Anyone 300 or over? I need help...

Kacy9616

I've always been a heavier person. Always around 170 or so. I got on a birth control and gained ALOT of weight... I went from 185 to 298 in less then 2 years! I got off the birth control to try and lose the weight and ended up getting pregnant with my daughter. She's now 6 months old and I have to do something... I can't barely even walk anymore because of all of my knee and back pain. Help please!!

iangibson135

Hi, I gave up sugar on the 1/1/17 (138kg) and have lost 11.6 kg (126.4) there are a couple of books, Sweet Poison and the the great Aussie bloke slim down, they aren't diet books they lifestyle changes, give up sugar and you and will loose weight, it works, good luck

PaulaWallaDingDong

iangibson135 wrote: »

Hi, I gave up sugar on the 1/1/17 (138kg) and have lost 11.6 kg (126.4) there are a couple of books, Sweet Poison and the the great Aussie bloke slim down, they aren't diet books they lifestyle changes, give up sugar and you and will loose weight, it works, good luck

Anything that refers to sugar as poison is little more than propaganda.

OP, I'm not in your position, but know that if exercise hurts you, you can easily get started just by setting and sticking to a calorie goal. As you get lighter you'll be able to do more. I'd also reccommend getting a physical and bloodwork if you haven't lately to see if you have any conditions that warrant a specific diet.

leanjogreen18

Enter your stats in Mfp and get your calorie goal.

Just start by staying at your calorie goal. Soon you will learn which foods help keep you satisfied longer and which ones are only worth eating once in awhile.

Also there are a lot of successful folks who not only lost weight but are maintaining their loss here so read through the forums.

Best!

ladyreva78

Keep it simple.

As the two previous posters said, get your calorie goal from MFP (I recommend starting at 1lbs loss per week to get used to logging, tracking and eating at a deficit - then adapt to 1.5lbs or 2lbs if you feel it's sustainable for you) and then consistently stick to it. For best results, weigh out your portions on a scale to learn what appropriate portion sizes are like.

I started at 253lbs (229 lbs when I joined MFP January 2016) and all I did was eat the amount that MFP gave me. I ate what I always ate, just less of it. Then, once I had a hang of that logging business, I slowly started changing the way I eat.

The more weight I lost, the better I started to feel in my body. That's when I started to walk. Even if only 15 minutes, I made sure I walked consistently, every day. Once that started to feel 'normal' and didn't cause me undue pain, I started to add resistance training. Now, I'm starting to jog (I'm at 185lbs now).

Don't try to change everything in one go. Take baby steps and remember to be kind to yourself. It will take time, but every lbs lost is one that's not weighing on your articulations and organs anymore. Every week the trend is down (or stable) is a victory.

The stickies at the top of the forum are full of very useful information and might be worth a read

best of luck to you. I know you can do it!

ETA: because spelling early in the morning before my first coffee is not the easiest of things...

MissBecca145

Knee and back pain is no joke. And I feel you. I'm over 300. Quite a bit over in fact.

I echo what they above have said. Start small, focus on the nutrition, manage your cals and ensure you are eating at a deficit. I took a month or so of focusing on my eating and in reality eating at maintenance before dropping to a deficit. Baby steps helped.

I'm down 35lbs since start of the year. After 6 weeks of being vigilant with my cals (and that does not mean eating like a sparrow or eating 'clean' 100% of the time - just always at a deficit), I started incorporating light exercise. Short walks (20 minutes or so), and lots of time in my pool (a luxury, I know, but brilliant for joints). Just this week I'm back at my gym and it feels good.

Trust me. Baby steps. Focus on calories. The activity will come.

Good luck!

jackieo9033love

I have just started and I weigh 415 and have a long way to go. If you want to friend me you can and we can give each other help.

