Not new to weight loss but hate it

TheLadyHawke

Hello, I am new to MyFitnessPal as of today. I have to loose weight for a myriad of reasons: health issues, energy, growing old, and, of course, loose weight because I hate how big I am. I can't do many of the things I used to do, and because I am getting older and my age has a lot to do with why I can't do things I used to do. I want to balance out my activities between my age and weight ... i.e. loose weight so I can walk without panting, go dancing, be able to do all my errands in one day (used to be in 3 hours, now it is 3 days). I want to be successful at this because I never have been in the past each time I tried to loose weight ... Weight Watchers, going to the gym, Jenny Craig, counting calories, and a myriad of other weight loss programs. I got tired and bored of them, and burnt out. I never really had a support system, always did things on my own. I am going to try this place in hopes it will help me achieve my goal, and you don't know who I am so I won't feel embarrassed.

DancingMoosie

Welcome! I too find losing weight and logging food difficult/tedious, but you have mentioned many reasons why it is important to do them. Start with small changes and gradually build your way up.

gemmaharris2020

I know this feeling. It’s the complete same mindset I have. I’ve tried every diet under the sun from WW to SW. I’m fed up of getting out of breath when walking with family or running up the stairs. My weight has spiralled out of control since lockdown but was an issue long before that x

ninerbuff

TheLadyHawke wrote: »

Hello, I am new to MyFitnessPal as of today. I have to loose weight for a myriad of reasons: health issues, energy, growing old, and, of course, loose weight because I hate how big I am. I can't do many of the things I used to do, and because I am getting older and my age has a lot to do with why I can't do things I used to do. I want to balance out my activities between my age and weight ... i.e. loose weight so I can walk without panting, go dancing, be able to do all my errands in one day (used to be in 3 hours, now it is 3 days). I want to be successful at this because I never have been in the past each time I tried to loose weight ... Weight Watchers, going to the gym, Jenny Craig, counting calories, and a myriad of other weight loss programs. I got tired and bored of them, and burnt out. I never really had a support system, always did things on my own. I am going to try this place in hopes it will help me achieve my goal, and you don't know who I am so I won't feel embarrassed.

Straight talk. You have to hate being overweight more than what it takes to lose it. Don't use age as an excuse. I deal with people with pain issues in their 60's all the time and when they come in and apply themselves with consistency, they've lost weight and have reduced joint pain issues.
You just HAVE to have the attitude that you need to change for the better because if not, you'll keep going in the same circle. And you CAN'T get time back. Once it's gone it's gone and you can't make it up. Commit yourself to it. That means no matter what, you finish.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

callsitlikeiseeit

TheLadyHawke wrote: »

I want to be successful at this because I never have been in the past each time I tried to loose weight ... Weight Watchers, going to the gym, Jenny Craig, counting calories, and a myriad of other weight loss programs. I got tired and bored of them, and burnt out. I never really had a support system, always did things on my own. I am going to try this place in hopes it will help me achieve my goal, and you don't know who I am so I won't feel embarrassed.

I get tired and 'bored' of getting up at 4am (or earlier) to tend to livestock and animals on our farm, but I do it because I have to.
Weight loss is no different.
Until you truly WANT to make a change, and are willing to consistently MAKE those changes, you will not succeed.
I've lost a STUNNING amount of weight. Far more than my CURRENT weight. And it wasn't done quickly. It took a long time (been at this since 2014). It took being consistent. Not PERFECT- but consistent.
In my experience, most people who 'burn out', do so because they are restricting calories too much and/or have the notion that certain foods or food groups are 'bad' and 'off limits'. I eat whatever I want- just not how MUCH id LIKE. I have some sort of cookie or sweets pretty much every day. I eat pizza and burgers, and eat out. But I PLAN everything I eat. Working out gives me a few extra calories, but it doesnt give as many calories as people THINK. Taking a 30 or even 60 minute walk does not 'earn' an entire package of cookies.
Age is not an excuse. It SEEMS harder as we get older because we are more set in our ways. We like our routines, we like our lives, we like a glass or two of wine every night, a big dessert after a big dinner, or lazy days of doing... nothing.
There's no reason to be embarrassed. We have all been where you are, regardless of age. We all wanted to make a change in our lives, and our health, and how we look. There are many MANY success stories, from people of ALL ages. We all have different stories. But the one thing we have in common, is we were stronger than our excuses.
You can do this. If you want to.

springlering62

Oh, sweetie. Why in the world would you be embarrassed? You’re overweight on a site dedicated to (mostly) overweight users. Poking fun at you would be like choosing a pebble out of a gravel driveway. They’re all the same.

