My new weight-loss journey

danieljphilippe1899

Hi there!

My name is Daniel and I am starting a new weight loss journey. I have had success in the past with losing weight (in the past I have lost around 90 pounds), but due to my current life situation, as well as things that going on in my life, my weight has increased at a very fast and rapid pace. I think the biggest obstacle for me is sticking to healthy foods and foods that are beneficial to my weight loss. Sticking with a healthy, positive food routine and diet is something that I am looking to receive support with in this community. I am also here to make new friends, get tips and advice, as well as pass on any advice and tips I might have for those who need support with their weight and body goals. My lowest weight was 190, but I have now climbed back up to over 230 pounds. my goal is to get back down to 190.

Thank you and I hope you have a great rest of your day!
Daniel

AnnPT77

Welcome, Daniel!

A lot of folks here just focus on keeping calories in the right range, and averaging good overall nutrition most of the time. That can work pretty well for weight management, allowing room for some occasional treats rather than making some desired foods off-limits.

I 100% agree that establishing good habits is a key thing, and doing that in a way that's personalized, i.e., works well with our individual preferences, strengths, limitations.

These days, I'm hanging out on MFP mostly to maintain a healthy weight, after having lost from obese to a healthy weight 5+ years ago. Staying active on MFP helps me reinforce those habits.

Wishing you much success here!

danieljphilippe1899

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Welcome, Daniel!

A lot of folks here just focus on keeping calories in the right range, and averaging good overall nutrition most of the time. That can work pretty well for weight management, allowing room for some occasional treats rather than making some desired foods off-limits.

I 100% agree that establishing good habits is a key thing, and doing that in a way that's personalized, i.e., works well with our individual preferences, strengths, limitations.

These days, I'm hanging out on MFP mostly to maintain a healthy weight, after having lost from obese to a healthy weight 5+ years ago. Staying active on MFP helps me reinforce those habits.

Wishing you much success here!

Thank you very much, I really appreciate it! I definitely feel as though my mind focuses more on the number of calories than on the actual food I am eating. For example, I could eat very healthy foods during the day and be over my calories, but then have a day when I eat unhealthy foods all day and be under my calorie goal. I would be more happier with the day that I ate unhealthy foods and was under.

I definitely need to establish good habits, and getting in a positive food and lifestyle routine is not just going to be beneficial in the short-term, but it will also be beneficial in the long term and help keeping myself on track.

Do you have any tips, tricks or advice from your own personal experience on how to lose weight? Congratulations on your weight loss, that is something you should be very proud of!

Thank you!

AnnPT77

I don't know whether this is truly on point to your question, but this was a thread I wrote about how I approached weight loss . . . well, weight management, really, because I've continued to use the same approach to maintain a healthy weight.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

In addition to that, an active life is a help for health and thriving. There are two parts, exercise (the one most people think of) and daily life (the one that many kinda ignore).

On the exercise front, many people use too narrow a definition, thinking that an activity needs to be miserable and exhausting in order to be beneficial. That's not true. For most of us, people for whom our exercise activities are not our actual jobs/responsibilities, the sweet spot tends to be some activity that's enjoyable (at least easily tolerable!), and that leaves us energized rather than fatigued for the rest of our day (after maybe just a very few minutes of a "whew" feeling right after the workout). Ideally, the time/energy commitment should fit into our lives with good balance, i.e., enough time/energy for family, job, other important commitments and hobbies, etc.

Some exercise activities even contribute in other ways to life balance, such as family time, social connections related to the activity, or that sort of thing. (Mine does.) The ideal exercise is something we want to do so much that we do it regularly, rather than being a miserable chore that we put off at the slightest excuse.

Also, exercise is not necessarily just "go to the gym" or "take an exercise class". It can be any way of moving more that we enjoy: Swimming, cycling, martial arts, hiking various kinds of dance, skiing, skating, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, games like basketball or frisbee golf or whatever . . . there are endless possibilities. Even walking the dog longer, or playing with the kids longer, can count.

It can be fun to try things out - give them a fair chance, to get past that inevitable beginner feeling of "I can't" (as long as it isn't actually injurious in some way, of course). Things that are easy at first can get boring faster, vs. something that takes more skill development, so can hold interest longer.

It's useful to do something that gets your heart rate up (people use the term "cardio" unhelpfully, as if it were all one exercise - there are lots of options), plus something that challenges your muscle strength (weight lifting is the classic example, but not the only option.

On the non-exercise activity front, it's possible to consciously do more in daily life activities, and create a "bias toward activity" in our habits, so develop habits that burn more calories that way, too. There are ideas here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

Definitely no need to do all these things at once - that can be overwhelming. Just take the above as sort of an overview of how I think of the territory. When it comes to taking action, maybe start with one thing, like food logging, and get that on a good footing, then pick something else.

Best wishes!