started off with 115 lbs to lose, now its 125lbs

10manda86 · November 2012

im only 26 but it took me about 12 years to start taking it seriously... no joke! I began to notice that I was overweight at about 14 (Although I knew I was a fat kid since as long as I can remember)... I would diet and exercise as much as I could but I was very self conscious and I tried to do it in secret so that no one would comment on what I was doing, I didn't want to fail but worse was being called stupid for trying to help myself (stupid thinking i know!) when I finished year 12, I was pretty huge, and I left home and changed my eating, walked heaps to uni and bus stops etc. I ended up at some point 88kg. I met my baby's daddy at 20, I was back up to 96kg (about 211lb)... I joined the gym and I was a vegetarian back then too and dropped back to 88kg (194lb), I got pregnant and only gained about 8lb during this time... I joined a gym when bub was 3 months, I then become a single mum 12 months after my son was born and I continued my journey... July this year (4 months ago) I met the man of my dreams, he isn't physically perfect either but he goes to the gym and wants me to be the best I can be... He can see the potential and finally I have the ability to take this seriously! I now look at a chocolate bar and think "if im taking this seriously where does this fit into my life now??" Some days it fits just fine, but not as often as it use to!!.
I have been on MFP for 4 weeks... in this time I have lost 3.7kg (8lb) and just this week alone I lost 10.5cm (4inches!!!!) off my measurements! My partner notices my changes even when I'm having a 'fat' day, he constantly tells me how proud of me he is and I have my eyes set on looking smoking hot when we go to Thailand 2014, and to hold onto it to look awesome when we get married. I plan on continuing my fitness into nd beyond my next pregnancies in the coming years... taking the first step has been a LOT of years in the making... I used the 'tomorrow' or 'monday' mentality but the truth is you have to start now! I wish I had have started this seriously 12 years ago, it would have made my life so much easier!!!
I even run now!!! Not fast, and I probably dont look fantastic doing it but I feel great

and its how you feel that is most important... I found this quote the other day on this site somewhere and I want to share it with you because it might help the beginning of a change in your thinking...

Sabotaging Thought: I messed up a bit on my diet, so I might as well mess some more for the rest of the day.

Response: If I were drinking water and “messed up a bit” by spilling some on my shirt, would I keep messing up and dump the rest of the glass on myself? Making a mistake (in any situation) is NEVER a reasonable excuse to continue making more.

best of luck xx
add me as a friend if you need extra motivation... i can be persuading

vrindavano · November 2012

All I can say is to just start tracking your food. If exercise seems overwhelming, don't do it. If reducing calorie intake is overwhelming, don't do it. Just start tracking your food. Once you see how much you're eating, you can start making choices about what to reduce or eliminate from your diet.

I'm a complete creature of habit, and I resisted the idea of getting in shape and losing weight for years because I did NOT want to have to do the following things:

1. Exercise
2. Eat breakfast
3. Give up my Starbucks
4. Give up cheese
5. Give up (insert your favorite thing here)

One day I realized my 14-year-old daughter was using a website called MyFitnessPal and had lost 30 lbs with barely any effort. I thought, heck, if she can do it, so can I!

I have so far lost 45 lbs in less than a year just tracking and reducing my calories. I did not start exercising (Note: I do not recommend this, just saying what I've done so far), I did not give up Starbucks, I did not give up cheese or anything else that I love to eat. I simply reduced the amounts that I ate. I went from 200 to 155 in about 11 months. I'm not nearly at goal yet, but I feel 1000 times better.

At your current weight, it's a good guess you're probably eating in the neighborhood of 1000 calories more than your body needs each day to sustain itself. There's no need to reduce that 1000 calories all at once - start by reducing by 500 per day and see how that works. I'd bet money that you'll start seeing results within the first 2 weeks. The good news is, the heavier you are, the faster you will see progress. It's mostly people that are closer to their goal weight that have a much harder time getting the weight off.

Once you lose a few pounds, you will gain motivation to see what other changes you can start incorporating into your daily routine. But the key is, don't try to do it all at once, or you will surely fail because it's just too dang hard sometimes.

NOTE: I am not at all recommending that you don't need to exercise, simply saying that weight loss can occur without exercising at all, simply by reducing calories. Then, once you start to feel more mobile and less painful with less weight to worry about, adding exercise will be much easier.

MissJanet55 · November 2012

I think when you think about how far you have to go the first step seems overwhelming. I'm a big believe in baby steps and one day at a time.

