need hellp and advice on losing 100 pounds

erica6732

please help me !! i am new to counting calories and exercising. i lost 20 pounds by just eating healthier and dropping the junk food and exercising - but only a little bit. can anybody out there give me some advice on how to lose this 100 lbs. do i need to join a gym? i do water aerobics which is very low impact because of lower back pain and i ride my exercise bike. please help me out with some advice. mfp says i need to eat 1370 calories a day. and when i work out they say i need to eat more. do i stay at 1390 when i exercise. or should i go with the 1200 minimum? help!!!

Tensky

The water aerobics and bike are great. Other exercise that can be good for people with joint/muscle problems are things like pilates, yoga, tai chi (basically, strength and flexibility training). But it depends on the type of injury you've got. Always stop if you feel pain, always start slow and small. Don't risk hurting yourself further. Your doctor might be able to give you some other advice. When you're able to, add walking to your exercise, but looking at your profile, that might be a ways off.

Joining a gym might not be the best right now if your back is that bad. You might not be able to use a lot of the equipment just yet, and many of the classes would be too severe as well. Look around at the gyms in your area, and see what kind of facilities they have. Some gyms do cater to people with mobility problems but most don't. Also, be aware of PTs that try to 'push' you. They don't know your limits better than you do, and you always have to be able to stop when you feel you need to, not when they think you should. It can cause great damage to push yourself too hard, especially when you already have back problems. You might find a gym that fits, but if you don't there's no point wasting your money on a membership you can't use.

Don't worry too much about calories. If you feel more hungry when you exercise, try eating a banana or a couple of rice cakes or something - the sort of snack food you like that won't be too high calorie. But mainly, you don't need to account for every single calorie down to the decimal, and you don't need to hit 1370 exactly every day. It's not like accounting. There's some leeway. Don't be afraid to go by feel and listen to your body - as long as your body isn't just saying 'burgers burgers burgers' all year round.

As a help, I know some people, especially women, who like to count by the month and week as well. Not every day is the same, in terms of work, life, emotional stability, finances, so our eating changes, and in terms of hormones, for women especially, ToM can play around with us. Besides, if you know you've over eaten one day that week, then it can be comforting to find that you're hitting your weekly total just fine, whereas if you find that you've gone overboard by a thousand calories the entire month, then you can expect that your weight loss won't be as great or stalled a bit.

psuLemon

My best advice, dont be too aggressive with your weight loss. Those who have a large deficit and dont eat back exercise calories will lose a lot of muscle, especially if they don't eat a high protein diet or heavy weight train. Also i suggest eating like the person you want to be, so when you reach your goal you are used to your new lifestyle. So eat a moderate deficit, do heavy weight training and eat lots of protein.

pinkraynedropjacki

I have chronic lower back pain, have had it for 3 years now. To the point where I'm told I'll never work a labor job again I push myself hard with exercise because I KNOW that my weight had something to do with that pain.

Know your limit, and push a little further than that. If you can do it without further injury...great. I started off with Zumba.... intense I know... but it got my back thinking that it can do more. I now run 10km a day & have lost 60lbs in 7 months.

Eat your cals back IF you feel hungry, it's not a HAVE to do thing. I rarely eat mine back at all. Do longer in the pool, walk up and down the pool if need be. Go for a long walk, get some resistance bands & work out hard with those. You CAN do it, your back just gives you the signal that you can't out of fear of hurting more.

erica6732

thank you very much for all your replies

amez1974

I have lower back problems as well--thankfully as I've lost weight and exercised it has gotten better (although I still have to be careful) It is important for everyone, but my chiropractor stressed that it is really important for my back's health to get good shoes and replace them every six months with running. You can also google or youtube exercises to help with your back.

I've lost 75 lbs and have never went to the gym. It sounds like you are doing great getting exercise in. I started out walking, then running and adding in workout dvds and youtube videos.

Nurturegirl

I've got a lot to lose too. What is working for me is being realistic, not expecting to lose the excess weight overnight, eating when hungry, smaller portion sizes, eating slowly and waiting to see how satisfied I am before automatically having extra helpings, not snacking unless really hungry, attending the gym twice a week, moving around more at home doing chores instead of sitting down and completing my food and exercise diary daily. The food diary is brilliant. It is helping me to make sensible choices. I realised recently that the small cup of hot chocolate from the vending machine at work contains over 100 calories and I easily had two of these a day. It's been no hardship to drop this because I can quench my thirst with warm water or tea for 0 or just a small handful of calories. I don't always eat back my exercise calories but will use my hunger level as a guide.

crazyACElady

Your back pain will go away when some of the weight gets off. Moderate exersize and eating healthy is all you need to do! I take ACE to help with my appetite and snacking, and then I doing boxing 3x per week and I try to eat as clean as I can. My only downside to dieting is my cravings and snacking, its horrible! So the ACE really helps with that. Stay focused and moving forward, you can do this!

