*VENT* Struggling to get started losing weight

KeshNZ

2 years ago I managed to drop 7 kgs doing two rounds of Michelle Bridges 12WBT, however due to a combination of regular anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, resulting depression and hormonal migraines I have now gained all that back.

I'm 162 cm, 71 kg and have an 83 cm waist. I know I need to exercise more, eat better and lose weight. My health professionals tell me I could drop a few kilos. I'm unhappy with my body, what I have lost (strength and fitness), the weight I have gained. I know I NEED to exercise more and lose weight for the sake of my physical and mental health. I WANT to be fitter and thinner but keep wondering if I really want it enough... I'm struggling to get started. I feel like Sisyphus at the bottom of the hill.

I remember the effort it took to lose weight last time and it scares me to face all that again... I remember the near constant aching and pain from working out, feeling hungry a lot, having to turn down social events because I needed the time to exercise, or turning down treats at work because I couldn't fit in the calories for the day. I remember becoming obsessive about the scales, tracking numbers and workouts. Also, despite trying so many different types of exercise I still haven't found one I truly enjoy (and can realistically do all the time).

I try not to blame myself for getting to this point or dwell on where I was, but it's hard not to do so. 2 years ago I could cycle 30 km, or hike for 4 hours, I walked an hour every day, I had toned muscles good stamina, a healthy BMI and a 28 cm waist. Now I can't even cycle for 10 minutes without getting breathless, a 30 minute low intensity workout leaves me aching for days and I can injure myself just by doing yoga. I know losing weight isn't easy, or even fun, I know I have a lot of questions to answer about why I want to lose weight... I don't really want to do this but I feel like I need to.

I need guidance and don't know where to start! Help!

kommodevaran

Weight loss is very simple, it's what happens when you consistently eat less than you burn.

Eating well and exercising for good health is about getting in enough of everything you need every day, but over time, not too much of anything, and moderate exercise. You can eat anything you like an lose/maintain weight, and you don't have to exercise unless you want to. As you can see, this is pretty complex, but not very complicated.

Weight loss can be hard and scary, and then you tend to regain. Weight loss can be easy and fun, and then you tend to keep it off. We can do a lot of hard and difficult and unpleasant things for a while, as long as it feels worth-while. When it doesn't - and exhausting activity and food deprivation doesn't feel worth-while when we have a normal weight and feel fit, unless we still have extreme goals - there is no longer any motivation to continue.

So this is mainly about two things: Maths and attitude. Oh, and choice.

Gab149

The first step is simply this: begin.

I had depression for a long time and still have anxiety (although much improved now) so I can relate to where you're at. After several years of training myself to run and do weightlifting, I had a ruptured achilles tendon which eventually had to be reconstructed entirely, so I was unable to run for a decade. I reached 107kgs (about 235 lbs). I'm down to 83.5 kg now.

On weights: I read somewhere that however long it took for you to get toned up with resistance training, it takes that same amount of time to lose it all. BUT if you start again, it only takes one third of the original amount of time to regain the tone you lost. Muscles have memory.

If you are aching after a workout, don't stop. The body needs to be put under a certain amount of stress to gain fitness over time. Just don't injure yourself or push too hard at first. Try ten minutes, then twenty, then work up to thirty. Maybe consult a personal trainer or sports physio.

Same for yoga. Take a class and do it under the supervision of a trained yoga teacher for a little while.

Actually, I would suggest keeping it even simpler and just do a brisk walk for thirty minutes a day. Really, that's all you need to get aerobically fit. No fancy equipment, membership, or trainer fees. Also, it helps to clear your head (I find). Try that for about a month and then add other things in slowly. My personal favourite is isolation exercises with free dumbbell weights - they seem to be a little out of fashion but I still find that it works for me.

Know that you can.

But most of all, begin.

And then, keep going. One day at a time.

rheddmobile

I'm pretty sure this is what the health professionals mean when they call certain diets and exercise regimens "unsustainable." I don't blame you for not wanting to do again what you described. It sounds miserable. Almost no one has the willpower to make themself miserable for very long at a time, which is why the long term success rate of this sort of diet rounds down to zero. In order to make this work long term, you've got to find a way to make it less miserable.

At the moment you're doing nothing towards your goal - could you maybe try doing half as much as you did last time? Eating a little less, moving a little more - not enough to be miserable but enough to slowly improve matters?

DebLaBounty

A decade ago I weighed 40 pounds less than I do now, ran a half marathon and a few 5Ks, and took some boot camp-style workout classes. Now I'm following MFP and just restarted jogging and Zumba classes after many weeks of just walking. Believe me, it helps to just ignore the past and begin where you are NOW without regret about what you used to do. It will be helpful to you to disregard where you were 2 years ago, it's completely irrelevant now.

