Overwhelmed!

ton1027

I have it in my head that I NEED to lose weight and I WANT to be healthier and of course look better but, that's as far as I seem to be able to get! It's all so overwhelming trying to figure out how to start. My diet is horrible, my budget is low and my energy/motivation is not good. I WANT to get in a work out routine but having the will power to set something up and stick to it is a different story!
I'm just kind of wondering do most people start with one thing and working on that and then moving on or does it all need to happen at once? Do I concentrate on eating better for now or do I start with getting moving first and then work on the eating? Or both?
Also does anyone have a good/affordable tips on stocking the pantry?!
ANY advice is much appreciated!!

ohfong77

I'm here and totally understand. I'm really focusing on getting my food straight. I'm spending a lot of time planning my meals each day - but I feel this will shorten once I have more of a routine. I have a friend doing this with me who is also on an extremely low grocery budget. But, last I check, bananas were cheap and peanut butter goes a long way. Start with planning your meals with what you have and I've tried to cut out most sugar. If you're not ready to exercise, start with taking the stairs instead of the elevator and park farther away so you have to walk to get in the grocery store. These little things will help. I have 150 pounds or more to lose so this is going to be a long journey. But, I enjoy being on this journey with others. Best of luck!

TAWoody

Ha. I just posted about something related on my homepage. You can read it below but basically if you're going to concentrate on something make it the food! You don't even have to start off exercising right away if you don't want to.

Guess I'm a die hard advocate of your food will determine the amount of weight you lose and exercise is just a small boost to help out. I've lost so much weight these last few months and only exercised less than half of that time and even then it was just simple 20 minute bowflex routines, no cardio the entire time. Like everyone else, I grew up with the assumption that in order to lose weight you need to exercise a lot and try to eat healthy. But after only watching my food and not exercising I've been completely bassackwards

LButterfly201

Hi

Ok first off, you've done the hardest part by accepting and realising what you need to change

If i'm honest I'd take everything one step at a time, otherwise you could just fall out of it or get bored. Why not log a 'normal' day for yourself, and see where you are in relation to what MFP offers you. Don't beat yourself up about it though.

From that point, you'll know what you need to change, whether to up your movement to accommodate the extra calories you're eating, or bring down your calories or a bit of both

Why don't you start with something simple? Even walking is exercise, so go with something you enjoy so it's not so much of a chore. That could be anything, cycling, the gym, dancing, what ever you fancy if you're moving you're losing

Also, chances are, if you start eating a bit better you'll want to move a bit more, and vice versa. MFP has loads of recipes for low calorie food, that most definitely won't break your budget

clintwperkins

I know the feeling...try getting your spouse or someone close to you to try this with you...I am super fat, and my wife is only about 20 pounds over, but she does it with me. we r both super competitive, so we compete...mfp does the proportioning for us...we both refuse to lose to the other. it is the only thing that seems to motivate me enough to do it...exersizewise, we ride bikes, no fees, no money, family activity...we r low budget as well, try store brads, such as walmart, they are cheap...we eat less so our grocery bill went down considerably even though the food is more just from quantity...trust me if we can do it, anyone can...chin up, u can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

clintwperkins

I know the feeling...try getting your spouse or someone close to you to try this with you...I am super fat, and my wife is only about 20 pounds over, but she does it with me. we r both super competitive, so we compete...mfp does the proportioning for us...we both refuse to lose to the other. it is the only thing that seems to motivate me enough to do it...exersizewise, we ride bikes, no fees, no money, family activity...we r low budget as well, try store brads, such as walmart, they are cheap...we eat less so our grocery bill went down considerably even though the food is more just from quantity...trust me if we can do it, anyone can...chin up, u can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rtmama

I'd concentrate on eating better. Try to get rid of all the processed salty, sugar laden stuff. Try to eat more whole grains and beans, veggies and fruit. If you can't afford fresh, then frozen is a good option. Dry beans are very inexpensive, and so is brown rice.

Once you get a handle on the food, you can make your way to getting more active.

kbanzhaf

Hi,

If you are feeling overwhelmed, then I would definitely start with one thing, and add as you go. Start simply....maybe you need to eat a healthy breakfast every morning. Maybe you want to take a walk during your lunch break, or after work daily. Maybe you want to quit drinking coffee by 10 AM each day. It doesn't matter what you do to start, it's just that you start.

When I first began this journey (five years ago), my doctor sent me to a dietician who basically told me these things.
1. Limit your "carbs" to 15 per day. In her world, a "carb" was equal to 15 grams of carbohydrates. I got very good at reading labels. Basically, a slice of bread is about 1 "carb", a banana is 2, etc. I did buy a book that told me how many carbs were in different foods called "Calorie King: Calorie, Fat, and Carbohydrate Counter." It is $9 on Amazon, and it includes many meals in popular restaurants.
2. Watch portion sizes. I bought a kitchen scale to weigh foods until I could eyeball them fairly well. I count potato chips, etc.
3. WRITE down everything you eat. When I started, I did this in a small notebook. Now, I do it here. I am not as much of a stickler now as I was at one time (which is probably why I'm bouncing up and down instead of losing at the moment).
4. Eat breakfast -- I ate breakfast VERY sporadically before, but now, I eat it every day if possible. I usually eat oatmeal, as it keeps me full until lunch time.

The other thing I did was begin walking. I bought a used treadmill from a friend of mine, and it was after I made that purchase so I could walk in the winter that people began noticing. I had lost about 30 pounds before too many people noticed, but that was also when I finally bought a pair of jeans that actually fit me (in the same size I wore when I graduated from high school ).

The biggest compliment I received was when one of my brothers told a cousin, "I didn't even know Kaye the first time I saw her after she lost weight." Granted, I hadn't seen much of my brother during my weight loss, but that comment made my day, and keeps me going now.

Good luck! You can do this....just remember that you are changing your life, and it will take time.
Kaye

goingwithgrace

Definitely the calories because if you don't get those in range, your excercise will show little result. However, doing some simple walking will help boost your mood.

It's not expensive to eat healthy. I shop at Wal-Mart and my fiance has lost 40 pounds and I'm down 18. We also shop at Trader Joe's. Great prices!

Grimmerick

Just start by getting yourself moving, start walking and simple exercise for 30 minutes a couple times a week. As you get used to exercise you'll increase naturally, you don't want to tire yourself out by starting with anything too strenuous it will make you hate exercising. With your diet start with what you already eat, just measure and only do portions, look for healthier ingredients for the meals you already make. That way you start in familiar territory, after a while experimenting with new foods and styles of cooking can be rewarding and fun. I would just start there you will pick up the rest as you go along. Good Luck

rundgrenfan

I agree with LButterfly above. Just start by logging a normal day. You may be surprised at how many calories you are eating, I know I was! Being accountable for logging makes you want to log better foods after a while -- Cheerios instead of Frosted Flakes, maybe a fruit instead of pudding. If you have a lot to lose, plan on a long journey!

k8edge

BOTH! You don't need a ton of money to work out or eat right...

Think - NO PROCESSED FOODS! Lean meats, Veggies, Fruits are your friend... Processed sugar and flour are not!

Try shopping at a farmers market this summer... You will save money and you will find the freshest fruits/veggies
SHOP the sales - Look in your weekly grocery store flyer. For example this past week Kroger had Strawberries 10 for 10! I stocked up and ate strawberries all week. I also put some in the freezer for later...

You do not need to belong to a gym to work out! - WORKING OUT IS FREE!
You can take a walk, jog, or run!
Take a bike ride! (If you don't have a bike Salvation Army will probably have one!)
Get a few workout DVD's - If you are really tight on money you could even rent them from your local library for FREE

Tritan342

The way I look at it is, diet 70%-exercise 30%. You will never be able to exercise enough to counteract a bad diet. Once you get your meals down, its not hard at all. If you can't get enough to eat , exercise and earn more calories. A heart rate monitor is the best way to know how many extra calories you earn. Good luck

bbygrl5

When I started out, I started very slowly. I've taken 3 years to lose 97lbs and the thing that has kept me going was focusing on my improvements.

I just started out taking short walks everyday. Simple enough to commit to and it became a habit fast. With food, I didn't start with MFP and counting calories. I just ate better than I had before and tried to keep splurges reasonable.

When I started getting fit enough that walking wasn't doing enough for me anymore, I started jogging very short distances, followed by a long walk interval, etc..

I just focused on taking my time and making it a real change in my life. If I had to do it all over again and take twice the amount of time it took, I would.

Just commit to what you really know you can commit to and small changes will get you there, it just might take longer. Don't feel overwhelmed. You have it in your power to do this. :flowerforyou:

suzooz

You can lose weight without being "perfect." Trying to do everything perfectly day one is very overwhelming, and is typically counter-productive.