Losing 40% of my body weight has helped with my joint pain, GERD and acid reflux, and my general mobility is pretty darn amazing these days. My activity level is through the roof because it just feels so darned good to move around now.

I started at 56 and am 59 now.

Looking at “old me” with compassion- as I’m looking at you- I’d hug her, tell her it’s easier than she thinks it will be, but it will require persistence and patience, and the ability to blow off temporary fails for long term successes.

I’d also tell her to lose the self criticism she built up as a defense for being overweight and guilty about it.

I would like, however, to smack her around some for having waited and made excuses all these years.

The rewards once you come “out the other side” are staggering.

TheLadyHawke

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate it.
You are all correct in stating that we have to want to loose weight more than anything. I am not there yet and I doubt I ever will be. I hate everything about having to go through what I have to go through to loose weight... exercise, counting calories, leaving out foods I love, having to leave the comfort of my apartment to go to a gym or of a boring walk. I did buy an exercise peddle, one where I can sit at my computer and bicycle while watching a video. That will be the extent of my exercising.
The hardest thing is that I do not see myself as being fat (let alone morbidly fat) and because of that I am comfortable with it as I am not out to impress anyone nor get a mate. I like being alone, have been that most of my life, even when I was married. So it is no biggie.
However, the main reason I want to loose weight is because I want to grow a garden and make some extra income from it (have to buy property first). I tried gardening in containers this last spring/summer and a simple thing like transplanting my seedlings into containers wore me out (not counting the bugs that kept biting me).
Having a garden is the ONLY reason I want to loose weight. That is what I am embarrassed about. If it weren't for my gardening plans I would not bother loosing weight. I need to supplement my social security (I'm 73) and I know my garden will do that.
Thanks again for your comments.

springlering62

We all had our reasons. There’s people here who started because they were too big to ride the roller coaster with their kid, or couldn’t walk up the stairs at work when they were required to several times a day.

My initial reason was health- family tendency for diabetes, congestive heart failure etc etc. all the bad stuff, on both sides. My ultimate goal (besides no longer being the fat chick in yoga) was to do an arm balance. Some people would laugh at that, and I have no doubt some silently did as my obese self struggled to get me and all that extra weight off the ground. Was I embarrassed? No!

My goal for this year was to do a handstand. Not gonna get there unless it happens in the next 36 hours. But I can sure damn try, and I feel my feet go a wee little bit higher every time.

Embarrassment is in our own heads.

It took me fifty something years to get over giving a rat’s *kitten* what other people think.

If you want to garden, I mean reallllly want to garden, I humbly submit you get off your buns and do this so you can enjoy gardening.

I’m not going to wish away my remaining years any more.

TheLadyHawke

@springlering62
I reallllly want to garden (self preservation, self-sufficiency, supplemental income) ... I have one major thing holding me back... money to buy a home with a bare minimum of 1 acre. Without that, and a stable supplemental income, I will not be able to afford it.
I have tried to get an at home job (due to covid lock down-I am at high risk) but I keep getting those job scammers. 8 of them since April of this year (2021). I have been trying so hard and I do not get any interviews except from those scammers.
So I am in a conundrum. I figured if I loose weight first then maybe I can work on my container garden to try to earn some money.
I am not sure what you mean by getting off my buns to do this. I have not fully looked over this web site to see what I would be doing to get off my buns. Can you give me a heads up on this?
Thank you for your comments.

DancingMoosie

I think she just means to get up and start moving. Find something you like to do. Sometimes I just walk/jog/march in place while I watch shows. It doesn't always take a gym, going outside, or any equipment.

AnnPT77

Are there any community gardens in your area?

If you want to garden, some areas have those, big plots where you can rent a space (or even get one for free in some circumstances) and grow things. Or, do you have friends or relatives with a big yard, that you could convince to let you put in a garden at their place, if you grow some things they enjoy eating and share produce with them? Or, can you volunteer at a community garden or urban farm or the like, and learn some more growing-stuff skills, get contacts, and as a side benefit burn some calories doing gardening work? Or, can you post on a community internet site, volunteer garden labor in return for some growing space or a share of the output?

If we sincerely want to make progress in a particular direction, obstacles are only relevant insofar as we need a strategy to get around, under, over or otherwise past them. It's more effective to break the goal down, than to build the pre-requisites up. If you want to garden, find a way to garden. Gardening itself is a way to get more active, burn some calories, get stronger/fitter, maybe even lose some weight.

I'm almost your age (66), and many of my friends are your age and older. Age in itself is not a limitation. Being obese and inactive is a thing we can change, if we want to. I changed both of those, and so have many of the people here. If you want to stay as you are, you can. If you want to change, it's very likely that you can. You'll never know unless/until you get serious about working at a path in a positive direction.

