Introduce Yourself
Replies
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Maverick6714 wrote: »I have started my weight loss journey on March 8, 2021 weighing 371 pounds at 6'3". Only 9 years ago, I enjoyed running and was in the 265 pound range. I let life (stressful job/kid, etc) get in the way of running and went back to making really bad eating decisions. I am currently at 338 pounds and am looking to get to under 250 pounds. So far I have mainly only changed eating habits. Just starting to get back into exercising.
Hi! I lost my first 50 with diet alone, and am just now adding exercise myself. These are wonderful supportive people here.2 -
New to mfp. Looking for friends to help me. I want to motivate and to help you too.3
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I first joined this group ages ago and didn't post, didn't read and didn't diet. I am now 296lb and I feel lost. I have always had a great new weight loss plan to try or rehashed one I have tried before, but this time I have nothing. I will be reading more of the posts for inspiration and motivation.
I am 42 with two beautiful children under 5 I need to be healthy for them. Any hints and tips are welcome and very much needed. Oh and I promise I am not as miserable as this post has made me sound lol3 -
angelaonens wrote: »I first joined this group ages ago and didn't post, didn't read and didn't diet. I am now 296lb and I feel lost. I have always had a great new weight loss plan to try or rehashed one I have tried before, but this time I have nothing. I will be reading more of the posts for inspiration and motivation.
I am 42 with two beautiful children under 5 I need to be healthy for them. Any hints and tips are welcome and very much needed. Oh and I promise I am not as miserable as this post has made me sound lol
You are exactly the weight I was when I started this, and yesterday I weighed 246. I believe in you, and know that you can do it so you can be the type of mom you want to be for your kids.
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Alexandra thank you so much. Congrats on hitting the 50lb mark.1
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angelaonens wrote: »Alexandra thank you so much. Congrats on hitting the 50lb mark.
Thank you! I've also dropped from wearing a 22 to wearing a 16, just to encourage you.
The thing I am facing now is the weirdness of shape as I lose, because I have still got a belly, but it's all kind of collapsed below the waist. (Which, I also have a waist now.) So I'm not exactly rushing to get into bandage dresses or anything, but it's all moving in a good direction.4 -
Hi, I'm Lottie. I'm 31 from the UK and have over a 100lbs to lose but trying to focus on smaller goals rather than get overwhelmed with how much there is to go!
Since January I have lost 19lbs but would like to lose a little quicker so I know I need to be more focused. Look forward to meeting new friends and supporting one and other x5 -
Hi! I'm Jennifer and I just recently dropped Weight Watchers and came here to MFP. I found myself constantly hungry to the point that i would eat non stop and gain all my weight back. So i hope this will be better. With the pandemic i packed on even more pounds and now i am heavier than ever. I hope that i will be able to lose the weight and not feel like I'm starving! I have about 100lbs to lose at least. So here it goes!5
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Welcome @Tigg_ and @jwall956
You have found your way to a great group. Lots of support. So much amazing advice. And just getting to share experiences with others looking to lose a significant amount of weight is so beneficial.
Being the long weekend it seems pretty quiet around here - I just wanted to say a quick hello to you both and invite you to jump into any conversations going on. There is an invaluable archive of info - look out for posts by NovusDies and Pav8888 - those two will make your heads spin with their weightloss knowledge!3 -
Thank you!1
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angelaonens wrote: »I first joined this group ages ago and didn't post, didn't read and didn't diet. I am now 296lb and I feel lost. I have always had a great new weight loss plan to try or rehashed one I have tried before, but this time I have nothing. I will be reading more of the posts for inspiration and motivation.
I am 42 with two beautiful children under 5 I need to be healthy for them. Any hints and tips are welcome and very much needed. Oh and I promise I am not as miserable as this post has made me sound lol
Hi @angelaonens,
Welcome.
Perhaps you have finally outgrown "great new weight plans" or plans you have before that you ultimately did not sustain. Any plan that creates a caloric deficit can result in weight loss. There are hundreds and probably thousands of them. What good is a plan that helps you lose 10, 20, 50 or even more pounds if it does not help you lose all the weight and then keep it off? Those are vacations from weight. I took many vacations before I finally figured out that success is not how fast the next pound comes off, it is how easy it comes off. If a pound can come off easy or at least easier that makes it a more sustainable plan, right?
Don't start with a plan. Start with whatever you find normal. Tweak it just enough to create a calorie deficit and feel full most of the time. That's it. If you can add in some LIGHT exercise then do it. Go for a small walk if it is safe to do it. Unless you already love exercise though do not feel compelled to hit the gym daily for a sweat filled cardio workout. Regular exercise is good for you but it can wait until you have your food and logging nailed down. Besides you have two little ones to keep you moving.