I started by logging my calories first. Then I started to realize that I needed to make a change and started making them one day at a time.

What you might want to do is set a small goal for you each week. What bothers you the most? What is the one thing that you could do tomorrow that would make yourself feel better? Then focus on that. Pretty soon, you will be setting new goals and will be well on your way.

Michelle_H

Hiya, yes it's hard when you don't know where to start! Fitting in the exercise can be difficult - always too many excuses!

For me, it's all in the planning and 80% of eating clean, healthy, wholesome food and 20% of exercise. If you can only focus on one thing, make it the food. Plan your meals and plan your days so that you know if Tuesday is going to be a busy day, you will have something in the freezer ready to whip out and reheat or a meal you can cook superfast. Oh - and clean out your cupboards full of the rubbish that's in there first! ;o)

I live in Australia and am currently following a program called 12 Week Body Transformation designed by one of our 'The Biggest Loser' trainers. I'm on 1200 cals a day, which is made up of 300 cals each for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then a snack around the 150 cal mark in the morning and afternoon. If you know you get the munchies after dinner, or like something for dessert, arrange one of the snacks for then. I've lost 10lbs in the past two weeks on meals that the whole family can eat. Google recipes for 300cals or under, I'm sure there are lots out there. Don't feel every meal has to be different. We eat the same meal for breakfast, (around 265 cals) Mon - Fri because that's what suits us when we're all in a hurry for work and school. We often have the same meal twice in a week because one of the pantry ingredients may have been a bit expensive and we'd like to get our monies worth from it. If you can fit in at least a half our daily walk, perhaps in your lunchbreak if you can't go before or after work due to other committments.

Plan, plan, plan and I wish you the best of luck!

glendeb

I'm on a tight budget too! BUT walking is free - so is jogging or running stairs.

My biggest change has been my portion sizes - I'm eating way less, and its actually saving us money.

I have added more fresh fruit and veges into my diet, but the in season produce is cheaper than lots of snack food and it fill you up more.

Good luck, you've come a long way admitting you need help.

glendeb

Edit: Double post

jules_02

One of the easiest changes to start with is eating more fruits and vegetables in your diet. They're low calories and it makes you seem like you're eating more. Also, start cutting down on the fat, such as fast food once a week.

Walking is the best exercise to start with. Making it a normal daily routine keep you looking forward to it, such as I take an evening walk at 8:30p in the summer.

I just saw a topic post about eating on a budget. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/254804-cheap-and-healthy-help

meinco

I read somewhere (and I apologize I don't remember the source) that it is better to make changes slowly and that it is better to work on your diet for a couple weeks before starting into a exercise program. The reasoning was that usually increased exercise makes your body naturally hungrier. If you are trying to cut your calories it takes awhile to get used to less food and it is a bit easier to let your stomach/mind get used to reducing the food before you add something into your life that makes you hungrier.

I don't know if this is true but it does seem to make sense. And every little change is better than doing nothing because you feel like you can't do it all!

I love the saying "A year ago you will have wished you started today." So true!

Good luck and congratulations for deciding what you what for yourself! That is one of the biggest steps!

trosewine

Being overwhelmed sucks!! I would try to do one thing for several days and then add another and another in a manageable way. Here are some examples in addition to everyone's great suggestions...


- eat a green veggie with every meal
- replace sugary drinks with sugar-free or water
- eat a piece of fruit for a snack instead of cookies or candy
- take a walk for 10 minutes (5 min one way, turn around and come back), next week do 15...
- replace white bread with whole grain
- eat a salad for lunch instead of a sandwich
- cut fast food intake in half (e.g. 2 times a week instead of four or get a side salad instead of fries)
- find some stairs and go up and down 5 times, then the next week do 6 times, etc.
- incorporate walking more by parking far away from store or work entrance and using stairs whenever possible
- eat fruit instead of drinking juice
- use this site to find out how many calories you need to maintain where you are, then eat a little less than that
- eat breakfast every day (doesn't have to be "breakfast" foods)
- if close enough, walk to the store, the park, the movies, the postoffice, the bank
- read food labels to understand what a portion is, even if you aren't ready to change your portion size
- use fats as a condiment...e.g. about 1TBSP per meal or one piece of cheese
- your idea here!!