Losing 150lbs for Air Force Officer training

RunnethUpB

I have a long road ahead of me and looking for someone or a group of people to help keep the motivation high. I tend to be good in the beginning and lose steam half way through. I have 3 years to lose this weight. I'm thinking that is PLEANTY of time to lose weight and gain endurance. I can't run or do pull ups, yet. I can do some sit ups and knee push ups. I'm working on that. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. This has been a life long dream. I will make this come true.

musicfan68

It doesn't take motivation, it takes determination. Just be determined, and do it.

emmamcgarity

I recommend listening to the FatDag podcast. He is active duty military and lost weight because of struggles with the fitness test. He’s very supportive and likely would respond to you if you emailed him with any questions about his journey.

lolly2414

You can do this!! It won't always be easy, but you just have to keep up your willpower. I suggest checking out the challenges board. The monthly or season-long weight loss challenges are a great way to stay motivated. There are some exercise challenges as well.

JeromeBarry1

Tell us a little about your circumstance.

RunnethUpB

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Tell us a little about your circumstance.

What about? I'm 26 and 305lbs. I've lost weight before and got to 227 as my lowest. Now I'm at my all time highest. I'm in nursing school and plan on losing the weight to commission as an officer. The thing I find hardest is controlling my food. I can eat and eat and eat then eat some more. So I'm using this to calorie count and going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I work four 12 hour shifts back to back so finding time is difficult but I make the time. Getting on an eating schedule is hard to nail down with these hours. But I'm doing my best.

MelanieCN77

Sounds like your motivation is plain and simple, and your timeline too. Other people cheering you on can't be what makes or breaks your plan, but reminding yourself of what you can achieve when you hit goal should, so stay focused on that. Be active in the forums, make logging a habit no matter what.

veganbaum

countyourblessings17 wrote: »

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Tell us a little about your circumstance.

What about? I'm 26 and 305lbs. I've lost weight before and got to 227 as my lowest. Now I'm at my all time highest. I'm in nursing school and plan on losing the weight to commission as an officer. The thing I find hardest is controlling my food. I can eat and eat and eat then eat some more. So I'm using this to calorie count and going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I work four 12 hour shifts back to back so finding time is difficult but I make the time. Getting on an eating schedule is hard to nail down with these hours. But I'm doing my best.

You may want to start with simply logging correctly for a couple weeks, regardless of whether you are creating a deficit or not, to make sure you have that down. While this post doesn't scream overcomplicating, there are some things that I think may make it more difficult for you to be in this for the long haul, since you say you tend to lose steam.

1. You do not need to be on an "eating schedule." Eat when you want to (or can, with 12 hour shifts).

2. You do not have to exercise for weight loss. Of course, one should exercise for health, and with your goal of joining the air force, you want to be fit. But, you don't need to start with going to the gym 4-5 days a week. If you like it and it's not a struggle right now, then keep doing it. I'm just pointing this out so that you don't overburden yourself immediately and then give up. Four 12-hour shifts back to back is a lot. What work do you do? Is it in the nursing field? If you already have an active job, maybe focus your gym time on full-body strength training three times a week.

And as another poster mentioned, it's not about motivation. It's about determination and consistency. You just need to be in a deficit over time and you will lose weight. Some can find that boring, which is why so many say they "lose motivation." Yeah, you cannot sustain motivation over extended periods of time. There's a good post about the myth of motivation, maybe someone will link it.

I would suggest starting with reading the stickies in this forum and getting your logging in order. Then work on creating a deficit and finding foods that are satiating for you. Then focus on exercise and strength.

kshama2001

countyourblessings17 wrote: »

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Tell us a little about your circumstance.

What about? I'm 26 and 305lbs. I've lost weight before and got to 227 as my lowest. Now I'm at my all time highest. I'm in nursing school and plan on losing the weight to commission as an officer. The thing I find hardest is controlling my food. I can eat and eat and eat then eat some more. So I'm using this to calorie count and going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I work four 12 hour shifts back to back so finding time is difficult but I make the time. Getting on an eating schedule is hard to nail down with these hours. But I'm doing my best.

