Overweight Mom--350 lbs I need help

samanthalynn86

If you have Netflix check out the movies "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and "Forks Over Knives". They are really good at explaining what foods do what to your body and why. Other motivating and educating movies I have seen are "Vegucated" and "Foodmatters."

blackwidowdancer82

I highly recommend reading "Living Paleo" for Dummies. It has dramatically improved my health and I continue to lose weight naturally. It's a whole foods based approach to diet, living like our caveman ancestors. It may seem extreme at first but then once you see how good you feel, start losing weight, and feel better you want to make the change to a Paleo diet. I still have some of my favorite (less nutritious) foods every once in a while, but my main focus is on feeding my body nutritious and delicious foods (proteins, vegetables, fruits, some nuts, some healthy fats.) I recommend really listening to your body and how you feel after you eat certain foods. I feel better eating some healthy foods than other healthy foods. Feel free to add me as a friend! And I wish you continued success!!!

Alissakae

It sounds like you are off to a great start! Keep doing whatever activity to you can - I would recommend also walking outside whenever possible because it's a lot more fun than indoors on the treadmill. Counting calories is a huge key to success as well.

hfester

Hi! My two cents is to take in what you read on this site a bit at a time. It can all be overwhelming. The basic key to weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume in a day. There are calculators you can use which will tell you how many calories to eat a day in order to lose weight. Best wishes to you! You're in the right place!

DeeBrownBaker

my highest weight was 375 so please know that you aren't alone in the struggle to lose... especially in your 40's. I started on my journey last year... discovered MFP in January. Its been a blessing and a wonderful tool to help track what I put in my mouth...

I have arthritis and bursitis so exercise has been a struggle... but one worth doing. I swam during the summer... walk at least 30 min a day... dance with my kid in the evening for about 15 or 20 min. I move!

My advice is that you move as much as you can for as long as you can. You will feel better and gain energy! Also count calories... track everything you eat...even the bad stuff... seeing the caloric intake helped me make some conscious choices and made a difference in my diet (not as in plan but way of eating).

At this point I weigh 271.8 and I still have a long way to go.... by the grace of God, I will do it. WE will lose this weight!

Rose_bee

Measure (weigh everything solid, use measuring cups just for liquids) all your food. Especially at first this is important to help you learn what one serving really is.

kimberly2664

You can so do this!!!! Logging in has really helped me. I couldnt believe how much I was eating before I changed my ways!!! Personally I dont count calories I count Carbs and Fats. Im allowing myself 75g of Carbs a day and 20g of Fats a day. Doesnt seem like a lot but it is plenty. I am never hungry and I drink a lot of water. I am a diabetic and I am feeling so much better. I dont even think of my new way of eating as a diet. I still have the things I like its just a matter of regulating yourself its like a savings accout. I wont eat as many carbs and fats during the day so I can have what I want later and I allow myself probably half of what I would have normally eaten. Im not going to say its easy there are days when I go over but I just start all over again the next day. Walking is great exersise! and doing 30 mins is great! inclining your treadmill and working to a goal of walking a mile in that 30 mins would be awesome!! If your not sure about what kind of foods to eat add friends add me and you can look at their foods and get ideas. I work in the healthcare field and it has really opened my eyes to keeping and staying healthy because if you dont have your health you have nothing!!!

Kimberly

nxd10

You can absolutely do this. I'm older than you and lost 35 pounds. My younger sister just lost 80. Lots of people have lost more. You want to do this now for your kids and because you will feel SO MUCH BETTER when you do. The hardest thing is starting.

Do something simple. Just log all your food. Go to My Home and click on GOALS. Put in your current weight and how much you want to lose (1 pound is recommended, but at your weight you can probably start with 1.5 or 2).

Then write down all the food you eat every single day. Just start with where you are now - with all that delicious Louisiana fried food. See how what you eat compares to what MFP says you're supposed to be eating to lose weight. Do that a few days.

Then look through your food diary and look for things with the most calories you won't miss. For me, it was dropping down from two slices of toast to one and changing from bread to tortillas. For you it might be something else.

