I'm starting my journey tomorrow
cschof18
Posts: 34 Member
I am starting my journey from 325 to 180 tomorrow. Any tips to keep me sane and motivated. Excited and terrified at the same time. Really don't want to fail again. Thanks everyone!
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Do a practice run of logging your calories today. It will probably freak you out a bit, but that may be a good motivator for tomorrow.9
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Believe in yourself!
everything is made of ups and downs before it stabilizes so dont give up! Theres this youtube channel that i really like called ''the health nerd'' it motivated me alot specially to drop sugar (almost) completely and drink water, i hope you have the best luck, cheers! 1 -
Keep track of your weight AND measurements. Take a BEFORE picture (or a few). Try to weigh yourself only once a week or so. Drink lots of water. STAY POSITIVE. I've only lost 5 lbs but so far this has been very helpful. You can do it! Good luck. My goal is also 180(for now).2
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I cannot offer any advice about staying sane.
However ... For motivation: check out the success stories thread often. In addition, I'd recommend measuring yourself in many places -- not just your waist, hips, etc, but also your forearms, neck ... You'll be surprised when the scale isn't moving that you'll have lost inches in all sorts of places.
I also like looking at a lot of data so that I can see progress. Therefore, I weigh myself daily. It's interesting to me to see how certain foods and calorie amounts impact the scale, or how adding in a type of exercise or increasing its duration impacts my loss.
Sometimes you're doing everything you're "supposed" to do and the weight loss stalls. It's normal. In those times, it's great to be able to track progress in other ways.
Good luck!1 -
Don't try to change everything at once. Baby steps. Experiment to find a comfortable way of eating that you'd be willing to do for the rest of your life. Don't eat foods you don't like. I aim for about 80% of my calories from nutrient-dense foods and 20% from treats.
The closer you can stay to your normal way of eating, the easier it should be to sustain a deficit. Eat your regular way for a week or two and log that so that you have some data. You can then look back to see where you might eat smaller portions and/or make satisfying substitutions.3 -
I am starting my journey from 325 to 180 tomorrow. Any tips to keep me sane and motivated. Excited and terrified at the same time. Really don't want to fail again. Thanks everyone!
Remember that your journey isn't a diet - it's a lifestyle change. You want to set this up so that you can eat this way for life. That might mean you'll need to experiment with macros and the size deficit that you can handle. Since it is a lifestyle change, and not a diet, be patient.
Remember that your goal is to lose fat - the weight will follow the fat, but will fluctuate along the way so the scale will fool you. Eat at a deficit and trust the process. Don't panic.
Whatever your weight loss goal is, your deficit will work for you. For example, if your goal is 2 lbs/wk, your average deficit will be 1000 calories per day. Remember that if you go over by a few hundred calories in any given day, you're still at a deficit - so don't beat yourself up over those days.
You will get frustrated at times. Don't make decisions based on feelings. Make them based on facts. This process works.
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Yay! You've taken the first and most important step---deciding to make changes.
The one thing I wish I'd done when I started here 3 yrs ago was to take my body measurements before I began losing weight.
If you stick with the logging of food and exercises every day, by the end of the first month it will become so much easier and for myself-it was a habit. A good one!
To keep yourself motivated, read some of the success stories in the community boards. There's some pretty awesome people here.
So, congratulations on wanting to become healthier, and welcome to MFP!
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I'm in the same boat.. SW - 312 currently - 296.8 YOU CAN DO THIS!1
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Congrats on a positive step forward! My top 10 suggestions are: 1. DO NOT live and die by the scale. A better way is to find a shirt/pants that are tight tomorrow and each week put them on the same day each week to see your true progress. I think you will be much happier with those results vs. some number on a scale that quickly changes throughout the day. 2. Record everything you consume into MFP, don't forget the empty calories in liquids and dips/dressings. 3. Drink lots and lots of water. Look into how the Japanese use water consumption for weight control. It works in curbing hunger. 4. Use these message boards for support. 5. Hunger will make you want to quit. If you are hungry eat a small meal/snack but do not overly restrict yourself. 6. Do not get extreme with your calorie counts. For instance, if you do a test day or two and see your average consumption is 4600 calories a day don't try to drop to 1200 the first week. 7. Exercise is needed especially if you have any blood sugar issues. Blood sugar has a sneaky way of screwing with weight and when under control the weight can drop fast. I do HIIT 5 days a week and swim in fast moving water once a week but do what you like that you can stick to. The key is to confuse the heck out of your body so it constantly is challenged and doesn't hit a weight loss wall. Muscle weight is your friend. 8. Take the word diet and erase it from your vocabulary. That is temporary. What you are looking for is a lifestyle change. 9. Clean out your bad food at home and replace it with good choices. 10. Make sure you are getting the right nutrients.1
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And remember, you didn't gain weight overnight ... you won't lose it overnight. It may take a few months for you to see a difference, but stay the course. I lost 100lbs + over 2 years ... slow and steady and SUSTAINABLE! Good luck!4
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Just keep going and prepare to be incorrect, adjust and move on! You got this3
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Thank you for the you tube site - the health nerd. I already watched two of them; helpful!0
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It is going to be a GREAT day! You've got this!!0
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Tommrow never comes. Start today start now.
Small changes over time are super powerful4 -
Why tomorrow?
