Overwhelming amount of weight to lose - need support

nmflannery87

Hello all! I have about 150 pounds to lose and I need to get all the support I can. So message me, let’s keep each other motivated, and let’s get healthy!

quiksylver296

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

kimny72

This group might be a good place to check out as well:

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

:drinker:

88olds

Maybe try to redefine your mission. Try to think in terms of trying to learn calorie counting and the weight loss process. I’ve lost 110 lbs. But I had to reinvent my plan about 4 times to do it. As you say in the title to your post thinking about losing a lot is overwhelming.

Try to make your program into a set of things to do. Small steps. Start a food diary, always record everything and never stop. Use a food scale to crunch the numbers. Calculate a modest calorie deficit and start planning menus to hit your number.

Don’t concern yourself with how long it may take to get to goal weight. Do concern yourself with how you are living. Be careful of what lines you draw for yourself because you have to live with them. The best plan is one that we will actually follow. Good luck.

One_Eye_Blind

88olds wrote: »

Maybe try to redefine your mission. Try to think in terms of trying to learn calorie counting and the weight loss process. I’ve lost 110 lbs. But I had to reinvent my plan about 4 times to do it. As you say in the title to your post thinking about losing a lot is overwhelming.

Try to make your program into a set of things to do. Small steps. Start a food diary, always record everything and never stop. Use a food scale to crunch the numbers. Calculate a modest calorie deficit and start planning menus to hit your number.

Don’t concern yourself with how long it may take to get to goal weight. Do concern yourself with how you are living. Be careful of what lines you draw for yourself because you have to live with them. The best plan is one that we will actually follow. Good luck.

Excellent advice!!! I’ve lost 120 lbs and have another 45 or so to go. 88olds advice is what I would have said too. My goal was to lose 1 lb a week. In the beginning, I lost more. I also hit a 6 month plateau (which food tracking helped me overcome!) the second half of last year. As it stands, even with the plateau, I’ve still lost slightly over a pound a week. I started my journey by just trying to get in 7 servings of fruit and veggies a day (no more than 3 of those fruits) and built on that. Didn’t sweat the details too much until I started to see a slowdown.

The very best of luck! We can do this and in fact ARE doing it. One pound at a time.

bmeadows380

definitely agree with kimny - that's a great and active support group!

Also along with what 880lds says: don't look at the total number that needs to go, because that will dishearten you. Push that number to the back of your mind and instead, create smaller milestones to strive toward. There's a good reason for why doctors are now suggesting just 5% of your starting weight: Many people do start seeing some results from losing just that 5% and it breaks it up into manageable chunks. Get that 1st goal off, then lower the goal post and start working on the next one, and so on.

For instance: if you are starting at 300 lbs, 5% is 15 lbs which is much easier to strive for. And I'd also suggest to be patient with yourself and don't put yourself on a time table; don't get into this mindset that you MUST lose 2 lbs a week every week, and if the scale doesn't show that 2 lbs, then you've failed. This isn't a sprint, this is a marathon, and you aren't racing against anyone, you're only pacing yourself to get to the finish line, and it doesn't matter if you are first or 401st; the key is to get there when you can get there. Nor do you have to set the goal to 2 lbs. Pace yourself, and work on what is the easiest for you to maintain; you can lose at 1 lb/week and still reach the same goal. As many folks here have said - you didn't put the weight on over night; you aren't going to lose it that fast.

I started out with needing lose 200 lbs, so I've definitely had to learn patience! The key is to keep working; you are going to stutter, you're going to stall, you're going to make mistakes, and you may even backtrack some, but don't give up. When you backtrack or stall out, pick yourself back up and determine you're going to win this. Be forgiving and kind to yourself, don't beat yourself up for mistakes or compare yourself to other people - each of us are journeying on our own unique paths that are completely unrelated to anyone else, and the thing that matters is your path. So just focus on you and don't get distracted or disheartened by others around you that might be further along in their goals; you'll get there too as long as you stick with it. So be kind to yourself but be firm and determine that you aren't giving up.

Understand that water fluctuations are going to play havoc with the scale at times and your head, but learn to focus on the overall trend and not the day to day scale readings - for instance, compare your weight at the first of every month; as long as that number is going down in the over all trend, you are winning the fight!

