IN THE APP.

Plug for 2lbs a week. You're one of the few people where it is safe to start at a rate that is even faster than 2lbs a week.

get clearance from your doctor. A lot of doctors will advocate a very low calorie diet. MOST OF THE TIME their point is to get the most weight off you as fast as possible because the assumption is that you will become non compliant quite fast and start regaining... so let's strike while the going is good.

But your effort doesn't have to be a flash in the pan.

Log your food. Review your log.

Look at your sandwich. Where did the calories come from? The bread? The mayo? Do you know that you could have had a half chicken for the same amount of calories? Or a full can of salmon in tomato and cucumber and onion salad tub? Do you know that you can make salad dressing using 0% plain greek yogurt and some spices (oregano, pepper, I actually add a touch of dry mustard powder) and the liquid from the tomatoes and the cucumbers and the salmon can?

Logging allows you to review your choices and to substitute lower calorie more filling items for higher calorie less filling items. it is GREAT when used to its full potential.

Knowing what I know today, if I were you, here is what I would do.

Evaluate how much I can move. there is little point in injuring yourself right now trying to exercise if your joints cannot take it. However, walking or swimming as much as you can are definitely things to do. This will change as you lose weight and your strength to weight ratio changes.

initially cut caloric intake to 2000 Cal and then increase them to 2500 once my activity level is able to pick up. Continue at 2500 for a few years. in fact... plant to continue around 2500 forever.

In other words you are not making diet choices. you are making long term permanent choices! Is a 6" tuna sub a permanent choice for you? or is it diet food?

<by the time that 2500 Cal of food is not a large enough deficit for you, the activity level you should be able to engage in will be more than enough to turn 2500 into a large deficit>

<I can also easily see a situation where you're 300lbs and extremely active and you may be losing rapidly while eating 3000-3500 Cal a day, so these are not absolute values>

Think about it. Yes. Veggies are good. Protein is also good. Some fats are good too. If you are becoming vegetarian for ethical reasons... great. I often find myself avoiding meat for that reason. IF you're doing it for a "diet"...

Your biggest ally is your commitment to honesty to yourself. If you put an oreo in your mouth, it gets logged. If you put some ketchup or some mayo on your sandwich it gets logged. Ketchup has no calories? I ate 100 Cal worth of ketchup the other day. with two pieces of battered fish. Yes. Battered fish. An 800 Cal meal of which 12.5% was ketchup. So yes. EVERYTHING has calories.

Best of luck with your long term transformation. Three years into my own (and from a much lower starting weight) I can tell you that your views of what is healthy, what is possible, what is easy and what is hard, what is enjoyable, will all change over time.

What doesn't change is being involved, being engaged. AND NEVER EVER SAYING: OH, I blew it already today. Might as well continue blowing it and start again tomorrow. NO. <-- the time to stop blowing it is RIGHT **KITTEN** NOW! Your next action offers the opportunity to make a right choice

NicoleVT83

Congrats on deciding to make a change! You can do it! My husband and I started a little less than 6 months ago. He went to doctor wanting a clearance to start exercising. That appointment changed everything! His weight was at 504 pounds. He was basically diabetic and possibly interested in weight loss surgery.
I plead with him to ACTUALLY commit to trying it the old fashioned way with a good diet and exercise. Proud to say he goes in for his 6 month checkup next Monday and is down 88 pounds. I'm down 67 pounds. We have made many lifestyle changes and would love to give you some tips, feel free to message me anytime!

tracykreczmer

Super huge congrats on your marriage!! Eating is important but exercise to me is the key.

Eat more veggies and fiber along with your protein. There are so many GOOD internet recipe sites..so challenge your palate. Seasonings..vinegars lemon peppers garlic peppers can make even broccoli taste good

Do u have a ymca near you..water exercise will ease your joints until the weight starts coming off and trust me SMALL changes create huge results. Even if u walk in the water which by the way one mile in the water is almost three on land..you will drop. Not to mention weight training is another miracle worker..free weights bands and balls can create muscles without hurting your body.

Don't go for cleanse or any drop weight quick they don't work and right now your body doesn't need stress or anything faddish..ya know.

Check everything you do with a doctor.

Get your wife involved too..every one and I mean everyone can benefit from good eating and exercise.

So proud of you for loving yourself and your wife to take care of YOU!

goldthistime

PAV8888 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

bfcbiker2013 wrote: »

Ordered a 6" tuna at subways .... didn't overeat .... still have 1000 calories left .... day 2 ....

Can anyone recommend a good cleansing / detox kit ? Or not recommend one ?

First, good job logging.
Second, You don't need a detox or cleanse. You liver, kidneys and the like do that job automatically. You don't have a bunch of stool stuck in your colon, nor are their "toxin" that you have to get rid of. All that will happen is you will be parted from your money. Stick to logging what you eat. Eat a broad ranging diet of nutritionally rich foods, and meet your daily calorie goal.

...I've seen people in your position who are gung-ho balls to the wall for a few months... and then disappear...

Pav's entire post was packed with sound advice. I hope you read it and reread it. I picked out this line in particular because your initial post set off alarm bells that you were going diet aggressively rather than sustainably. I hope you reconsider.

b4leaving

I'm with you on the journey and will not offer you a bit of advice; only encouragement and support. I don't check out the message boards that often, but add me as a friend.