623lbs, Trying to Get Going Again

xidia

I'm so pleased to see you posting again and carrying on with the commitment you made.

As the others have said, one thing at a time. What are you favourite few foods? Which are the ones that the thought of "going on a diet" make you sad that you "can't" have? Plan them in. Make sure you have the calories for them. With your numbers, you can eat 2-3x as much as me and still lose weight so you have plenty of scope to include them.

For instance : could you swap out half the cookies at breakfast for something else, like eggs (however you like them) or pancakes with bacon? You'll feel fuller, but you'll still be getting the cookies. Of course, your top foods may be other things entirely, but I hope you can see the idea here. You don't have to deprive yourself of everything, but you'll find losing the weight easier if you add in some more filling choices alongside your current normal food.

One final thing - you will have a phenomenal amount of muscle, because you're carrying around 600lbs on a daily basis. There are professional weightlifters who can't move that much weight! Don't lose it! Walk. Bend. Pick stuff up and put it down again. You don't have start full on resistance/weight training now, but you'll have so much lean mass compared to most women that if you can hold onto it you'll look great as the fat comes off!

Designingwoman1

Hello and congrats for the first step to health! I may not be the best person to give advice, but I went to my MD and he suggested antidepressants to get me started on my "new Life." I feel so much better and I've finally started to lose (15 lbs so far.)
I don't suggest meds are the answer but depression is a real deterrent to a healty life style.
Also, change your normal activities. Being with my darling grand nephew has cheered me up!
Laughter is the best medicine! Good Luck and God Bless!

StephTheBookworm

Baby steps to start!! Walk a few minutes if you can, until you can do more... cut back a little on the calories until you can cut back more.

You are courageous and you have taken the first step! Keep on stepping!

escloflowneCHANGED

Try and eat more "clean foods" not because it's healthier per say but because they don't have a lot of calories in them and you can eat a lot of them, once you start seeing the weight drop you will get much more into it and your mentality will change!

retiree2006

Yes, you have a big challenge ahead of you. However, as others have said, each little change will help. Set small goals, day by day and be proud of yourself for deciding to get going again. We'd be proud to celebrate with you along the way. You already know there will be days that don't go so well but that's no reason to feel it's not going to get better. Do whatever movement you are able to, whether it's arm exercises and lifting your feet or something else. Use healthy foods to help fill you up. Most of all, know that there are those who care about how you're doing and you're worth the effort it will take. And taking one day at a time helps...but it will also be exciting to see where you're at one year from today. And to get there, you have to start! Wishing you the best!

kbeech06

Hi Dani!
Its so great that you've decided to come back! You've made a decision that we've all made. Its hard...I know I struggle every day! But, you've made the first step and that's what matters!! I would love to be your friend to help encourage you along the way!!! :flowerforyou:

Noodle797

I know how you feel. I hate "diets". I started out by changing 1 small thing at a time. I used to eat McDonald's for breakfast every day, now I changed to eating breakfast at home. A bowl of multigrain Dulce de Leche (caramel) or Peanut butter Cheerios. At first I was eating a huge bowl, but it was still less calories than what I was eating before. Now I'm down to a normal size bowl & I'm actually used to eating less now. I also started adding little bits of exercize, like parking a little further away at the grocery store, walking (slowly) around the block, stuff like that. I found that if I just made little changes here and there instead of trying to go extreme right away I was a lot more sucessful. Also, I adapted the South Beach Diet in that I switched to whole grain pasta, bread & brown rice & got rid of sugar. It wasn't all at once, but little changes. I should probably reduce my portions further, but I hate feeling hungry all the time, so that has been a lot slower than the other changes, but I use tips like drinking a glass of water before eating, eating a salad before the main meal & waiting 15-20 minutes before going back for seconds to see if I'm really hungry. There's a great book called "Change One" put out by Reader's Digest that I would suggest, a lot of really great ideas in there. http://www.amazon.com/Change-One-Diet-Fitness-Expanded/dp/B001QFZM06/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366214701&sr=8-1&keywords=reader's+digest+change+one

simplyeater

Looks like you have taken the first step, now you just have to keep taking the next ones. I noticed on your profile you haven't filled in your reasons and motivations sections. As you noted weight loss is actually more of a mental challenge than a physical one. I think it is important to be clear on exactly why you want to lose weight and how you are going to do it. Getting that out into the open and being able to see it in black and white makes the process more real, more personal, and more achievable. Take some time to think about your main reasons and maybe make a couple of small goals (non-scale related) for yourself for the remainder of this year and post them in your profile. I hope this helps you with your next steps!

loriwhitefaith

Id love to support you on your journey. Please feel free to add me as a friend. You have set a goal. That is the first step. CONGRATULATIONS for reaching out to MFP again. Do it as many times as it takes. never give up!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

irisheagle

Dani,

I know how hard it is to start. But you've started and that's the most important thing. This may sound cliche but take it one meal at a time. Don't worry about the whole day and all the choices to make. Just one meal. Once you've made the right choice in 1 meal it may encourage you to feel great about that. And you should! It is a challenge to change and move away from our comfort zone. But, what a zone it is when you arrive to your goal.
My other advise is hope is not a strategy. I used to hope and wish and almost think I could will the weight away. Time after time I was pulling the wool over my own eyes and sabotoging myself. In some cases because I just didn't know what a portion size was. In may cases I still don't. Otherwise I wouldn't be trying to lose weight again.
You've already made the biggest leap which is reaching out. So, believe in yourself because I do!

