New to MFP and overwhelmed

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McKennaNY
McKennaNY Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Hello all! I am new to MFP and looking to lose a significant amount of weight. I am trying to focus on small victories, especially after stepping on the scale today. I guess I am just overwhelmed by the number and the task at hand. I need to get eating under control, the exercise needs to be amped up a bit more, and I need to not be afraid of the weights at the gym. I am trying to not let the number be an emotional upheaval for me, as that is the history of my weight gains and losses. I tie a lot of **** up with that number. Good Luck to everyone and thank you!
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Replies

  • big_bald_si
    big_bald_si Posts: 28
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    Welcome, and well done for taking your first step to your goal - this is a brilliant website, with lots of brilliant people on it!

    Do feel free to add me as a friend so we can motivate one another!
  • sicilysclover
    sicilysclover Posts: 173 Member
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    I told myself this is going to be the rest of my life. I stopped making goals, I just live. For me - the goals set too much pressure on myself. I stay within my calories and so far, i've been steadily losing. I tell myself to have patience, this isnt a fad diet where I will lose 20 pounds fast, then gain 30 back. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will do fine.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Don't be overwhelmed - take it one kilo at a time and most of all, don't be intimidated by the numbers nor some of the people in here. Most are quite friendly and facing the same challenges with the same inadequacies, some just need to prove how much better they are. I assume they need this for their own purposes and so one must not get angry nor disheartened.
    It is YOUR journey and you will do it at your own pace. Good luck.
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    Slow and steady! You can do it! Maybe making changes just a couple at a time will help keep things manageable. Give yourself time to adjust to the changes. The MFP mantra seems to be "it's a marathon, not a sprint"! I've restarted this June and, really, just started adding more exercise. I've been losing steadily. A friend was on 3 months before he started the diet portion. He's lost steadily also. MFP works and you have taken the first steps! Give it time and stick with it!
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    welcome to mfp! congratulations for accomplishing your first goal - taking action! feel free to add me as a friend. don't be fooled by my screen name or my pounds chart. to keep myself from getting overwhelmed i've set mini goals for myself. when i reach my first target weight i will resent to reflect my second. mini goals help me see results sooner and keep me from getting discouraged.

    Good luck in your journey!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I had the same freak out moment when I first started. I couldn't even write down my final goal weight for 2 or 3 weeks. But one day I took a deep breath and decided to face it head on and get over it. I even shared it with my Hubs that night to make it really real. From them on I didn't think too much about the final number, I just took one day and one week at a time making small changes along the way until I got myself used to this new lifestyle that's now a full on habit.

    You can do this!
  • kitten7911
    kitten7911 Posts: 49 Member
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    sent a friend request!
  • jeleclekat
    jeleclekat Posts: 124 Member
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    Don't be overwhelmed - take it one kilo at a time and most of all, don't be intimidated by the numbers nor some of the people in here. Most are quite friendly and facing the same challenges with the same inadequacies, some just need to prove how much better they are. I assume they need this for their own purposes and so one must not get angry nor disheartened.
    It is YOUR journey and you will do it at your own pace. Good luck.



    I agree with Hugh - most of the people here are so friendly and helpful, real motivators, with always a word of encouragement for you. There are a few , as with any site, who seem to troll. (edited to remove comments towards them.lol) Those are the ones you need to ignore. It isn't a fad as you said, it will be slow, BUT HEALTHY! That is the key. You will find a huge family here - welcome!!
  • booitsk8
    booitsk8 Posts: 30 Member
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    hiya and welcome. dont be overwhelmed. there are some wonderful and very supportive people on here. just take it day by day and dont be put off or give up if you have a bad day. just get back on it the next day. i found swimming was a really good excercise for me as it tones all your muscles and gives you an all over body workout (bit boring sometimes but i think its an hour 3 times a week and its worth it). ive never lost this amount of weigh before and ive got to say its been so much easier using this site. you can post any time and someone will be there to encourage and support you. good luck, youll do great :)
  • KravMark
    KravMark Posts: 308 Member
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    I agree with everyone here... one step at a time one foot in front of the other. I would agree that most of the people on here are super helpful but you'll have to weed out some of the bad ones.. Dont let people try to tell you "eat this" or "dont eat that" getting too bossy.. Just take one step at a time. Ive seen people losing weight eating what they want to and others lose weight who just watch what they eat and dont exercise.. The most important thing about this place is the resource of people who want to help and the amazing tools for tracking.

