he's back!! and fatter than ever ladies and gentleman!!

Don't give up. I never thought I could lose the weight. Since on MFP, though, I have lost 17.2 pounds (in less than 2 months). There's a lot of good advice on this site... and a lot of people who will be here to encourage you. It's hard... but, it's definitely worth every step of the journey. Just don't give up. You CAN do this. :drinker:

You can do it! Everything is relative. Some need to lose only 5 pounds to them, it seems like a lot. To some of us who need to lose 100 pounds or more, it seems a very small amount. We can all do it if we have the will, commitment and people to support us through good and bad days. Seemingly unsurmoutabble obstacles can be achieved. Focus on small goals. Gain strength from people here. It works! You are worth it.
My 8th month anniversary is coming up here in a couple of weeks. If someone would have told me 8-1/2 months ago that I would be where I am today, I would not have believed them.
If this old, (61) lady can do it, anyone can.

Yeah, I hear ya. I thought my scale was broken too until I realized it didn't go up to 376!!

I thought surgery was the only way for me so in April 2011, I went to see a lap-band surgeon. He wanted me to get down to a 50 BMI - that was going to mean losing about 90 pounds.

I started seeing the dietician, joined weight watchers, and got a fitbit. I'm now down 103 pounds - and still haven't had the surgery yet, and at this point, I've put it off until/if/when I hit the plateau from "someplace very hot".

One of the nutritionists told me to focus on lean, healthy proteins, and the carbs and fats would take care of themselves. Generally, I've found that to be true. It's all about making livable changes....and not all at once. Make a change like drinking 8 glasses of water a day. Then replace a fast food meal with something else healthier. It's all about making small changes one at a time to not make the blow so traumatic. Every time I try to say, "NO MORE CHOCOLATE" - all I want is chocolate.

Know that you're human and humans aren't perfect. You're going to stumble. The trick is to get back on track before the stumble finds an endless pit of despair - basically take more steps forward than backwards, and there is no competition with this!! It takes what it takes. It isn't how long it takes you to finish the race as long as you get there!

Walt, at your size (and as a guy) you don't have to make extreme efforts to lose at first. You DO have to start tracking and start moving within your physical ability though. The first step though is honesty. You know how you got to 420 pounds. You ate way too much and moved way too little. Same as everyone else.

Ready, set, GO!

Everything starts with the mind. You either decide to live, or you die.

Don't let your scale get to you. Scales can send a negative message to the mind and perpetuate the cycle of negative self image - feeling worthless - eating to cope with feeling worthless - weight gain - repeat.

Evaluate your mind. Know what you are living for. Your life doesn't have to be fabulous by society's standards to be worth living. Even living just to see the sun rise is reason enough. Then fight for your right to live that life healthfully.

Best of luck to you.

Lots of great advice already. Big step, you are here! Add some of us as friends. We're here to help motivate. overall, YOU control what YOU put in your mouth! I agree with start with calories you drink. Lots of empty calories. Water, water, water! Diet soda is hard on the body too (although I get stopping it slowly for caffeine)

Get a small amount of exercise every day. even if that means walking up and down your driveway 3 times today, 4 times tomorrow, etc. you didn't gain over-night, you won't lose overnight.

Healthy Foods! Fruit, vegetables, eat up! start cutting out as many of those processed foods as you can!

You Can Do This!

Commit!!!

Hey hey!! Welcome! We're all here to support and cheer each other on! Feel free to add me and expect to be supported and called out!

het welcome back

Ok ya ever seen those fake foam rocks? Those soft thingies that look just like a rock but the inside is made of sponge? Thats the rock I been hitting! lol! I give it a good swat and it shrinks.....but then it bounces off the table and smacks me in the chin...ugh!

You've got a good sense of humor about yourself. That a really good thing! Being able to laugh at your failures is needed, because wallowing in self pity is detrimental. I'll send you a friend request and we'll do this together! If we keep each other on track and make sure we're at our calorie goals and exercising, we can do this. Foam is porous. That rock isn't as big as you think it is!

I grok your position dude. I've been up and down a few times (up more than down) and every "re-start" feels like an exercise in futility.

For me it's all about community and support, which I feel like I've found at MFP! Fee free to "friend" me if you'd like to connect w/a kindred spirit.

Peace -- TC

I'm not sure if it will help you, but I know I myself tend to be a very lazy, unmotivated individual. The main thing that helps me is to set my goals for the workouts I want to do, and do at least one of the routines *the second I step out of bed*. That way, I go through the rest of the day knowing I accomplished that one bit, that I didn't crap out. & I find that one bit of succeeding in my goal motivates me to keep going throughout the day, rather than what I'd normally do: spend all day thinking about the workout I still have to do & keep putting it off until I just don't do it.

I've also taken to daily walks. I still talk myself into them many times, which is funny because they are so low impact & I know I enjoy each and every one of them (we live in such a beautiful area for walks). & I find that the sunshine (or rain, this time of year) & fresh air also helps wake me back up again & gives me my next burst of energy throughout the day.

&, silly as it sounds, this website has really helped to kick my butt back in gear. I know I should be doing these exercises only for me, but I really love being able to come on here each day & post that I finished all my goals that day... that I didn't give up. & it also really helps to see other people struggling at the same points I do, or pushing through and making it to the next level, or simply seeing real people sharing their struggle & showing off the results they were able to achieve. It's a daily reminder that I too can push through this if I can just stay motivated.

I hope you find your motivation & just stick with it. I would focus rather on daily goals rather than result driven goals. Set your sights on accomplishing a certain set of tasks each day, each week, each month (exercise routine, changes in eating habits, etc), rather than thinking "I want to lose this many pounds each month". I think most tend to feel successful when they can look at each week and think "Wow, I really am eating healthy & my body is feeling better than before" or "wow, I'm really noticing a change in my endurance during these routines, they are beginning to get a bit easier".... rather than, "I didn't lose any weight this week". Focus on the positive changes, and hopefully the rest will stem from there.

Lots of fat backs on here. You're in good company.