Please help me

sarahwadley

I have struggled with my weight for ten years... I'm 3.5 stone over weight and only 5ft tall. I left a bad relationship and then couldn't harness my weight, then I fell and couldn't workout... Now I'm so low I literally get home fromwork in the evening and I binge... I have today started tracking food, I also started a business dog walking. As well as healthcare. Please help... I don't know what else.to.do... I haven't ever felt this low.in myself

Pinappleupsidedowncake

Hiya, I'm sorry you're having a difficult time but sounds like you have recognised your triggers and are actively making changes. Tracking calories and walking more is a great start. I started back on mfp in Jan weighing 15st 1 (so over 5 stone overweight). I have lost a 1.5 stone just by being mindful of what I eat and walking. Like you I am an emotional eater and I understand how hard it can be. I have still have 3.5 stone to lose so here for some moral support if you need it xxx

MaltedTea

Finding a way to get paid to exercise/move has always been a life hack I wanted to try: the dog walking business sounds like a nice side hustle!

The MFP forums (welcome, by the way) are a great place to get inspired, ask questions and otherwise hang out with people interested in healthy conversation.

Jump in on an active thread or 3, make some friends and get the results you're after by following through with your exercise and nutrition in a progressively consistent way.

88olds

Use the MFP calculator to find a calorie number to maintain your current weight. Set the activity to light to start. Set about trying to hit your number. Don’t worry about a calorie deficit or losing weight at first. You can work on that after you have a handle on the process.

Get a food scale and use it whenever possible to help you crunch the numbers. You’ve started out on the right foot- tracking.
Make tracking the center of your program and never stop. Track everything that has calories no matter what, good, bad or ugly. Log it all. Over your number? Log it. Wildly over? Log that too. Don’t really know how many calories are in that meal or dish? Make a good faith estimate, log it and move on. Everything gets logged with a number.

You goal at the beginning is to survive the learning curve. Calorie counting has a significant learning curve. They don’t teach it in school. The only way to learn is by doing it. You know that stuff about learning from mistakes? It’s true. But if you read this board a lot, you’ll see how many people throw up their hands and quit tracking at the first misstep.

Don’t do that. Because there are a lot of ways to make mistakes in this. Everything from lapses due to fatigue or stress to simple math mistakes. Or misreading menus or nutritional information.

You’ll soon see that you have a better chance of hitting your calorie number if you have a plan. In fact, the number on the scale is just a by product of our plan. If you find your plan isn’t working, work to make it better. Weight loss is mostly about problem solving and persistence.

Start out by trying to make a menu eating things you like. Use your food scale to control the portions. Start looking for modifications and substitutions you can make to make your favorites more plan friendly. Always remember that weight loss has 2 parts- eating in a calorie deficit and living with it. When you’re ready calculate a calorie deficit to lose 1 lb per week. Can you live with it? There’s a tendency to go all in on the deficit and try to beat ourselves into living with it. That rarely works. And not for long.

Last- don’t get caught up in the time issue. Another thing you’ll see reading this board is how many people wreck themselves over the time factor. Don’t let it in your head. If you can build a process that gets you a livable downward trend, time can be on your side in this. It’s a long term project. But the good news is calorie counting really works. You can do this.

ej_maries

Welcome! Hey you're taking steps forward and that's what is important! Start small and work your way up. MFP is full of supportive people so feel free to reach out. I'm always up for new friends so if you need encouragement, a chat, or just to know that you're not alone feel free to add or message me. Sending ❤️

Bex953172

Hey,
Everyone else has given great advice.
Accurate logging is always good so make sure you have a scale.
A couple of things I have done is log a week with no changes to my diet. I found this gave me a great insight of where my most calorific foods were and then it was these I changed first. And sometimes it's just small things, switching to a light mayo, adding more veg to a meal and having a smaller portion of mashed potato, switching my snacks to healthier options (I try to stick to a 100cal or less snacks)

I try not to tell any one I'm dieting, it stops any comments and I rely on like-minded people for support, so mainly mfp. We're all on the same journey here and so we all have a basic understanding on what people are going through.

Sometimes I can lose motivation, as can everyone and doubt whether I'll achieve my goals, I go and read through the success stories, some of them are amazing and inspiring and if they can do it then me losing a measly 30lbs should be doable!

I wish you good luck in your journey.

csplatt

I recommend spending a few days simply logging what you already eat to get an understanding of your habits. Then I recommend pre logging what you plan to eat THE NEXT DAY so your goal is literally to finish it all. To me that helps me enjoy what I have planned to eat vs feel like I am constantly telling myself no.