SOS

SmyrnaTownie

I'm 32, 5'7", & 260 lbs. I'm getting married in January & I just want to be happy & proud of how I look (even though I know my fiancé loves me the way I am now). I have tried everything but then get bored or stressed out & I gain what weight I have lost back. I'm an emotional eater & I give in to cravings 9/10 times. Exercise has been difficult because of my sciatica & then I stepped on broken glass & needed stitches so that's been fun. I am aware that this all sounds like excuses but I have some sort of mental block happening & I can't move past it so if anyone out there has any advice or can help me, I would appreciate it. I will say that I used to be over 300 lbs & I lost nearly 100 lbs (when an abusive relationship took it's toll on me) & I was very proud of that weight loss so I know it's possible.

SezxyStef

to be frank you have to want to lose the weight.

I was sort of where you are with my husband not minding me being bigger...so I didn't have that motivating me.

I got to a point where my health was an issue...like you I had sciatica and it hurts, blood work was whacked out and I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I started out slow with walking a bit, cutting back on food....when I craved something I ate it in a reasonable portion tho.

I logged using a food scale in grams and stayed in goal...

that's how you do it.

Have I always done great...heck no...I have days where I say *kitten* it and eat all the foods but then I get back on track. I have weeks where I am on vacation and do the same...but then I get back on track.

Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you have to stop living life and having fun.

deniseamerson05

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! I'm fairly new to MFP myself, but have been able to lose in the past as well. The only "advice" I can really offer is to keep at it! Don't give up if you're upset things aren't going as fast as or exactly the way you'd like (that's not going try get you anywhere) And to be realistic with yourself on what's doable for a daily calorie goal, so you won't set yourself up for failure
Good luck!

toxikon

You can do it! Here is some advice.

1. Don't overcomplicate. You don't need to follow a restrictive diet or an intense workout routine. You can continue eating all your favourite foods, just in smaller portions. You don't even need to workout to lose weight. Sure, activity is great for health purposes, but there's no reason you can't lose weight with a Sedentary lifestyle.

2. Buy a digital food scale and track every bite that goes into your mouth as accurately as possible. Weigh and measure everything!

3. Eat at a deficit that works for you. If your deficit is too extreme, you will burn out, feel like crap and probably end up bingeing. Don't be afraid to choose a more sustainable deficit that you can stick to until you reach your goal weight. You can calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) with a calculator, then choose your deficit. To lose 1lbs a week, you'd want a daily 500 calorie deficit. Play with numbers until you find what feels good.

Honestly, the key is just building the habit of logging consistently. It doesn't take too much time out of your day to log into MFP and record your meals. You can do it!

Old_Cat_Lady

I lost weight without exercising. Take it easy. Get a food scale if you don't have one (next to measuring cups at food stores).

cheryldumais

You definately can do it. The mistake most people make is dieting too drastically. You can't maintain that level long enough and then you rebound and gain everything back plus because you are starving. I have gone from 233 to 147 in a year and a half although my all time high was 251. The first 62 pounds came off in a year but the last 24 have taken a bit longer. I still have about 7 pounds to go. What I did was take my time. I decided to heck with all the crazy diets, I'm gonna do what I can live with and low and behold it worked. I now feel sick if I overeat and am satisfied on much less food but that took several months. My tastes have slowly changed. Don't feel like you have to change everything instantly. I slowly introduced changes like greek yogurt for sour cream or spiralized zuchinni for spaghetti. That wasn't happening in the beginning. I just budgeted my calories for sour cream and pasta. I still use pasta and sour cream on occasion. Depends on my mood. I just count the calories and stay within my allotment.

For exercise I walk. I chose walking because I enjoy it. If you like to swim, then do that. If you like to run then run... you get the idea. You can lose without exercise but the bonus with exercise is that you get to eat more. I am going to have to start lifting weight eventually because I want to build back some muscle but you can do that when you are ready. Take your time and while it will be nice to be thinner for your wedding don't try to be 130 pounds by January. You are building new lifetime habits not just losing weight for one day.

MommaGem2017

Maybe try some yoga as it can be gentle on your body and help relieve some of the stress you are feeling. As with @TheWJordinWJordin - I am also losing weight without intentional exercise, so please be compassionate to yourself and start simply.

billzg1

u don't have to make things hard on you mate all you have to do look better is track your calories.That being said u don't need to eat healthy or low calorie foods just eat whatever you like and simply track it,know how much u need to eat and eat that much not more not less.Then a gym membership would def help out cause as you loose weight u will start to see some muscle which can always be motivative don't expect it to be fast or have unrealistic goals.Good luck on your long journey!

rmgnow

The catch 22 is that losing the weight may help you with your sciatica.