    Feel free to add me anyone whod like to
    Mark
  • Pookylou
    Pookylou Posts: 988 Member
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    I broke my wight loss down into 10lbs sections to make it easier to deal with, and gave myself little rewards (bath products, new socks!), all none food related!
    One day, one meal at a time is the way forward, good luck. You can do it!
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
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    Hi! We've all be in that boat...I still am! Feel free to add me for encouragement. I have over 100 to lost so I know how easy it is to look at the "big number" so to speak and feel overwhelmed!
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    Hello all! I am new to MFP and looking to lose a significant amount of weight. I am trying to focus on small victories, especially after stepping on the scale today. I guess I am just overwhelmed by the number and the task at hand. I need to get eating under control, the exercise needs to be amped up a bit more, and I need to not be afraid of the weights at the gym. I am trying to not let the number be an emotional upheaval for me, as that is the history of my weight gains and losses. I tie a lot of **** up with that number. Good Luck to everyone and thank you!

    The following might be helpful for a start
    We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

    In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
    per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
    the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
    that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
    calculators and text books say otherwise.

    This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
    was just a bit off.
    -John Barban
  • boperoni10
    boperoni10 Posts: 3,034
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    feel free to add me as a friend!
    You can do this!!!
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
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    I broke my wight loss down into 10lbs sections to make it easier to deal with, and gave myself little rewards (bath products, new socks!), all none food related!
    One day, one meal at a time is the way forward, good luck. You can do it!

    This is exactly what I did! I started with 5lbs incriments at the beginning to get going but I have so much to lose that I needed stepping stones. In my first week (last week) I passed my first goal of 5lbs with a total of 6lbs and it felt great! Normally I would have been discouraged that I still have 121 pounds to lose but instead I had earned a reward for passing five and it felt like a much bigger accomplishment. Now I'm still motivated to keep going even though I still am facing a big number. It seems to be working.
  • PomegranatePriestess
    PomegranatePriestess Posts: 2,455 Member
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    These are a few of my favorite things about MFP:

    It showed me that I am on this journey with a great number of other wonderful people.

    It proved to me that it could work: many people on my list are at goal and maintaining.

    It encouraged me to dream big: I have people on my list who have already lost more than twice what I hope to lose.

    It made me realize that it is never too late: I have people on my list who are much older and reaching their goals.

    No matter where you are in your journey, you've found a home here on MFP. Welcome, and let's do this!!
  • kit8806
    kit8806 Posts: 222 Member
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    Feel free to add me! You'll get there! The hardest part is that first step, and you're here! :) Just stick with it and it'll happen!
  • LuckyTerrier
    LuckyTerrier Posts: 73 Member
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    Welcome! Don't try to change everything at once. Try to build healthy habits one step at a time. Make a few small changes at a time and once you get the hang of those, change a few more things. Your pounds may not fall off, but you'll be teaching yourself healthy habits that can keep you fit for life.

    Some examples of small changes: commit to drinking more water or exercising 30 minutes 3 days a week or measuring all your food or eating 3 servings of veggies everyday
  • Marc713
    Marc713 Posts: 328 Member
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    Many people at the gym have a positive attitude, and can likely offer you help in learning new ways to work various muscle groups. If you are willing to spend a little money, I highly recommend at least getting 4-6 training sessions and do a couple a week to get introduced to various ways to workout with the weights. It should help you overcome your fears. Just know that resistance training, along with cardio is way better than just doing cardio, so don't skip the weights, that way your muscles contiue to burn calories! Welcome, and if you are doing goals, make sure you set reasonable, attainable goals and you should be good. Also know that when you lift, you will increase your weight some thru muscle gain, and that will offset fatloss, so don't look to the scale as your only means of measuring goals. If you are at a gym, most of them will take your measurements for free, have them do this on a regular interval, like once a week or once a month. You can log that here if you wish to track it, along with your weight. Also the smartphone app here is really handy, use it.
  • fattypattybinger
    fattypattybinger Posts: 337
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    I really like the idea of rewarding yourself after a goal. Personally I am going to try to reward myself for 5 pounds. Thanks great idea. I

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