jsj024519

Be consistent. (Not trying to be a smart @ss) and exercise! It will make the process that much quicker!

kathyms13

My best advice, dont be too aggressive with your weight loss. Those who have a large deficit and dont eat back exercise calories will lose a lot of muscle, especially if they don't eat a high protein diet or heavy weight train. Also i suggest eating like the person you want to be, so when you reach your goal you are used to your new lifestyle. So eat a moderate deficit, do heavy weight training and eat lots of protein.

ive never heard such crap. ive lost 101 so far, i feel better walk better my self esteem is higher ive not lost muscle just fat. dont eat crap exercise every day if you eat your exercise calls you wont loose.

flatblade

I think the first mistake is to emphasize the end goal. 100 pounds sounds like an enormous total (and it is), it might be best to break that goal down to (pardon the food reference) "bite sized pieces". Go ten pounds or maybe 20 at a time.

Secondly, you will probably need to eat better and better as you lose weight and your BMR goes down. Thirdly, as you get in better shape, if you have the time, you should try to increase the level of exercise.

My own experience is that I had approximately 100 pounds to lose and broke it into two subgoals. The first sixty, I am concentrating, perhaps even obsessed with losing the weight. When I get to 220, I plan to slow the weight loss and emphasize more the healthy lifestyle habits I have picked up.

erickirb

Set your goal to lose 2lbs/week and eat within +/- 100 cals of your goal everyday.

MSam1205

Don't thing you're not working out just because you're under water!! It's just so much easier on the joints than doing it on land! I started doing water aerobics about 6 months ago and have found that it not only has helped my weightloss, but working with the foam weights (different densities) have helped immensely with my endurance! Last year I felt like I was going to die when I helped my daughter build two garden walls with those bulding brick stones. This year we did a patio and although I was tired, My arms and back did not hurt!!! and we hauled a whole lot of stone pavers!! I attribute that to the weights exercises we do in the water aerobics class.

Consistency in your exercise routine ( ie. x number of days a week) even if you mix up what your exercises are, and tracking everything will work for you. Set small goals that are easily attainable. I don't want to lose 150 lbs, I want to go down another 5 If I can do it, you can too :flowerforyou: I finally fit into a size 18 jeans, down from size 26. It's take me some time to do it, but I haven't seen this size in over 25 years and I'm not going back!!

polo571

My personal opinion if I could change one thing that I did I would have added more weightlifting then being just a cardio king in my first year. I did use a Cybex Arc at the gym a lot my first year to burn calories. I found HIIT training was very beneficial in burning fat ( look on google lots of great routines out there). I stayed consistent with my eating, I didn't cheat and I stayed the course. I did always push myself everyday and did more everyday. If you are in a gym learn who the trainers are and look how they work with there clients. I was lucky to find a good one who was overweight at one time and we really clicked together. I also wish I would have done more cross training and plyometrics early in my weightloss. Everybody is different and we respond to different things. Make sure to measure your inches a long with the scale. Just keep coming back and challenging yourself and be honest with your food. Put some some long goals and short goals for yourserlf and just keep working hard. This is what I said to myself everyday. I didnt push snooze I jumped out of bed and made it happen. Good luck in your journey!

sharleengc

MFP is designed for you to eat your exercise calories back. There are other programs/people that say not to but if you are using MFP the way it was designed, then you should eat back your exercise calories...or at least try. If your goal is 1390 and you exercise/burn 200 calories, you can eat 1590. It may seem counter productive but it works, I always eat my exercise calories (or try to) and it hasn't hurt me at all.

You do not need to join a gym. There are plenty of workout videos, water aerobics (like you mentioned), running/jogging or even going for a walk that you can do on your own. I used to belong to a gym but now I live 60 miles from the closest one and it's just not cost effective for me to drive to town on a regular basis to join a gym and membership fees aren't worth it unless you can go regularly. So, there are lots of things you can do without a gym.

That being said, you can lose without exercising too. I have days/weeks where I just don't feel like it for whatever reason. Like, right now I've had a cold. Last winter, I went through a few weeks where I just didn't want to. As long as I stay within my calorie goal, I'm okay.

Really, MFP is helping you with a lifestyle change, not a diet. It helps you make better portion choices, better food choices and all that good stuff. You don't have to cut stuff out, just be smart about it.

I also think it's necessary to have a"free" day. You can't live your life avoiding restaurants, sweets, parties or holidays. So, for me, I only go to town 1 day a week just because of the distance. I go out to dinner, usually get a latte and sometimes froyo on the way home. I don't bother tracking calories for that day because it's one of my relaxation days. It doesn't hurt my progress and you just can't avoid things all the time. I'm not saying go out to Olive Garden every night or drink the Large Latte every day but every now and then won't hurt.

