Needing Some motivation and help

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kirstinmizner
kirstinmizner Posts: 6 Member
in Getting Started
So I'm 5'5" and 156 pounds. According to my BMI I'm overweight and I really am. I got pregnant in 2010 and had my son October of 2010 and still haven't lost the baby fat. No excuse now as he is already 3. My goal is to lose 30 pounds by May as my husband and I are going on a cruise to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I need some motivation and some ideas. I'm totally new at this and feel like I'm doing this all on my own. If anyone has some tips and advice I would love it. My current measurements are: Weight 42" and hips 41". Thanks so much!!
Kirstin

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  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Motivation really needs to come from within. Make a list of reasons why you want to lose weight. Make another list of reasons why you don't want to lose weight. Be honest with the second list! There are a lot of reasons not to want to lose: it's hard, you have to give up food, it can add stress and complication to your life; you have to confront them. Then compare the lists and decide why list #1 is more compelling than list #2.

    As for tips: what worked for me is using MFP as it was intended to be used. I entered my data and my goals and MFP gave me a calorie goal per day. I stuck with that, more or less, and ate back my exercise calories. (Note: if you use MFP's database to estimate exercise calories, only eat back 50-75%, since the database tends to overestimate calorie burn.) I weighed my food to ensure that my calorie count was accurate.

    If you tend to pick at leftovers, then put food on plates before dinner and put away the leftovers before eating. If you regularly have a snack before bed, log it ahead of time so you know how many calories are left for other meals. If you're at a buffet or somewhere else where you can eat all you want, make it a rule to take only one plate, fill it with a reasonable amount of food, and don't go back for seconds. Basically, success is about portion control. Some people find that drinking a large glass of water 30 minutes before a meal helps. Others find that chewing a lot helps. Neither works for me; it was just a matter of keeping to that calorie count, and getting used to being hungry (it does get easier).

    Good luck!

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