498lbs needs motivation

billygunn31

So I desperately needs to lose weight needs motivation and to be keep accountable.

Due to weight standing and walking for any amount of time is hard and becomes painful

slw37

Hi Billy and welcome. You have come to the right place; we all know that the struggle is real. Just take one day at a time and don't get discouraged. Good luck; I know you can do this.

IsETHome

Look for an aquatic center. I water jog 4 days a week. If you can water walk an hour each day in the pool and cut your cals to 50 percent of where you are, you will feel better. Get a life/wellness coach if you can. Stop drinking any liquid cals. A lot of soda is responsible for high cals. You will have to relearn how to eat, and drink water more. I found out last week through testing my metabolism is only 1600 cals a day. Meaning by eating 2200 -cals a day I was gaining a .5 to 1 pound a month, over 10 years it meant 80 lbs..... Its all math. it’s not easy, but you have to log and portion out your food by cals. I had to throw out the chips, bread and no fried foods - rare treat. I upped my veggies, cut my food intake by 50 percent.

GummiMundi

Best of luck to you, you can do this! Don't forget to read the "stickies" that show up on top of each section, there's useful advice in them.

manderson27

Losing weight is all down to how many calories you are eating. So although excercise is good for you it is not esential for losing weight.

Enter your stats, choose a reasonable weight loss goal. Weigh everything you eat on a food scale and log your food daily.

If you do this you will lose weight. MFP is a fantastic tool to help you get to your goal weight.

The forums are a wonderful place to seek advice and get support. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here who are happy to take the time to explain things if you get stuck or confused.

Welcome

JeromeBarry1

Billy, take a "Before" picture right now and keep it. You'll use that to motivate your *kitten*.

Courtscan2

Good for you for getting started! It all comes down to habit. Motivation is very fleeting - it will get you started, but there is no way to "stay" motivated as eventually boredom, monotony, day to day life will erode this. Once you build some new, sustainable habits, you will make it much easier for yourself. It will just become what you do automatically, as opposed to "trying" to eat better, log more often, move more etc etc. Start small. It takes something like 66 days to build a habit, so commit to logging and weighing every single thing you eat for 66 days. You may not be perfect in your food choices, etc over this 66 days, but once this becomes habit, you will probably find that your choices are naturally better overall simply because you are making yourself accountable to you, Good luck, you've got this!

Danp

The first thing I would say is to focus exclusively on your calorie intake for now. I and many many others here have lost significant amounts of weight with absolutely zero 'working out' or exercise so it definitely can be done.

In my case, at my heaviest exercising was completely counterproductive. It left me miserable and discouraged as I wasn't able to do anything effectively which made sticking to my eating plan all the more difficult. Also working out generally left me so hungry that I'd end up eating back twice the calories I'd just burned leading to at best, no weight loss and at worst weight gain.

The most important thing you can do is to begin to eat in a calorie deficit any way you can. A calorie deficit has to be your one and only priority right now. So I advise to throw away any rules beyond the one rule 'More often than not eat fewer calories than you burn'. That's it, forget everything else and stick to that one rule.

To get started you need to keep it as simple as possible so here's the 3 things you need to do:
1. Get your calorie target. Put all your details into MFP and you will be given a calorie budget that will include the appropriate calorie deficit.
2. Start to accurately track your food. Get a food scale and weigh everything you eat. No guessing or estimating, we humans generally suck at this. No cups or teaspoons, they're better than guessing but still pretty inaccurate. A scale will cost you about $10 and will be your best friend. Weigh your food, log it in your diary and do your best to stick to your calorie target as often as possible.
3. Eat food you love. Not food you Think you should eat, or food you kinda like. Food you love which is more than likely the same food you're eating now. The difference is you're now gong to weigh that food and make sure you're eating it in a calorie deficit. Forget 'healthy', forget 'clean', forget all that. Just eat whatever foods you enjoy even if they're "junk" so long as you stick to your calorie deficit most of the time.

billygunn31

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Billy, take a "Before" picture right now and keep it. You'll use that to motivate your *kitten*.

Will do

NovusDies

You need to come to the MFP Larger Losers group:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133315-larger-losers

It is for anyone who is starting or originally started with 75 or more pounds to lose. It is also for people who want to lose weight in a sensible and sustainable fashion.

The advice you will get in the main forums is mostly great. I used it to help navigate my own way through a tremendous amount of weight loss so far. The stickies are must reads because you need to educate yourself on the true mechanics of weight loss.