To recap: Nudge your normal towards healthier. No drastic changes.
I lost my first 27 pounds still eating chicken nuggets and french fries a few times a week. The food doesn't matter as long as you find it filling and partially satisfying. Long term the food matters a little more but you can add in a better balance of nutrition (if you need it) as time goes on. I will ultimately lose almost your entire starting weight and perhaps slightly more depending on what my goal turns out to be. I have already lost most of your starting weight. I did it mostly by just trying to eat the right amount of food each day and ignoring weight loss as much as I could. I treated weight loss as a bonus prize because in the past I would get obsessed with it and get disheartened because I thought about it all the time while it happened very slowly. You lose a small fraction of a pound a day, there is no reason to spend a lot of energy either doing it or thinking about it. Just let it happen and do it again the next day. Just live your mostly normal life and before you know it it will add up to some impressive losses. Also, do not worry about doing it perfectly. Just try to lose most days and let the days you mess up go. If you create an avalanche of good choices the occasional bad ones will get swept under.4 -
Hi, I'm Lottie. I'm 31 from the UK and have over a 100lbs to lose but trying to focus on smaller goals rather than get overwhelmed with how much there is to go!
Since January I have lost 19lbs but would like to lose a little quicker so I know I need to be more focused. Look forward to meeting new friends and supporting one and other x
Hi @Tigg_ Lottie,
Welcome to LL.
Faster is not always better but before I can give you advice what makes you think you need to "focus" more? That can mean different things. Sometimes it means you have not figure out how to stay in your calorie budget for some reason. Sometimes it means you are trying to force yourself to do a diet that is not sustainable for you.
The one thing to remember is that almost everyone out there is trying to lose weight fast and almost all of them fail. If you can believe the numbers it is said that 85 percent of anyone trying to lose weight will fail before reaching a goal. Of the 15 percent that get to a goal, 10 percent of them will regain some, all, or more weight. One of the ways to try and become the 5 percent is to avoid acting too much like the 95.
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Hi! I'm Jennifer and I just recently dropped Weight Watchers and came here to MFP. I found myself constantly hungry to the point that i would eat non stop and gain all my weight back. So i hope this will be better. With the pandemic i packed on even more pounds and now i am heavier than ever. I hope that i will be able to lose the weight and not feel like I'm starving! I have about 100lbs to lose at least. So here it goes!
Hi @jwall956 Jennifer,
A change between WW and MFP is unlikely to make any difference in your hunger control. You will still be eating the same food with very similar portion control.
What you need is to learn how to control your hunger with food. You do this through experimentation and awareness. The most common thing that people find satiating is protein. For me it is protein, fiber, and volume.
You want to be eating the right amount of protein anyway as you lose even if it is not your key or your only key to solving hunger. If you take your approximate goal weight and multiply it times .6 that will tell you the minimum protein in grams to target most days. Try that for a couple of weeks and pay close attention to how long, or short your hunger is abated. Keep in mind that you should be hungry shortly before meals but you should have hunger control for at least 3 to 4 hours following a meal.4 -
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lauriekallis wrote: »
Well... there are some bad choices that can stick with you for a very long time or even a lifetime but ones that deal with daily habits fall mostly in this avalanche theory I think.3 -
I don’t know how to tag you Novus as I am still working this app out. I was on WW for a long time and I would lose 30 lbs and then feel starved to the point that I can’t stop eating. It’s a great program, but I think I need to start here first before I can eat as little as they program. Today was the first day that I felt full and not hungry an hour later. Maybe it’s cause it’s more explained? But it’s only my first official day. I do love the fact that it shows you how much you could lose if you did what you did today in 5 weeks time. Protein is something I need to learn for sure. I don’t know much about food helping to lose weight which isn’t really explained in WW. So I think this will help me greatly. Thank you for the advise! There is a lot to learn for sure 😊2
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I don’t know how to tag you Novus as I am still working this app out...There is a lot to learn for sure 😊
The tagging is easy - so we can start there Type an @ symbol and then the persons MFP name @jwall956 and a drop down menu with the potential member names will show up. Then click on the name that you want to tag.
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The number of calories you need is an estimate arrived to by population averages and by the choices you make during guided setup.
You can and should evaluate your expected vs your actual progress a few weeks down the road (4-6 weeks is the general suggestion) and make adjustments based on how closely your expectations (based on your logging and the population estimates) match with the reality on the ground!
Your weight trend will point downwards as long as you keep eating at less than maintenance calories.