I used to eat and eat and eat too. Then I found out that if I upped protein and decreased carbs, especially from flour and sugar, I am full on much less calories. I'm eating more fruit and less baked goods. I pair fruit with protein and fat, for example, apple with cheese.

Understanding satiety: feeling full after a meal

...Tips on how to feel fuller

So how can we best try to enhance these feelings of fullness to help us control how much we eat? Here are some top tips for helping you feel fuller:

1. Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.
2. If you are watching your weight, opt for lower fat versions, using leaner cuts of meat, cutting off visible fat and avoiding the skin on poultry as this will help reduce the energy density of the diet, which can help to enhance satiety (see below).
3. Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.
4. Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.
5. The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods. Click here for more information on energy density.

Read more: http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html

kshama2001

ps: regular exercise and good sleep helps me not have the munchies as well.

RunnethUpB

Thank you all for your posts. Yes I'm currently in the nursing field now as a nursing assistant. So I'm on my feet at least 10 out if the 12 hours. Which is another reason I really need to get this weight off. For a 26 year old, I hurt all over. I want to be lean, strong and healthy. That's my goal. Thanks again

Shadioutwo

Some great advice here! I'm also in the camp of thinking it would be easier (and more sustainable) for you to get the logging and calorie deficit in order before embarking on the strength training/cardio.

By all means, if you enjoy it and it's not burdensome, then head to the gym after your shifts, but I think you'd be better placed getting the food right first. I say this as someone who also works in the medical field and does long shifts! You'd be surprised how much exercise you'd be doing as a nurse on her feet all day!

I also agree with the poster above who advocates less carbs, more protein and more fats. I've lost and gained loads of weight over my life and the easiest way to feel full on a calorie deficit is by doing this.
I'm not suggesting you go full keto (unless you're keen on it) but definitely replacing carbs with protein and good quality fats will help with making you feel full longer and improve your energy levels.

Good luck! You have a great motivation, a concrete goal and you will get there

Orphia

countyourblessings17 wrote: »

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Tell us a little about your circumstance.

What about? I'm 26 and 305lbs. I've lost weight before and got to 227 as my lowest. Now I'm at my all time highest. I'm in nursing school and plan on losing the weight to commission as an officer. The thing I find hardest is controlling my food. I can eat and eat and eat then eat some more. So I'm using this to calorie count and going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I work four 12 hour shifts back to back so finding time is difficult but I make the time. Getting on an eating schedule is hard to nail down with these hours. But I'm doing my best.

@veganbaum wrote a great post.

I'd add that with your weight and activity level (exercise done at work and home, not for fitness), you'd still need to eat a lot just to not gain weight.

Make sure you're eating enough to fuel the gym 4-5 weeks on top of that.

Do you have a smartwatch/fitness tracker synced to MFP?

I've found my Fitbit Charge HR and my Garmin Fenix 5 were amazingly accurate at calculating my energy expenditure. A lot of the old threads say fitness trackers can be as much as 50% inaccurate, but in the past few years when I've lost weight, mine were about 95% accurate.

Make sure you're eating back your exercise calories, and let your stated weekly weight loss goal calorie deficit take care of the weight loss.

Otherwise, with your "motivation" burst at the beginning, you're likely to crash and burn on too few calories then binge it all back.

I'll repeat again for you, read the Helpful Posts announcements, and learn from the successful people on how to do this happily and sustainably.

fiddletime

First, start logging. Then, tighten up the logging so that you include creamer and ketchup, and weigh foods when possible. Finally, stay under the calorie count, which might mean eating back only a half to 3/4 if your exercise burn.

If you stall then the guesstimate for the exercise burn might be too high. You’ll lose the weight. But when you slip and binge (note I didn’t say “if”), get right back on track that day or the next morning.