I agree with all the people who said walk. You don't need to walk far, just to the end of the street and back. But do it every day and it won't take long before you're going around the block. There are also courses and videos about yoga for round bodies. Yoga can be intimidating because it's full of women the size of twigs, but if you can find the right class it will make you feel at peace with your body. That will help with the stress; you might want to learn to meditate as well, it's really beneficial in dealing with stress and anxiety, and most places offer free classes to beginners.

It's hard to break an addiction to food, but I have always found that the struggle never lasts more than 72 hours, no matter what I'm trying to give up. I just need to muscle through the first three days and it gets easier. Not easy, but easier. And don't give up more than one thing at time.

Do as much research as you can about a healthy diet. Friend me if you like, my diet is open to friends and I try to eat mostly real food - protein and vegetables, and complex carbs. If you like to cook, you can make simple foods absolutely delicious. You will get a lot of wildly divergent advice here about what to eat. IMO, you need to customize your diet by figuring out what makes you feel best, strong and healthy.

Good luck!

1996gtstang · November 2012

start by logging everything you eat. you will hold yourself accountable and start to make adjustments

TinaBean007 · November 2012

I had to go to a health coach because I did not know where to begin my change in lifestyle. The university where I work provides wellness programs for free.

On the first visit, my health coach set one goal for me and that was to maintain a food diary. I didn't have to do anything else, so this was easy. This is when I joined MFP. The following weeks, I was supposed to set goals for my self. Instead of one goal, I ended up choosing two goals. So far I have lost 19 pounds. I have been logging on to MFP for over 75 days. This website has helped me tons.

The sequence of my goals are as follows:

Week 1 - Food diary
Week 2- Stop eating chips and eat breakfast
Week 3 - Give up regular Coke (this was harder than hell); take my lunch to work and cut back on chocolate
Week 4- Twenty minutes of exercise four times a week. (I began working out to "Yoga for Complete Beginners" which is on Youtube. It's kind of easy.)
Week 5 - Eat at least two pieces of fruit a day and have a salad at lunch or dinner along with an entree.
Week 6 - Exercise 45 minutes a day. I increased this because I got hooked on Yoga
Week 7 - Cardio (not much luck)
Week 8- Cut back on beer. I've been having a glass or two of wine a week.

I found that I started doing some things on my own like cutting out fried foods, eating multi-grain bread, reading labels, and drinking eight glasses of water a day. I bought a Nutri-Bullet so I can make smoothies for breakfast. These will fill you up.

Take it slow and don't beat yourself up if you overeat. Start over the next day.

^^^THIS!! Except make your own goals. It's about recognizing your weaknesses and having the courage to change them. Make small commitments to yourself and don't get overwhelmed. Set yourself up for success. I also did something similar. Each week I identified a new habit that I wanted to create and added to it each week. First week was logging everything without focusing on my intake. Once I mastered the habit I moved on to the next.

I wish you the very best luck!! XOXOXOXO

FITNLUVINIT · November 2012

I started this journey weighing 305 lbs, I am now 315lbs...due to stress and the addiction to eating. I stress over so much, I am having a hard time to learn how to deal with it. I have not started exercising, which is my first reason I am not improving. I also have been using the "I will start my diet tomorrow" saying everyday for at least a month now, second reason. I am so disappointed in myself, but am wondering, am I the only one dealing with this?
Doing something about my obesity is the HARDEST part so far...I just cannot seem to get the motivation I need!
But in my mind I crave it, I want a healthier lifestyle....Just need motivation to get me started and keep pushing me, better yet, shoving me each day.
But, my body doesn't move like a 21 year old body should, my joints ache from doing absolutely nothing. I need to change, but how can I without pulling a muscle or causing something to break. I don't know if I should start out with intense cardio or mild. I just do not want to make a mistake and wind up hurting myself rather than improving myself. I know the saying "No pain no gain" but that is for muscle burning, not bones!! Please, if you have anything or any advice to say to me, feel free to share!

You can do this my friend it is truly a matter over setting our minds to doing it. I am almost 50 and I have never had a weight problem growing up, I was always the one built like a brick house but all that changed after I was married and 5 pregnancy's later. I started with my husband who also was almost 300lbs. who's had back surgery, knee surgery, ankle surgery etc, we both started in March of 2012 and now have lost over 125 lbs. together. I had 104 lbs. to lose and only have 45 left. If you would like to friend me for encouragement I would love to be your friend!!!!!

started off with 115 lbs to lose, now its 125lbs

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