384lbs and embarrassed!

cassrodriguez08

I am a 35 yr old mother of 2. I have officially reached my heaviest weight and it sucks! I can’t do a lot of things I wish I could such as play racquetball, swim with the kids, get in carnival rides, sit in normal chairs without fear of breaking them, go to restaurants that have booths (because i don’t fit), find clothes in regular stores instead of searching for them online, and most of all, I want my family not to be embarrassed of me. My ultimate goal is to get to 180lbs....but for a short-term realistic goal I am shooting for 300lbs.
I was recently admitted into the hospital after finally going to the doctors after 4 years. My bp was 240/116 when I arrived at the Dr...and was immediately sent to the ER where they put me on several meds to bring down the bp. Now I am on 3 different BP meds daily to keep it under control. Up until that day I was a (1) pack a day smoker....but I am proud to say that I no longer smoke (30 days smoke free). I have also started walking a mile a day and watching what I eat and logging my meals through MyFitnessPal.
I do not have a scale to weigh myself weekly, but hopefully I will be able to find one that will tolerate my current weight. I would really like to find someone or a group of people that relate and keep each other motivated. We are going into the holidays and this time of year is really stressful and having a few friends to support me (each other)would be AWESOME!

eshamae225

I totally understand your stress this time of the year. I gain a good 8lbs every holiday season....ugh! The hardest thing for me is mentally committing myself to losing weight. My plan is to set small goals, one at a time. My advice would be stay true to who you know you were on the inside before any life changes, and listen to that person. You got this!!

batorkin

I think you should lose your weight from dieting alone at first. You can permanently damage your joints by walking a mile a day at 384 pounds. Exercising plays a very small part in weight loss, and walking a mile a day won't have a very noticeable effect over just eating better. If you want to exercise, I'd recommend using an elliptical because it has low joint stress.

I am not a believer of walking and running to lose weight in general, they are terrible are on you joints if you do them in excess - even at healthy weights. Elliptical, stationary bikes, and other low impact exercises are the way to go, you'll burn more calories in less time and it's safer.

Daily exercise is harder to maintain than daily diet in my opinion. Count your calories and throw out everything in the house that isn't good for you so you aren't tempted to eat it. The pounds will melt off if you eat right. Remember that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

RamboKitty87

Hey, it sounds like you're doing a super job so well done you the hardest part is admitting and facing up to it, I was in denial for a very long time, my anxiety was sky high and I got to the point where I just didn't leave my house for 5 years, I was very depressed and anxious, I started in January this year and have already lost 100lbs, it can be as easy or as hard as you make it, just by being a little more active, keeping within calories and cutting out or switching some things like switching to lower calories / lower fat items or cutting on butter on toast or cutting out soda can make a huge difference, I give myself a cheat day that is saturday, I walk around town for a few hours and I get some goodies and most times I am still under calories because I have walked so much anyway I am rambling on... see this weight loss as a longterm thing because when you reach your goal weight you are not going to want to go back so once you reach goal weight you'll be maintaining also don't do too much too soon, sorry rambling again... you're more than welcome to add me I am happy to support and motivate you

cassrodriguez08

Thank you everyone for all your advice!! As mentioned...i don’t have a scale that will accommodate my weight, but I do go to the cardiologist on Friday and I’m sure I’ll get weighed there...hoping for at least a 2lb weight drop...more would be great but I don’t want to get my hopes up....since I just started this past week.

Iamsimpleguy

Welcome to MFP, we all here to support you be active here, check your dairy daily. All the best!! Feel free to add me

For a Starter check this link http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

tyrindor wrote: »

I think you should lose your weight from dieting alone at first. You can permanently damage your joints by walking a mile a day at 384 pounds. Exercising plays a very small part in weight loss, and walking a mile a day won't have a very noticeable effect over just eating better. If you want to exercise, I'd recommend using an elliptical because it has low joint stress.

I am not a believer of walking and running to lose weight in general, they are terrible are on you joints if you do them in excess - even at healthy weights. Elliptical, stationary bikes, and other low impact exercises are the way to go, you'll burn more calories in less time and it's safer.

Daily exercise is harder to maintain than daily diet in my opinion. Count your calories and throw out everything in the house that isn't good for you so you aren't tempted to eat it. The pounds will melt off if you eat right. Remember that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

Walking a mile can give someone a great mental boost.

It's an old wives tale that running and walking are bad for joints.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

cassrodriguez08 wrote: »

Thank you everyone for all your advice!! As mentioned...i don’t have a scale that will accommodate my weight, but I do go to the cardiologist on Friday and I’m sure I’ll get weighed there...hoping for at least a 2lb weight drop...more would be great but I don’t want to get my hopes up....since I just started this past week.

Congratulations on stopping smoking

Logging your food and moving a little more is all you need to do, you're off to a great start.

vnsabrwn9

I lost about 5 pounds last year ( between Halloween, my Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years ) by eating good! I remember cooking turkey, green veggies, sweet potato pone instead of pie, diet soda, etc.. I try to modify recipes to decrease calories while still enjoying food. Good Luck

ACanadian22

Wow girl!! You got this. Your heart is into it.

fighting2bfit89

First of off you are AMAZING! Get the negative thoughts outta your head & realize you have started on this journey & it will pay off. Also don't worry about a scale right away but rather try measuring yourself. I'd start doing that weekly & logging it in a notebook. Good luck!

lynder64

You've got this!!! Quitting smoking is HUGE!!! One day at a time... wishing you well on your journey.

bmeadows380

There are 2 groups that I am part of, dedicated to those who have either started at 300+ or have over 100 lbs to lose:

Let's Lose It: 100+lbs
300+

I have good experiences with both of those groups. However, they have both been very quiet lately, though the 300+ group has a chat thread.

I understand where you're coming from, though - my highest weight ever was in 2012 and I hit 381 lbs. I lost a bunch, and then by January 2017, had gained it all back but 6 lbs. I'm back down 94 lbs now, and determined to keep going! But yeah, I was ashamed and embarrassed too, and hated being in public. You're on the right track! I've lost what I have this time around simply by diet alone - counting calories - though I know that eventually, I'm not going to be able to cut anymore and will need to start some exercising.

I don't think walking 1 mile a day is going to damage your joints, as that's not even close to excessive, and its great for building stamina. So I'd encourage you to keep walking! BUT I'd also suggest to either not eat back any of those calories at all, or only eat back half of them, as the calories burned estimates are notoriously off. And from my own experience, when you are starting at such a high weight, if you stick to your calorie range, especially for a 2 lbs loss, it will come off fairly steady at first.

Good luck to you!

lucerorojo

Congrats to you for taking this step! Also for quitting smoking. That is a a very difficult endeavor--I know some who quit and some who've tried--and if you can do that, for sure you will get the weight off and keep it off. Besides your own health you have great motivation in wanting to be more active and for your children.

jgnatca

I would be happy to be your friend. I was where you are. I was beaten down and angry at the same time. I felt nobody would believe that I was an intelligent and disciplined person because of my weight.

Quitting the smoking is a major victory. Getting checked out at the doctors saved your life. You are already well on your way.

I got a lot of help from the professionals along the way. I learned to take the emotion out of setbacks and simply treat each one as a learning experience. I set weekly behavioural goals unrelated to the scale. (The scale goes up and down. Food choices are fully under your control).

dejavuohlala

You have made a great step in joking MFP. Please don't feel embarrassed. You can lots of support. My advice stick with it through good and bad, log all the you eat and drink and stay true to yourself. You can look at others diaries and get ideas. Good luck