The group will give you the additional benefit of a smaller setting with some really great people who have a good understanding of carrying a lot of extra weight. It will also help me keep tabs on you because I want to see you change your life as I have been doing. When I started standing for any period of time was excruciating. I was in such bad shape my activity was sub sedentary. That was well over 200 pounds ago.

conniewilkins56

There is a group for Larger Losers listed at the very bottom of the Intro page....I have found it very motivational...we talk about many things and all need to lose a large amount of weight...you are more than welcome to join us!

corinasue1143

Danp wrote: »

To get started you need to keep it as simple as possible so here's the 3 things you need to do:
1. Get your calorie target. Put all your details into MFP and you will be given a calorie budget that will include the appropriate calorie deficit.
2. Start to accurately track your food. Get a food scale and weigh everything you eat. No guessing or estimating, we humans generally suck at this. No cups or teaspoons, they're better than guessing but still pretty inaccurate. A scale will cost you about $10 and will be your best friend. Weigh your food, log it in your diary and do your best to stick to your calorie target as often as possible.
3. Eat food you love. Not food you Think you should eat, or food you kinda like. Food you love which is more than likely the same food you're eating now. The difference is you're now gong to weigh that food and make sure you're eating it in a calorie deficit. Forget 'healthy', forget 'clean', forget all that. Just eat whatever foods you enjoy even if they're "junk" so long as you stick to your calorie deficit most of the time.

I second this.
Also, logging can be confusing at first, but it’s important. And it gets easier. Log as well as you can the first few days, just keep working at it. Don’t get discouraged.
Eat what you like, but with open eyes and an open mind. I like chocolate cake. A lot. I also like steak with a baked potato. A lot. About the same amount of calories, but steak and a potato keep me full longer, so I eat it more often than cake. I hate artichokes. They don’t have many calories. I don’t care. I’m not eating them! Ever! I thought I didn’t like yogurt, but I got some ideas here, and it turns out I do.
If you don’t want to exercise, don’t. If you do want to, start very slow. Walk to your bedroom and back for no reason. If it’s more than you’re used to, it’s exercise. Next week, walk to your bedroom and back twice for no reason. You just increased your exercise. Keep it up.

denjan333

You can do this. One meal, one day at a time. Along the way, make sure you celebrate every pound. I like to image a pound of butter for every pound I lose. I’ve lost 17 lbs since mid-August, so now I imagine a stack of 17 butters. It helps me put the journey into perspective, regardless of how much I have left to lose.

Stay focused, and above all, always be your own cheerleader and best friend.

neugebauer52

Joining MFP is the first and BEST step I have done. Started on 170 kg (375 pounds) - they did all the necessary calculations for me and over time I found my ideal macros percentages. To start with exercise was not that important, but I love water aerobics - takes most of my weight away and feels great. I prepare myself a simple meal plan for the next day and take it day by day, meal by meal. Just trust MFP and there is amazing support from so many members. (556 days gone, 42 kg - 90 pounds gone so far.) "If I wouldn't have done something about my health all those days ago - I would be even heavier by now."

petrocoetsee

Don't focus on 500 pound. Focus on 5 pounds. Once you got the 1st five, focus on the next 5. Small steps will get you there

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Dear Billy,

Yes, the time is now. Your life is at risk and you must act. I hope you don't need to go alone, but can enlist some help: a dietitian at least. I also recommend getting support from a psychologist. A life change of this type is very hard and you need all the help you can get!

Best of luck!

Danicus10

you got this brother! there is no better time then today! every single day will be hard but you just find your drive and go!

Britxclarity

Welcome Billy.
There is a great community here. For someone such as myself that used to weigh 425lbs I would suggest solely just focusing on your calorie intake for now. Get into a habit of logging everything you eat daily. ( the good and the bad) Staying under your calorie limit is goal but if you go over don't beat yourself up. Just try again tomorrow.

I would also suggest purchasing a digital food scale there is some low as $10-14.99 on Amazon. Those will do just fine. And weigh everything my friend.

