Hello Everyone

danny12224

Good Day all.

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and chat about myself as I think that the community element of what I am about to do is probably going to be what make or breaks the attempts.

I am a 24 year old male, live in London and I am 244 lbs. My goal weight is significantly less than this. Unfortunately I have gotten myself into this condition by over-eating, having a bad relationship with food, being greedy and doing no exercise whatsoever. I attribute the lack of exercise etc to the fact that I work very long shifts and am a shift worker but I think really it is just an excuse.

I am exceptionally unhealthy (as witnessed this morning when I went for a run and couldn't manage even a few minutes run) and my diet is extremely poor. I have tried all types of fad dieting and it has also failed miserably ~ I think primarily due to the fact that I go for fad diets because I want to loose the weight without the effort, which clearly is not the case and is not going to happen.

Everything aches on my body all the time, I have saw legs, feet and shoulders (upper back) which I attribute to the excessive weight gain. I want to feel more healthy, I want to look better and I want to loose this weight but another issue of mine is a lack of motivation.

I can talk the talk but can't walk the walk so it seems...

My partner is also starting a weight loss journey as well now and so we will be doing this together in terms of cooking meals etc.

The issue for me, is the fact that I just don't know how to start this journey. I have no idea how to eat properly, I do not know what to eat, when and what is good for me etc and I don't know how to start exercising... I don't have the money for a trainer and I have no idea how much I should be doing, what types, when and how to do the exercises etc...

I am picking up little nuggets of knowledge here and there from work colleagues etc but for the most part I am in the dark, lost and have no idea how to start this journey.

Today is my first day, and thus far it has gone well... I have eaten a small breakfast of bran flakes and an apple/grape bag that I had. I am drinking a 2 litre bottle of water throughout the way at work and went for a run which lasted 12 minutes this morning at 05:30...

During the run I felt v unwell, I suffered from sore legs and shoulders and had an exertion induced ashtma episode which cleared itself after around 30 minutes or so with a little residual coughing lasting for a short time. I now know how unhealthy I am and that it needs to change but I need your support in order to do that.

Any advice, tips, knowledge, motivation or suggestions PLEASE feel free to get in touch with me.

Much appreciated!

Have a great day all.

Dan

sunshinesacoming

Hi dan

Well done for taking the first steps to losing the weight. I would recommend the couch to 5k running programme (c25k) you can get this as an app or just copy down the training plan. My advise in general about exercise is to find something that you enjoy doing - for me it's group exercise classes, but it could be anything. Getting up at 5.30 to exercise is hard! could you get a buddy to exercise with, if someone is knocking on your door at 5.30 to go for a run, it makes you get up (I speak from experience here!) There are also some groups on here where you weigh in weekly where you could get some support.

re food - pinterest is a good source for healthy recipes. Find what diet method works for you and fits in with your lifestyle.

good luck!

jigsaw_me

Hi and welcome

I would recommend that you have a read of this http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=sexypants (well the first post in the thread at least).

Miss_james1990

I could have written this!! I have spent so much time making excuses for myself ... "I've had kids I'm allowed to be chubby".... "im in a stable relationship he loves me as I am"... My favorite one now " I'm not actually that big anyway" . All these excuses could actually go against me the fact I have kids means I should be setting a good example, it should be me happy with the way I look not not only my partner and well I didn't get chubby over night it was a slow build up and if I don't stop ill get ill!! I realize this now and boy am I ready to do something about it!! Feel free to add me!

mockchoc

It's great you and your parnter are doing your best and trying to learn. MFP will really help you a lot. Keep reading the forums as much as you can to learn things. I don't beleive you need to be trying to run already. Walking is one of the best exercises you can do especially when starting out. Start out walking as briskly as you can do without too much pain or being out of breath then over the weeks increase your speed and even better add some hills eventually.

With your food just try to mostly stick to things in their most natural state. So lots of veggies, some fruit, some meat of any type (don't just stick to chicken breast please!, nothing wrong with full fat dairy products just have a bit less than the diet crap, have some healthy oils from things like nuts and seeds, avocado, coconut and extra virgin olive oil. Just make sure you don't undereat or overeat. You need to work out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and eat 20-30% below that. If you want a link just PM me if you don't have one.

You can both friend me if you need another friend or let me know if I can help in anyway. I'm no expert but I've been listening to what the experts on here have been saying and by that I mean the ones that lost lots.

mikes99mail

> I do not know what to eat, when and what is good for me etc..

of course you do....

Beer = bad. Crisps = bad. Mars Bars = bad.

Veggies = good. Lean meat = good.

Get some digital scales for your kitchen and start obsessing over the food logging / calorie counter on here, it'll soon be pretty damn obvious what's good and what's not. And get the food right first, then start exercise (and running's bloody hard work, check out the runners world site for a good beginners plan, it starts incredibly slow, with 1 minute on / 90 seconds off times 8, so expecting to run for 30 minutes right out of the blocks is a bit optimistic!!)

danny12224

Thank you for everyones replies. It is really helpful.