256 pounds and troubled

whineryjnw

Anyone have any advice, or thought processes to keeping consestant with your diet and weight goal?

markswife1992

hello - I was 200 lbs and I am having a very difficult time losing. I have a dress that I love that I used to wear, it is hanging in my closet on top of all my other clothes. every morning, I see that dress and I dream of when I can fit into it again. it makes passing on the donuts a bit easier (that was a joke for those who are going to tell me I can lose while still eating donuts)

thought processes & advice:
(1) it will NOT come off overnight. this might be a 2 year journey. hang in there.
(2) alternate calories depending on your activity level. if I go to the gym, I eat about 100-200 more calories than on days when I lie in bed watching Grey's Anatomy or ER reruns.
(3) you are worthy no matter your weight. if you lose 10 lbs, go buy yourself some new shoes or new work-out pants. don't wait until you reach final weight goal before rewarding yourself.
(4) eat something you're craving once per week. on Saturdays, that's the day when I can eat something that I am dying to eat, such as a donut or a glass of wine. if I have something to look forward to, making it through sunday - Friday is easier.

good luck! :flowerforyou:

Rebecca0224

Best advice I recieved was to make small changes and make them a normal part of my life.

whineryjnw

Yea I have a hereditary cholesterol problem and it's all over the place. My oldest daughter will be 5 this year and I have another girl on the way next month. I want to be around long enough for my wife and children but this food addiction has more control of my life then I thought. As a man I personally think my job is to protect , provide and take care of my girls, hopefully a son one day God permitting

cwolfman13

Understand that this is a process, not an overnight thing...I say this both in terms of actually dropping the weight as well as making changes to your diet and activity. People often try to do 180* whole sale changes to their diet and exercise, and the vast majority crash and burn in pretty short order. Trying to do too much overnight is pretty much going to lead to burnout pretty quickly.

This is an evolutionary process that takes a lot of time...nutrition wise, baby steps work best. I also liked focusing on what I could/needed to add into my diet to make it better rather than obsessing about what to cut out...as I slowly added things in, other things just fell by the wayside over time.

Understand that there really is no finish line...getting to some arbitrary number on the scale isn't end game...it's actually the starting line of the real race....everything to get there is just practice for the real race that is maintaining a healthy weight.

whineryjnw

That's awesome thanks man

MichelleSilverleaf

It's easiest when you find stuff you enjoy. Rebecca's advice is also good, start small and go from there. My start was portion management, they were way out of whack. Once I got the hang of that I started focusing on making each meal more balanced. Breakfast for example is half a bagel with a tbsp of peanut butter, half a cup of greek yogurt and a cup or two of fruit. 490ish calories, easy. Another is not to deprive yourself if doing so is hard. A lot of people will pick one day a week to have a treat or a cheat day, and that's perfectly fine. I know myself well enough to know that would never work for me, so I work it into my daily calorie goal. Understand that you may have days where it's not so easy, and that's okay - they'll pass. And like markswife said, you are worthy. Think of it as self-love.

150poundsofme

I struggle every day but am on Day 3. A good positive attitude. You can write out the reasons why you want to lose weight and reread them every day. Lots of water. Hugs

jhildebrandt73

Change the way you view food. If a person did something to hurt you, wouldn't you look at that person in a different way? Well, the food you eat has been hurting you, so embrace foods that won't hurt you. And don't think of what foods you have to give up. Look forward to discovering new foods. There are so many healthy and tasty options. But you didn't gain the weight overnight, be patient, culture changes take time.

PaulaWallaDingDong

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

Best advice I recieved was to make small changes and make them a normal part of my life.

I started out at 250 lbs, 5'3". Down to ~150, and this^ is pretty much all I did, using MFP's calorie goal to keep my bearings.

You can do it.

whineryjnw

That's awesome advice thanks guys, should have thought of that myself, several brains are better then one.

markswife1992

that's the great thing about being here - you can always find some help and support.

lilolilo920

Always log it. Even if you're embarrassed by your food choices, went over calories, anything. It really helps to visualize how your actions impact your weight.

MJ2victory

MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »

It's easiest when you find stuff you enjoy. Rebecca's advice is also good, start small and go from there. My start was portion management, they were way out of whack. Once I got the hang of that I started focusing on making each meal more balanced. Breakfast for example is half a bagel with a tbsp of peanut butter, half a cup of greek yogurt and a cup or two of fruit. 490ish calories, easy. Another is not to deprive yourself if doing so is hard. A lot of people will pick one day a week to have a treat or a cheat day, and that's perfectly fine. I know myself well enough to know that would never work for me, so I work it into my daily calorie goal. Understand that you may have days where it's not so easy, and that's okay - they'll pass. And like markswife said, you are worthy. Think of it as self-love.

