Introduction - I'm new here

Medicinemere

I was told about this site by a girlfriend who loved using it while losing her weight. I have tried WW several times and have had somewhat good success but have never really suck with it long term.

I am 39 years old have been married for 8 years to a wonderful man, I have a 4 1/2 year old son named Aiden. We have 2 labs and a cat. I am a full time college student. I am just finishing up my associates degree and starting toward my bachelor's at the end of this month.

Weight has always been an issue for me. Looking back at pictures I wasnt heavy in my younger years but over the last 25 years I have put on over 150 lbs and I feel absoultely horrible. I dont have any energy or flexiblity most of the time to play with my son. I am always tired and my son is starting to recongnize that I have a "big" tummy. I dont want to be the mom who has to always sit on the side lines because of my weight or have my son who is embarassed by me.

I started this new journey yesterday and made it through with out going crazy, I love sugar and junk food and have a hard time controling my portions at meals. My first goal is to be able to stay within my allotted calories each day and keep an eye on the other things such as protein, sugars, sodium ect. I am not sure if this is reasonable or if I should be trying really hard to stay within all of the numbers for each category. I went way over on sugars and protein on the first day but didnt even eat all of my calories. So we will see. I am going to try to start walking on my treadmill for about 30min 3 times a week once I have a bit of time under my belt. I dont want to start out blazing and then get over whelmed.

Any advice or wisdom anyone would like to share would be great. I hope that my joining this group it will keep me motivated to stay on tract.

Mrbusterb

Go slow just starting out take it one day at a time

SavageFeast

1. Go through the members list in this group and request friends (I also like the "200+ to lose" group for friends who are going through similarly long weight loss plans). The more people you have encouraging and motivating you when you log on, the better.

2. Log in EVERY DAY and track your food, good or bad. Honesty is the only way to grow your healthy habits and make permanent changes that lead to successful weight loss. Do not skip days or choose not to log just because you know you have gone over your calories.

3. Pick an activity that you can commit to doing several times per week and DO IT. I recommend buying a Leslie Sansone Walking DVD to start with, and if you prefer to walk outside or go to the gym you can add that in, too.

4. Do not try to lose too quickly. Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and make sure you eat at least that many calories per day (regardless of what MFP says).

5. Communicate with your MFP friends often, share your success and victories, and keep yourself and others accountable by being an active particpant in the group and on your newsfeed.

6. Allow yourself space for grace. This weight loss thing is not linear or without bumps in the road, but you will get there. No beating yourself up, because that leads to quitting.

teral1990

Awesome advice!! Definitely take it slow. Small changes make it much easier. We will all have our weak moments where we eat something we shoudl not have. I have found that if I admit it and leave it in the past, it helps me tremendously. Don't sweat it. Keep looking forward and try to eliminate the "triggers" that cause us to eat the things we shouldn't.

I have also added some supplements to my daily meal plan. One of which has really helped with my cravings. I was a choco-holic and drank a Pepsi a day! Haven't wanted either in 4 weeks. If you would like info on the supplement, please add me as a friend and message me.

I have about 135 more lbs to loose. I've decided it's a life style change and not a weight loss journey. The choices I am making are to make myself healthy so that I can be in shape when my son eventually decides he wants to start his family!

Good luck and we are right here for ya!!

pichild

Let me start by saying WELCOME TO MFP...I personally have found this site/app to be a wonderful addition to my journey. Like many people here I have struggled with weight for most of my life. I have tried weight watchers and had limited sucess...the one thing that I did like was the support system that was provided in the meetings. Now i have found that support through MFP and even better than weight watchers I have a support system comprised mainly of people that know what it is like to be extremely heavy.

With all of that said one of the things you need to understand about MFP...this is not a diet per say...this is a a tool..you can use it in any way you need to ...for me it is about being aware of what I eat and having an AWESOME group of people to cheer me on as i loose and to prop me up when I stall...

Find a plan that works for you and customize MFP to help you stay on track. In the begining I was coming from a diet high in sugar mostly because of the 2 liter of Mountain Dew (plus a couple of 20 oz ) I was drinking per day. I switched to diet Dr Pepper and Dr Pepper 10 to help with the transition to water ...the 1st 40 came off quickly...then things slowed down.

I have watched those of my friends who seem to be having the most success and for me I have gone with a moderately low carb approach....I still have the occational pasta or cookie or candy bar but have found that I dont really crave that stuff anymore. If I do I dont feel guilty about eating it.

I also have a lot of friends loosing by going with a lower fat approach...this works for them. Some are doing what looks like slim fast or some version of it and having much success.

So it is really about finding what works for you...I would not recommend diet hopping...find a plan that you can see living with for the rest of your life and tweak it as needed to loose weight.

You have made an awesome first step in just being here.

Feel free to add me if you like. I would love to have the additional support. I do log in every day. I would love to be a source of support for you as well.

matthew_b

2. Log in EVERY DAY and track your food, good or bad. Honesty is the only way to grow your healthy habits and make permanent changes that lead to successful weight loss. Do not skip days or choose not to log just because you know you have gone over your calories.

I'm going to second that right there. Please realize that there are a bunch of folks here just like you. I didn't hit 360lbs without some REALLY bad habits. None of us are here to judge you, only to support you.

Be brutally honest with the food tracking. What you're after here is a gradual change to your habits. Diets fail because people make abrupt changes and they're hard to do. Most of all they're hard to stick to. If you baseline where you are now and then drop a little bit at a time, it will be much easier to make it a permanent change to your life.

TNFirefly

Log your food, even when you are over. It keeps you honest with yourself about why you may not lose or might have a gain.

lessofme150

I totally agree with everyone else's advice above. Other than today, I typically record everything regardless if I will be over. It really was an eye opener yesterday when I went over and after I clicked on the complete entry it told me that if I ate like that every day, I would be 10 lbs heavier in 5 weeks. I know this is an estimate but it really makes me reconsider the next day and making better choices. Good luck with your journey. A lot of us are in it for the long haul.