150 pounds to lose......HELP!!!!!!

GooooHeather

I've lost a little over 150 lbs over the past 2 years, and can offer the following suggestions:
1) Find what works for YOU. Published diets, what worked for your best friend, or what worked for me may or may not work for you.
2) Set reasonable short term goals (i.e. 1-2 lbs a week).
3) Set reasonable exercise goals. I started with 5 minutes a day on the treadmill. Now I'm riding 100-200 miles a week on my bike. That didn't happen overnight, but the biggest thing was doing SOMETHING every single day.
4) Obviously, since you're hear, you know that food/exercise/weight tracking is a great tool. Stick with it.
5) I liked the suggestion about "kryptonite foods". I only gave up a couple of things, but I got them out of my house and office and tried to avoid being around them long enough that the temptation lowered.
6) Hang in there and don't get discourtaged. It gets easier.

I love this..." started with 5 minutes a day on the treadmill. Now I'm riding 100-200 miles a week on my bike." How wonderful!! Being an all or nothing type person, I generally would want to start at 100 miles/wk and then crash and burn. Its a messy process. To start out with 5min every day is doable and inspiring. Thank you for this!!!!

scrubman

You have already started just by being here. The number one thing to remember is that this is a journey not a race. This is not a diet its a life style change. Its about getting fit and healthy one day at a time. 1-2 pounds a week. That is only reducing your calorie intake by 750 calories a day than you take in. You can do this! I will keep an eye on you!

sp_isme

I need to lose 80-100 pounds and I'm starting over for the thousandth time (at age 36). What has worked in the past for me:
lowering carb intake (it doesn't have to be zero but cutting down on carbs really helped me. I have PCOS though and that is one thing people with that condition usually try to do when dieting), Walk Away The Pounds (low imapct, easy, fun, anyone can do this DVD because it is not complicated. You can find them online to watch for free), and writing down everything you eat.

Good luck to you! Maybe we can support each other through this journey. I'm doing this not just to look better or fit into a smaller size, but for my health and self-esteem.

Uzoh

Although the number right now seems overwhelming, it is doable. Like many posts before have stated, you have to take it one day at a time and most importantly you need to do what works for you, even if you don't know what that is at this point. When I started I had 180lbs to lose and I was not sure what worked for me, but gradually I learned that taking it in chunks, month by month and resting (taking up to a week off working out) helped me get refocused and rejuvenated. There are a lot of resources both here and on the internet so just take a deep breath, put one foot in front of the other and never give up.

MOMMYofAISLYNNE

Very sage advice and a great reminder for all of us!

Set your major goal ( to lose 150 Pounds ) and a HEAP of mini goals.

Clothes sizes top and bottom
exercise goals. Finish a quarter/half/mile walk then beat the time.
bmi goals
weight loss in 5/10/20/50/100 pound chunks
weight loss in 5/10/20/50 kilogram chunks ( The more goals the merrier )
take every measurement and track them. Set goals around these.

Remove negative people from your life.

Learn to love vegetables if you don't already.

Find and exercise you love. With 150 pounds to lose I would suggest you don't race into exercise. Your body tells you once it needs to get moving. You will have so much energy as the weight drops it needs to go somewhere.

Drink a heap of water, you can't hear this one to much.

If you have a partner, get them onboard you either do part or all of it with your or become your fan club

Keep a look out for smells/situations that trigger overeating or poor eating decisions . I found I had a few of these I was never away of.

Good luck. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want some moral support.

rhymeswithtexas

I just signed up to do a DietBet with Blogilates (seriously, an awesome site if you haven't checked it out before). It's a pretty sweet deal, and it's motivating me to continue moving back towards a healthy lifestyle. Different people are motivated by different things. It's important to figure out what motivates you. Feel free to add me as a friend, and we can motivate each other!

mbennett2283

A major thing for me has been portion control, portion control, and portion control. I've tried the cold turkey deal before and made it a couple of weeks before destroying a large pizza. Have one thing you really like but in a smaller portion. For me, it's pizza. I like having one personal size pizza a week. It's only 350-400 calories and the fat in it is easily exercised out. That's my one cheat a week. I eat healthy otherwise.

Best of luck on your journey.

hannakengu

Set mini goals and mini rewards. I had/have mini goals with rewards set every 5lbs, and my rewards were things like one new decorated coffee mug (I collect a certain type of them...), lessons on a new sport (I tried pole dancing) or a movie night with your favorite movie, candles, healthy snacks etc. Just be sure to also set goals that aren't weight-oriented, such as losing a certain amount of inches, running 5/10/20 minutes/mails/kilometers, whatever works for how you're planning to do this.

