Trying to lose 40 pounds

Ctlopez07
Ctlopez07 Posts: 16
in Introduce Yourself
Any motivational people out there looking to help me?!?!

Currently work 72 hours a week so its difficult for me but im willing to take small steps in order to lose 40 pounds - any reasonable amount of time i should give myself? i figured 4 months should be good.

Anyways,

if your a great motivator and willing to help people like myself then please add me !!!

How much is everyone else looking to lose?

Replies

  • redgirl527
    redgirl527 Posts: 35 Member
    Hey, i'm Reagan! I've lost 25 pounds so far and hoping to lose around 30ish more. Adding you now!
  • gabegrammy
    gabegrammy Posts: 147 Member
    I'm looking to lose 62 lb total. I have lost 15 lb by my last weigh in, Jan 31st. I'm not checking the scales till Feb 28th, hoping for a big shock ( for they better). I will motivate you, but you also need to motivate me in return.
    Viki
  • Ctlopez07
    Ctlopez07 Posts: 16
    Thanks Reagan!!!
  • Ctlopez07
    Ctlopez07 Posts: 16
    Will do Vicki!! Thanks!
  • shannonsumner92
    shannonsumner92 Posts: 28
    I need to lose 40 pounds also.. I'm a stay at home mom and this is my first time on the site but I'm very motivated and can help motivate you:)
  • JessWolf1002
    JessWolf1002 Posts: 82 Member
    I've lost 10 of the 50 lbs since January 3rd so I have 40 lbs to go! Feel free to add me!!
  • sjohnson1163
    sjohnson1163 Posts: 1
    I also work 12 to 14 hrs/day 5 days/wk. I am married with a 10 y/o and I'm very busy as well. Just recently started with myfitnesspal and I need to lose 40 to 50 pds also. I started back @ the gym. Trying zumba, exhausted from everything. I would be glad to motivate you as well as you motivate me. Since we're both getting started with this, I see that 2013 is going to be a great yr for success. Let's take it one day at a time- thanks, Stephanie J.
  • Jean251
    Jean251 Posts: 35 Member
    I also want to lose 40+ lbs. Let's motivate each other! I'll add you :)
  • babphat
    babphat Posts: 12
    I will add you.
  • babphat
    babphat Posts: 12
    when I figure out how to. Maybe you should add me. LOL
  • Laverneparedes1987
    Laverneparedes1987 Posts: 7
    i already lost 7 lbs since i joined last january 17.. i started at 200lbs and now need to loose another 42lbs..hope i can do it in 6 months:)
  • kingscrown
    kingscrown Posts: 615 Member
    I need to lose about 35 - 40 more pounds. I lost my weight between January and September of 2012. I've been about this same weight since. I needed to maintain for a trip, because I didn't want to have to buy all new clothes again. Or should I say I couldn't afford to buy all new clothes again.

    Now I'm ready to finish what I started.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    40 lbs in 4 months seems awful fast to me.
    I lost 33 in 15 months, but am still experimenting with strategies for maintaining, but haven't gone too far off track. I've heard that the slower you lose the more likely you are to keep it off, because you are teaching yourself better eating habits.

    This has become my philosphophy...

    The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

    1) tracking for a couple of weeks before I worried about losing.
    (although seeing what I was eating I couldn't help but rein back a bit)

    2) seeing where I could make small changes on things that weren't that important to me.
    (Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
    --Reducing quantities where I won't notice it so much
    --Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

    3) Look at my diary and started adding foods that had positive healthy effects specifically for the health issue in my family.
    I found most of the things I "should" add were really yummy too! salmon, avocado, oatmeal, mango, red grapes....
    (Sort of think of food as medicine to deal with family history of various health issue oatmeal is good for heart health, mango and red grapes lower cholesterol, tumeric and cinnamon good for arthritis)

    4) every couple of weeks I see where I can make another couple of small changes.
    If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
    If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort.
    sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves.
    You don't have to be perfect you just have to do better.

    5) also rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. (I swear this saved my life.) I was happier once I gave myself a range:

    ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
    TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
    TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.
    (SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

    I naturally tended to do 2-4 days between 1200-1300 cal then a day at about 1500-1600 cal then back to the 1200-1300 cal. (No hard science here, but I credit the zig-zagging calories with preventing plateaus.)

    --As long as I stayed under the top of my range I should continue to lose, even if it is at a slower rate.
    --As long as I don't go past my safety valve I shouldn't gain.

    6) I only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
    Forget I *NEED* to lose 20, 30, 50, 100 lbs. I'm only worried about 1 lb the next one. I'll worry about the others later.
    Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

    7)
    The closer I got to my goal the smaller I made my deficit. Yes, this took longer to get to my goal, but I was focusing on (am STILL tweaking) strategies for maintenance. What I found difficult (and haven't yet conquered) it establishing a guideline for a range for maintenance, being that I'm not really good at hitting the same number everyday.


    Food is not the enemy.

    Oddly enough on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
    I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
    The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

    I figure if I've got a good plan that I can actually maintain I can keep this off for a long time to come, without feeling deprived.

    Good Luck
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
    Hello and welcome to MFP! You will love this site and the tools it offers. I know it has been a huge help for me...I have lost 27 of 50lbs since mid-July 2012 and am so happy to see them gone gone gone.

    In my opinion, 4 months is a very short time period to lose 40lbs. 8 months to a year seems like a better estimate and even then it can take longer. Remember that slow and steady wins the race; if you lose slower, you are more likely to eradicate bad habits and replace them with good ones.

    In the past, I tried the drastic changes and trying to lose a lot real quick but this site taught me something different. It taught me to make small changes (because this is a lifestyle change; not a diet, not a magic pill, not a quick fix). It taught me to slow down (I didn't gain all the weight quickly, so it won't come off quickly either). It taught me to enjoy the journey from a fat chick to a fit-and-fab lady.

    (anyone) Feel free to add me, I am always looking for people to help as well as people to motivate me.

    Best of luck :)
  • 6ee8ee
    6ee8ee Posts: 25
    Working long hours can make it difficult, but you can do it, just gotta have the will power! Feel free to add me as a friend (anyone!)

    I'm 26/F trying to lose at least 100 pounds. I have a goal set to lose 10 pounds/month. I have been on the site for almost a month, and have lost about 9 pounds so far, so I am close to my monthly goal. I also keep a monthly blog full with some tips and advice. :)

    Good luck!
  • brendamac464
    brendamac464 Posts: 19 Member
    That's the same amount I'm trying to lose and I just started yesterday. Add me and I'll be happy to help motivate you.
  • Catoyebi1
    Catoyebi1 Posts: 1
    I am a SAHM as well my son is 2 and my daughter is 13 months. I lost all the weight from my second and 10 that was lingering from my 1st through doing the Tracey Anderson workout then winter came and I got tired and overwhelmed now I am looking to lose all the weight I ate back after the babies and that is 40 pounds.

    I would like to do it in 4 months if possible. If possible. I am diligent and focused and taking my husband on a trip to California at the end of the year for his birthday and want to look great on the beach. He loves me regardless but I want to feel good in a swimsuit.

    Add me and let's motivate each other. I started today.

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