I have a decadent treat just about every day but leave it at that. For example, the other day I had 3 pieces of pizza. A friend then told me on the way home he was stopping at McD's for a milkshake. I decided not to get any ice cream. And it wasn't hard to say no because I had already had my treat! and I had ice cream the day before that haha. Those decadent treats are important!!! There are also treats like guacamole (I have it with celery), feta cheese and craisins on my salad, etc that are just part of using my calories to eat things I like!!!

laurenebargar

Be flexible and dont beat yourself up if your day wasn't perfect. Last night was crazy and life got in the way, and even though I planned on my dinner being chicken veggies and salad, it wound up being a slice of pizza. I didnt go crazy, I actually only had half, and today im right back on track, but the other great thing is, I could have easily fit pizza into my day had I not eaten out earlier in the day.

Dont do anything that is making you feel deprived, I started simply by not drinking my calories, one day I woke up and stopped drinking soda and juice, and from there I continued to make changes.

whineryjnw

Thanks all

scarlett_k

Something important for me to help me keep going is simply taking note of the things that are bothering me, like back pains or not being able to sleep on my side, or struggling to reach an itch... and realising as I progress that these things are getting better.

cqbkaju

Exercise hard enough, often enough and it can make up for a bad food choice or two.

Ismoniak

Baby steps. My first step was the food diary. Once I saw how much I was consuming, I could make better food choices. I can still eat "the good stuff" and eat healthy too. It's just a matter of balancing it all out and the food diary has really helped me with that.

Then exercise. Find what you like to do. I have an elliptical at my home, if I want to be successful with it, I found I needed to occupy my mind, so I would play an episode of Game of Thrones and it would keep my mind from wandering and becoming bored with the activity. Same for rowing, I keep it outside, and row while looking out at the trees and scenery. Kind of like playing pretend. I don't like to go to gyms, but I also live out in the desert and it's a very long drive to the closest one, so I make do with what I have. Bike rides, yoga, walks with the dogs, whatever keeps my interest. And I love to lift weights. I've become passionate about that. I'm stronger than I ever was, I know I can be even stronger if I keep going. I have to keep a schedule for my workouts or I forget and put it off. Don't let yourself do that.

Reward yourself. Set mini-goals to work towards so you don't get overwhelmed or discouraged. When you hit that goal, you get a reward. Make it something that you normally wouldn't do for yourself. I get a pedicure (something I've never had) and a pair of heels for my most recent success. I tend to wear flip flops or athletic shoes almost all of the time, so it's a big deal for me.

You can do things for other people, but deep down, you have to do it for yourself. It took me a long time to understand that, and I'm also finally coming around to where I like myself again, and it feels very good.

gabriellejayde

I was your exact weight a few months ago. I'm down to 218 today and even though that's still overweight... I have to tell you... It feels a WHOLE lot better. I have a few bits of advice.
1. You may have heard that weight loss is not linear. that means that the scale isn't always going to go down. sometimes for days or weeks, no matter what you're doing. DON'T give up. that happens to EVERYONE and just be patient. My weight loss chart goes up and down (mostly down) and sometimes it makes no sense, and I can't eat much.
2. If you get a craving and you're out of calories for the day, tell yourself that you can have it in the morning. then go to sleep. You'll probably wake up and forget about it, or, you'll wake up still wanting it and now you can allow it in your day.
3. Set small, attainable goals that don't seem too overwhelming
4. Find other things to do when you want to turn to food out of habit.

AliceDark

To go along with what other posters have been saying, try to learn how to step back and view the whole process on a larger scale. People tend to focus too much on the little things and they let one bad choice completely derail their progress, which is so dumb. As long as your overall trend line moves towards weight loss and healthier choices, you're on the right track.

PaulaWallaDingDong

cqbkaju wrote: »

Exercise hard enough, often enough and it can make up for a bad food choice or two.

At this point in the OP's journey, it's likely that this is an unreasonable expectation. "Easy does it" goes a long way.

Chadxx

Lose the words diet and cheat from your vocabulary. The key to this process is learning to budget your calories as you would money and to develop healthy long term (life long) eating habits. No food is truly off limits but many simply aren't worth the calories they cost. Learn to spend your calories wisely in order to stay full and satisfied. Use veggies to add volume to meals. Watch out for things like oil and butter that can quickly add hundreds of calories to a meal. Find ways to incorporate treats other than the traditional calorie nuclear bombs. There are tons out there. The recipe section has a killer protein cheesecake. I put cocoa in my coffee pretty much daily. Halo Top is delicious. One of my favorites is light vanilla Greek yogurt with cocoa and stevia and sometimes powdered peanut butter mixed in. I actually eat more "sweets" now than I did before I lost 150 pounds. Also, be accurate. A food scale is pretty much a must have item and is actually really convenient. I almost never have to wash measuring cups anymore which are extremely inaccurate for solids anyway. When I add shredded cheese, I just set the bag on the scale, hit the tare button, and measure what I use, very easy. If I am making oatmeal or grits, I set the bowl on the scale, hit the button and pour until I have the desired amount. Understand that this isn't a race. There are no bonus points for losing the weight quickly and there really is no finish line anyway. Also, you absolutely can do this. You just have to decide to do it and take it one day at a time. Before you know it, those days will add up and you will be amazed at what you have accomplished.

mrk34

Weighing myself every day and seeing results kept me motivated.
Also, knowing that I wanted to lose weight more than anything else.