new & 330 pounds here :(

XdreamyX

Hi All. My name is Jenni. I'm 24 from Michigan. I have struggled with weight since i was a baby. I have PCOS. I weigh 330 pounds. I've been spending over $300 a month just alone on isagenix ( weight loss shakes ). Not including food, and I've tried several others.. including atkins, visalus, liquid diets, alli, phentermine, low calorie, low carb, high protein, other weight loss supplements... iseem to never stay witn something more than 2 weeks. I'm 24, almost 25. I want to actually be a size 18 for now.. im 24/26. Can you please tell me what has made you be successful in your journey? I'm desperate. I want to lose weight to look better, feel better, and one day have a family.... thank you xoxo.

Sunshine2plus2

Hello and welcome! I started at your weight, now down 119 pds. First i would drop the shakes! Eat right and exercise! You can do it! If you want to know more of what I did feel free to message. I am mobile right now its harder for me to write everything out.. Anyways good luck!

deebee227

H!

I am brand new too, I weigh about 240 and finally motivated to get going on this! Good luck on your journey!

bloodhoundlady

Jen welcome to mfp! Definitely drop the shakes. There are a lot of things that work for people. I have tried many over the last 20 years. Last June I had extremely high blood pressure was over weight by 125 lbs and I could barely function at my job. I am a nurse. I went to a local gym that had just opened and my life changed that day. I started with the help of the trainer started clean eating and exercising. I was 276 and could barely work on the treadmill for five minutes. I have lost 63 lbs and currently training for my first 5k next month. Exercise what you can do. Eat healthy, as non processed as possible and lots of veggies and fruits and lean meats. You need to just take the first step. I have never regretted my decision. I still have an occasional spurge, that is fine but if you concentrate and make a plan you can do this. Think of this as how you would prepare for a new job, research, make a plan and take steps to carry it forward. Good luck and if I can do anything for you just let me know.

LadyNiteOwl

Hi Jenni and fellow group members,

Welcome to our group I started a clean eating challenge and lost 25# in a month.( started at 350# ) I have been sugar-free and soda-free for a month. I haven't raided the fridge in the middle of the night since I started the challenge. I have finally learned that diets do not work for me. This is a lifestyle change and I use a food diary to help keep me on track.

I am looking for friends to share this journey with. Feel free to add me.

RobynUnfiltered

Hello and welcome! I started at your weight, now down 119 pds. First i would drop the shakes! Eat right and exercise! You can do it! If you want to know more of what I did feel free to message. I am mobile right now its harder for me to write everything out.. Anyways good luck!

Great Advice!!!!

StarFall90

I started at the beginning of this month. I dropped soda, chips and candy bars. I eat less and exercise more. I walk 2-3 miles a day now and I have went from 364 to 350 in less then a month. I suggest dropping the shakes and just eat healthier. Feel free to add me

AleciaG724

I started in April 2013 at 326.8#. I didn't exercise the first few weeks, and MFP put me at 1870 calories. I was really careful with logging but I was only using measuring cups & spoons, and I guess-timated a lot. The weight just stated coming of at 2-3#/week. I drank lots of water & tried to make good choices with snacks. After a few weeks I started swimming for 20-30 minutes a day (since I live in southern California & have a pool it was convenient - no excuses!). Swimming is great because it's easy on your joints, you feel weightless in the water, and you don't sweat! I was losing at that rate for the first 4 or 5 months then it slowed down to about 1-1.5#/week. I'm happy with that because my calories are lower now that I've lost almost 70# and I wouldn't want to lose any faster than that if it meant reducing my calories even further. I am so much more active now - I hike in the mountains for 5-8 miles almost every weekend, I do Zumba and weight training classes at the gym, I'm not sore, and I'm getting so strong! I'm out of the morbidly obese category! I've taken a few weeks off from the gym so I can prove to myself that I can eat at my base calories, and I think it's good to give your body a rest once in a while. I'll be back at it this week with 4-5 days at the gym. I only eat back about half the calories MFP says I've burned during exercise because I think (along with most people here) that they are too high.

You can do it, but it takes dedication to keep doing it every day & not give up. Log everything you eat, even if you're over. Try to get out & do something active every day - walk, ride a bike, go up and down some stairs... every little bit helps. Set goals for yourself - even if it's just 5 pounds at first. It's so exciting when you meet your goals! My next big goal is my 1 year anniversary on MFP in April - I hope to have lost 80# by then, but I'm a little behind schedule . My ultimate goal weight is 160# - more than half my original body weight, but that's a long way down the road - hopefully by my birthday July 2015!

You've already started, and the time is going to pass whether you lose the weight or not, just keep at it & see how much you can lose - maybe in a year you can be down 75-80# or even more! Best of luck to you - feel free to send me a friend request if you'd like.