I kept my ice cream, but went from a bowl of it to a quarter cup.

Start with that and keep logging and keep looking at your diary and sticking with it. You absolutely can do it and you can probably do it and eat food you love.

susandm

I am right there with you. I am 41 years old, and I am guessing my weight to be somewhere around 280-300. I had lost all my weight before (140 lbs to be exact), but have since gained it all back. No matter what you do, it has got to be life changing. It is such a slippery slope when you start allowing the old habits to creep back in. This time, I am not cutting out all the "bad" foods. I don't allow myself to have it whenever I want though either. If you have never had a weight problem, it is easy to say "I eat whatever I want...just in moderation." If you have a weight problem, eating "trigger" foods is a problem, because like an alcoholic with "just one glass of wine"...there is no moderation! So, I don't keep trigger foods in the house. And, when it comes to the little snacks that I keep around for when I HAVE to have something, and the gum just isn't cutting it, I have already pre-measured it out into the little "snack size" Ziploc baggies. I have learned from my previous weight loss and then regaining it back that to deny yourself of EVERYTHING causes horrible relapses. So, know your trigger foods to stay away from and do not keep those in the house. Find the foods you really enjoy, and try to revamp them in a healthier light. With Pinterest and everything else out there, there are thousands of places to search how to make your favorite meals...just healthier! Water is key. Drink lots and lots of water! (Trust me on this one!!!) As far as the exercising goes, that will come with time. When you are at this weight, just do what you can. Park at the end of the parking lots when going to the grocery store, leisurely walk around the mall, etc. As you lost the weight, you will feel much more like doing more. The most important thing is to not beat yourself up. If you "slip"...see it as just that...a slip up and move on. Don't let it beat you down. Again, having lost the weight before, I know that this is mostly a mental game! The physical part of this...the eating healthier and the walking (or what ever) comes pretty quickly, but over time, it is the mental part of this that is the toughest part to beat. That is why accountability helps so much. I have several friends on here that help me out there. Having a cheering section really helps keep you going. If you know there are people "watching"...cheating is much harder! LOL! Anyway, I hope this helps (even a little)!!! Good luck...God bless!

dbrightwell1270

I'm not much of the rah rah type for support but I keep my diary open to my friends. You (or anyone else) can add me if you like. Some days i do well, other days I do not. You'll find frozen fruit bars, ice cream, cookies, fudge or any variety of other things not generally associated with a diet listed in my diary. I weigh right at 300 right now. I was at 380 when I started MFP and was about 465 (as a guess) when I decided I needed to do something about it.

girlfromOklahoma

The reason I love MFP is because using the calorie counting system, I never have to deny myself of any food. Yesterday we ate lunch at a deli that serves sweet tea that I just LOVE. I haven't had a sweetened drink in quite a while, so I decided to treat myself. I logged the calories and made sure that I stayed below my calorie intake for the day in the other things I ate and drank and with my exercise.

I don't think you have to say, "I'll never eat a fried food". Maybe say, "I'll eat less fried foods, and when I do eat them I'll log them" As long as your logging your calories and meeting your calorie each goal, you will see the scale move.

I think walking 30 minutes a day on the treadmill is a great place for you to start your exercising. I'm sure as the weeks and months go by, you'll decide to try other things, but for now I think the treadmill is a good start.

Good luck and congratulations on making this decision to change your life!

tweetyjf

HI,

look at the eatcleandiet / tosca reno you'll find a lot of tips,
and write every kcal done also what you eat between meals ( perhaps tasting while cooking?)
and you can grill things instead of frying them....
and throw the unhealthy things out of your house.... if you cant get to them you wont eat them.
or make healthy treats... bu hey i have to lose a kg yet so i am trying to follow my own advice .... hopefully it works
for me to.....
good luck... and keep excercising....

danielleburwell97060

Starting in a similar place as you. Highest weight is unknown but for sure was about 360. I started last year at 325. Got derailed for the majority of the year after having lost 15lbs and now back as of this Feb and 9lbs down. At our high weight and used to eating a lot of cals (I shudder to think what I was really consuming!) I would recommend setting your goal to a half a pound a week loss. It will give you the most amount of cals in a day while keeping you in a deficit and I haven't had a week where I lost less than a pound. It's very important to feel like you can achieve your goal and for me on a day where I did not exercise that 2lbs a week setting was too restrictive.

