New to MFP

Micheff24

Hello, I'm new to this whole thing. I'm trying to Lose at least 50+lbs and feel good about myself. After 31 years of life, I'm living on my own for the first time. No friends or family. Just my animals. Packed up and moved from one coast to the next. But its been hard mentally and want to be active. I've been sleeping a lot and depressed so this is the start of me trying to better my mind and body. I want to get more energy and I know I'll be a lot happier and more positive once I get more active and be more towards my goal.

AnnPT77

Hello, and welcome!

You're so smart to be doing this at 31. I wish I'd done likewise! (I waited until my late 40s, post cancer, to become physically active; and until 59-60 to reach a healthy weight. Not ideal! FWIW, for me, it was also around 50 pounds down. I'm now 68 and still at a healthy weight. The benefits in quality of life have been huge. I could kick myself for not doing it sooner, especially since it was simpler than I expected . . . even though not psychologically easy every single second, of course.)

In some ways, I think it's easier to do when living solo. Others struggle with other people having tempting treat foods in the house, needing to share meals when eating goals are different, or wanting to become more active but with housemates who drag that down, and that sort of thing. You nor I have those obstacles, maybe.

Reaching a healthy weight and reasonable fitness have each been such a powerful quality of life improvement for me. I wish that for you, too.

I'm cheering for you!

thestrangegirldoctor

You got this! Just small steps every day.

Micheff24

Thank you. Yeah its definitely a new experience for me and Im going to do everything I can to stick with it. Counting calories and when I get caught up on bills start going to the gym thats close by. I need this for myself I miss the smile of just feeling good waking up in the morning.

springlering62

Excessive sleep is often a sign of depression, so you may be bang on with that.

You don’t have to have a gym membership to exercise. Walking is the #1 thing that got me started towards weight loss. Just invest in a quality, professionally fitted pair of shoes. Beleive me, I lost a big toenail before I figured out it was my shoes causing the damage. And the pain. Ay yi yi, the pain.

You can also do something like Couch to 5k (aka C25K). You don’t even have to buy the app. Read the description and do it on your own.


There’s tons of free exercise videos online in every discipline you can imagine. If you share what you like to do, someone will be along to make a recommendation.

An inexpensive rebounder is a good exercise and folds away.

Don’t let lack of funds get in the way of you being you being a happier you!

kevymetal_

Welcome! Moving somewhere new is tough, but it can be really refreshing, especially when you've set a goal like losing 50+ lbs! I'm 20lbs down in my goal to lose ~50lbs so I know how daunting it can be, but I also know how great it feels to see that fat start to disappear. Depression is a very difficult thing to deal with but trust me when I say, the more you start moving, and the healthier you start eating, the better you feel every day. Even though 50lbs is the big goal, set small goals for yourself to focus on to get there. Don't just fixate on the final number on the scale. I've found walking to be super helpful physically and mentally. Find some interesting podcasts to listen to while you walk. I really like the Jordan Syatt podcast. He's a fitness coach with a really down to earth, realistic and sustainable approach to losing weight (and keeping it off).

Like one of the other people said, you don't need a lot of money to start strength training. There are so many resources online for free workouts. Find some beginner body weight workouts and just start with a couple times a week. You'll feel yourself get stronger in no time! Stay positive and be kind to yourself. You've got this!