The Former Morbidly Obese

tannyb

For me personally, planning is key. Plan out your meals for the week and go grocery shopping to make sure you have all the ingredients. When I don't plan out our meals ahead, we usually wind up with takeout because it is quick and easy. Also, when I know what we are having for supper, I can pre-log all my food for the day each morning. That way, I know if I have a few extra calories to play with that day (in which case I may allow myself a little treat) or if I will be a few over and have to add in an extra workout or two (maybe walk or bike an extra 30 minutes.) But it's all in the planning (at least for me!) Good luck on your journey!

Laura8603

First and foremost, you have to believe you are worth the effort. You have to learn to put yourself first. When you slip up, forgive yourself and immediately get back on track. You have to keep the faith that you CAN do this. 90% of it is mental.

Good luck in your journey.

kharmon70

It is exactly what you said....a lifestyle change. It's good to know that you are starting out looking at losing weight in a healthy perspective (a lifestyle change). It cannot be done in one day. It's one day at a time and each day you gain more and more information and motivation to continue on and see what new and positive steps you can make toward a healthier life. Don't look at it as just losing weight and looking good, keep in mind that it's about your physical heath (and emotional health too). It might sound cliche to say that all you need to do is to take the first step, but that is exactly the answer. Just do it, like Nike says.

Start reading anything and everything you can about nutrition, how the body works/metabolizes food, what works with your body and not against, etc... Gradually, you see yourself make lots and lots of changes along the way and the progress WILL show. I know what I'm talking about. I was 360 lbs and lost 220 in less than a year by doing nothing more than eating healthy and exercising (once I was able to loss enough weight to walk more than 5 minutes at a time). I kept it off for 3 1/2 years before gaining a couple of pounds back when I took a short sabbatical (I have 20 to lose right now).

I changed my eating habits by looking toward very low carbs and high protein. I also included eating according to the glycemic index. I was a severe Type II diabetic, so eating in the manner helped my blood sugar levels and as soon as they were stable, the weight really flew off as the diabetes was not hindering my ability to lose the weight.

Stay on MFP. The MFP community can really give you support and motivation! Measure/weight your food (at first it's a pain, but soon it will become second nature). Do NOT look into quick fixes, they only lead to disappointment. Do it the healthy way! At the same time, don't try and eat the standard (and stupid) 1200 calories MFP is defaulted to. Talk to a nutritionist, your doctor - if you have a good one, or a physical trainer and get an idea of how many calories you should be eating a day. I try to eat around 1300 to 1600 - depending on my weight and how much I have worked out that day. I'm supposed to be eating 1600 a day, but sometimes it is hard to reach that caloric intake - which is funny, because I used to have no problem eating 4000+ calories a day.

Stay the course. You CAN do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

crzyone

Thank you all for the encouragement.

RoadsterGirlie

I wasn't morbidly obese, but I was just under the "obese" category at 215. I lost 90 lbs. I did it by tracking my food intake and making healthy and sustainable choices. Planning ahead is crucial, and remember - It's not about starving yourself. Choose food that you know is going to fuel your body in a positive direction, like lean protein, veggies and fruits. Healthy carbs like potatoes are good too.

I also cut ALL sugar soda and juices out of my diet. They are empty, unnecessary calories with no nutritional value whatsoever.

It's also good to allow yourself a treat once a week, like a slice of cake or pie. Just don't overdo it.

Heather1899

*Counting calories
*Cutting out soda-I never drink it anymore but I drink more milk, tea ect
*Eating more veggies and lean protein, less processed foods
*Expect that mistakes happen and just move on from them
*Don't give up, there will be weeks the scale won't move or you won't see results-be patient
*You need to eat enough calories for your body
*Eat in moderation, there is usually one thing I crave during the week I will have a small portion of that on the weekend
*Exercise but listen to your body-sometimes there were exercises on dvds that I didn't feel comfortable doing so I didn't do those, I would skip them or modify it

symonspatrick

Slowly but surely. We are doing it and so can you. No big secret. Just lower calories. And exercise is always a good idea. It takes a long time so patience helps. Oh also you can never give up no matter what happens. Yes, you can do it.

nwg74

I finally bought some scales and realised I was just 19 pounds from the maximum weight. I was also 60 pounds heaver than I thought I was.

I knew I couldn't give up so just took it a day at a time and now I am over 200 pounds lighter in a less than 2 years. I lost 154 pounds in my first year and just 48 in my second.