Anyway, don't pick a crazy goal. 1 lb a week is better than giving up because you're too deprived.2 -
Good luck!!!!!!! You will do great!!!!0
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I was sent here by my dr. A wk ago. I have found right I don't eat much but what I eat is not good. This is going to be a challenge but I'm not going to give up, I'll just keep making changes. Today was the first day map had a positive comment to what I ate for breakfast. I was told drink 8 bottles of water a day, I have found that to be my struggle, I went from no pop to up to 50 Oz of water. I just feel so full of water and I hate water. I'm not giving up though and wish you luck stay strong don't give up. Hopefully in time we see each other post good changes in the future.2
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Be the turtle.2
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mcmasters06 wrote: »I was sent here by my dr. A wk ago. I have found right I don't eat much but what I eat is not good. This is going to be a challenge but I'm not going to give up, I'll just keep making changes. Today was the first day map had a positive comment to what I ate for breakfast. I was told drink 8 bottles of water a day, I have found that to be my struggle, I went from no pop to up to 50 Oz of water. I just feel so full of water and I hate water. I'm not giving up though and wish you luck stay strong don't give up. Hopefully in time we see each other post good changes in the future.
Have you tried flavouring your water with fruit or drinking sparkling water? I used to be terrible for drinking mountains of diet coke years ago then switched to sparkling mineral water, still get the fizz but feel much more refreshed and my skin is fantastic since I upped the water intake. I now have no bother getting 2.5-3 litres in a day plus a can of diet coke for lunch.1 -
Stupid question but I am new to all this healthier ways. Do I just cut up the fruit n put it in my water?0
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Don't try to change everything at once!
If you are serious about making changes for life, focus on incremental change... Posters above have suggested tracking how you eat/drink now for a short period to get some data, and that is a good idea.
When you look at that data, you'll see areas you can change, like swapping out a high-calorie snack for a piece of fruit or some air-popped corn... or changing out the cream in your coffee for milk. If you can make a change and keep going with that until it's routine and normal for you, then add another one.
Someone above said don't eat food you don't like. My caveat to that is, keep trying different foods. Once you start making changes to your eating habits, your tastes may change and you might find that you actually like something you used to hate.
Be strong, and focus on the long term!0 -
Losing weight is hard, maintaining weight is hard, and being overweight is hard. Choose your hard.5
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mcmasters06 wrote: »Stupid question but I am new to all this healthier ways. Do I just cut up the fruit n put it in my water?
You can cut it up and throw it in there, or you could squeeze some juice out of the fruit or you can also get one of the infusion bottles (they're available pretty cheap from amazon) that have a little inner basket to stop you getting floaty bits of fruit in the water.
Some of my personal favourites are Lemon & Lime, Mint & Cucumber and Orange & Raspberry.1 -
My advice would be; Start now cause tomorrow never comes. Clean any junk food out of your house because if your anything like me its way too tempting. Don't buy it and you can't eat it. Measure yourself. Open your diary so it keeps you more accountable but even if you slip record it and move on. I started to weigh on Mondays instead of Fridays and it mentally helps to not go crazy on the weekend. I have started to learn if I eat healthy but reasonably low calories breakfast and lunches it makes it a lot easier to have regular full dinners. The recording seems overwhelming at first but you'll get the hang of it! Way to go!1
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I am starting my journey from 325 to 180 tomorrow. Any tips to keep me sane and motivated. Excited and terrified at the same time. Really don't want to fail again. Thanks everyone!
Why are you terrified? (Not being a pain, it's probably worth thinking through the associated emotions.)
I lost 95 lbs in 2014 (into 2015). My best advice:
It's a process, don't think of it as being on or off. You won't be perfect, no one is, and it's not realistic.
Have a plan.
If you don't stick to the plan one day, don't beat yourself up. Instead, think through what happened and make adjustments. It's an opportunity to learn, not a screw up.
With the plan, don't think you will do everything at once. Have realistic goals and stages. For me it was helpful to make goals for the week, month, 3 months, 6 months, and a year (but I'm a planning kind of person). I would have a focus for the week -- log consistently, maybe. Then look at the logs, see what you could improve on, and then make that a goal for the next week. When you get something down, stay consistent and move to something else.
Think through carefully how you gained weight -- it can help to log what you were eating or if it's something like bingeing or emotional eating, understand that. For me it was a combination of careless eating and emotional eating, and being too sedentary (after having been quite active in the past), but I had other strengths, like being pretty comfortable with cooking and planning meals. If the latter are new to you, start gradually and work up.
I approached getting active again gradually too, without being too hard on myself and burning out. I knew I had specific longterm goals (half marathon, century ride), but started just by walking everywhere I could and going to the gym 3x a week for 30 minutes. Then as I got used to it and was enjoying it, I did more, and added in goals to try new things and stuff like that.
If you have specific questions, ask them.
Focus on the things you can control. You can't control (week to week) the amount you lose. You can stick to calories and log well and get to the gym (or whatever you choose to do).
You can do this!1 -
I like volume when I eat so for me what helps is finding foods I can eat a lot of for not a ton of calories. I love to slice apples really thin and dip in light n fit yogurt, I like to slice cucumber or carrots and dip in light Italian or light ranch, I like special k cracker chips for a salty crunchy food (28 chips for 120 cals!), 50 calorie bread for sandwiches or toast, for a sweet treat at night I found mini ice cream cones for 140cals or I love frozen dark sweet cherries and you get 140g for 90 cals..they are sweet and it takes awhile to eat the because they're frozen:)0
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