Then sit back and just watch the pounds fall off until you feel ready enough to incorporate exercise

billygunn31

Going to try and only allow myself 2000-2500 calories a day see if that works

conniewilkins56

That’s probably not enough calories....the Larger Loser group has a lot of motivation and great topics to help you

sbarkston

Yes to calorie deficit..But NO to eating junk as somebody else said to .... its about lifestyle changes... prob junk food that got you here ...find healthy foods that you like as you're more likely to stick to these after achieving your goals ..
The only thing I would ever buy from maccy d s is a coffee and then not a latte
Start counting steps and do at least 5000 a day to start .. increase when it gets easier
Good luck

NovusDies

sbarkston wrote: »

Yes to calorie deficit..But NO to eating junk as somebody else said to .... its about lifestyle changes... prob junk food that got you here ...find healthy foods that you like as you're more likely to stick to these after achieving your goals ..
The only thing I would ever buy from maccy d s is a coffee and then not a latte
Start counting steps and do at least 5000 a day to start .. increase when it gets easier
Good luck

The goal is to change what is normal. Whatever the OP is currently eating can be cut down to eat less and then small changes can be made over time to improve nutrition if it is needed. "Healthy" and "junk" are words that have no clear definition and just increase the chances of deprivation and leaving a bad relationship with food. Losing weight make a person healthier all by itself.

Counting steps may not be possible right now.

conniewilkins56

If I had to eat all low calorie fat free healthy food every day this would never work....moderation and portion control is what makes this work!....land 5000 steps is a lot to start out with....start out with what is comfortable for you and then build on it...

corinasue1143

@billygunn31 tell us about your first day.

sammidelvecchio

In a perfect world we would all be able to eat the foods we love and have no problem with moderation.

OP, if you find that you are really struggling with moderation, that is OK. Some of us do have to temporarily, or permanently, refrain from eating certain foods we just can't eat in moderation.

This is going to be a learning experience, so don't feel bad or guilty or beat yourself up if you realize some foods are really hard to moderate. Just learn something from each day and keep moving forward.

Best of luck!

billygunn31

I went and got my self a treadmill today

JenniferM1234

That's a great step, @billygunn111 -- if it's too hard to walk much on it, is there a pool you can have access to? Pool walking sounds tedious but it's helped lots of people who have difficulty standing/moving for more than 15 minutes at a time, get to the point where they can hop on a treadmill like nobody's business.

billygunn31

JenniferM1234 wrote: »

That's a great step, @billygunn111 -- if it's too hard to walk much on it, is there a pool you can have access to? Pool walking sounds tedious but it's helped lots of people who have difficulty standing/moving for more than 15 minutes at a time, get to the point where they can hop on a treadmill like nobody's business.

There is a pool but it only has ladders and I'm not sure if I'd be able to get out.

qweck3

I'm glad to read you are taking steps to correct your health. At my peak I was 400 pounds so walked a similar path.

A few suggestions:

It is important that you are working with a doctor to figure out your limits. They may also consider having you see a heart specialist to check what your heart can take. Visceral fat will be a significant issue for you initially and needs to come off over time.

Start simple, slightly reduce the carb intakes and move a little. Little by little keep this going. This will get a nearly immediate purge of the water weight out of your body and that is a good thing. Expect a massive scale reduction almost right away then pretty good drops until you get to around 300 pounds then slower reductions. Water weight is NOT fat loss.

Take a picture today and put it into your calendar reminder for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year from now. Do not rely on the scale totally as a method of success. If you fall off the wagon those reminders will be a trigger to restart.

Plan to play a very long game towards your health. Ideally this eventually becomes a life style change you enjoy and not a daily burden. I lost a tremendous amount of my weight with Yoga and clean eating. At 220 now the hardest thing was just getting started and the first 3 months. After that it was so easy.

kosseychick

@billygunn31 the pool I go to has a lift to put a person into the pool as well as actual stairs that you can walk down into the pool. Perhaps your local pool has one of those options?

PAV8888

Hey Bill:

I strongly caution you about using a treadmill if you are having trouble with your joints at this time.

Protecting your joints when you are super sized is important as having healthy ones will allow you to become more active as you lose weight and your strength to weight ratio changes.

As others have mentioned you DON'T NEED TO EXERCISE TO START LOSING WEIGHT.

Exercise is good and I strongly encourage you to find exercises that you enjoy and which are suitable for your changing condition as you become healthier. <-- as you get lighter you will FEEL like doing more and more things and becoming more active. You will be WANTING to exercise and that would be the time to ramp things up! I personally did choose to walk because it requires the least preparation and has the fewest barriers when starting out. But while it might be a treadmill it could well be something totally different that catches your fancy!

But caloric control is (ALL that is) needed to lose weight and to get started!