I started with walking 15 to 30 minutes a day. After a few weeks, I started Zumba by basically moving less than all the people around me. I used to leave the class after half an hour. Now I can keep up and finish the whole hour. But mostly I just paid attention to the calories I was eating, and that jump started my commitment to continuing.

Begin. Log your food into MFP. Take a walk today. Tomorrow, do the same thing. Begin.

rednote49

Start small. Don't think of the bigness of the weight you have to lose or the difficulty in losing. If you can only cycle for 5 mins or only walk for 15. Just to that for a few weeks while you log your food. Focus on small goals. Each step you take in exercise and cal counting is a step in the right direction. So just take a step and celebrate that.

Francl27

Baby steps. Start logging your food, go for a walk, make better choices... keep a small deficit instead of jumping on the 1200 calories wagon.

CaladriaNapea

Last October, I was where you are. I looked back at how I had lost all this weight before, then stopped doing what I had been doing and regained it all (plus more). In October I knew that I wanted to change, but it just felt so overwhelming. Doing all that work all over again. No longer being able to eat endless (and I mean endless!) amounts of ice cream when I was alone. I kept saying I was going to start and then I would just do nothing. In late October I decided to just take my dog for a walk. One walk, once a day. I did nothing else: I still ate massive portions of everything (especially ice cream), I still hadn't weighed in yet to find out how bad it was. After a week or two I had started to really enjoy my morning walks. That gave me the courage to step on the scale. Hoo-boy! It was pretty bad. I then started stepping on the scale daily and logging it in a weight trending app, even though I still didn't control what I ate or do anything more than weigh-in daily and walk. Well, after a couple days of weighing in, that number started to really bug me. That is the point where I decided that enough was enough, and I was ready to lose the weight. I then started logging my food daily on MFP. I dinked around with it for a couple days (not logging everything by any stretch), but after a week or so I committed to truly logging everything. By the end of November I had lost twelve pounds. As of this morning, I have now lost 62 pounds and I have .8 pounds to go to reach my goal weight.

It is step by step, day by day. Don't start out thinking about everything you want to do. Just start out with one sustainable habit change. As you are ready, add more habits. Build your new lifestyle piece by piece, conquering each step before moving on to the next. I still have pieces I am working on and yet more that I know I want to add in later. Still, take your time moving forward and make sure that every step you take is one you can commit to happily long term.

MegaMooseEsq

CaladriaNapea wrote: »

Last October, I was where you are. I looked back at how I had lost all this weight before, then stopped doing what I had been doing and regained it all (plus more). In October I knew that I wanted to change, but it just felt so overwhelming. Doing all that work all over again. No longer being able to eat endless (and I mean endless!) amounts of ice cream when I was alone. I kept saying I was going to start and then I would just do nothing. In late October I decided to just take my dog for a walk. One walk, once a day. I did nothing else: I still ate massive portions of everything (especially ice cream), I still hadn't weighed in yet to find out how bad it was. After a week or two I had started to really enjoy my morning walks. That gave me the courage to step on the scale. Hoo-boy! It was pretty bad. I then started stepping on the scale daily and logging it in a weight trending app, even though I still didn't control what I ate or do anything more than weigh-in daily and walk. Well, after a couple days of weighing in, that number started to really bug me. That is the point where I decided that enough was enough, and I was ready to lose the weight. I then started logging my food daily on MFP. I dinked around with it for a couple days (not logging everything by any stretch), but after a week or so I committed to truly logging everything. By the end of November I had lost twelve pounds. As of this morning, I have now lost 62 pounds and I have .8 pounds to go to reach my goal weight.

It is step by step, day by day. Don't start out thinking about everything you want to do. Just start out with one sustainable habit change. As you are ready, add more habits. Build your new lifestyle piece by piece, conquering each step before moving on to the next. I still have pieces I am working on and yet more that I know I want to add in later. Still, take your time moving forward and make sure that every step you take is one you can commit to happily long term.

You put it almost exactly the way I was going to! Really, I think starting gradually is the way to go. For CaladriaNapea, it was that walk with the dog. For me, it was logging - I read years ago that people who lose weight and keep it off log their food, so I figured I'd just start doing that - no judgment, no stress, just gathering data. I did that for several months before I hit a second inflection point - I was about to start sizing out of my wardrobe (for the third time in six years). At this point, I'd been logging long enough that I could see where I could make some changes, so I just started doing it. But the point is, make changes that are personal to YOU, not part of someone else's plan. And if you feel like there are way too many changes to make, slow down and take a deep breath. Don't feel like you have to do everything at once - just one change a week will make a difference over time. You've got this.

managematics

I can sympathize with the challenge. I had gotten away from my healthy exercise and eating habits and, since I knew they would work once I got started, it was easy to put it off another day. And it was easy to remember how hard it was the last time.

