Hello from the land of deep fried foods and sweet tea 😁

pbm89gt

Greetings and Salutations! I'm Brent and It's been awhile since I've tried losing weight, but I'm hurting all the time now that I'm older so it's time. I'm 48 and I'm discovering losing weight is a lot harder now that I'm older
I'm also on medication for PVC and High Blood pressure which makes me fatigued often. The extra weight and sedative lifestyle isn't helping. I'm currently at my heaviest at 342, I'm miserable physically and also emotionally because I hurt all the time. My knees and ankles, my back. It's becoming difficult to even get up from sitting. There's so much I want to do but I feel so bad I can't find the motivation to start anything. I'm hoping I can get a good start here.
I've always been heavy my whole life ranging from 210 right out of High School (that was fat back then, or so everyone told me😁) to what I weigh today. The last 5 years I've gained the most, for much of my adult life I would hover around 260-270, I would like to get down to 200lbs by my 50th birthday. That's the goal I would like to set.
I've used another app years ago and lost 80lbs, but quickly gained that back and more.I started MyFitnessPal but haven't used it that much. There's so many diets, eating methods (keto, carnivore, Mediterranean...) I honestly don't know where to begin anymore. Everything thing I've seen lately says the food pyramid is wrong. Add all the exercise plans its overwhelming for me. Anyway here's to a fresh start and if anyone has any advice or direction to give please share, in other words I NEED HELP 😁

ninerbuff

You need to MAKE A WRITTEN PLAN that's doable. You don't need to diet, but you DO need to account for total calories in a day. And you HAVE to be consistent with it or it's not going to happen. As for physical activity, start with just walking and a few modified bodyweight exercises.

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

AnnPT77

Hi, and welcome!

You might like this group, for those who have or had 75+ pounds to lose: Nice people, good support.

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

The group includes everyone from new folks like you, to people who've lost major amounts of weight and kept it off for multiple years. (No, I'm not a member: I didn't quite meet the entrance criteria. I only lost 50-some pounds to get from class 1 obese to healthy weight at age 59-60, where I've been since, now 67. But I - and you - can read the group without joining, and some of the members are really great folks who are long-term valued MFP Community contributors, in my view.)

I will say this: Tricksy restrictive "diets" with complicated eating rules and unpleasant/punitive exercise . . . those are IME 100% not necessary.

I'm not saying it's the right route for everyone, but many of us find we can remodel our eating habits gradually, eating foods we enjoy and find filling, and reach a personal balance of calories and nutrition that helps us reach our goals. More about that approach here, if that idea appeals to you:

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

Exercise is completely optional for weight loss, but it's good for a body health-wise of course. Exercise does let us eat more while achieving the same weight loss rate, or turn a minor calorie deficit into a faster but still sensibly moderate loss rate, so it can be a good add. Any form of moving more is helpful. From a fitness standpoint, anything that manageably challenges current capabilities is perfect - the manageable challenge is what improves fitness. Ideally it will be something fun (or at least very tolerable), because those are things we will keep doing, rather than skip at the slightest excuse.

Being fat is not a sin that we need to expiate through extreme eating rules or punitively intense exercise. Moderate changes in habit can add up to big results with some patience and time. The time is going to pass either way, the only difference is where we end up in the long run.

Wishing you success, and a glorious 50th birthday in a slimmer, healthier, fitter body: It's achievable, and IME so very much worth it in improved quality of life!

JaysFan82

Hey man.

1 year and 1 day ago I was 388.6 pounds and had just turned 40. I was winded showering. Everything hurt

Today I'm 235 pounds, run 5km a day, have zero medical issues and perfect bloodwork

If you want this bad enough you will succeed. That's my biggest piece of advice.