introducing me

Hello, my name is kristi and I have been fighting with my weight for years. I am here to be determined to lose the weight I need to and keep it off. I am tired of being this size. I am excited for the future and no longer dwelling in the past. I am going to have the mobility I need to do things with my daughter and not lose my breath when excersizing.
I am 36 years old and I am ready to take my life back.
Wish me luck y'all.

Replies

  • anrev42
    anrev42 Posts: 331
    Welcome to MFP! Feel free to add me as one of your support :D
  • RahmaB823
    RahmaB823 Posts: 19 Member
    You can do it girl!
  • TeddyBear47
    TeddyBear47 Posts: 200 Member
    Hello,

    1. Keep track of the food you eat. Sounds easy but most people underestimate their calories by 50%.

    2. Don't skip meals. The reason for this is simple, when you skip a meal you are hungrier longer. This will trigger something in your brain that will draw you to high calorie foods (cravings). If you can eat at regular intervals, that will help.

    3. Low fat dairy that is high in calcium actually traps fat and keeps it from absorbing into your system. In other words you poop it out.

    4. Protein and Fiber will keep you full longer and it has the added benefit of retaining or gaining some muscle.

    5. Exercise has the added benefit of after-burn. When you exercise you deplete your fat stores, not many but enough that in the next 22 hours they will have to be replenished and thats where the weight loss comes in.

    6. Any exercise is good for you. Take the stairs, park away from the building, walk to the corner grocery store, take a bike ride. Everything doesn't have to be an all out exercise attack. Anything you can do will help.
  • I will incorporate everything you have said into my diet. thanks for the info teddy. I really appreciate it.
  • Hi y''all it's day 13 and I have lost 6 lbs. I am on a mission and determined to make it happen. I am going to live each day like its my last. I am going to reach my goal. I refuse to be any heavier then I am now. 4 years ago I had quit smoking and that was rough because I did it "cold turkey". So if I made it through that, I am going to make it through this. Thank you all for your support. I don't think It would feel this easy with out it. :happy:
  • Elizdaley
    Elizdaley Posts: 1 Member
    Welcome - we can do this!!
  • kit8806
    kit8806 Posts: 222 Member
    Welcome to MFP!! :) Feel free to add me for support! I'm working on changing my life as well!
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    I'm wishing you the best of luck. You can do it. Three years ago I was obese and I made the same decision.

    I am certainly no expert. You will find far more experts than me here. But I will share what worked for me. Just because it worked for me doesn't mean it will work for you. Remember that about everybody's advice.

    Anyway I found what worked for me was separating out the two things:

    Eat less to lose weight
    Exercise to maintain or build lean body mass
    end of story.

    I found just ignoring all the complicated stuff everyone throws at us is the key. Day in and day out focus on two things. Eat less, move more, stay within calorie budget (either weekly or daily). You can eat low one day and high the next, whatever you want. Well, it did work for me. I am the fittest, leanest, strongest, and most muscular I've ever been in my life at age 51 and I'm healthy and don't get sick and have long endurance.

    The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool, the same with other metrics. Take front, side, and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

    Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale though: water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations

    If you have a lot of body fat reserves you would be surprised at how little you can eat (unless you have emotional eating issues or disorders). The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for women over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I am a living breathing example of that. I went from obese to now under 12% BF and I've maintained for one year and built muscle the whole time. You don't BUILD muscle in starvation mode, so I proved that theory wrong. Starvation mode will happen when you get lean however.
  • Thanks for your advice. I am doing this day by day. I am not giving myself more then a weeks goal. that way I won't be overwhelmed and quit. Its gonna me a journey I just hope its a happy one. :happy: