Lose 40 before I turn 50 or it won't be a happy birthday

AllBoysInMyHouse

Hi all, I'm 48 and dreading 50! I have always struggled to stay thin and that included some eating disorders many years ago. After having three kids in three years I am in the body of a stranger; one I despise. I need to lose 40 lbs and feel like this is day one million of trying to start. It doesn't help that my husband has lost 70 pounds over the last few months (on here) and he looks better than he did when we got married!!! I am proud of him and happy for him. But as a woman, it is a double whammy (for me anyway) to have every person we encounter gushing about how great he looks and not even a comment like, "Your dress is pretty!" I have commented to a few friends that I feel like "Honey BooBoo's mom" and have been horrified that not one person has said anything like, "Oh come on. Stop exaggerating." I am so discouraged and feel embarrassed when I see anyone at all who I know. Can I do this??????

edgar35

Yes you can definitely do this, it sounds like you've reached the critical
point every person faces when they resent the way they look or feel.
It is a very crippling feeling, but you have the mindset to turn it all around.
Start logging your calories, and let the calorie deficits be small for the first week.
slowly start working yourself up until your body normalizes to smaller and smaller
food intake. And then set your goals for weight loss, 1 pound a week, 2 pounds a week,
what ever you can handle and just STICK TO IT.

MFP is a great place to make friends and like minded people who will help keep
you motivated not just by words of encouragement but by the achievements
they do as well. And maybe after 2 week or so, start telling some friends and
family that you're on a diet to lose weight. THIS HAS HELPED ME SO MUCH, since
now I feel accountable to stick to my word. And it's really helped in saying no
to that junkfood I used to crave.

But yes, you can do it, and you don't have to do it alone.
Losing 40 pounds over 2 years is definitely doable.

sks972ca

You can do this, yes. Will you do it? I don't know.

The cutting yourself down ("Honey BooBoo's mom") doesn't do a thing to change your circumstances, though. At its worst, it begs the listener to contradict you and thus give you "permission" not to change.

Your desired weight will not be achieved through the pronouncements of others. Comments don't cause calories to burn and they don't cause one to overeat. That's all based in action and inaction.

As someone who once got down to goal weight and failed to do the things to keep it, my experience was that the praise from others was actually soul-sucking. I received quite a bit of supposedly-positive attention because I dropped the weight. I actually felt angry and resentful, suddenly being "visible" to people who had walked on by me in the halls at work. I was still the same guy with all the same qualities I'd had previously, except for that one number on the scale. There's no brass band awaiting you at goal weight, you just hit a number and try to maintain it.

I'm making the journey again, and I'm doing it for my own benefit and not for praise from others. Good choices over time will undo the damage and keep it undone.

thegreatcanook

You can do this if you log your food and exercise. Add me for support!