Well, here we go again..

My name is Darryl. I'm 22 and 6'4 and I currently weigh 361 lbs. I have tried (and failed) to change my lifestyle in the past. I've had modest results and then caved into the temptation of bad eating. The last time I started my change, I weighed nearly 360lbs and was in the low 300s before I finally gave in to temptation. I gained nearly 70lbs and was at my all time high of 376 lbs.

In the past two and half weeks I've lost 15 lbs. I have found MyFitnessPal, and with the help of my smart phone I find it easy to track my food intake. I also like this community (:

This is me now at 361 lbs:
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Replies

  • ButterflyDame
    ButterflyDame Posts: 111 Member
    Hi Daryl :) congrats on the weight loss in the last couple of weeks, myfitnesspal has been like a saviour to me, keeping me honest and the inspirational stories just keep me going, I have failed failed and failed so many times in the past, not this time!!! It's happening,
  • dawn_h_d
    dawn_h_d Posts: 184 Member
    Good luck - remember that we are all here for support!! You can do this, you have made the first step - you know you want to :)
  • darryl771
    darryl771 Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you guys so much! Any tips on how to get rid of those late night cravings? I will have had all of my meals and I just feel hungry at night.
  • Hi Darryl! Congrats on what you've lost and you can do the rest!

    This sounds simplistic, but... water. Seriously, drink some water. If that still doesn't help, try for something really basic like celery or something simple. Most of those types of vegetables have almost NO calories in them so they won't ruin your diet too badly.

    You can do it! :D
  • meganhite
    meganhite Posts: 6 Member
    Water! Guzzle it down. It should physically fill your stomach for awhile. Also, try and do something to stay moving and engaged so you're not just sitting there thinking about how hungry you are. And in those times of hunger- don't give in! You've got this.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    Thank you guys so much! Any tips on how to get rid of those late night cravings? I will have had all of my meals and I just feel hungry at night.

    Could you leave a few extra calories to have a small snack at night? You could enjoy an apple, banana, ice cream, or whatever else you enjoy eating.
  • darryl771
    darryl771 Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you, I actually just drank a whole glass of water after reading that and it definitely has helped!
    I'm just so scared of falling off the wagon again.

    In the past, I've realized that I wasn't enough to be healthy or full. Now, I am eating 2,100 calories per day. And, I am allowing myself to have occasional forbidden fruit.

    My boyfriend and I went out to a country-style restaurant the other day and I had baked chicken, black eyed peas, and macaroni. It all fit into my calorie allotment for dinner, however, the fat was a bit higher due to the mac & cheese.
  • darryl771
    darryl771 Posts: 8 Member

    Could you leave a few extra calories to have a small snack at night? You could enjoy an apple, banana, ice cream, or whatever else you enjoy eating.

    I think I could leave 100 or 200 calories for a night time snack. :)
  • dawn_h_d
    dawn_h_d Posts: 184 Member
    I usually have some extra calories for just that reason - nite snack attack.
  • denisegunnels
    denisegunnels Posts: 43 Member
    Fitness Pal has been a god send for me. I can track things and enter my own recipes. I'm under most days but if I have a special day coming and know I want to be naughty I will work out hard that day and the day before. I get to be bad and still stay in range.

    Eat what you want, just not how much, or you will drive yourself crazy. The whole point is to find a life style change you can live with. If your goal/method is unattainable you won't make it.

    Like many others, I have found a glass of cold water or unsweetened tea can take the edge off. A snack at night works too. My secret weapon is Fiber One Brownie Bars. They taste pretty good, only 90 cals, and 20% of your days fiber.

    Good luck stay focused and you can make it and maintain it, :wink:
  • darryl771
    darryl771 Posts: 8 Member
    I think some healthy night time snacking is key.
    I find that I am fine all day until I lay down in bed, playing on my phone or the computer is when I start getting a bit hungry.

    Now that I started back eating on schedule, I find that I only get hungry during the day around the times I usually eat my meals (12:30ish and 5:30ish). Of course, I'm always hungry when I first wake up.. especially if I went to the gym the night before.
  • 1PoisonIvy
    1PoisonIvy Posts: 933 Member
    Welcome to MFP Darryl,
    Much success to you!
  • Usually whenever I get some night time cravings, I sip on decaffeinated green tea. It helps fill me up and it keeps my mouth busy, if that makes any sense haha. Sometimes, I also leave room at the end of the day for a small piece of apple :D Have you ever heard of blogilates.com? She has tons of snacks that are usually pretty low calorie. 20 pieces of homemade wheat thins for only a little over 100 calories? Um...YES! lol
  • Maddius
    Maddius Posts: 78 Member
    G'day Darryl,

    Mate you seem like a nice bloke, but I have a problem...

    The thinking behind the title of your post ("Well, here we go again") HAS to Change if you're Serious about Success. Don't fixate on having tried and failed in the past. For the past is exactly that, it's Gone, yes it's part of your story, but it's Gone.
    I Know You Can Do this thing, but You have to refocus on Not repeating the past!