Magda_Castle

I've started on 01/01/2014 at 342 lbs! I can't believe how easy is it this time round! Eating clean, walking, Zumba, squats, tummy crunches and weight lifting (with Sunday being my rest day). I just regret I've wasted 20 years of my life and didn't do it sooner!

liketoyak

Hi Jenni and everyone else.
You all seem like wonderful people, so encouraging. Wishing everyone success in your journey. M

XdreamyX

Thank you, everyone! you're so encouraging.. all of you women are so strong and seem to be doing so well! I am happy that you have posted, so I can follow your journeys too. I have a few messages to read and get back too! Thank you again! I shall start tomorrow.

fancygiraffe

Hello~

What everyone before me has said I started at the beginning of the year at 5'9" and 350 lbs. Today I hit 30 pounds lost. I eat clean - no wheat, no sugar, no caffeine, no packaged and processed foods, no artificial sweeteners, no fast food, and the only dairy I eat is 4 oz of Fage 2% greek yogurt. Unlimited veggies. Lots and lots of water! As a bonus, my skin feels and looks amazing!
I started working out and each week, I increase my time and intensity. I can feel myself getting stronger and my clothes getting looser. I bought a Fitbit and its a tremendous help as well.
Its an amazing feeling, and I assume like many here, we have tried and started over many times in our lives. This time it feels different for me. This is the first time I have tried it this way….the clean eating. It is a lot of work, shopping, preparing, cooking, storing fresh food, but its so worth it. I wish I had done this my whole life….Im 48 and so much time wasted, although 150 of those pounds was gained just over the last 10 years. Emotional eating from emotional trauma. 10 years to get past that….I am on my way!
Send me a friend request if you want to. Best of luck to you (and all of us!)

funnybun1

Hey there. I too started out over 300 lbs and I'm only 5'7". (320 actually). I started trying to lose weight around that point. I started keeping track of everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...that I ate and did for exercise. I lost 70 lbs and then I took a break and put 20 of it back on. I'm just getting back into the swing of things...exercising and eating better.

A couple suggestions for you...research your condition (PCOS) and identify your trigger foods (what makes you feel like junk) and try to reduce the amount of that stuff that you eat - avoid it if you can. Researching your condition may help you better understand what you should/could be doing to try to help yourself out. Try to eat whole actual foods in the least processed form possible. Actual fruits instead of juice, veggies (raw, lightly steamed, fully cooked, etc), reduce the amount of sauces you use (this was a big one for me), and try to stick with lean meats. Switch from serving spoons to measuring cups and break out the scale...or get one if you don't already have one. One of the things that help make my loss successful (and will again) is the fact that I measured and recorded everything. You may also want to invest in a heart rate monitor and an app that will work with it. (I have a Zephyr hrm that I feel works very well - must be on the Android platform though. If using an IPhone...you'll have to research what will work with it. Or buy a stand alone hrm - there's a few different types - ring, watch, chest band). Above all....you have to find a way to stick with it. Consistency is key to your success. It takes a couple weeks to start feeling good...and when you eat the junky food...your body will sure tell you by making you feel more junky. Learn how to use spices in your cooking instead of using salt and butter (this was a big one for me too). And EXERCISE!! Whatever gets your heart rate up for at least 20-30 minutes at a time. Gradually increase that, or do something twice a day. Yes it freaking hurts while your doing it and you feel like your lungs are going to explode....and yes it freaking hurts when your muscles are healing when you've pushed yourself through a workout. After the first few times, you start to expect this....and push yourself to see what you can actually do. Eventually you'll get to the point that you feel squirrely if you don't exercise at least once in a day. I thought I was going nuts the first time I recognized this in myself lol. Remember to drink enough water - it actually helps your body process everything. Try to get enough sleep. After exercising for a couple days straight...you may even find that you're sleeping better

Hope this helps. You may also find a msg board that has a PCOS thread on it and may find more relevant information regarding your symptoms. I know that some people are saying to drop the shakes, but personally, I think what ever helps get the job done so long as it's helping you get the vitamins/nutrients that you need. I use Visalus myself...that stuff's pretty tasty too . I try to think of it as I would be spending that money on groceries anyway if I didn't buy the shakes. Plus I find them convenient. I do shakes 5 days a week for breakfast & lunch but I always combine them with some fruit or veggies. I find that your body acts bonkers if it doesn't have that feeling of actually chewing and swallowing solid foods. On the weekends, I 'practice' eating real foods all day. I find on these days, it's even more important to plan what you're going to eat and when so that you don't end up just eating out of boredom.

Anyway...friend me if you like. Have a wicked Monday!