I don't have a clue as to how to lose weight!! Please Help!

crazygracee

I would say the first stop should be knowing where you are now then deciding on where you want to be, health wise.

At 5"5' currently weighing 198 lbs, your BMI is 33.0

What the BMI numbers mean:

Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 Normal
25.0 - 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and Above Obese

How to set your goal:

140lbs = 23.34 BMI (close to the top of your Normal BMI weight)
130lbs = 21.67 BMI
120lbs = 20.00 BMI
110lbs = 18.34 BMI (Will be considered underweight already)

So if you aim for the middle ground at 130lbs (ideal weight for women of your height) , it means you need to lose 68lbs which is about 1/3 of your currrent body weight.

To start losing weight, you should be within 1700 - 2000 calories per day.

If you aim for anywhere between 4-7lbs to lose monthly which is the healthy way to diet, you would be in your ideal weight in 10-17 months time. I hope this put things in perspective for you. I still have a long way to go on mine but I now follow the rule "Eat within your guidelines when you are not exercising and eat more when you are " This ensures I am not starving myself nor overeating.

Good luck and keep us posted!

G

no1canadianangel

I have 2 personal trainers which are also health food freaks lol... if you want to lose the weight DO NOT eat back the calories you burned through exercise... !!! The point is to burn more calories than you eat!!!!!!

drelan

Plan your meals ahead of time, even for several days ahead of time then STICK TO IT! Read labels. You're mostly looking at calories, but watch the fat/carbs/sugar content as well. MFP will recommend what your goals should be and try to stay within those limits. Drink lots of water. I know, it's not tasty like a soda, but your body will thank you. I drink almost a gallon of water a day (and yes, I pee, A LOT) but I notice when I drink water the weight comes off faster. After a while your body will crave the water. Cook as many meals at home as possible. Going out to eat will completely sabotage your weight loss because you have no idea what they're putting in your food.

Anywho...that's my diet 2 cents. Feel free to add me as a friend. You can view my food diary and maybe get some ideas.

Scrumps001

Hello Lisa,

I just started as well. I started by going to see a nutritionist, and having already been tracking what I was eating, I was amazed to find out I was eating too few calories... so I was not dropping the pounds I felt I should have been losing. With my exercise, there were days, my net calories in would be 400 to 600! I now know the errors I was making; however, learning to eat the right balance of food is the hardest part. Consistency is very important when it comes to diet and exercise.

So my first advice will be to ensure you eat enough calories to sustain the amount of exercise you will do. It is also important to not use the word "never" when you refer to foods/drinks you like; instead say... I will have less of ? this week, and put a number to the item. I joined this site at the request of my nutritionist, and have since gotten my sister to join. Just seeing her results/daily tracking is motivation enough for me! I'm currently stationed overseas, and don't have the luxury of seeing her every day, so seeing her progress gives me the partner I so desperately need!

Just stay focused, and don't beat yourself up when you have a bad day... there will be those days... just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on!

Best of Luck to you during this life long journey!:laugh:

Leisa

sparklelioness

Log everything. Just the act of logging will start to make you eat less, and make better choices. I absolutely didnt believe that when i started, it sounded like some BS mumbo jumbo, but ive found its true.

Eat a good breakfast.

Dont overreact to a bad day. - so you woke up this am and just werent in the damn mood for an egg white omelet, so you had pancakes. four of them. With syrup. And butter. And whipped cream. Firstly, that doesnt mean your day is ruined. Just eat a healthy lunch and dinner. But if you do decide to eat whatever you want that day, its ok. Youre not an awful person. Just get up tomorrow and make better choices

Thats been a big change for me. Before if i overate one day id either give up and it would turn into a week or more of bad eating, or id overcompensate and starve myself for the next few days trying to 'make up for it', which of course would make me want to binge, cos i was starving. Now, i do neither of those things. Just get back on the horse- thats what i do now.

