Over 100 lbs to lose...

Though I personally, did not have that much weight to loose, my husband does/did. We have been slowly working together on it for several years now (he's lost 48 lbs so far). I think the biggest thing I have learned, as the spouse, is how important it is to encorage each other. I don't think either one of us would have lost weight if we hadn't worked together. So I guess my answer would be your husband will be your biggest advocate, and the fact that you are both working at the weight loss together will help you maintain your new lifestyle for when you have children. Best of luck, we are all here for you!

Yes the road will be long on our path to being healthy again, but I look at is this way:

"It took years to put the weight on myself so it's going to take a long time to take it off"

&

"Eat to live...........NOT...........live to eat"

Make sure not to get discouraged and track all your food even on the days you go over.

If I see something I shouldn't eat I begin thinking, "Oh man if I eat that I have to write that down!" It's called being accountable for everything you consume and it's making me realize how bad my eating habits were before. It just blows my mind how many calories I was eating before I began using MFP to keep track of it.

Also I have a friend that had lapband surgery and she had complications after losing 80lbs. The device was tearing into her stomach and it could have ended her life so they removed it. She was never really careful on what she ate right after the surgery and I remember she'd still eat until she threw up or she'd get uncomfortable from eating too much. She never really learned how to eat in the long run.

i'm new to the site (again join hadnt follow thru) and i found out my cholestrol is very high and i've been giving a rx to help, i'm only 37 young and don't want to be on pills. i need to lose 120 lbs, scared to go to the gym its to overwhelming. any advice , trying to get good but work crazy hours at work, dont always get to eat at the same time during the day, so some days by the time i eat i'm starving and grab anything.:ohwell:

Welcome! :flowerforyou:

I know this sounds trite, but it has worked for me - "take it one day at a time." Just make the best choices you can each day, and don't stress or feel guilty when you fall off the wagon because it'll be there for you to climb right back on. Also, challenge yourself! (as a personal example, when I was around 290 lbs. I joined a YWCA. It was extremely difficult because in addition to the extra weight I carried a lot of emotional baggage as well. But I did it, and am better for it. Shame that the Y closed, but I digress).

Keep on making connections on MFP, and walking through open doors.

I think it is great that you have decided to change your lifestyle! and its a bonus to have a partner in your journey. I have currently dropped 34 pounds, 11 since joining MFP, that puts me at 258lbs with a lot more still to loose. For me - I focus on 10 lbs at a time - it makes it easier to think about. When I reached my 30lbs lost marker I thought "I am 25% done with loosing 120 lbs!" and to me that means a lot more then "I still have 90 more to loose".

My biggest issue was sticking with exercising. But once I made it a routine I am now addicted to going to the gym and it is a great feeling. And when I am tempted with food - I just think - I have worked so hard in the gym and overcome a lot of aches and pains that its not worth the calories!

Hope this helps and congrats on your choice to change!

Gentle greetings Mustang Gal...and congratulations on taking the first step to a healthier you!
This site is full of amazing individuals who are supportive and full of good ideas to keep you on track.
I don't have as much weight to lose as you and your husband but weight is just a number.
I've been on 1200 calories a day since January 4th and as of yesterday morning have lost 24 lbs. That's 6 lbs away from my goal weight! This has been really easy for me and I may push for an extra 5 lbs once I reach my goal.
I won't preach, but the key is not only a combination of caloric intake and exercise but a mind set. You have to decide that you want to lose weight. Once you're past that milestone the rest is simple mind over matter. I know you are probably thinking, what is this kook talking about...but I'm completely serious when I said this has been easy. I have not been hungry once.
I do not eat a bunch of cardboard. What I do eat is low fat, some low cal, if not, I just adjust the portion I eat. I shop the perimeter of the grocery store before I go to any center aisles. (the perimeter is where all the healthy stuff is...veggies, fruits, grains, meats and dairy. after all that, if I still have room in my cart, I venture to the center aisles for some mustard or low fat salad dressing. (many are really yummy) What I'm getting at here is to fill your cart with good nutricious food before and by the time you get to the cookie aisle, your cart is overflowing with yummy fruits and veggies and those double stuffed oreos aren't looking as good as they did before you headed to the store.
Faithfully plug in each and every thing that goes into your mouth into your food diary every day. Even gum, breath mints and spices.
Drink lots of water. Go get you a real pretty wine goblet to drink it out of if your not a water fan...it makes it seem special.
Start to buff up your exercise routine.
Buy a good "light" cookbook. One I reccomend is Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook. It cost less than $15 and is full of yummy low cal recipes.
Above all...be honest with yourself.
Before you know it, you will have that beautiful, healthy body you are dreaming of... Hubby too!