Back in February I just decided I had been putting it off too long. For the exercise piece I just started with goals that were so incredibly low that I knew I would have no trouble meeting them. For example, I told myself that I would use the elliptical for 5 minutes and go up by a minute a day. Sure, I wasn't pushing myself hard at all, but it was something I could use to resume the habit and feel good that I met my goal. I did the same thing with strength exercises when I resumed them a few days later.

Everyone is different, so what works for me might not for you. But that's what worked for me.

iotterbeinbed

I feel for you. Several years ago I was strength training, running a couple miles every day, and eating fairly well. I was sidetracked by nursing school and a stressful job, and thinking about jumping back into that lifestyle at 30lbs heavier feels overwhelming. I agree with many previous posters, baby steps! Make one change at a time, and don't beat yourself up, because that will just discourage you. I need to follow my own advice!

Goober1142

I think you should just start logging your food. Eat like you always do just track it. Then maybe start with a small deficit. 100 calorie deficit is a pound lost a month or almost. Better choices aren't necessarily painful, such as a pint of Ben and Jerry's versus dinner at the Cheesecake Factory....ben and Jerry's is the better choice. It does get easier and you will be motivated when the weight comes off. Lose a clothing size and then start exercising if you feel like it. A stationary bike in front of a TV is painless. You'll feel so much better!

kshama2001

KeshNZ wrote: »

2 years ago I managed to drop 7 kgs doing two rounds of Michelle Bridges 12WBT, however due to a combination of regular anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, resulting depression and hormonal migraines I have now gained all that back.

I'm 162 cm, 71 kg and have an 83 cm waist. I know I need to exercise more, eat better and lose weight. My health professionals tell me I could drop a few kilos. I'm unhappy with my body, what I have lost (strength and fitness), the weight I have gained. I know I NEED to exercise more and lose weight for the sake of my physical and mental health. I WANT to be fitter and thinner but keep wondering if I really want it enough... I'm struggling to get started. I feel like Sisyphus at the bottom of the hill.

I remember the effort it took to lose weight last time and it scares me to face all that again... I remember the near constant aching and pain from working out, feeling hungry a lot, having to turn down social events because I needed the time to exercise, or turning down treats at work because I couldn't fit in the calories for the day. I remember becoming obsessive about the scales, tracking numbers and workouts. Also, despite trying so many different types of exercise I still haven't found one I truly enjoy (and can realistically do all the time).

I try not to blame myself for getting to this point or dwell on where I was, but it's hard not to do so. 2 years ago I could cycle 30 km, or hike for 4 hours, I walked an hour every day, I had toned muscles good stamina, a healthy BMI and a 28 cm waist. Now I can't even cycle for 10 minutes without getting breathless, a 30 minute low intensity workout leaves me aching for days and I can injure myself just by doing yoga. I know losing weight isn't easy, or even fun, I know I have a lot of questions to answer about why I want to lose weight... I don't really want to do this but I feel like I need to.

I need guidance and don't know where to start! Help!

I wanted to say, "Start where you are and do a little more each time" but am concerned when a woman who is 5'3" and 156.5 pounds says "a 30 minute low intensity workout leaves me aching for days." I wonder if you have an underlying medical issue like fibromyalgia, which is not uncommon to have in conjunction with CF.

Sounds like you had a punishing regimen in order to lose that 7 kgs before. I suggest you take it easy this time. Frame your goal as becoming healthier rather than losing weight, and shoot for a very moderate weekly weight loss goal, like 0.5 pounds per week. Or just shoot for getting stronger.

ps: As a former yoga teacher, I'm curious about your comment, "I can injure myself just by doing yoga." It's actually pretty easy to get injured by certain poses and while practicing certain styles of yoga. I crossed Shoulder Stand off my list after reading The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards.

Now, if you were to tell me that doing Rodney Yee's AM Stretch injured you, that would ring alarm bells

KeshNZ

kshama2001 wrote: »

I wonder if you have an underlying medical issue like fibromyalgia, which is not uncommon to have in conjunction with CF.

I'm not sure, I have seen half a dozen doctors but all of them cannot come up with any reason for the fatigue and pain (mainly chronic headaches but also joint/muscular pain). The closest I ever got to an answer is being told I came into contact with the glandular fever virus when I was 18, but the doctor never confirmed I actually had glandular fever. I've been offered no support or referrals other than anti depressants and told to get more active. The multiple blood tests I have every year are always clear.

The headaches often get worse when I'm working out, no matter how much I hydrate and breathe properly. I'm so used to having a headache now that I only notice them when they become severe. The joint pain could be tension from sitting all the time due to my desk job.

Currently I do a yoga class once a week (hatha) and *try* to get to the gym for a basic strength training (mainly compound exercises) and light cardio twice a week, although lately it's been once every 2 weeks due to long work hours and multiple after work appointments. I try to walk for at least 15 minutes a day, although I'm often slow due to having a headache and/or joint pain. I've also recently started eating a vegetarian diet with an aim to cut down on simple carbs. It's a start but not enough to keep the weight off and build strength.