Good luck

puffidredz

it takes about 2-3 weeks to form a habit. once you log everything during the 2-3 weeks, it'll be second nature to you and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. if you have a smart phone, get the MFP app on ur phone too. its also free. mostly everyone here are really nice and informative. there's a few misinformed people, but its easy to filter out the bs'rs.

good luck!

photojunkie28

It looks like you have tons of support already, but I just wanted to wish you the best on your life change! If you give it your all you will not be disappointed! My two pieces of advice on your journey :

1. Put away the scale (now that you are active you will not ALWAYS see the scale move) Measure yourself and take before pictures (I didn't take pictures and wish I would have now that i'm at my half way point.)

2. Find lots of recipes for a healthier you (and family friendly in your case) and print them all out, start a folder and rely on these for those "I don't know what to make for dinner" days. You can even seperate them into categories by type of food or how long it takes to make them for when your in a pinch.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you like. Can never have too much support!

alfredapittman

Hi Lisa. We have all been where you are, not knowing where to start but losing weight is possible. Once you change your diet and start moving consistently you should be fine. Every day is not going to be a breeze and there will be days when you want to quit but on those days you will need to rely on your friends, family and My Fitness Pal to pull you through. Most importantly you will need to encourage yourself. You will have to learn to be your biggest motivator. I know you can do it. Take care girl and know that you deserve to be the best you can be.

meowkapow

What worked for me was taking it slowly and replacing my favourite comfort foods with healthier options. I made the transition from soft drinks to water by having sparkling water with a bit of juice, then sparkling water on its own then water. If I want a burger or pizza I'll make it at home where I can control portions and calories. I wont have these all the time but I know if I did want it I could make it without it falling off the wagon! For me saying I'm never going to eat something ever again is just a way of labelling something naughty and becoming obsessed with it haha.

Find something you like to do when it comes to exercise. I started off with bike rides!

recee96

I think everyone gave some really good tips...I think a great start for you, is to figure out your bmr (Basal Metabolic Rate). This number is estimated amount of calories your body needs to function. So I wouldn't eat below this number on a daily basis. I've noticed that mfp tends to give you a lower number...and eating 1200 calories may be drastic when you've been eating a lot more over the years (for example). Here's a website with a good challenge for you to sign up to for support...as well as give you a wealth of info. I will also add you as a friend Stick to it...you're on the right track!

http://blackwomenlosingweight.com/page/august-challenge

illecl

It's all about the math, no matter what diet gurus on TV say. Use MFP's tools (calculators) to determine how many calories a day your body burns. Post every bite you take! MFP's diary will tell you how many calories you burn with exercise (although my heart rate monitor says it's a little overstated). I don't eat back most of my exercise calories like MFP tells you to do. Lots of people do. My doctor and dietician say to only eat them if I'm starving. Protein is important to keep you from getting too hungry.

For every 3500 calories you burn or don't eat, you'll lose a pound. You can learn by reading any good diet book. I love books by Biggest Loser trainers Bob Harper or Jillian Michaels. Dr. Pamela Peeke has some good books too. Lots of online sites.

It's not magic or voodoo. Eat less, move more. I lose better on lower-carb. But I'm older too. Give up sugar and white foods like potatoes and white flour except as treats. Regular soda will fatten you up like crazy.

You can do it!!!
Carol

maskins

Hi Lisa,

Add me to your friends list....maybe I can help to support you and vice versa. I have been losing and gaining wt. ever since my
twenties so I have a lot of experience(I am almost 60 now). Luckily I have never let myself get over 15 to 20 lbs overweight. Right now I am at 128 and would like to get to about 114-119.... cause I am short about 5 ft 2 or 3 inches. My suggestion (once
you get to your goal wt) is to put a big stop sign on your brain when you see the scale going up! Hope that helps you - it works for me cause I have always thought fat looks so disgusting on people. And now we know all the detrimental effects like 100's of diseases it causes!
You have to right idea about dropping the soda - it is nothing but chemical laden sugar water and sugar is very bad for everyone's health!!! I can send you more info on that - I actually attended a lecture about it at the Nutritional Healing Center near where I live.

