OBESE AND NEED HELP!

GiveMeCoffee

Start off easy:
no sugar
no fried foods
No white carbs-flour products
Then as you start to lose weight you wil learn more and more about eating whole non-processed foods.

This is the type of advice that makes someone give up before they even get started. Totally unnecessary and setting up for failure. I eat all those things and have had no problems losing 107 lbs.

amwbox

Maybe try this: Don't deny yourself anything...but cut the quantity of it way back.

Use smaller plates. Or, set a weight limit on the food and start weighing it.

If there are certain foods that act as a trigger, and cause you to overeat...avoid them.

velvet_violence

One of the first things that came to my mind is the UK show Supersize Vs Superskinny. While I am not always a huge fan of the more exploitative aspects of the program, something that was powerful for me were the food tubes, where they would drop a week's worth of the person's food one sitting at a time for each sized contestant. Without fail the larger was bigger than the smaller one, and a couple times the TV doc remarked that the great thing about an amped up diet is that you can easily cut things and start dropping pounds quickly.

I have found in my own experience trying to eat more whole foods that I am totally satiated most of the time through my own home cooking, though I still crave a burger or fish and chips sometimes. When I first started losing any weight was about a year ago. I got down to where I was two months ago which is now reflected in the start of my ticker. At this point we got fast food 2-3 times a week, and the very first thing I did was never order a full calorie drink. I don't like diet soda so it was pretty much always unsweetened ice tea.

That had to be slightly relaxed because I like the seasonal fruit shakes at my local place, the only one we go to (we have a closer fast food joint literally across the street, now I opt to go to the only quality place that can get my order out in <10 mins), so every once in a while I get a small smoothie. I also started only eating half my fries, which was a dang ol struggle for me but luckily I always go with a hungrier counterpart. We also used to get some kind of appetizer along with our food, now we substitute if there's something we can't go without. So no more fries, sandwich, and onion rings but an either/or situation. Sometimes I just order a sandwich and snag a couple fries.

These changes alone took me down about 30 pounds before I was even logging everything and studying the nutritional value of chia seeds. It's been hard to regulate the cravings but I just have to remind myself that the fast food places won't all close tomorrow. Honestly, only being able to go to one a couple days a week due to a tight schedule and being a little more picky about where I go has made it feel like a special treat, a nice thing to look forward to when I don't have meat defrosted. Sometimes I like the simplicity of not having to tally my own recipe to record it and just using their guidelines. But cooking for yourself is great, and it can save sooo much money. Good luck, add if you'd like!

pr1ncessg1ory

I've found that simply logging what I eat in a diary helps me ask myself "is that 240 extra calories from Ranch dressing worth it?" When I see how quickly those little things add up, I'll substitute items (fat free ranch for regular, a thin slice of reduced fat cheese vs. a standard full fat slice for instance). I try to log recipes before I prepare them to see what ingredients can be eliminated or substituted with healthier options before I cook, so I know what I'm eating before I eat it. That helps me stay on track... and motivates me to add in some extra exercise if I am dying for a patty melt

Irishb118

I only read a few days of your enteries. How can anyone afford to eat out that often? Take the money you are spending and put it in a jar and cook at home. In the freezer section you can get pre-made meals. Make veggies and salads to go with it. Eat as many veggies as you want (without butter or cheese sauces) and you will be amazed at how much the veggies will fill you up. Eating vegetables is the first step in filling yourself up and adding a healthy choice to your meals.

Now, if you put all of that money in a jar and save it instead of eating out every meal or every day, by the end of the year imagine how much you will have saved and how much weight you will have lost. :~)

laurenawolf

You got this! You seem to like fast food, which I love as well. But that needs to be the first thing to go. Strive for a cheat meal once a week as a reward (one meal, not a whole day of cheating). This can include french fries and a milkshake! The rest of the week, try making turkey burgers instead of going to get a burger from mcdonalds, or grilling some chicken and having a side of sweet potato. You will be saving so much gas and money from always hitting up the fast food places. Like I said, you got this and you have the whole MFP family to help you

MinnieInMaine

Dreawest, thanks for the quick reply. I could go all morning and most of the day without food,I seem hungrier mid-afternoon and night. I logged my food the past 20 days here and it's embarrassing. I can eat!!!

Something to consider.. I used to be the same way, thinking I shouldn't eat until I was actually hungry so I'd just have coffee and maybe a piece of toast in the morning and then eat and eat and eat all afternoon/evening. When I started watching my weight, I decided to try eating breakfast. I still didn't eat first thing in the morning but would make sure I had something within a few hours of waking - and I felt it really helped with the afternoon hungries. Not sure if it's a blood sugar balance thing or what but it worked for me. Evern if it's just a protein bar and a banana or a breakfast sandwich, I like to have something in the morning or I know I'll pay for it later once my hunger kicks in.

As far as changing to healthier eating habits... Eating at home will definitely help. Start looking around online for recipes that sound good. You can make them healthier/lighter by using less pasta/potato/rice, leaner or less meat and bulk up with veggies. I tend to add bell peppers, mushrooms and onion to just about everything. Also consider adding broccoli, zucchini, carrots, even peas.
If you like having something crunchy with your sandwich or burger (chips/fries/onion rings), have a piece of fruit and/or side salad instead. I like apples, oranges, baby carrots or even pea pods (sugar/snap peas)
If you like sweet things, again fruit can help but if you really want chocolate, check out some of the low cal snack bars (like Special K or Kashi), protein bars or cocoa roast almond.