I started with a BMI of 58.4 and I am now in the overweight category with BMI of 26.5

peacemongernc

When I started, I was stubborn about what I would do and I wouldn't do. Looking back, I think that is one of the things that has made me successful. Another thing that also helped has been gradually willing to do some of the things I said I wouldn't. Well meaning people just didn't understand how some of their suggestions, early on, were NOT helpful!

I read a blog last night that said something along the lines of no matter what you chose to do to lose weight, if you are to be successful losing A LOT of weight, at some point you have to make the method your own. It has to fit who you are and what you can manage and what fits with who you are called to be.

That is SO true! I already had a fairly decent understanding of nutrition before I started, so when folks kept pushing "diet plans" on me I balked. I'm 100% certain that if I had followed a plan I could have lost it faster, but I'm also almost certain I couldn't have done it AT ALL. I needed to start where I was and make small changes as they made sense.

Early on it made sense to cut back on sugar and simple carbs because they made me feel bad when I ate them, but it just didn't make much sense to me to radically change my diet to up my protein to a level that I wouldn't have been able or happy to sustain. I was opposed to a diet high in animal protein for all sorts of reasons. 11 months into my journey, I re-evaluated and decided to increase my animal protein for a while to see what would happen.

But in the end, for me, I think the reasons this is working is because I've used my experience and MFP as diagnostic tools, not "The Diet Police" that they are for some people. If I eat it, I log it. Reese's cups, birthday cake, milk shakes... whatever it is. I may initially eat it because of poor choice or frustration or poor planning, but it all becomes part of the research! How did I do that day, overall? What sort of impact did it have on my loss? What sort of impact did it have on the other choices that day? How about my sodium, protein, fat intake on those days? Was it worth it? Is there some way I could either plan for it or prevent it?

Everything can be a learning experience, even if it is a setback!

I wouldn't do anything in the beginning that I wasn't willing to do everyday for the rest of my life. But I found that there were lots of things I could seriously consider doing every day if it would help me to be more healthy. The further I've gotten down this road, the more changes I'm willing and able to make, and the easier they are sustain.

peacemongernc

and as some one already said....you have to really, really, really want it...

This is a really important thing, that I don't think can be said enough. Also, though, you have to really, really want it for -yourself.- If you try to do it for anyone else, you'll be a lot less motivated and less likely to follow through.

This must be true for most folks because I see this all the time. But it wasn't true for me. I was just telling my husband today that I think there were some advantages to being over 300 pounds but being able to eat what I wanted to without thinking and to being about to sit around all the time and not think about exercise. I started making changes because I wanted to be healthier, but I wasn't willing to do enough to lose more than about 40 pounds. I was hoping for avoiding injury, not gaining any more weight, and getting stronger so it would be easier to get up off the floor. I honestly didn't expect any more than that. I didn't think I could do it for a whole lot of reasons, mostly that I didn't think I was willing to do what I thought had to be done to turn my life around.

So, I didn't really really REALLY want it. But it seemed reasonable to make some more responsible choices than the ones I had been making. You can't even imagine how surprised I was to find out that a series of responsible choices would lead to losing over 100 pounds!!!!!!!

NOW I really really REALLY want it! But that didn't happen until I had lost more than 80 pounds. I didn't know it was possible.

But at every point when I thought I wasn't going to make any more progress, I kept going because the changes I had made were not crazy hard, they weren't following someone else's plan, and because I didn't want to go back to where I was before. I wasn't ready to stop.

I'm not a go-getter. I'm a not-stopper!

And things that challenge us, change us.

Qskim

One day I realized I had to accept it would take time and patience. Most of all I wanted to have more energy. So I said to myself...WTH...1 year of commitment to health. I wasn't aiming to lose it all in one year though...just to apply myself for that length of time initially. Where it would take me I didn't have a clue. So I cut back on rubbish, swapped/cooked better foods, tried to incorporate walking every other day (already PT twice/wk), made no weight goals initially so the pressure was off and at the time no MFP so no calorie counting. Lost 30+ lbs about 6 - 8mths along. As I ate better and began using MFP I discovered I had a wheat allergy, more changes. I promised myself all the while that I would find a way everyday to keep going. I realised motivation needed constant feeding. I read and read and read...not just diet books either. I looked at nutrition, i sought foods that also benefitted my skin condition and arthritis. There was always a snippet of information that propelled me on. I looked at the habits of friends who had never had a weight problem. Instead of seeing challenges in life as a reason to stuff/give up...I looked at them as an opportunity to change my behavior, develop strategies to cope. These are so imbedded now that it is not until someone mentions what they do that I remember having to develop that thought process myself. A year goes so fast I realized. I treated it like a job and I was the CEO. I'm nearly at goal...lost 90lbs, 16 to go and still enjoying the process. Survived a healthy pregnancy at 42 and continued where I left off.. Just never gave up.