Good clean eating is what you need! Real foods -veggies, fruits (not too many cause of the sugar), proteins , whole grains
and lots of water. There is a way to put nutritional support into your water and I can suggest a product that I use - it tastes good
and makes the water more enjoyable. Let me know if you want that info. And make time each morning to use this site and figure out what you are going to eat each day. Stop buying junk foods and McD. -make foods at home only - it is better for everyone in your family. If you do go out chose simple foods like salads... skip the burgers and fries!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hothodgie

My first suggestion is always the same. Take a before picture and keep taking them every few weeks or once a month. If you don't see the scale moving, you will at least see the difference in the pictures. I cannot stress it enough. I have tried several times to lose weight and always ended up failing. This time I took photos to track and I am still just as motivated if not more than I was when I first started. You don't have to show the pictures to anyone if you don't want. But it will help keep you motivated to lose.

Second best advice, log EVERYTHING, even the bad days. I once had a bad day and knew it was a bad day. Then I logged it and saw I was twice my calorie for the day. It kept me in check for the next day. Also, remember, one day of bad eating is not the end of the world. Just keep logging so a bad day doesn't turn into a bad week!

Third, try what works for you. If what you are doing isn't working, do some research and try something else. Not everything works for everyone, but there is something out there for everyone. Stay away from fad diets. They only work as long as you are on them. I know, I've tried several of them. Once you eat normal, the weight comes right back on. I found the "in place of a roadmap" thread after having a 3 week plateau. It was the right thing for me and helped me tremendously. I highly recommend it, even if you just use it to figure out your numbers. It was a turning point for me and I couldn't be happier.

Last, just move more. Start out taking a 30 minute walk everyday. Its easy and its quick. Then work up from there. Try different exercises and figure out what you like. There are so many things out there that are fun. Not everyone likes the same thing so find what you like. If you get bored with it, try something different. I do all different sorts of exercising as I get bored easily. I do everything from swimming, walking, the gym for arc trainer and weight lifting, and even a few different exercise dvds.

I wish you joy and success in your journey. Feel free to add me if you would like!!

PetulantOne

Welcome!

Doing something outside of your comfort zone is hard at first, but you sound like you are ready to give it a proper go.

Now for the good news (promise not to tell anyone outside of MFP), it's not actually that difficult! :bigsmile:

The single most important thing you need to know is the ONLY proven method for losing weight is consuming (eating and drinking) less calories than you burn (through every day living and any exercise).

There are layers and layers of other information will help you lose fat and get healthier, but this is the single most important fact you need to remember - that is why tracking calories works!

My recommendation to begin with is to figure out a reasonable diet that you can stick to (no need to live on turkey breast and lettuce). and get involved in some regular exercise. The water aerobics is great because it is low impact, but anything like walking, swimming - whatever you are comfortable with is great!

You will have probably set your diary to a 2lb loss (everyone does to start ), so remember if you earn extra calories through exercise, you CAN and should eat those back.

Finally, please spend some time surfing the forums here. There is a lot of crap, but you will pick up some really useful information that will help you along the way.

All the best for the next phase, and feel free to hit me up if I can be of any more help!

:flowerforyou:

This!!!

sanvanhaaften

wow,what a bunch of great advice! its very interesting... im also new here and learning a lot from you guys. welcome back and remember that where is a will, there is always a way.

DebbieMc3

open your diary so that we can see what you are eating

log everything

eat a balance

get your body moving

and feel free to friend me. I personally do very low carb but have been at this weight loss thinhg my entire life.

ShreddedTweet

Yep, echoing what others have said take a 'Before' photo...Don't worry about how hideous you think it looks, you will never have to be this big again, you have started from today to build a better you. Now tips, get that water into you, don't lie to yourself - log your calories honestly and get moving *you don't have to run a marathon, you don't even have to run just do something*
You have the right attitude, you have got this!!! Best of luck!

ETA: Take measurements, sometimes you can be losing inches instead of pounds!