Help!!

sarabeth000219

Hello Everyone,

So I am getting married next June in Hawaii.. Only problem is that I have gained so much weight that I am dreading going wedding dress shopping.. I currently weigh about 230lbs. I cant stand it.. I Feel like I have tried everything out there. However every time I try to change its like I almost intentionally sabotage myself.. I either get to obsessed with counting calories and eventually get down to eating 1-2 meals a day. (which i know is terrible for you) or I binge eat which has been a problem since I was a child. I have roughly 4-5 months to lose some weight before I need to go dress shopping.. I am hoping to lose 40-50 pounds by then if possible.. Does anyone have any advice or a great workout/eating plan? Anyone else suffered from this problem as well? This is really important to me and I want to make a lifestyle change.

Thanks.
Sara

JenMc14

First. Take baby steps. Seriously. Start with small changes that you can make life long habits. Make a list of little things and pick two or three each week to focus on, adding to the list until you're doing everything on it. Start to track your food, don't worry about hitting your goals until you see where you're at. Set up your MFP account for a 1 pound a week loss. Going too drastically on a calorie cut right away can set you up for failure. It took me about 8 months to lose about 48 pounds, but I started at 165. (I have since gained 15 pounds back....) 40-50 pounds in 4-5 months is pushing it, but doable.

So, do you drink a lot of soda or juice? Step 1, cut the juice, switch to diet if you can't quit cold turkey, add in more water. That can save you several hundred calories a day.
So, that's 1 item on the list. The next one is move for 10 minutes. a walk, jogging in place, squats, whatever. Then, next week it will be 20 and so on and so forth. You do not have to start Insanity out of the gate. That can lead to injury and burn out. Slow and steady really does win the race here.

Make swaps in what you eat. Go for lower fat dairy, baked chips instead of regular (I told you, baby steps, cutting all the junk from day one may lead to binges later, it has for me in the past). Get leaner cuts of meat. Add in veggies and fruit to your meals. Snack on fruits and veggies instead of junk. Read labels carefully. A kitchen scale will be your best friend. A "serving" of something (as labeled) is often a LOT smaller than what you might consider a "serving".

You can do this. It's not always easy, it's not always fun, but you will start to look and feel better. While you're in the early stages of getting used to the changes you're making, research some exercise programs you find intriguing. Zumba or spinning at the gym? Couch to 5K? Don't forget a good strength training program. Bodyweight stuff at first, then hitting the free weights. You may not see as much loss on the scale with heavy resistance training, but you'll retain more muscle, and definitely like how you look better than if you did no resistance training and lost LBM and fat!

Wow, that's a book, sorry! I know it's overwhelming, just don't be afraid to start small and work up. You can do this. You will look and feel dynamite at your wedding!

MG_Fit

Anything is possible. However I would not recommend it. My starting weight was probably where you're at. 7 months later I'm down 50 pounds. I was eating at a deficit and hit the gym 5 or 6 days a week (for the first 5 months), doing a combination of lifting and cardio. I have since evolved into mostly heavy lifting and HIIT training.

I'd say if you're discipline with your caloric intake I would say 20 - 30, may be a more realistic goal.

nikkip1982

First. Take baby steps. Seriously. Start with small changes that you can make life long habits. Make a list of little things and pick two or three each week to focus on, adding to the list until you're doing everything on it. Start to track your food, don't worry about hitting your goals until you see where you're ate. Set up your MFP account for a 1 pound a week loss. Going too drastically on a calorie cut right away can set you up for failure. It took me about 8 months to lose about 48 pounds, but I started at 165. (I have since gained 15 pounds back....) 40-50 pounds in 4-5 months is pushing it, but doable.

So, do you drink a lot of soda or juice? Step 1, cut the juice, switch to diet if you can't quit cold turkey, add in more water. That can save you several hundred calories a day.
So, that's 1 item on the list. The next one is move for 10 minutes. a walk, jogging in place, squats, whatever. Then, next week it will be 20 and so on and so forth. You do not have to start Insanity out of the gate. That can lead to injury and burn out. Slow and steady really does win the race here.

Make swaps in what you eat. Go for lower fat dairy, baked chips instead of regular (I told you, baby steps, cutting all the junk from day one may lead to binges later, it has for me in the past). Get leaner cuts of meat. Add in veggies and fruit to your meals. Snack on fruits and veggies instead of junk. Read labels carefully. A kitchen scale will be your best friend. A "serving" of something (as labeled) is often a LOT smaller than what you might consider a "serving".

You can do this. It's not always easy, it's not always fun, but you will start to look and feel better. While you're in the early stages of getting used to the changes you're making, research some exercise programs you find intriguing. Zumba or spinning at the gym? Couch to 5K? Don't forget a good strength training program. Bodyweight stuff at first, then hitting the free weights. You may not see as much loss on the scale with heavy resistance training, but you'll retain more muscle, and definitely like how you look better than if you did no resistance training and lost LBM and fat!

Wow, that's a book, sorry! I know it's overwhelming, just don't be afraid to start small and work up. You can do this. You will look and feel dynamite at your wedding!

May be a book, but very well said