My favorite mini goal has two steps: first, plan the dinner menu for the whole week, and then stick to the plan without changing it (I've never experienced mine changing for the healthier, only worse).

dejavuohlala

feel free to add me but i only support those that offer mutual support in return

good luck with your journey

tfleischer

Find someone outside of family but face-to-face who can do this with you, in addition to having friends and accountability partners online through MFP. I am fortunate enough to have a good friend who I meet weekdays in the morning. It is a little early for me, but fits his schedule, so I make it work. Knowing that someone is going to be there means a lot in that it makes it more difficult to hit the SNOOZE button and go back to sleep.

Log everything and do it through the day, rather than by memory. If you have the APP on your phone, that is going to help a lot on the go. Be honest in the logging, even when you have eaten or drank something that you shouldn't have done. This will help the next time around so that you might make better choices.

Outline the week ahead for both food and exercise. I find most of my bad choices are a result of not planning. The plans can change as schedule/work/kids/life changes, but have a plan.

I find it best to limit or avoid WHITES: white rice, white bread, white potatoes, white sour cream, pastas, white salad dressings.
Instead, I use brown rice, whole grain wheat or oat bread, sweet potatoes (which are actually much more flavorful than white potatoes), whole grain pastas, Greek non-fat yogurt, and oil-based salad dressings, or even balsamic vinegar and oil.
Cheese is one of my many downfalls, so I have limited those as well. Sometimes, though, it is okay and maybe even better to just give in to the desire to eat it, but eat it in much smaller amounts.

Stop eating out so much. Whether it is fast food, or dine-in food, it will be loaded with the things that make losing weight harder to do: unnecessary and excessive amounts of salt, fat, sugar and empty calories. When you do eat out, see if you can find the nutrition information that most chains and franchises publish on their websites beforehand. Also, MFP has a ton of this info in its app so search there ahead of time.

Cooking at home is a great way to bring a family together and make better food choices. My wife works out after work, so I go home and cook a dinner to plan for it to be ready for her. On nights I have to cover meetings or sports events for work, she does the same for me. This does not always work out, but taking the time and making the effort makes it happen more often than not.

When you go to the grocery store, stick to the outer aisles of the fresh produce and meats. By not picking up canned goods, prepared goods and frozen meals/pizzas, etc., you may find in the long run that you can actually save money.

Here is a quick 30-minute meal idea that I have found to be a wonderful dinner:

Salmon (I prefer the coho to farm-raised)
Grainy, brown mustard coated on top and black pepper
Brown rice
Roasted brussels sprouts (fresh brussel sprouts, cut in half and drizzled with olive oil and then roasted in the pan at about 400)
Cook the salmon and brussel sprouts for about the same time and temp, checking on them at 10 minutes and again at 15 minutes.
You can buy quick cooking brown rice or Texmati brand, which cooks faster than the 45 minutes the label says, at least on my stove.
Add a dessert of fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries with a little bit of non-fat Greek yogurt.
You will spend (depending on local prices) about $25 to feed four to five people. Cheaper than KFC and maybe even McDs. And much better for you, too.


And hummus can be a great healthful snack with raw veggies to dip.

Jkorinc1

I agree with everyone. You need to find what works for you. I find that logging in all week's food enables me to create a grocery list which i can live with. I have chosen the high protein, low fat, no sugar way. Once you detox your body your cravings go away and it helps you stick with your diet. The hardest thing for me is that i like to drink wine and i'm giving it up ... I drink a Protein drink for breakfast, eat a salad with veges for lunch and a high protein snack around 3-4PM. Then when i get home i eat 4-6 oz of meat along with a salad and veges (you can eat up to 4 cups of veges a day). I lost 65 lbs 2 years ago and gained it all back so i'm starting over. Makes me mad that i put over 1 year into it and felt great and now i feel sluggish and tired all the time. Be sure to take vitamins though, you won't believe what a difference they make.

sweetpea03b

What I have found that has PROFOUNDLY helped me this time around is understanding the science of weightloss. Most people think in order to lose weight you have to kill yourself at the gym and eat nothing but lettuce. You have to feed your body like you fuel your car. Make every calorie count.. think "is this going to help my body run properly?" if the answer is no.. you're better off without it. That's not to say you can't have a treat now and then... but keep your portions in moderation. Lots of protein (1gram per lb of lean body mass).. be careful with your carbs (I try not to eat carbs past lunch time; remember... your body has to have time to use the carbs. If you eat a huge plate of pasta and then go to bed 10min later your body is going to store it instead of using it because you burn far less calories sleeping than walking, talking, eating, etc.)