One of the issues with weight watchers is that it is even less precise than MFP and calorie counting. In their bid to direct you towards certain types of food--generally speaking whole foods that many people find satiating and a good value for their calories and foods that are profitable to the company such as licensed products--they issue only a limited amount of points and expect you will be leaning heavily into the free foods.
If you eat too many free foods the consequences are as you would expect.
But if you eat too few you may inadvertently end up with TOO MUCH of a deficit which generates its own set of side effects including rebound overeating.
So... try to keep things reasonable, simple and as easy as you can for yourself while still achieving reasonable results!
And please don't view this as a limited time weight loss diet. Start thinking along the lines of long term ongoing weight management, and look to slowly start creating a future you who eats with the balance of their calories!3 -
I don’t know how to tag you Novus as I am still working this app out. I was on WW for a long time and I would lose 30 lbs and then feel starved to the point that I can’t stop eating. It’s a great program, but I think I need to start here first before I can eat as little as they program. Today was the first day that I felt full and not hungry an hour later. Maybe it’s cause it’s more explained? But it’s only my first official day. I do love the fact that it shows you how much you could lose if you did what you did today in 5 weeks time. Protein is something I need to learn for sure. I don’t know much about food helping to lose weight which isn’t really explained in WW. So I think this will help me greatly. Thank you for the advise! There is a lot to learn for sure 😊
@jwall956
I think @PAV8888 summed up the problem you were likely having with WW. I do not badmouth any system because most reasonable systems help a certain percentage of people get where they want to go. One of the earlier incarnations of the WW point system helped me for a time. This time when I started I used that experience to point me towards calorie counting which for me is easier and more precise. As more and more menus are posting calories it also makes it easy to make decisions at a restaurant without drawing attention to yourself. Most of the time I don't care but if I am there to talk about something else and we get on the subject of weight loss it can take over the entire conversation.
I like to think that the things we talk about in this group can apply to any sensible system of weight loss. I certainly do not want to push calorie counting on anyone because some people do not find it sustainable.
Also, a lot of people get excited about the 5 week projection. Unfortunately the feature was not well designed and usually if it is right it is a coincidence.4 -
And it gets easier as you go along for various reasons. One of the things that I have learned is that usually an indulgence isn't worth it. Here's an example.
I was having a terrible day with female issues, and my boyfriend offered to go to the taqueria with me and get us all dinner because I was clearly not up to cooking. I adore their lengua tacos, so this is no hardship, and two of them work out to about 400 calories which is for me a good dinner. There's plenty of meat, and the combination of lengua/onion/cilantro/corn tortilla/lime juice always makes my mouth happy. But I was feeling awful so wanted to treat it with food, and said I was having chips and cheese too, darnit. I got it all home, and the chips were stale. The cheese wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be for the calorie cost. The lengua tacos were good, but I realized, I would really have been okay with just those.
And there, and at the BBQ restaurant, and so many other places, I've found out...yeah, it's not worth the calories. So now I don't get the mac and cheese or the Mexican rice or the chips when I go out to eat. Cause it's just not worth the calories to me. If I don't have unlimited calories or room in my stomach (I have deliberately shrunk my capacity) then I don't want to eat stuff just because it's there. I only want to eat the good stuff.
But I had to come to that conclusion on my own, and no one could have talked me into it until I decided it on my own.4 -
I so agree @AlexandraFindsHerself1971 - very good experience to share. Another thing I've noticed for myself is that when I out of the blue break down and have those extra treats then I miss out on the build up that comes with planning them. When things are working by plan - I will occasionally indulge in high calorie items - but I think about which treat I really want - and make sure all those calories are worth it.4
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Most before-and-afters are to show improvement - mine is to show how out of control my weight has become:
On the left, I’m at 197 pounds in 2014. On the right, taken today, I’m at a whopping 317 pounds. 120 pounds of weight - that’s like gaining a whole person.
I am moving to Arkansas in 2 weeks for my new job, my DREAM job. A lot is going well in my life. My weight is the next project.
Could really use some friends that have a lot to lose as well
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Most before-and-afters are to show improvement - mine is to show how out of control my weight has become:
On the left, I’m at 197 pounds in 2014. On the right, taken today, I’m at a whopping 317 pounds. 120 pounds of weight - that’s like gaining a whole person.
I am moving to Arkansas in 2 weeks for my new job, my DREAM job. A lot is going well in my life. My weight is the next project.
Could really use some friends that have a lot to lose as well
Hi @KayMacJac,
Welcome to Larger Losers.
