dont know where to start with weight loss :( help me!!

hay__1986

hi my names hayley. im currently 195. the biggest ive ever been. after having my daughter nearly 3 years ago my weight has crept up and up since then. before falling pregant i was about 130 lbs.

i never fort i would have a problem with weight, im 26 wen i was 19 i was 8 stone.

i now every day think this is it, weight loss begins. i have lost only 3lb since joing mfp in jan. i wanted to be down at least a stone by now.

the problem is i pick at foods. i dont know wat to eat, my calorie goal was et at 1200 but i upped it to 1350, as was feeling light headed etc. but ince upping it i havent even been logging calories.

im fed up of being the person that is the diet start tommorow. i cant get to a gym as at the moment cant afford it and im a sahm so wouldnt be able to get there enough, i do zumba once a week, and im trying to run 2-3 times a week, i can fit in exercise at home tho.

i need advice, a plan even on wat to eat , at exercise to do co i have no clue!

any advice people?

i really want be proud of who i am, i ued to be loud and outgoing, now i tend to hide away,

Tiff587

You've taken the first steps, but only you can make yourself do this.

When I first started I found that Gillian's 30 day shred was a great tool, it was very cheep and takes 30 mins all in so I never had an excuse not to do it. I spent a lot of time running up and down the stairs with music on as well.
I have a very active life so I didn't want to cut my calories down so much that I didn't have energy. I have personally found the best ratio that currently works for me is, 90 grams of carbs, 150 grams of protein and only good fats with very low sugar. I eat pretty clean as that way I can eat so much more, I am never starving!

My rough breakdown is
Breakfast - Yummy choc porridge - microwave with water
40g oats
1 scoop choc protein

Lunch
soft wholemeal wrap or something with only 30 grams of carbs
with high protein such as tuna or chicken and salad

If i've had morning workout prob have a protein shake as well or just some chicken or something as a snack.

Dinner
Lean meat - chicken, trout, turkey
As much veg as I like and if I fancy it I will have with baked potato as well.

Again I will prob follow with protein shake, I am weight training as well.

I have a ton of energy, and I am losing slowly and steadily. I am no expert I can only tell you want has worked for me. I used to snack a lot and think I didn't really know what I was eating, I made a vow to myself to log every single thing that passed my lips. This has def stopped me picking at food as it never seems worth it when I think about having to log it.

:flowerforyou:

hay__1986

thank u for ur reply. i have got the 30ds and also ripped in 30 so maybe my first thing is to commit to one of them. thi morning i have put a few healthy meal on paper and am gonna try follow that, am alo off to supermarket this morning to get some good food. i tihnk for me its getting into a habit, and also i have now tried packing my week so im not sitting at home snacking when im bored.

i think now something has napped inside me. if i dont do something now i will get bigger.

mrs_mcd

Hi Hayley

The best thing that helps me is sitting down in advance and logging on here my food for the next day, then i know what i'm having, how many spare cals i have, fat etc. Like Tiff587 i try to eat more protein than carbs, around 90g of carbs in a day (but i don't include veg in this) and around 130g of protein in a day. I've been following something similar for the last couple of years and have lost nearly 5 stone doing it. Don't get me wrong i slip up plenty of times and eat something naughty but i try not to beat myself up about it.
A typical menu for the day would be scrambled eggs and lean bacon for breakfast or 2 weetabix and skimmed milk, a fat free yoghurt for snack mid morning, a wrap with chicken and salad for lunch, nuts for a mid afternoon snack or low fat cheese and fish curry with noodles for tea. If i have carbs for my breakfast(weetabix) then i try to have just protein at lunch so egg mayo and salad maybe. I'm already on your fiends list so feel free to take a look at my diary if you think it might help at all.
I've been stumbling too for the last few weeks, i had an op in January and changed meds which has completely messed me up but fingers crossed now i'm back on the usual meds the weight will start moving again.
Come on here as often as you can, we're all here for the same reasons, so you'll have loads of support. x

Tiff587

I know if I've got a mad week ahead of me making my meals so they are in the freezer helps.
The biggest change for me was realising this was just for me, not for anyone else. I look at the time I spend as time just for me, I'm always running around after other people so it's nice to put aside a bit of time.

x

dreamshadows

I started just by writing everything down for a couple weeks. Then started to make minor changes to what I eat. An extra veggie, or 1 less potato chunk. Small sustainable changes. My target is to lose 110 pounds in 3 years. A nice steady pace.