You have to want to do it though.
If you want to do it, enter your stats into MFP and be as honest as possible

NEOHgirl

a) Because you are an emotional eater, is there an activity you like that can reduce your stress? Anything that puts a smile on your face and/or keeps your hands busy, such as knitting, coloring, painting? Heck, turn on your fave tunes & have a private dance party. Take a walk in nature, if you can. If you have a dog, play with him or her for 10 minutes. Do anything that you actually ENJOY, and try that before you reach for foods that are off plan. You cannot simply get rid of an old habit, you have to replace it with a new one.

b) Do NOT put yourself on a time clock. Take it one step at a time, keep in a calorie deficit, no matter how small, and eventually you will get there. I’ve been working towards a healthier lifestyle since 2008. There have been some roadblocks along the way (2 leg injuries involving crutches included) and it has taken much longer than I thought, but as of today I am only 16# from my goal weight. I don’t care how long it takes, as long as I eventually get there. Taking myself off the time clock that only existed in my mind reduced the majority of stress that was involved with my efforts.

c) Do you have specific foods that you turn to in times of emotional crisis? Can you commit to keeping these foods out of the house for at least a month, to see how you do it? I don’t bring cookies into my house, for example, because if I buy a dozen from the bakery, I will eat them all in 3 days. Now, if I crave a cookie and cannot distract myself from the craving, I have to actually go out of my way to get one, and I buy only a single one from a good bakery. If it is worth me making a special stop somewhere, then I really want it and I fit it in.

d) Keep a notebook or diary and journal your emotions before you eat. If you find yourself reaching for something you didn’t plan on as an emotional support, stop for just a minute and write down what you are feeling in the moment and why. Even if you end up snacking afterward, it will start to build the self-awareness of what is triggering those cravings and perhaps get you started on a path to deal with the root emotions themselves instead of just self-medicating with the food. It takes a bunch of work, and it isn’t easy, but YOU ARE WORTH IT. You CAN get to a place of inner peace, or at least get closer to inner peace and higher self-esteem. It takes shutting down the Negative Nelly that lives in your head, stopping her in her tracks, and telling her why you are fabulous. And you are! I’m not going to sit here and say she doesn’t pop up anymore, but it’s less often and I’m able to shut her down much more quickly.

Good luck – do what you can do. You don’t have to do everything. And remember, every healthy choice you make is better than the alternative.

150poundsofme

Hi, You know how to lose weight. You have to start fresh and it really is one day at a time, one meal at a time. All of the above posters gave great advice. You can do this!!!! Hugs

scarlett_k

You're here so that's a start We are about the same age, same height, and my starting weight was about 270 lb and I've developed plantar fasciitis in the past month or so, so I know how frustrating it is not being able to exercise. I have just had to reduce my activity level - and so my calories - for the time being as otherwise I'm not going to lose anything. I was walking 1-2 hours a day before that and it's so boring not being able to right now.

Try just logging whatever you normally eat, get into the habit of weighing things to work out the calorific value, and maybe start making small changes to your diet like cutting down on sugary drinks, or having a smaller portions of some things.

I am still learning that I can't change my habits overnight but I can change them, and I don't have to deprive myself of certain foods either. Just be patient and take some steps towards a better lifestyle.

__TMac__

Daily exercise helps my sciatica in a significant way. It only flares up these days when I'm not stretching properly, or when I haven't been active for a couple of days in a row. The weight loss, the stretching, and the stronger core all contribute.

Focus on building habits, not on raising motivation. My first goal was to see how many weekdays in a row I could work out. I couldn't get beyond 3 or 4 for months, so I'd start over at 1. Once I hit 20 in a row, I started logging my calories. (Many people go the other way, but exercising seems to be a gateway behavior for me.) Now I exercise 5-6 days a week and pre-log the day's calories in the morning while I eat breakfast. I'm not actively making the decision to do it every day; it just happens. It's a habit.

I'm down to 185, from 248. 14 lbs to go to reach a healthy body weight.

KWFitLiving

Your first step is going to have to be figuring out what your "why" is. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to make a change? Dig deep and once you know what it is, use that as your motivating force.

Step 2 -- write down your goals. Start with something small! If you give in to cravings 90% of the time, make your first goal getting RID of everything in your pantry/refrigerator that you know you don't want to eat.

Baby steps!!