You can certainly find people here to add to your friend list that have a lot of weight to lose. LL is not just about that though because that doesn't fit the bill completely. In all areas of our life, including weight management, we need 2 personalities initially and 3 long term.
Personality 1: The Mentor - these are the people that are ahead of you on the road you are trying to travel. They can show you some of the pitfalls to try and avoid. They will not have gone through everything you will go through but they will have gone through some of it.
Personality 2: The Companion - these are the people that are at around the same place as you are. They will hopefully do a good job of celebrating your good news, being compassionate when the news is not so great, listen when you whine, and tell you when you have whined enough.
Personality 3: The Mentee - eventually with time and experience you should start to gain some confidence in what you are learning and then it will be time to help those further back on the road than yourself.
One of our most important rules here is that we do not allow perfection. We do not allow it because it doesn't exist and trying to be perfect gets in the way of being good enough to get things done. I wish I could say there was a true goal line and once you reach it you stop being a work in progress but as far as I can tell that is not how it works. It is more like we start as feral animals and our domestication can be quite convincing but we are never 100 percent tame.7 -
Hi Everyone,
I am back. I lost 60 pounds in 2019 and have put at least 40 back on. Very depressing. I was just starting to feel good. My knee weren't hurting as much and I could do a lot more things easily. I have done this so many times before. I'm definitely missing an important part of the puzzle to keeping it off. But I'm back here trying again. I want to loose about 85 pounds. I can use all the support I can get and will certainly try to help anyone else that I can. Sweets are my downfall. I am trying to stay away from them as much as I can since once I start eating them they tend to trigger a binge. At 71 the weight definitely comes off much harder so it is easier to get discouraged. I'm hoping this group can help me keep motivated and on track. NovusDies, I like your "personalities" and the fact that we are always growing and learning. There is no perfection. No matter where we are we can always be better.4 -
Timberlan127 wrote: »Hi Everyone,
I am back. I lost 60 pounds in 2019 and have put at least 40 back on. Very depressing. I was just starting to feel good. My knee weren't hurting as much and I could do a lot more things easily. I have done this so many times before. I'm definitely missing an important part of the puzzle to keeping it off. But I'm back here trying again. I want to loose about 85 pounds. I can use all the support I can get and will certainly try to help anyone else that I can. Sweets are my downfall. I am trying to stay away from them as much as I can since once I start eating them they tend to trigger a binge. At 71 the weight definitely comes off much harder so it is easier to get discouraged. I'm hoping this group can help me keep motivated and on track. NovusDies, I like your "personalities" and the fact that we are always growing and learning. There is no perfection. No matter where we are we can always be better.
Welcome to Larger Losers!...you have found the right group to be in to lose weight and get to a healthy weight....I am also a binge eater and I love sweets....I am slowly learning that an occasional sweet treat does not have to start off an avalanche of eating everything in sight!...I recently celebrated being on MFP for two years....in that time I have lost 109.0 lbs.....every day isn’t perfect but the good days add up and before you know it, the pounds start coming off....I did not exercise the entire first year I was eating a healthy amount of food...I have still averaged losing over 1 pound a week.....
P.s.....I will be 70 in July!....
There are lots of great people here and they are all willing to help you or answer your questions....I hope you have the same success I and many others have had!6 -
conniewilkins56 wrote: »Timberlan127 wrote: »Hi Everyone,
I am back. I lost 60 pounds in 2019 and have put at least 40 back on. Very depressing. I was just starting to feel good. My knee weren't hurting as much and I could do a lot more things easily. I have done this so many times before. I'm definitely missing an important part of the puzzle to keeping it off. But I'm back here trying again. I want to loose about 85 pounds. I can use all the support I can get and will certainly try to help anyone else that I can. Sweets are my downfall. I am trying to stay away from them as much as I can since once I start eating them they tend to trigger a binge. At 71 the weight definitely comes off much harder so it is easier to get discouraged. I'm hoping this group can help me keep motivated and on track. NovusDies, I like your "personalities" and the fact that we are always growing and learning. There is no perfection. No matter where we are we can always be better.
Welcome to Larger Losers!...you have found the right group to be in to lose weight and get to a healthy weight....I am also a binge eater and I love sweets....I am slowly learning that an occasional sweet treat does not have to start off an avalanche of eating everything in sight!...I recently celebrated being on MFP for two years....in that time I have lost 109.0 lbs.....every day isn’t perfect but the good days add up and before you know it, the pounds start coming off....I did not exercise the entire first year I was eating a healthy amount of food...I have still averaged losing over 1 pound a week.....
P.s.....I will be 70 in July!....