MissBecca145

There is also the 300+ group. Everyone there knows what it's like to have a whole lot to lose.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1140-300

meltedsno

Hi.... at my highest, I weighed 280lbs... that was about 12 years ago. I've been overweight my entire life. When I turned 50 (12 years ago) I made the decision that I am not going to live the second half of my life like I did the first half. I will not lie. This is a daily struggle. It will always be a struggle. I don't have a magic pill or a genie in the bottle to wish the weight away. But, here's how I got to where I am today: First of all... I made that decision to lose weight. I was ready. You won't succeed if you are not ready mentally. Secondly, I cut out carbs: namely popcorn. Popcorn is my comfort food. It is my go to food when I need a hug. I air pop it so no added butter, oil etc... but the carbs were a killer for me. When I go on a popcorn binge, I can almost feel the inches on my waist. Secondly, I did reduce my fruit intake to those that have fewer carbs... I love my fruit... but a bag of apples or oranges a day is not healthy for anyone. Cutting the carbs also resulted in reduced calories. Maybe carbs isn't your issue... for me it is... take the time to investigate what your trigger is and start there...

Over the course of a few years, I managed to lose one whole "me". I do struggle and realize that for me, the less time I have to spend on food prep and planning, the better I am... I am currently using Nutrisystem... not for everyone, but it is good for me because I happen to be an emotional eater. When my emotions get the best of me, I tend to gorge on whatever I can find. With Nutrisystem in the house, I am not as tempted.... NOT advertising this product, just saying it works for me.

Just take each minute of each day -- one at a time. Focus on YOU and put yourself first and foremost. Hard to do that when you got a 6 month old in the house... but your daughter will forgive you :-). Take care of yourself and you will succeed... it is possible!

kshama2001

I used to always manage my weight by upping activity...until I had knee pain. When complaining about this to my sister, she told me about MFP, and I learned you don't have to exercise to lose weight, you just need to eat less.

However, exercise has lots of benefits, so I do work around my knees as much as I can and they have gotten much better over the years. I started by walking a little, then a little more, and more - you get the picture.

I've had lower back issues off and on for decades and recently discover that a few seconds of rolling around on a $15 foam roller from Walmart does wonders.

I have incorporated these knee strengthening exercises into my yoga warmups and do them at least a few times per week and also in between sets when I lift weights.

Sheisinlove109

I started st 354 a few years ago, lost about 40 then life just got in the way and I didn't keep weight loss as my first priority. Just recently I started again. It's been 29 days and I started at 312 and now am 298.

With that being said, slow but steady. My helpful hints.

Log everything, even if it's one chip. It will keep you honest and informed. You'll start to feel what you need to change.

Walk, walk, walk. Up stairs, downstairs. Do your best to stretch and walk as often as you can.

Join a gym. Some gyms are $10 a month. Lace up and go most days, even when you don't want to.

Use tv time to stretch.

Sleep. You'll need it plus it will help keep hunger at bay.

Find a friend to send a daily workout pic to. I send a workout selfie and machine pic of calories to my sis. If I don't, I get a reminder.

Wrist step counter.

You'll be sore for a while, totally normal. Fight through it. Use KT tape, I swear by it.

Water, water, water.

PaulaWallaDingDong

sunsweet77 wrote: »

I started st 354 a few years ago, lost about 40 then life just got in the way and I didn't keep weight loss as my first priority. Just recently I started again. It's been 29 days and I started at 312 and now am 298.

With that being said, slow but steady. My helpful hints.

Log everything, even if it's one chip. It will keep you honest and informed. You'll start to feel what you need to change.

Walk, walk, walk. Up stairs, downstairs. Do your best to stretch and walk as often as you can.

Join a gym. Some gyms are $10 a month. Lace up and go most days, even when you don't want to.

Use tv time to stretch.

Sleep. You'll need it plus it will help keep hunger at bay.

Find a friend to send a daily workout pic to. I send a workout selfie and machine pic of calories to my sis. If I don't, I get a reminder.

Wrist step counter.

You'll be sore for a while, totally normal. Fight through it. Use KT tape, I swear by it.

Water, water, water.

I love all of this, but especially the bolded part. I wasn't eating a particularly healthful diet when I was at my heaviest (like most people), and every time I tried a complete overhaul, I failed miserably. It's so much easier to start with what you know and love and adjust from there in bits and pieces. I can actually say that I eat very little of what I ate before and am mostly eating things that were NEVER a regular part of my diet. It's taken over two years to form my present diet and I never suffered for a minute.

jennybearlv

This thread has some great advice! My highest recorded weight was 279 pounds. I've been at this continually for 5 months and lost 50 pounds. I think it is easiest to do one thing at a time. Start recording everything you eat and weighing it with a food scale. Don't even worry about meeting your calorie goal. Just get in the habit of logging and weighing. Then, when you have that down, shoot for that calorie goal and see what foods are helping and hurting so you can make adjustments. Pretty soon it will be second nature.

