Where do you even begin???

mrs_rolling377

Hi guys, I have been dieting my whole life and for medical reasons I have gained a ton of weight. I have 100 + pounds to lose and I just feel so overwhelmed. Honestly, I don't even know if I know how to eat/cook healthy. I am ready to get healthy and start moving my life in a healthier direction, but where do you even start?

I can't be the only one who feels this way. Any advice or does anyone want to join me and we can help support each other through this crazy journey?

kommodevaran

To lose weight, you have to eat less, for real, consistently, and for a long time.
You do not have to eat healthy or exercise to lose weight.
A healthy diet and moderate exercise is good for you.
A healthy diet is enough of everything you need every day, and not too much of anything over time. No foods are in themselves healthy or unhealthy. You can eat anything in moderation.
Healthy eating is a healthy diet, and a trusting and relaxed relationship with food.
The most effective exercise, is the exercise you actually do.

Use MFP. Set up your account to weightloss - max rate for now. You get a calorie target to hit. Hit it. That's all you have to do, it's very simple. But you have to do it for real, consistently, and for a long time, and that's not always easy. You will have to implement both small and great changes to habits, attitudes and environment.

jessiferrrb

all of what @kommodevaran said is true.

here are a couple of other resources you can peruse as well:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-lose-fat/

dembkogirl

I also have 100+ to lose, and am 40lbs down currently. The biggest thing for me is planning ahead so I can plan out my calories. Measuring my food also helps a ton, as my eyes were seeing 8oz and calling it 5 oz, which is a huge difference in calories. Everyone has always said it, but using a food scale helps immensely! I don't full on meal prep per say, but I do plan out what we are eating that week and use that to plan my grocery list. I find when I stray from my grocery list I make poor decisions (like buying cupcakes last week )

For food choices for me I find ways to add healthier foods to what I already love to fill me up with smaller portions. My 3 egg omelette that I used to make with literally a mound of cheese, and sausage and biscuits on the side? Now I make a 2 egg omelette with a small measured amount of cheese, and add tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms etc to it, fills me up where I don't need sausage and biscuits. The omelette is still huge, and I make a point to always drink 16 oz at least with each meal, so I am full by the time I'm done eating. Fried fish? Now I season fresh tilapia, put less than a tbsp of flour for a super light dusting and pan sear in a tsp of extra virgin olive oil.

One of the biggest things for me was mentally realizing that I'm not "dieting" to lose weight, that I am changing my lifestyle so that I am healthier. Also realizing that there will be days that I will not meet my goal, and that one day doesn't deter me from the new life I have chosen

If you put the work in, you will succeed!

melissa6771

One of the main things is not to get overwhelmed by the amount you need to lose. Set mini goals for yourself like 10 pounds at a time. Also learning to cook healthy will be a big plus for you. Looking into sites like skinny taste, eating well, or Cooking Light. Learn how to cook some healthy meals that you enjoy. Start logging your food on here that you eat regularly and then will be easier to log in later. And use the recipe builder for any recipes that you make. There's tons of info on the boards and lots of veterans to help you. You can do this!

JustSomeJD

You’ve got this. In the end it is a mathematical issue. CICO works. Even with compounding factors figured in. You’re going to rock this.

Tblackdogs

You say that you don't know how to cook/eat healthily. What do you like to eat? Most anything in moderation is healthy but obviously some things provide more nutrition. Here are some foods I like to have on hand: canned tuna, old fashioned oats, fruit, cheese sticks, fiber one bars, greek yogurt or kefir drinks, peanut butter, frozen shrimp, canned black beans, corn tortillas, and ingredients for my own "super smoothie!" Add me if you want a friend to help decide what to eat, or just for motivation. But bottom line, you can do this. Many, many people eat moderately and pretty healthily every day. Good luck!

100_PROOF_

Don't get overwhelmed ! Just remember this one piece of information and you'll be fine, all it takes to lose weight is a calorie deficit.
As long as you are creating a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight.
Calories in calories out.

Another tidbit of advice would be not to fall for the scams and fads. You don't need multi level marketing items, low carb diet,keto , Paleo , or whatever else is the fad of the week. All you need to do is create a calorie deficit for weight loss.

After you get used to eating less, then you can worry about balancing your diet and hitting micros and macros for health ( your macros have nothing to do with weight loss) a well balanced diet is good for obvious reasons.

Get yourself a food scale. Learn how to weigh your solids. Measure liquids. Log them on this site.

Best of luck!

concordancia

You choose a direction and take a step. Choose one aspect to focus on until you master it. Here are a few to choose from.

-Eat five servings of veggies a day

-log everything

-exercise 10 minutes every day (or 10 more)

-figure out what your triggers are. Did you already put an extra candy bar in your mouth? Why? Were you bored? Sad? Lonely? Excited? Do you love candy bars and told yourself you can never have another and now they have power over you?

I generally set a goal or two (ie, one nutrition, one fitness) a week when I am on my game, but sometimes a goal has to be rolled over into a new week.

shadow2soul

to MFP.

Good threads to read:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10589/for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/987513/lifting-is-the-most-horrible-thing-to-a-woman-since-twiggy/p1

lois1231

I would say set small goals. For me my goal right now is to get out of the 260s. If you look at the big picture of all you have to lose of course it is overwhelming. I need to lose 100+ pounds as well. Celebrate the small successes. Any loss is better than where you are at right now, right? Take measurements that will also help. I also have spent my whole life to to dieting. Also invest in a scale. I didn’t at first. Most stuff I would measure using measuring cups but stuff like creamer I was eyeballing until I realized I was probably adding a 1.2 cup of cream to my coffe instead of it being 3 tablespoons which isn’t that much. Yikes.