Last, to accurately measure. Invest in a food scale. If you are just guessing what 4oz or 2oz is for something, you are probably over estimating. I was shocked when I bought my food scale and started really paying attention. It can seem like a lot of work but it will become second nature and routine. It is definitely worth it!

I have a lot more tips/tricks but they can get lost in the shuffle. If you'd like, feel free to add me or ask any questions (same goes for anyone else too)

cgarand

I have a lot to lose too. But, when I look at the big picture I get a little afraid that I can't do it. So, I just focus on eating right, working out, being consistent and just being healthier and more active every day. I usually do eat some of my workout calories back, but only if I'm hungry. That has been a big accomplishment for me, to eat when I'm hungry. Because eating used to be my hobby and hungry or not, this girl was gonna eat! I sent you a friend request, we can do this!

JForsythe0970

You might want to try and find a beginner's yoga program that has set days/times each week. That was how I started my progress. It helped immensely with back pain. All of the stretching and breathing really helped me start my initial weight loss. Since I was obese and had never committed to exercise before, having prepaid for 8 classes gave me the motivation I needed to show up each week. Since it was beginners, there weren't a lot of high intensity flows. We did asanas (poses) and held them for about thirty seconds at a time. I worked up a sweat and started shredding pounds.

When I was ready, I started drinking more water. Then I added in ten minutes of walking a day, three days a week. After three weeks, I added another day. Then I kept adding minutes and now I strive for twenty minutes a day for five days a week. After a few months I got bored with just walking and started throwing a little running in there. My highest weight was 283 and I'm down to 224 now. I'd like to get to 180. I joined a gym just to give me a place to work out in the dark and in the cold weather, but I highly recommend starting with a yoga class.

Just try making one small change at a time. I also upped my calories to 1600 a day. As long as I get some physical activity I don't gain anything. If I work out according to plan, then I lose a pound every two weeks or so. It has been working great for me so far. I started as a size 24 and I'm down to a women's size 16. Next goal - misses size 16.

Feel free to add me if you would like more support!
Joanne

ber3023

I think my biggest advice would just be to stick with it and don't give up! Even if you feel you failed a day or even a week with eating wrong or not working out, just pick it back up. It should be about a lifestyle change you can deal with and not just a diet. Do you track more than just calories? I would watch fats, especially the unhealthy ones, and carbs and keep the sodium somewhat in check and make sure you're eating a good amount of protein. I still don't have a gym membership and I'm 14 months into my journey. I would stick with lower impact like water aerobics or take some walks until you lose more weight. As long as it's not something serious, the aches and pains get much better when the weight comes off and you'll be able to do more.

Aldino557

I took the "easy" way out. After decades of trying to "diet" I took my physician's advice and opted for a gastric bypass.
The procedure I had done is a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.
The original connections are left alone, all they do is modify the size of the stomach so it is much smaller.
It can be a little difficult to get health insurance to pay for any gastric bypass surgery, but if your doctor can make the case that this is necessary for your health, you can get most of the expenses covered.
You need to work with your physician and meet the insurance company guidelines for the procedure.
You will still have to "diet", this is not a magic bullet.
The missing stomach tissue means you produce less ghrelin enzyme, and you are less hungry, and have better glucose control if you are a diabetic.
This may work for you. Look into it, do some research.

Ghrelin link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin

nicholettebell

My best advice, dont be too aggressive with your weight loss. Those who have a large deficit and dont eat back exercise calories will lose a lot of muscle, especially if they don't eat a high protein diet or heavy weight train. Also i suggest eating like the person you want to be, so when you reach your goal you are used to your new lifestyle. So eat a moderate deficit, do heavy weight training and eat lots of protein.

ive never heard such crap. ive lost 101 so far, i feel better walk better my self esteem is higher ive not lost muscle just fat. dont eat crap exercise every day if you eat your exercise calls you wont loose.

Whoa... ok. You're going to find a lot of advice from a lot of people. My advice is find what works for you. You are welcome to try any method (I encourage healthy methods) to improve your life and eating style. You'll find things that work and you'll find things that just don't. If you come across an article about nutrition or exercise, read it. You may find something. But continue to live your life the best you can...more good days than bad...and it all will fall into place. Never give up.

psuLemon

My best advice, dont be too aggressive with your weight loss. Those who have a large deficit and dont eat back exercise calories will lose a lot of muscle, especially if they don't eat a high protein diet or heavy weight train. Also i suggest eating like the person you want to be, so when you reach your goal you are used to your new lifestyle. So eat a moderate deficit, do heavy weight training and eat lots of protein.

ive never heard such crap. ive lost 101 so far, i feel better walk better my self esteem is higher ive not lost muscle just fat. dont eat crap exercise every day if you eat your exercise calls you wont loose.

Do you track your body fat? If not, you really don't have a leg to stand on. Also, it's is well known that when a person loses weight, they lose lean body mass too. It's a lot easier to mitigate when you are morbidly obese though.