luvs_choc8

Congratulations!!! You have definitely come to the right place to succeed. I agree with all the posts that say to take baby steps. The only thing I would add is to be honest with yourself and post everything for at least a week and then take a good look at where you can make changes. Right now I think that you are feeling like you have to give up the comfort that food is giving you and that scares the h*** out of you. I don't think you have to give up anything but instead use moderation when having those comfort foods and in time you will find other healthier foods that will comfort you. This is a process that will take time. Remember there is 100's of people here to support you any time of the day. You are not alone. You are soooooo worth it.

mdraper60

Hi Dani!!
Congrats on making the choice to take control!! MFP is definitely a great source for support. I have found that have friends who check in on me and having everything tracked in my diary has been great for me! Add me if you would like! Always looking to help motivate someone else on their journey as well as work together and learn from eachother!!

lithezebra

Chair exercise might be a good option for you to increase your physical activity and work on mobility, without stressing your joints.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/351431-cardio-exercises-while-restricted-to-a-chair/

Silver82

Dani,

I think it's wonderful that you're starting on the road to recovery. That's what this is for all of us. We are learning to be healthier and happier with who we are. Something I noticed in your message is that you're dreading this "diet". I've learned something recently that really helps that frustrating frame of mind when one faces a change in their eating habits. Rather than -taking away- from yourself, add to your diet. Add good foods, healthier foods, and take it one step at a time. Don't take away anything, just start giving your body better food, healthier options and slowly you'll start to want the good food over the bad food. It's the mind frame of limitation that sends many of us into a spiraling fear of not -having-. Your frame of mind makes all the difference and if you take your time and are gentle with yourself you will have better pay off!

operator646

You have taken the hardest steps by starting and opening up about your feelings. It is soooo... easy to get discouraged but do not give up. What you are doing is a positive thing and with the right tools will get easier. For myself, it was such a help to find foods that I really liked that were low in calories so I never felt like I was giving anything up. I agree with irisheagle post about comfort zone and change. It is really difficult to change old habits, but it can also be exciting to know that you are doing something positive for yourself, maybe for the fisrt time in a long time (speaking from personal experience). I wish you well.:flowerforyou:

mattschwartz01

Good job at being under 4,000 calories! The only advice I have is small, incremental changes. Don't try to do too much too fast! If possible, you may also want to consult a doctor and nutritionist or even seek out a medically-supervised program. I'm on a medically supervised program and it is working wonders so far. I'm 35 days into my program and have lost 28 pounds. Tomorrow is weigh-in. I don't think I could have done it without the accountability and support that my program provides.

girlfromOklahoma

Can I just say that I admire you to post on here with such honesty.

Keep working at it and sticking to your daily goals. Take one day at a time. If you have more good days then bad days you'll start to see that number drop. As it drops, you'll gain momentum. It won't happen overnight and may take quite a bit of time, but just imagine how good you'll feel as you start to lose weight and gain back your health.

I wish you the best of luck. And keep posting here. I'd love to keep up with your journey!

freelancejouster

I'm proud of you for making an effort to get back at this. I know the realization is difficult and hard and takes a long time. My grandmother has lost upwards of 100 pounds several times, now, and I've been right along side for the process. She's kept all but fifteen pounds off this time for what's now been five years.

Have you considered switching your sodas to diet? I've looked at your diary and that alone would cut out about 600 calories and let you continue eating at the rate you have been logging at for some time AND lose weight. If you don't like the taste of diet, I noticed you usually drink 2 sodas at a time, if you switched one and mixed them together, they'll probably taste a lot better than diet soda by itself.

Also, if you start buying salads to eat before a meal, just 20 minutes or so, you will feel a lot fuller a lot sooner without eating nearly as much. If you don't like salad, try different kinds. I don't like ice burg lettuce, but I LOVE spinach. And if you know that you don't like salad, try fruit or something instead.

Another suggestion would be to buy slightly smaller plates and to eat a bit more slowly. This way you can fill your plate - multiple times, but it will be less than you were doing before. You'll also feel full faster

If you adopt any of these techniques, even half the time, it should lower your intake quite a bit and you'll still be able to eat like you had been before!

elainecroft

Do one thing each day - you can do it! For me, the biggest thing is to log log log - even if I don't know perfectly how much I ate or how many calories, I at least log something. This helps me stay accountable to myself.

And keep writing in the forums. There's a fun group of people here, and we will do our best to help you keep focused!

PaytraB

Dania, welcome and congratulations on starting this journey.
As the others have said, take small baby steps at first. This is a life change; not a "diet", so you'll have to find sustainable changes to make. Ask yourself what foods you could learn to live without (or eat much less of) and what changes you'd like to see at the end of your journey. It'll take awhile to get there but with a goal you've got direction and purpose.
Have you thought of how you'd like to burn extra calories throughout the day? Are there easy exercises you can do to increase your calorie burn? Every little bit helps.

Congratulations on being under 4000 calories yesterday! That's awesome!

We're all here to support you along your journey. You can do this.