Do not starve yourself. And like everyone here mostly has said, everything in moderation, including making all these changes. If you overhaul your life it will be overwhelming and you may fall back on old ways fast. Make one new healthy decision at a time.

Walking 30 min a day on your treadmill is fantastic! My mom lost a lot of weight when I was younger just from walking the dog every day. Stick to it but maybe every week or two try for new improvements. A slightly longer distance or a slightly higher incline. Our bodies get efficient or lazy about things if we do them over and over again.

I've found having friends on here to be very helpful so I've sent you a friend request. I try and comment on friend's accomplishments as I know it makes me feel good and encouraged when people comment on mine :-)

HeatherNoyes

This is the perfect place to come too. You are not alone! I started MFP last year, starting weight 310, lost 40 pounds and was feeling amazing....then I quit holding myself accountable and last monday weighed in at 318.8. Total disappointment but in the last week by sticking to small changes, lots of water and a little movement I lost 6 pounds this week! I don't deprive myself of things. I do however not allow myself regular soda. It is my weakness and I can't go back to how I used to drink it. I still eat sweets, just different types or smaller portions. You got this!!! I even started a blog and things just are feeling good. Feel free to add me! I have a big battle ahead but you and I and all of us can do it!!!!!

rmr083

You have taken the most important step by admitting you need help and that you are motivated to do this! I have struggled with my weight all of my life. It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions until a recent tragedy that I personally went through. It forced me to take a good look at my life and decide whether I wanted to continue down the path I was going or change. I chose to change and have never felt better! :happy: I think 30 minutes a day is a great start. That is actually my goal too. It has taken a lot of playing around with different methods throughout the years, but I have finally discovered what works for me and took off. My recent journey only began a little over a week ago and when I weighed this morning I discovered I was down 8lbs and 3 inches in a week. I started at 244.5 and am 30y/o. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and discover what works best for you. One big tip people have always given me is to drink plenty of water. You'll find the more you drink it, the more you crave it. Good luck on your journey and feel free to add me as a friend!

Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door

I would love to help you. I started out weighing 250 pounds. I am currently 176 pounds you can do this. if you have any questions feel free to private message me.

nczuczu

You have already gotten a lot of sound advice on here. Measure and weigh all your food so that you know how much you are actually eating. Then start tracking your food and exercise - everything - the good, the bad and the ugly. Figure out how many calories you should be eating using a calorie deficit calculator (I like http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/caloriedeficitcalculator.php). Whatever you do, stick to it. You are not going to lose the weight overnight, but if you stick with it you will start to see the results.

Hang in there. Your family will benefit from your new lifestyle too!

NovemberJune

What I would do is worry less about what you're eating and focus on counting your calories and tracking everything. Not saying to stop making the improvements you are, but just don't stress out too much about being perfect in the beginning. Measure any oil you use, weigh your meat, etc. Once you have that all good, then try to focus on eating healthier. Walking half an hour a day is a great idea and then you'll get more calories to eat. IMO setting MFP to between 1 lbs lost per week and 2 lbs lost per week would be a good strategy. Best wishes on your weight loss journey! :happy:

kulaid813

They key for me was learning to stay consistent with both exercise and eating. This site was really the babysitter that I needed when I first started and needed a hand to hold. You just need to be able to get in the habit of counting your calories and keeping them under / around your calorie budget and stay consistently active. you've taken the first step and as long as you keep at it, you'll see results fairly quickly... at least at first. The important thing is to understand that this is a process and takes work, but the results will give you more joy than you've probably felt in a long long time. There is always someone on here that will be willing to lend a helping hand, all you need to do is reach out.

comforter

Sounds like you are making some really good changes...they key is to make small changes in food plan and exercise, little by little and you will be amazed what will happen. If you would like a friend, I am available....I was 270 at my highest weight...