And the biggest thing I've learned is to learn how to work with myself, to take an honest evaluation of my strengths and weaknesses and just over all proclivities and lifestyle, and work within those parameters, such as being realistic with what kind of foods I want to eat, when I want to eat, and what I know that I can maintain. Don't make this harder than it needs to be - don't set yourself up for failure by trying to willpower through drastic changes or forcing yourself to do things that you detest or eat foods that you hate or abstain from foods that you love just because someone somewhere says you have to do those things; learn to work with yourself and take slow, measured steps toward improvement. You know you need more exercise? Then start out, like i am right now, in getting a pedometer and just focusing on increasing your step count. I started with getting in 2,500 a day - I'm working on consistently getting 5,000 in a day. Once I get there, I'll start focusing on trying to get more.

And I don't cut carbs or fats or junk food because I know that I can't sustain that; instead, I focus on eating less of the foods I love, looking for ways to lighten up meals, and just keeping within my calorie limit and over all stop labeling foods as "good" and "bad" and look at them as foods, some of which I can enjoy but should moderate and others I should increase. I also save as many of my calories as I can for evenings because I know that's when my brain wants to snack. For some people, eating in the morning helps hold them throughout the day; I'm the opposite. If several smaller meals keeps you satisfied, then great - work within that. If one big meal a day works for you, great! It doesn't matter which way you do it; the key is to maintain a calorie deficit (keeping health in mind, of course - going on a nothing but cabbage diet, for example, would not be advisable from a health standpoint....;)

Best of luck to you!

quiksylver296

@bmeadows380, you knocked it out of the park! Awesome post!

adotbaby

Give yourself a pat on the back for wanting to change! Small victories help us move forward. One meal at a time is how some days are for me. Reading others' posts has been a tremendous motivator for me, so inspiring. Stay strong!

jugar

This is a fantastic discussion. If you want to try a team approach, with tons of support and great people connections, the Fat2Fit group is taking new registrations. The founder of the group lost over 160 pounds. Others have lost over 100, still others have less to lose but have to work hard to get there. We use body weight % for weigh-in results, and there is support even for the smallest losses and those times when things just don't go well. There is a lot of information, and the teams are small enough you get to know everyone. Give it a try!

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cesse47

nmflannery87 -- I'm in the same boat. Had been doing really well then depression and self-sabotage set in and I'm back over 300 lbs. Had full physical in February and I'm healthy in all respects ... except for being obese ... and I'm really tired of being obese (most of my life). So, I'm back and trying again. Saw a lot of good advice in posts above. Right now my goal is to log every bite of food and drink that I consume and to be mindful of my choices.
I've found a couple of good threads that I think will help my motivation and want to keep up with them daily. So, baby steps for now.

cesse47

So, today's day 3. So far I'm hanging on. Drank my first 2 cups of water today. 2 cups in 3 days ... not good ... really need to up my game there. Forgot how difficult it was to drink so much water every day but I did it then and I'll get back to it here and now!! Still way too many trigger foods in the house so I've tried to be really careful to eat them in very small quantities and to log them. When they are gone, I won't replace them but will buy a "healthier" item instead. Grocery shopping with the pandemic panic buying going on is difficult but doable.
Plan to do my first 5 min walk at noon and another around 4 before my DGD gets home. It's pathetic how badly worn out that 5 minutes makes me, panting like crazy and shaky legged. Figure I'll stick with the 5 min walks at least twice a day for the first week then try to increase by 2-3 minutes. Pitiful!

88olds

@cesse47 My first “workout” was 8 minutes on the stationary bike that I pulled out of the corner of the basement. 8 minutes was the most I could do. I could have walked maybe 2 blocks before the back pain would force me to quit. I weighed 285 lbs.

Sunday I weighed 172 lbs. I’ve been maintaining for years. Before we started isolating I was a regular at the gym. You can do this.

Exercise is overrated as a weight loss strategy. But it’s terrific for other reasons. Exercise is really good for our brains. It also builds confidence. And exercise is a great teacher of incrementalism. The lessons of incrementalism are the foundation of weight loss.

Keep going. Slowly build on what you have. It doesn’t matter where you start. The only thing that matters is where you end up.

cesse47

@88olds Thanks. Congrats on your 100+ loss! An even greater accomplishment is keeping it off for years. WTG!

Right now my main focus is on what I eat, how much, what I drink, etc and logging everything. My secondary focus is on exercise. As you say, not so much for weight loss - tho that's a side benefit - but primarily to get into a better physical shape. If I can increase my walking ability it will mean increases in leg and arm strength, core, and lungs. I'm hoping once I get there, I can add in a bit of weights to increase muscles. At my age I'm not expecting miracles or hoping to become a senior Olympian. LOL Just want to be stronger and healthier.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. Hope you have a great day.