I use cardio as a tool to "earn" calories to eat. Period. If you're already eating at a deficit and you don't need more calories to eat... don't feel obligated to do cardio everyday. That being said.. of course cardio is good for your heart health in moderation. Don't over-do it. I strongly suggest you make some kind of weight lifting part of your routine so you can tone as you lose and prevent muscle loss. Some people think " i want to lose all this weight by doing crazy cardio then I'll tone afterwards". If that works for you great... but why not do both at one time? If you do minimal cardio and introduct weight training from the very beginning you kill 2 birds with one stone. Check out New Rules of Lifting for Women... it will change your life.

This doesn't have to be a prison sentence... don't start something now you can't live with the rest of your life... because eventually you'll burn out and gain the weight back (I know from experience!.. trying to do it right this time!) Good luck Feel free to add me as a friend.

mshoneysmile7

It's awesome that you're trying again! I am starting over again too! I also want to lose about the same amount of weight! There's not much that I can suggest because I am still working on it also. I can, however, share what I am doing. For starters, I am trying to log EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY when eating. That way I won't lose track of what I've eaten and how many calories I have left to eat. Another thing that I'm trying to do is be more reasonable with my goals. My ultimate goal is to lose 120 lbs within the next 1 to 2 years. Since I put in my start weight and my ultimate goal, my calories were set SOOO low that I was STARVING! No matter what I ate... I then changed my goal weight to about 98.5 lbs lighter and noted that I wanted to lose 1.5 per week as opposed to 2 lbs per week. More calories and it won’t feel like I have SOOOOO long to go. One final note is network! It's a lot more fun when you have people with similar goals to talk to whenever you're going through something (whether it's happy or not so great). I hope these pointers help and good luck! I will add you!

gmthisfeller

I would also recommend eating higher protein, lower carbs (breads, pastas, grains). Track everything religiously, and eat something every 3-4 hours to keep your hunger at bay and your metabolism up.

Drink LOTS of water. If you hate water, Crystal Light is pretty awesome & fairly inexpensive. You are going to get a TON of suggestions. Find the right combination that works for you, and even if you started off with one or two rules and built on that, it would improve your diet. You don't have to drop everything all at once. This is a journey, not a race.

Best of luck!

+1

Some of the best advice you will receive around these parts!

seekamy83

Focus on getting only decent carbs if you can- fruit is okay (I know they're higher carbs but they're better than a snickers or chips etc) so those types of carbs are okay, when you grocery shop stay out of the middle aisles as much as possible they're loaded with pastas and breads etc. Don't cut out everything just take it a little bit at a time otherwise you'll hate it and quit doing it. Load up on protein and nuts and stuff. Set reasonable goals for each week 1-3 lbs a week, you won't lose immediately it takes a bit of time for your metabolism so don't give up, if you're tracking and doing things right it will work. You don't need to cut all carbs or go to shakes etc those are boring, just eat more of the good stuff

mebepiglet123

Drink plenty of water... Track everything that goes In to your mouth, log regardless of overeating days. Exercise a lot. Don't be too hard on yourself... Do not starve yourself. I found weighing everything helped.

iamladibeast

I think you have to be really ready for this journey. It is not a quick fix but a lifestyle. You have to mentally ready for the change. And your diet is very important (by diet I mean what you put in your mouth) the most important. Find an activity you love and do it, you will find that if it's something you enjoy you will stick with it. I have leg problems so for me walking is how I get most of my cardio. I also use the elliptical, which is great without the stress on my leg.

Surround yourselft with supporters. If you have people in your life that is constantly trying to discourage you, get rid of them. And don't ever compare your journey to someone else's.

Realize that there are days when you will stumble, that's ok. Just dust yourself off and pickup where you left off. Most importantly never give up on yourself. Remember you are worth it.:flowerforyou:

rconarroe

I like Mangopickles comment about getting the "Kryptonite" foods out of the house. That could be baked goods, chips, soda, etc. Whatever it is, don't bring it in the house. If you have a craving for something, force yourself to do some squats or push ups. Then eat some green peppers, celery, etc.

daniellabella986

One of the best things to invest in is a food scale. Seriously, it makes things so much easier because you have a better visual as far as portion sizes.

And of course, don't expect to lose it all in one day. Baby steps and it'll happen with time and determination!

Ben_Avery

I think you have to be really ready for this journey. It is not a quick fix but a lifestyle.....

^^^ This as well. You have to be in the right mindset.

How you go about eating/exercising will be something you need to work out for yourself and what suits. I don't advertise what I did/do because I don't need the "insight" of somebody who has a few pounds to lose. 150 pounds + is a challenge in itself. It is not as easy as just eating right and exercising 30 minutes a day. I can just eat right now, but when I started out I needed other tools to get me onto the right track and break decades of bad habits.

You will find that most people remove or restrict white rice, pasta, breads, alcohol, refined sugars etc etc.