Obese since childhood

nicolerasmus94

Hello everyone! I could use some advice. I am a 21 year old 5'4" female and weigh 260 lbs. I have struggled with my weight all my life and vividly remember the day when I was approximately 10 years old and my dad had me step on the scale and compared my weight with his so we could see how bad things had gotten. I weighed in at 220 lbs on that day, which was more than him at the time. The amount of weight I've gained since then seems to be about what someone would normally gain over that time, but I just feel like the initial weight has been so hard to lose since I've just gotten used to it over the years. I've recently begun trying to be healthier, although as a college student I still find myself slipping once in a while because of lack of time and things like that. Has anyone experienced something similar? I'm very open to suggestions, recipes, anything that could be helpful. Thank you!

kommodevaran

You have to eat less. What is it that makes you consistently eat too much? How can you see yourself, practically, and for real, consistently eat less?

rheddmobile

My advice would be to eat and behave normally for one week while logging everything, every bite, drink, condiment, and exercise. Then after a week look at what you have and see where you're going wrong and what changes would be easiest to make.

Everyone's needs are different and you will be most successful making changes you can stick with for a lifetime. That means figuring out what calories you need to eat to maintain a healthy weight, and an activity you enjoy enough to do it regularly, both for the extra calories it gives you to eat, and because exercise is essential for health.

Do you have any insight into why you were so much heavier than the rest of your family when you were growing up? Did you eat the same food they ate, or additional food? Did you all do the same sorts of activities, or were they very active while you were less so? Do you eat for emotional reasons?

It may seem like you have a very long way to go, but you can definitely do this if you stick with it - I was heavier than you when I started and am now at healthy BMI.

sschauer513

All I can add is it is a struggle most likely a lifelong struggle is it worth yes for a ton of reasons as I'm sure you know them. My suggestion is seek out a registered dietitian and talk to your doctor about it surprisingly enough they know a lot. There could be medical issues holding you back PCOS, thyroid etc but I found for me going through a medical weight loss center was best at my hospital for the counselling, dietician and interaction with others going through same thing. You can succeed at this will it be easy probably not, does it get easy yes it does, but it starts with you deciding your health is a top priority in your life. We are not perfect either some days you'll be perfect others will not doesn't matter in the long run just continue the lifestyle change.

sara_nikko

I know exactly how you feel. I remember getting an ID card when I was 13 and I had to put my weight on it. I was probably right around 200lbs...I haven't seen under 200 since then. I've gotten close once but then gained a lot of weight back. I started last year at 278lbs, 33 years old, and currently 260lbs because I've been seeing a nutritionist and following CICO. I aim for around 1200-1500 calories a day and the progress is slow but it's there. I also see better results when I exercise. I got my fiance into this lifestyle with me and our wedding in November is a bit motivator. Another thing I would add that helps me is a food scale...measure everything.

luce_de_luce

In People magazine there’s a story about. Chrissy Metz. She talks about how when she was young her stepfather would make her get in the scale and then berate her. It might also be in her memoir. Anyway, being pushed onto the scale at such a young age when you are embarrassed by your weight can be hugely traumatic. You might find some comfort in reading her story.

quiksylver296

rheddmobile wrote: »

My advice would be to eat and behave normally for one week while logging everything, every bite, drink, condiment, and exercise. Then after a week look at what you have and see where you're going wrong and what changes would be easiest to make.

<snipped some stuff>

So much this! Honestly log what you are currently eating for 1-2 weeks. Then go back over your food log and see where you can make changes that won't make you feel deprived. Maybe it's switching one soda per day to water. Do that for a week or so while still logging everything. Then go back over your food diary again. Find another small change, like requiring a veggie every day. Do that for a week or so... See where this is going?

It's not going to be fast, but it is going to be sustainable.

Good luck!

seltzermint555

I'm just a stranger on the internet but as someone who weighed exactly the same as you do at age 21, my advice to you is to commit fully to improving things for yourself. You don't have to get in a hurry, either. Tell yourself "if I keep it up, in a year from now I'll be lighter and I'll feel proud of myself for improvements made". That doesn't have to mean you lose 100 lb, there's no rush because you have a long life ahead and plenty of time. But think how great it would be at this time next year to be even 20, 30, or 40 lb down? Totally worth it. Just log your food honestly and EVERY DAY if at all possible - and measure/weigh yourself periodically (whatever works for you).

As for me...I was a big kid, too. It started with just being taller/bigger than everyone when I was 10 I was 5'4" and about 130 lb, so I looked like a pretty average adult woman in size and no one was too concerned. They commented, but mainly just that I was so tall and big for my age...and my dad had played football and was 6'4 1/2" so it seemed "normal". By age 12-13, I was my current adult size of 5'8" and 170 lb. I didn't stop gaining weight though when I stopped growing - and by the time I graduated high school I was around 240 lb. I know what it's like to be so much bigger than most of your female relatives, friends & classmates that the topic just doesn't even come up...shopping in only plus-size stores...all of that was my normal for most of my life.

My heaviest was 307 lb, and I didn't get under 200 lb again until I was 36 and that was because of MFP and logging my food honestly and with dedication. I worked hard in years before that to walk miles a day and "eat less" but until I got into the actual numbers of how many calories I consumed, I didn't see weight coming off regularly. It took 6 years to lose my first 40 lb, and then I lost the next 90 lb in just over a year with MFP....I rarely lost more than a pound in a week, either...no drastic diets and no drastic sudden loss but it's amazing how much 0.5 and 1 lb will add up as the weeks and months roll on by... I have been thrilled with this, and now maintaining at my goal range for 4 years. I'm 41 and wish I'd discovered this when I was 21.

I understand we all have our issues, and I know I've eaten out of boredom and to comfort and soothe myself with relation to my anxiety disorder and other things like that. I feel that sometimes all of the media stories about weight & food addiction can be overstated and make some of us feel like we're helpless to change. I definitely don't think that is true. I do think a lot of the previous posts have given you awesome advice though with regard to pinpointing exactly what you may be doing "wrong" with your current eating habits, and to examine what may cause you to overeat in some situations. Excellent advice!

When you get serious about logging your food, you learn many things and develop habits that work for you. Just one small example, but I used to think instead of having a breakfast like I have now (egg, slice of toast with a little butter or jam, and coffee) I should eat a different breakfast (cereal & orange juice, which I poured freely without measuring it or looking at calories contained) and if I log those 2 breakfasts, the current one is roughly HALF of the cereal breakfast...I never realized that until I started logging my food on MFP. I could have had the breakfast I preferred, that entire time, and instead I was consuming way more calories! My best friend and i used to get these skillet brownie sundaes at a chain restaurant that turn out to be 1100 calories each...now we get an ice cream cone for 300 calories instead...food can still be enjoyable, it's not all salads and sadness. This is a great tool.