fun_b

I knew I had to do something because I was approaching my birthday and felt miserable about how I looked in clothes. I picked up a book called 'The Idiot proof diet' which was low carb and thought 'I'll try it for a week or two' as my birthday was in one month. Once I lost 10 pounds in two weeks, I suddenly saw how my body looked so different. This motivated me to keep going. After my birthday and despite a binge weekend of eating lots of cake, I started to continue and was amazed that I continued to lose. This was about four years ago,

Low carb may not be ideal for you but for me it worked for about 6 months (the longest I have ever stayed on a diet) and I kept a lot of the weight off. I am now trying low calories because I love my carbs too much to give it up forever. I look at old pictures and think if I had not made that change at the time I could have been still like that today.

squatsandlipgloss

I just came out of the morbidly obese range... Still obese, but I am working on it.

I had tried soooo many fad diets only to realize that these things simply do not work.

The secret was eating healthy/normally (not binging, planning my meals, eating enough, regularly, not think about food all the time), not depriving myself, I will have chocolate, those cookies, I will have that pizza, but I won't eat 10 cookies, I will have 2, I will not have the whole chocolate bar, I will have 2 pieces. If I want a pizza for diner, I will cut some calories from my lunch and breakfast. Planning made a biiiig difference. Every single morning I write down what I am going to eat that day, breakfast, lunch, diner and 2-3 snacks. I will calculate my calories and make sure I have enough on the menu that day. I stick to that.

Next to that: I started exercising 6 days a week, consistently. I found something I loved doing and stuck with it. I do home exercises, since I hate going to the gym. Moving is important to me, because it makes me feel fit and it makes me WANT to eat healthy!

Drink lots of water, just always have a bottle of water close and chug it.

Why I made this change? I realized I was going to die earlier than I wanted. That was just the reality of it. I took a picture of my body and I was disgusting that I let it get that far. I couldn't wear the clothes that I loved, because of how it looked on me. Etc, etc, etc.

Losing weight is hard, being overweight is hard... Pick your hard.

XXXMinnieXXX

Finally realising I wanted to do this for Me. Because it has to be for You firstly for it to work. I was never successful doing it for others. I now realise I deserve it for me.

Went to therapy to tackle food issues.

Got a good antidepressant.

Evaluated who was negatively impacting me and got them out of my life (probably the hardest one)

Found macros that filled me up, kept me satisfied and are doable as a lifestyle. I currently do 35% carbs, 35% fat and 30% protein. I'm strict with the carbs.

After surgery Monday, and mostly snacking but within macros I lost. As of this morning I've lost 89.4lbs. 50 to go.

Morbidly obese - obese now close to just over weight.

Thus has to be a lifestyle change, you have to be proactive and ready to fight for yourself but it can be done and it's sooooo worth it. I'm finally finding myself and it feels fantastic!

Zara x

ruqayyahsmum

for portion control i switched from a dinner plate to a side plate and make sure half of it is filled with vegetables. standard dinner plates are way too big as people tend to fill them

i started swimming. i walk with a stick so am limited in the exercises i can do but swimming is low impact and an all round exercise so is great for me

i started of with just 18 lengths before my bad leg quit moving on me but now im up to 50 lengths and my walking is starting to improve now too

ive tried numerous times to lose weight, have lost 8 stone in the past and always regained. thing is i was losing for others. To look better to others, to stop others rediculing me, to be healthy so i can support my family etd

This time im doing it because if i dont im going to die and likely in the next few years as my health has declined massivly in the last 12 months. i went from being at the gym 4 hours a day, 5 days a week to being un able to walk further than the length of my living room. It means so much more to me now

crzyone

Thank you and I wish you all the best. It's hard...I've done it before but can't seem to find the motivation that helps me get through the day without blowing it at night...

Good luck to you all on getting healthier.