    Today is Now and the only thing you can change is the Future.

    Mate you're already getting some Great advice in this post. Late time feeds, start with water and then another glass, if that's not enough, check out the veggie crisper. Celery and carrots are great snack type foods. Nuts are good if they're unprocessed and hopefully in a shell (takes longer to get to them and eat them lol), with the nuts though be wary of the fat content. Boiled eggs is another great standby for snacking. Try cold press juicing of fruit (not too much) and vegetables (generally as much as you like).

    Darryl, if you're on facebook populate it with pages such as The Baking Mad Gym Addict, Elliot Hulse, Scooby's Home Fitness and Bodybuilding Workouts, Precision Nutrition, Eat Right Feel Amazing, Juicing Vegetables, The Sassy Gourmet, Simple Green Smoothies. Do you get it mate, there's a Mountain of Great stuff out there, and All of these folks are in their own way mentoring me.

    'Never Ever Give Up, Ever', try that on for size, for your new motto Darryl. Like all of us you'll have some ups and some downs on MFP, but they're like life, we don't give up after some of life's lows have been dealt, we just Keep Marching Forward. As for me, I did a lot of work and was incredibly strict with my food and exercise and yet results didn't start happening until after 3 long months. I Still have a Lot of work ahead, but I Now say 'Bring it'.

    You'll find a Lot of Great Supportive people on MFP.

    Apologies if you or others are offended by my words, but Daz if You Want Different, You Have to Be Different, the mind adjustment comes first in that one.
  • izWHATitIz
    izWHATitIz Posts: 73 Member
    Darryl,

    It's great to see you make this life dedication. This cannot be just about loosing weight. It has to be about changing your life, health habits, and ultimately your fitness life style. It seems you are on the correct path in your journey and MFP is a great place to find both motivation and encouragement. Some people just talk the talk about making the changes to lose weight and some walk the walk. I think it's time you dig deep and continue to take these step you have started. Everyone here is here to encourage those that need it. I always find myself in the gym watching people reactions to others mainly to the overweight individuals. I hate to see people not encouraging those trying to better themselves except most of them look at these people like why are you here. That is one thing you will not get from this group. We are all here to motivate and push you to that next level.

    Myself I hate the late night cravings. Just curious how do you have your macros setup? What exactly are you eating at you meals? I find that cottage cheese helps with the cravings due to fat taking longer to digest. Don't worry, the tale of fat make you fat is so false. But the types of fat you eat can make you fat. Tons of water like everyone else said. Get rid of the processed foods after 5pm. The body breaks them down quick which caused you brain to produce that hunger signal.

    The best thing is we are all here to help.

    Friend request sent.
  • silencioesoro
    silencioesoro Posts: 318 Member
    Time to change your mindset as well. Say: "This time will be THE TIME." You're going to do great, you're on here with all of us to help, and I'm sure you have people outside of MFP to help as well!

    You can do it!
  • Just remember you have a lot of support on here. We believe in you! you can do it :)
  • holliwood322
    holliwood322 Posts: 92 Member
    I would suggest logging in everyday and posting food as honestly as possible. and of course exercise. move everyday. and change 1 thing in your list of bad habits every month. they say it takes 30 days to make a habit. one of my friends changed her milk from whole, to 2% to 1% over a course of 6 months. she calls them "lifestyle" changes. you can do the same. but use this site for support. a lot of good help here and they say those who have a support group are more successful overall! :love: good luck to you!:drinker:
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
    :) you can do this!! Have faith! even when you have a bad day, brush yourself off and keep fighting!!
  • tigs728
    tigs728 Posts: 18 Member
    Hi there

    You sure are in the right place as great support on here. Just to mention to make sure you eat a realistic amount of calories as if you are going off what MFP says (1200?) it will be way too little and then yes, eventually fall off the wagon. Then you might find you can save some for the times you are hungrier. I found a great approach on here after a few months 'In Place of a Roadmap' if you look that up. Forget the full name but essentially I worked out how many calories would be good for sustainable weight loss factoring weight, exercise etc. Not everyone's thing but could be worth a look.

    Go well xx
  • Hi Darryl, Congrats on your decision to join MFP! It keeps me honest to have to post what I eat. For the night time cravings, I drink some really ice cold water and then brush, floss and Listerine :) Listerine knocks the cravings out! Good luck!
  • phoebejeeby
    phoebejeeby Posts: 62 Member
    Popcorn is a great late night snack. It takes a while to eat and it feels like you are really snacking! Pop it from plain kernels (not the microwave, buttered, seasoned kinds) Add a little salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder....whatever seasoning you like really and enjoy. (No butter, oil etc) 3 cups popcorn is only 93 calories, 18 g carbs (almost half of what an apple has)3.5 g fibre, 3 g protein!