For me, the thing that really helped at first was to concentrate more on portion size rather than food options. That got me to the point of being within (or near as possible) to my daily calorie goal. Then once that became more of a habit, I started working on healthy swaps so I could get more bang for my buck.

Good luck!

Eleana14

Hi,

I've been exactly where you are now, and I know what has helped me. I tried everything, and it became so daunting and complicated and painful that I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders from the moment I woke up in the morning. It's a horrible place to be.

Everything has changed for me. I am losing weight, and I am, for the very first time EVER, confident I will reach my healthy weight.

The first, and most important thing I did, was to start eating again. It's probably the last thing you'd think of, but it's the most important step I took towards getting healthier. I had, after years and years of diets, become so afraid of food, that I would delay meals, avoid meals, do everything I could to go as long as possible before eating again. It took me a long time to get used to eating meals again. I realised feeling hungry was something I wasn't allowing myself, and it would take me hours to realize I needed to eat. Finally I started checking the time, and realizing that it's been maybe 3 hours since my last meal, and it's perfectly normal for me to be hungry again. What a relief! It took me a while, but now I wouldn't dream of going back to the way I was eating.

This was, as I said, the first step. I didn't pay attention to any of the "rules" I'd been sticking to earlier. Carbohydrates, sugar, food-combining, I didn't think of any of it, all I did was reconnect to my body and it's signals.
The next step was trying to remember to tell myself I was actually hungry when I found myself looking for sweets or cookies or whatever. I was hungry. And I was allowed to be hungry. And I made a pact with myself. Instead of making all kinds of rules about what not to eat, I told myself everything was allowed, no problem, eat whatever you like, as long as you eat food first. And I did. I got better and better at remembering this, and pretty soon I was so used to it, I could recognise hunger again, and knew it was time for a meal. Sure, I could still eat way too much food, but slowly the thought crept in that this was not my one and only meal today, there would be more. And I could relax, and take it slow, and I started recognising the feeling of being full. Instead of postponing meals, ignoring the hunger and setting myself up for a massive binge in the evenings.

The weight started to come off immediately. I don't really have cravings, and I enjoy my meals. I log every piece of food, and know that it would be easy to eat too much once in a while. But the thing is, being this big, I would be full long before I reach any amount of calories that would actually make me put on more weight. I might not lose weight that quicky if I eat alot, and go over the amount set for me in here. But even on the days I've been in the red while logging here, (4 or 5, can't remember), after completing the log for the day, I would have still lost some weight five weeks from that day. And it's such a relief. It feels so forgiving compared to everything else I have ever tried. I can't even see how I could "fall off this wagon". It's like something I have finally learnt that can't be un-learnt, if you understand. And I am SO happy about it.

I hope you got something from this. And I wish you ALL the best! Add me, whoever want's to.

IIIIISerenityNowIIIII

All you have to do is eat at a calorie deficit. Start tracking the foods you eat and you will lose weight. It is definitely worth it! Otherwise, how long do you think you have left? Because it will kill you if you change nothing.

sfbaumgarten

If nothing else, log everything. And instead of changing what you eat, maybe start by just changing how much you eat.

Alicewtl

Hi, how are you doing now?
Im so happy to see you wanting to make changes and seeking help.
You ve received a lot of great tips already
I took a sneak peek in your diary.
I totally agree that you should cook at home more. Reducing the calories on the dishes ourselves is much easier.
Also you should consume more veggies. Sneak 1/2 or 1 cup of any veg to your savory dish, ether cooked or raw and you wont even notice their taste much
About the never feel full i ve got same problem as you do. Just eat more slowly, like rea.....l slow. Or just stop before you actually feel full knowing thats should be enough for the meal already. Or instead of going cold turkey like that, after eating your 'should-be-enough-already' meal, and still wanting more eat only veg, steamed or raw or fruits only.
My advice is start small. Not too dedicating to the weight loss but eat mindfully. I found the most fired-up and drastic dietter to give up sooner.

nomad1966

Here is my 2 cents, as a general rule...

breakfast should be fiber and simple sugars that you can burn off during the day. By all means do some protein and fat too.... Moderation is the key

Lunch should be protein intake too but the ratio of fat and carb should be such that your high fat intake for the day should be lunch

Supper is the opposite of lunch. Complex carb like pasta, potato, yams...etc. supper is when you have the higher intake of complex sugars (carbs) for the day. Your body processes it and is ready to be used in the morning.

Snacks.....try a low carb protein drink and veggies. Have veggies every meal, but no root-veggies because they typically are high in carbs.


I was a big guy too...take a look at the before/after pic on my profile. I used nutritional ketosis to dump all my weight. It is not for everyone, but give it a look.

Send me a txt or email if you want to talk about it, I'm always up for talking about the method I used....and it is not a permanent thing either. When I was off the plan I was enjoying normal eating like normal people. No restriction just portion control.

Don