I wish you well, sincerely!

callsitlikeiseeit

You are all correct in stating that we have to want to loose weight more than anything. I am not there yet and I doubt I ever will be. I hate everything about having to go through what I have to go through to loose weight... exercise, counting calories, leaving out foods I love, having to leave the comfort of my apartment to go to a gym or of a boring walk.

This makes me sad, because you have doomed yourself and written the end of this story. If you are not there yet, why bother being here? And I dont say that to me snarky or mean, just honest.

I did buy an exercise peddle, one where I can sit at my computer and bicycle while watching a video. That will be the extent of my exercising.
That's something. But you can do more. But, to lose weight, you dont need to exercise. However for your overall HEALTH, I'd implore you to work towards doing more. You might not care about your health, but I'd wager your loved ones DO.

The hardest thing is that I do not see myself as being fat (let alone morbidly fat) and because of that I am comfortable with it as I am not out to impress anyone nor get a mate.
How about your health? See above. Vanity does not have to be a reason to lose weight (it certainly wasn't for me, either)

Having a garden is the ONLY reason I want to loose weight.
How badly do you want a garden? If container gardening was too hard for you, do you have any idea how much physical work a much larger garden takes? We live on a farm and keep a relatively small veggie garden, and it takes a lot of work. And other than water it, I REFUSE to tend to it, because I dont have the time. Energy, sure. But absolutely no desire to do anything with it other than tell my husband what I want him to plant, and to turn the sprinkler on. He does all the weeding, and row maintenance, and plant care. I am his walking encyclopaedia of plant care and info, as he is a city boy and only been here on the farm for 3 years. But he does all the manual labor.
Losing weight in and of itself will not help you with the cardiovascular requirements of tending a large garden. Another reason to get some more exercise in.

When i first started working out, i didnt even consider it that. i just wanted to try and be a bit healthier. losing weight wasn't even my goal. I mean, i needed to, and knew i needed to, but i just wanted to try and be healthier. I started by just going on a walk 2-3 times a week. and.... it wasn't much of a walk. at almost 400 pounds i could not go very far at all. 10 minutes was about all i had in me. but i kept doing it. and it didnt take long, really, before i could go a little bit longer. and then, i started to go more often. always when it was dark, i didnt want people to SEE me - but id go after dark, or early in the morning. often, both. more days added. my neighbor was a member at planet fitness and asked me if i wanted to go with her (she only went occasionally). I said sure. So I'd go with her. i thought i was going to die on the elliptical. lasted about 7 minutes. But kept going. maybe once a week with her? not very often. kept walking. By that point had started watching what I was eating (i think). Then i wanted to go to the gym more than she did, so got my own membership. That was back in 2014. So... all of it was a process. a long one. But I didnt give up. You dont have to work out to lose weight. As I said, that happens in the kitchen. But it does have many other benefits that your body does need. Find something you enjoy. Most Y's are affordable and have a wide variety of classes for all fitness levels. Make small changes. dont try to change everything overnight. little changes can lead to giant ones, if you give it enough time. My life NOW doesn't resemble my old life in the LEAST. I am performing again (I didnt act for over 15 years because I didnt have the energy and endurance to be on stage for 90 minutes), I am training for a spartan race this spring, I take care of a farm full of animals, I travel and am almost always doing something. If anyone had told me back THEN, that my life would be like this NOW... I would have told them they were insane. Not to mention i got rid of an *kitten* of a husband and am now married to an AMAZING man. Trust me, that was NO WHERE on my radar. at all.

Like I said, I don't say any of this to discourage you or to be mean. Truly. I am however, being very true to my username. I don't sugarcoat anything. It makes no difference to me, or spring, or anyone else on here what you do, or don't do. YOU have to be the one willing to make changes to improve the quality of your life, your health, and in this case, even your finances. START SMALL. dont' try to change everything at once. Its not a race, and you say yourself you dont even WANT to do this. okay. make baby changes. then...add on as you go along. As each change becomes habit (because this is ALL habits and not motivation, unlike what people come in saying), add in a new small change. You dont have to give up any foods. for crying out loud, i eat cookies almost every night. not a whole package, mind you, but some cookies. LOL

We ARE here for you. We ALL know what its like to start. For some it was easier than others. I baby-stepped my way into things. SMALL changes can lead to BIG ones, like I said. I am PROOF of that. From 387 pounds to 170 as of this morning (and thanks to ridiculous workout 2 days ago, I can barely move and retaining water like crazy, so that number isn't even my normal weight).