Most important, don't beat yourself up over slip ups. You will not be perfect everyday. You will go over your calories everyday for a week straight. You may get busy or lazy and not log for a period of time. You won't always be able to resist eating that tray of cookies someone brought in. That's all okay. It's what you do over the long run that counts and all the little good decisions add up.

You don't have to exercise to lose weight, but the extra calorie buffer is nice. I understand the pain of trying to walk with a lot of extra weight. If you have access to a pool that is a great way to get a good burn with no weight stress. You can water walk, swim laps, or take classes. Riding a bike is not too bad either. Strength training is great for everyone and can be done at any size. I think adding a lot of muscle to my legs has made being heavy much easier on me. Just do what you can, and combined with the weight loss you will feel better and be able to walk longer. Last year I was cycling and exercising in the pool because it hurt to walk. Yesterday I ran three miles. You will be chasing your daughter all over the park before you know it.

zyxst

Even the smallest thing is progress. My heaviest was 320#. I started with getting control of my food - following portion control even just counting out the food (no food scale at the time) - and adding a bit of walking up and down the block (all I could manage without my hips screaming in pain).

cerise_noir

iangibson135 wrote: »

Hi, I gave up sugar on the 1/1/17 (138kg) and have lost 11.6 kg (126.4) there are a couple of books, Sweet Poison and the the great Aussie bloke slim down, they aren't diet books they lifestyle changes, give up sugar and you and will loose weight, it works, good luck

Nope. Not necessary at all to give up sugar. This way of thinking automatically goes to the notion that sugar is the sole cause of obesity even though it isn't.

cerise_noir

OP at my highest I was 275lbs (175lbs now). Grab a food scale and start logging absolutely everything that you eat and drink and add to recipes/cook with. Be diligent and honest.

You don't have to cut out sugar or any food that you like. If that was the case, I personally would have had a difficult time with weight loss.

Set up MFP to lose 2lbs per week.

You've got this.

Tacklewasher

I started ~330 (don't know the exact weight as my scale didn't go that high). I started with a fitness tracker and exercising a bit more using a coat rack I had in the basement that was actually a treadmill in disguise. Walked on that for a couple of weeks and kept looking at this link on the trackers website to something called "MyFitnessPal". Finally followed the link and started tracking food, but still didn't really understand what I was doing. Found the forum, read the stickies and have slowly figured it out (somewhat). So I'm a bit backwards to most who have replied.

Once I got the whole CI<CO thing figured out, and started tracking my food intake, the pounds started dropping off. In 3 months I was down ~45 lbs, and am now down ~ 70. It was pointed out that a food scale is key, and in fact if there is one thing I think is essential to losing weight with MFP, it's the food scale.

Start by logging what you are currently eating. Put your stats into MFP and just see what it gives you for an expected change. Then figure out which foods you need to cut back on, if there is anything you need to cut out and what you may need to be adding. Don't worry about the macros to start, just the calories. You can work on macros later. Now, you don't need to cut out any foods, unless there is a medical reason to do so. You don't need to give up sugar, go low carb or any of that. You can choose to if it helps you hit your goals. I gave up pop (soda) as I just can't seem to fit it in my calorie goals, but did not give up wine or the occasional beer. But I did start eating more veggies, just the few ones I actually like.

As I said, I started with walking. Both on the treadmill in the mornings and going with my wife to walk the dogs some days. I would turn on the tv and just walk. Then I started walking faster, walking at inclines, then intervals where I jogged and Jan 1 I started the C25K program. I'm now planning on doing some 5K's this year. One thing I've avoided is joining a gym. Still might in the fall, but I'm not sure.

When I started walking, I had no real pain so I didn't have that issue. Take it easy to start. A short walk is better than no walk if you can manage it.

Good luck

Kacy9616

Thank you all so much for all the great advice! I really appreciate it!!!