laura789a

I found the hardest thing was making the actually decision to start, I was also a diet starts tomorrow type of girl. Then i went through a period of only logging what I should have eaten, not what I actually ate. Untill one day it hit me, no-one can do this for me, the answer is to eat less and better.
I still fit yummies into my day but quite often sacrifice lunch to have them, I know its bad but its the only way I manage. Find what works for you! We all have days where we work out we will need to walk the dog for 3 hours so we can have dinner cos we ate to much in the day, we all have slip ups and bad days, just dont beat yourself up over it. 1 day at a time, set a pattern of when you weigh yourself because each little loss boosts motivation but most of all dont be too hard on yourself you WILL get there.

hay__1986

thank you for your help girls. im gonna sit down tonight and plan meals etc, i think that where i fall a well, if i dont know what im having i do omething quick and it normally not good. im gonna it down tonight and plan plan plan. if u are friends with me on here please please please help me with this xxx

i know i can do it.

75Juniper

hi my names hayley. im currently 195. the biggest ive ever been. after having my daughter nearly 3 years ago my weight has crept up and up since then. before falling pregant i was about 130 lbs.

i never fort i would have a problem with weight, im 26 wen i was 19 i was 8 stone.

i now every day think this is it, weight loss begins. i have lost only 3lb since joing mfp in jan. i wanted to be down at least a stone by now.

the problem is i pick at foods. i dont know wat to eat, my calorie goal was et at 1200 but i upped it to 1350, as was feeling light headed etc. but ince upping it i havent even been logging calories.

im fed up of being the person that is the diet start tommorow. i cant get to a gym as at the moment cant afford it and im a sahm so wouldnt be able to get there enough, i do zumba once a week, and im trying to run 2-3 times a week, i can fit in exercise at home tho.

i need advice, a plan even on wat to eat , at exercise to do co i have no clue!

any advice people?

i really want be proud of who i am, i ued to be loud and outgoing, now i tend to hide away,

You don't have to fix everything all at once. Start by logging your food. You don't even have to make any changes at this point. Just log your food to get an idea of what you are eating and where you can improve. Then make small steps to do that. Start swapping out junk food for fruits and veggies, for example. Stick with that a while, and once that is a habit, focus on another goal.

As far as exercise, you don't have to go to a gym or buy expensive equipment. I work long days, but I fit exercise in when I can. I walk at work and take the stairs to increase my general activity level. I also throw in an exercise DVD at night while dinner is in the oven or after I eat to get some exercise in. Then on the weekends I'll do a longer/more intense workout.

You can do this! Good luck!

brookehutcheson28

It sounds like you are taking some steps in the right direction. Sometimes, as much as we want to lose weight, its just hard to actually start. Getting off the couch and putting down the junk food was one of the hardest moves I've ever made...but its been SO worth it!

I agree with all of the things the others are posting here...finding the right plan for you, tracking food, and incorporating an excercise regimen into your routine. Start with small, attainable goals. If you're like me and have spent a good portion of your life being a couch potato, its not a reasonable goal to say "I am going to work out for two hours every day." You have to start with something sensible, like a commitment to excercise 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. I have found that just simply walking a few miles each day at a brisk pace is a great way to burn calories and tone your legs and booty. Of course, it is still a good idea to add some strength training and abs, but walking is a good start!

Tracking food is a MUST! It keeps you aware of what you are doing and consuming throughout the day. Spending time researching foods is a good idea too. I can so easily fall into that trap of eating something that seems healthy, and then when I plug it into MFP, discover its almost triple the calorie and fat content than I anticipated. I try (and its not always easy or convenient) to be aware of the nutritional content BEFORE I put it in my mouth, to avoid making a mistake that leaves me feeling guilty. If you are going out to eat with friends and know the resturaunt beforehand, try to look up their menu at home before meeting up with your friends...this will give a good baseline idea of what foods in the menu would be good and which should be avoided. A lot of restuarants will also provide a special menu with nutritional content. An investment in a good food scale is a good idea as well, as it can help you really learn good portion sizes. (There are other cheaper ways to do this too, my scale was a gift from my boss.) Reasearching and tracking are time consuming, and require a little extra effort, but have been VERY helpful to me! (Not saying that this has to work for everyone, just sharing what works best for me! )

Lastly, the most important addition to my weight loss plan is a good friend who is willing to take the journey with you. My friend and I started together and meet weekly to talk about where we have been successful and where we could have done better that week. Having someone to hold me accountable for my food choices and decisions to excercise or not helps keep me on track. Its been GREAT encouragement! If you don't have someone physically close to you in your city, find a good friend on MFP to help encourage you!

I know you'll do great! Just have to find the motivation to get going!

Best of luck!