My first day here-need tons of help!

MezaEza

Hi Yseut, first of all welcome!

I've got a few tips that might be useful to you;
1) If you eat meat/fish cut your consumption down to 4 (or less) days a week and eat vegetarian for the other 3 days. Reducing meat intake will help reduce your intake of saturated fat.

2) Reduce the amount of processed meat and dairy you eat, this again helps reduce your intake of saturated fat

3) Eat as much fruit and veg as you can. Fruit and veg are low in calories and unhealthy fats and are bursting with nutrients and vitamins. Try to make sure that 50% of your main meals consist of fruit/veg.

4) Starchy carbs (in moderation) are your friend. Oats, potato, rice, pasta and bread are your friends. Opt for wholegrain pasta and bread and brown rice if you can as they are much better for you. The carbs will keep you full and will reduce snacking between meals.

5) Drink lots of water, aim for 2 litres a day. If you drink a lot of fizzy juice or fruit juice slowly cut down the amount you drink, whilst tasty they're full of sugar and empty calories.

6) Reduce your portions by 50% and eat slowly. It takes the brain 20 minutes to realise you're full so start with a small portion and eat slowly, if you're still hungry after 20 minutes then go back for more.

7) It's normal to fall of the wagon, just don't let it get you down. Seriously don't. And don't punish yourself either. Just get back to normal the next day.

8) You're allowed to give yourself the occasional treat. There's no point in denying yourself a treat, so build it in to your routine. Have a treat meal once a week, it makes everything so much easier and can help keep you going when you can't be bothered with the diet anymore.

9) Exercise is key. Whilst watching what you eat is important you're only going to see the real weight loss with exercise. Small things add up, for example;
take the stairs
if it's a short journey then walk it
park your car as far away from the shop as you can
get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way
Do short bursts of exercise during tv adverts (crunches, jumping jacks, lunges etc)
Build up the amount and intensity of exercise. Just try to do something every day, even if it is only 20 minutes!

10) Most importantly, do it at your own pace.

Hope this comes in helpful and your journey is a success! Feel free to add me as a friend, I recently started a weightloss journey myself.

All the best!

Yseut

Thank you all for your responses. I already feel encouraged and with the support of this board I just may do it.

Fsunami – I will take your great advice and try to focus on today only and meeting my goals. You are also right that this will require a lifestyle change. Right now my life does not give me the time that I need to exercise, so I must work on changing that. I also don’t want to die young so I must find the a solution to losing this weight.

Trogalicious – thank you for the helpful links. I will visit them when I get the chance.
Girl du jour – excellent advice. It would take me too long to thank you but based on your writing I am sure you understand how meaningful it is. The planning ahead I have started. It made me feel good to know that my instincts aren’t completely off. I will also work on keeping my mind right (I may need help with this).

Gisella – I am a stress eater too. Right now my life is exceptionally stressful and this is why I am gaining. Maybe we can support each other.

Meza – I have thought about becoming a Pescatarian. So I must learn how to cook fish (I don’t like fish). But I have had the most weight loss success while restricting my protein intake to fish.

And for those of you who mentioned consulting my doctor, thank you. I have, and she is in agreement with my choices so far. We have a new relationship because my previous doctor decided to move to California, so I had to find someone new.

I have already entered my stats into the MFP tracker. It’s day one so I will see if I meet my goals for today.
Thank you all soooo much for your help. I will be re-reading some of your posts to make sure that I don’t miss any of the good advice .

I will post how I am doing in the next few days. For now my objective is to meet my daily caloric intake and my exercise goals. I think we can also blog about it right? If so, I will definitely blog it to keep a record of my progress.

Thanks again guys,
Yseut

sharonpink

I have over 100 lbs to lose still also, so feel free to add me as a friend. I agree with Fsunami's great pointers. I added him in the beginning and he is always posting inspirational messages.

Please know that you are not starting a diet. You are starting a lifestyle change. I believe one of the most important things you can do is log your food (good and bad - we all have 'em) because it holds yourself accountable. Is it a pain? Sometimes, and sometimes you will forget and you will have to recreate. But it gives you a good record of saying, OK, I didn't eat enough, or OK, I ate too much and it gives you the information you need to make adjustments in how you are treating your body.

Planning ahead is also very important. If you know you are going out for a big meal, you eat lighter that day beforehand and save your calories. It also helps to clear your house of anything except healthy snacks. A handful of almonds can be really satisfying and be a high fiber, low calorie snack and a great source of protein, which your body will like.

Your friends on here will give you the motivation, but ultimately, of course, it's up to you to start treating your body with dignity. It's the only one we have!

I have sent a friend request if you would like to add me.

Fsunami

Thank you all for your responses. I already feel encouraged and with the support of this board I just may do it.

Fsunami – I will take your great advice and try to focus on today only and meeting my goals. You are also right that this will require a lifestyle change. Right now my life does not give me the time that I need to exercise, so I must work on changing that. I also don’t want to die young so I must find the a solution to losing this weight.

Trogalicious – thank you for the helpful links. I will visit them when I get the chance.
Girl du jour – excellent advice. It would take me too long to thank you but based on your writing I am sure you understand how meaningful it is. The planning ahead I have started. It made me feel good to know that my instincts aren’t completely off. I will also work on keeping my mind right (I may need help with this).

Gisella – I am a stress eater too. Right now my life is exceptionally stressful and this is why I am gaining. Maybe we can support each other.

Meza – I have thought about becoming a Pescatarian. So I must learn how to cook fish (I don’t like fish). But I have had the most weight loss success while restricting my protein intake to fish.

And for those of you who mentioned consulting my doctor, thank you. I have, and she is in agreement with my choices so far. We have a new relationship because my previous doctor decided to move to California, so I had to find someone new.

I have already entered my stats into the MFP tracker. It’s day one so I will see if I meet my goals for today.
Thank you all soooo much for your help. I will be re-reading some of your posts to make sure that I don’t miss any of the good advice .

I will post how I am doing in the next few days. For now my objective is to meet my daily caloric intake and my exercise goals. I think we can also blog about it right? If so, I will definitely blog it to keep a record of my progress.

Thanks again guys,
Yseut

What a beautiful way to start my day. Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.

Fsunami

MeLanceUppercut

Welcome! Hope you kick some butt and stay with it!

Remember a number doesn't equal happiness.

Health equals happiness!

zac775

Hi,

Stick with it and it will pan out how you hope it to. Its all mind over matter. Do you have a training partner?

Its always best to take it slow a steady, small changer can make a masive difference, until it becomes just second nature and the old you will have gone.

My weight has gone up and down many times, but I am well back on track, and Im at the point now that if I dont train I can get cranky.

Just stick with it and I will pay off, good luck.

Shane