There are lots of great people here and they are all willing to help you or answer your questions....I hope you have the same success I and many others have had!
Thank you, Connie, for the inspiration. You have done incredibly well to lose 109 pounds in two years. It's nice to know that even binge eaters can be successful in their later years. I really want this to work this time as a forever life style. I just turned 71 in May. I don't want to be carrying all this extra weight around on these tired joins any more. MFP is great and I need to be more involved in these groups this time to keep my motivation high.
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You can do anything you set your mind to!....70 is the new 50!...Ha Ha!....I have two completely replaced knees ( I can’t kneel or get up off the floor ).... A tear and spurs repaired in my left shoulder...I have had major back surgery, 2 C sections, various internal female parts removed and my appendix removed a few years ago with a tumor attached to it!...I have 3 to 6 bulging disc in my back and neck that really do not bother me much....I mentioned that I did no exercise the entire first year I joined MFP....I did not mention I could barely walk because of my heavy weight of 350 lbs...I had to use a motorized cart to shop...cooking was done by taking many breaks to sit down....I slept most of the day and I rarely took my night gown off unless I had to go out of the house....everything I did was a chore....
Two years later: : : today I vacuumed and mopped our floors....I took the garbage out, unloaded the dishwasher, folded clothes and prepared lunch and dinner, cleaned the appliances and walked to the mailbox 700 steps down the street!...WAIT!....then I went swimming and water jogged for 20 minutes, water aerobics for 30 minutes and then swam laps for 30 more minutes!....yes, I am tired but I feel so good and so alive!...
I still have pounds to lose but at 5’ 9” tall and large framed, I am hoping I will be under 200 lbs. before I am 71.... I plan on being around for many more years!7 -
conniewilkins56 wrote: »Two years later: : : today I vacuumed and mopped our floors....I took the garbage out, unloaded the dishwasher, folded clothes and prepared lunch and dinner, cleaned the appliances and walked to the mailbox 700 steps down the street!...WAIT!....then I went swimming and water jogged for 20 minutes, water aerobics for 30 minutes and then swam laps for 30 more minutes!....yes, I am tired but I feel so good and so alive!...
You make me happy Connie! And you just "convinced" me to go out and listen to my audiobook instead of continuing to veg at the computer!
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conniewilkins56 wrote: »You can do anything you set your mind to!....70 is the new 50!...Ha Ha!....I have two completely replaced knees ( I can’t kneel or get up off the floor ).... A tear and spurs repaired in my left shoulder...I have had major back surgery, 2 C sections, various internal female parts removed and my appendix removed a few years ago with a tumor attached to it!...I have 3 to 6 bulging disc in my back and neck that really do not bother me much....I mentioned that I did no exercise the entire first year I joined MFP....I did not mention I could barely walk because of my heavy weight of 350 lbs...I had to use a motorized cart to shop...cooking was done by taking many breaks to sit down....I slept most of the day and I rarely took my night gown off unless I had to go out of the house....everything I did was a chore....
Two years later: : : today I vacuumed and mopped our floors....I took the garbage out, unloaded the dishwasher, folded clothes and prepared lunch and dinner, cleaned the appliances and walked to the mailbox 700 steps down the street!...WAIT!....then I went swimming and water jogged for 20 minutes, water aerobics for 30 minutes and then swam laps for 30 more minutes!....yes, I am tired but I feel so good and so alive!...
I still have pounds to lose but at 5’ 9” tall and large framed, I am hoping I will be under 200 lbs. before I am 71.... I plan on being around for many more years!
I will say it again Connie. You inspire me. My knees hurt but I haven't had replacement yet since I was much better when I lost the weight before. So I am hoping that will be the case again. I am walking fine but I couldn't get up if I fell without something to pull myself up on. I have trouble getting up off a chair if I sit too long. And of course I can't knee without pain. I do get my 10,000 steps every day and try to stay active. My week has been successful so far so I am hoping I will be able to keep it that way. You make me feel like I have very little to complain about and if you can do it then I certainly can get back on track. Thank you for sharing and giving me the inspiration to keep working at this weight loss journey.5 -
Glad to help you....I used to get less than 2000 steps a day and now a normal day is about 4500... I can’t walk long distances without a break...I think it is my hips but I am not going to get those replaced unless absolutely necessary!...it’s wonderful you get 10,000 steps....that is great exercise!...I didn’t have a very healthy eating plan Saturday but I got back on track again yesterday and went swimming, too....I try to swim five days a week for about 90 minutes.....I have a 6 month check up the end of this month...my doctor gets as excited as I do about my weight going down...I hope you have a great week!4
