New to site, not so new to trying to loose weight

CathyEld

Hi all, my name is Cathy. I have been overweight all my life. I have done every diet imaginable. This Christmas though was a real wake up call to me. I know it was an honest mistake but it really woke me up. My husband tried to suprise me by buying undergarments for me and bought them too big by three sizes.
I am tired of being overweight, I am tired of not looking good, and I really would like to have my husband think of me as much smaller instead of bigger.
So my goal is to keep on going and loose this weight.

linzismith

Welcome! i too have been overweight my whole life, even though i am very athletic and work out all the time. unfortunately, the biggest secret to weight loss is watching what you eat.

part of the reason i was overweight growing up was because i was a very picky eater and when it came down to it, i really only ate fruit, carbs and processed food. years later i became much less picky (in fact, now i don't discriminate at all when it comes to food--i'll eat any thing!) but i never lost any weight. a big thing this site has proven to me is that it's not just how much you eat but what you eat.

if you approach this journey with the mindset that you need to eat less, it will be very difficult for you. the key is to choose foods that are low to medium in calories but that you know fill you up--being full is not a bad thing, in fact, it's wonderful to know that you can make it to your next meal without being starving. one example is cereal vs oatmeal. i've always like oatmeal, but cereal is easier because it doesn't involve heating anything up. however, when i started counting all my cals, i quickly saw that a bowl of oatmeal has half the calories of cereal with milk and keeps me full twice as long. i've probably eaten cereal three times in the last three months because of this discovery. although i do like it and kinda miss it, it's not worth it knowing i'll be starving again in two hours.

your first few weeks will be a little more challenging mentally as you try and find combinations of foods that you can eat each day without going over your calorie count, but after a while, it will just come naturally. and don't stress too much about hitting the gym hard. take it one step at a time. if you stay under your daily calorie count just by a diet change along, you'll still lose weight. in the grand scheme of things, you can only burn off 100-300 calories per gym session anyway, which is enough to add in a small extra snack that day but not enough to compensate for a self-control slip up with food. so at first, just focus on keeping the calories down. and anytime you feel tempted, repeat this to yourself: "Don't sacrifice what you want MOST for what you want at the MOMENT."

good luck! if you ever have any questions feel free to ask me!