I truly wish you the best of luck!
Add me as a friend if you want...

All the best,
Jan AKA PoeRaven



Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

Hey there,

You can do this.
I started out with 100-110-120-130 (I have no idea what a realistic goal weight is for me, really) pounds to lose. "Overwhelmed" is a huge understatement. My success has come from educating myself about proper nutrition, finding exercise I enjoy (biking, running, tennis), and trying to take it one day at a time. Also important is never giving up. There are going to be times when you slip and binge. That's okay. Start back being healthy the very second you catch yourself slipping. No "I'll start back on monday" BS. Plan to allow yourself to eat things in moderation. Want pizza? Okay, plan to have 2 slices of a chicken & veggie pizza for dinner next Friday night (add some veggies if 2 pieces of pizza isn't filling enough for you). Want ice cream? Okay, have a 1/2 cup of it with some sliced fresh fruit on top. There are going to be times when you will need to step away from the scale. It's not "if" you hit a plateau, it's "when." I hit my first plateau after losing 53 pounds at the end of January this year. I switched things up (started eating *more*, actually) and 3 weeks later I started losing again. Lost for 3 weeks straight and hit another plateau 3 weeks ago. I've started eating even *more* and I've increased my exercise intensity. I imagine I'll be on this plateau for another week or so. It happens. It's okay. Focus on the progress you're making in other areas -- I'm working on my running speed. I've shaved several minutes off my 5k time in just the last few weeks. That's awesome so I don't care nearly as much that the scale isn't budging right now. The weight loss will happen eventually, but you need to learn to enjoy your life and the journey while it's happening. Most importantly, *never* give up.

You don't need motivation, you need focus and determination. And you need to be honest with yourself throughout the process. If you have those things, you will be successful. :flowerforyou:

Hi mustangali, I am in the same boat as you, need to lose about 100lbs, I think the only way forward is to not look back. There's a goal at the for us all, yours being starting a family. Hopefully to keep myself on track this time I am taking weekly photos of me in my underwear to see how my body is looking and changing. In three weeks it has changed! I was truly disgusted with how I looked in the first pic......I had been in denial of how I looked, I only looked at bits of myself, I cried my eyes out to be honest. It has been hard, but when I see those pics it reminds me of who I don't want to be and what I don't want to look like. It just showed how much of a state I had let myself get into...a wake-up call. I hope some of that helps. Let me know how you get on please. I have never done anything like this before (being apart of a weight loss group) so this is a fresh experience for me. I joined last sunday (21st March).
anita x

Congrats on the progress you have made so far :flowerforyou:
My husband & I are both on a path to a healthier life. The one important thing that I can suggest is to read "You: On A Diet", by Dr.Oz. I spent some time on his website before I started MFP. I started to follow his Rule of 5 for my first week....& WOW! I lost 5 lbs without exercising. Then I started to read his book & that's when I realized what my issue was. Now, 4 weeks into my new lifestyle; I know what to eat so that I am full & not have cravings all day. Dr. Oz helps you to REALLY understand how your body reacts to the foods you eat & what to do about it. I can't stress how easy it truely is.
I also set a bunch a small realistic goals for myself: concentrate on getting my eating under control (I used to eat over 2400 calories per day! Now I range from 1000-1700) drinking 3 glasses of water a day (now I'm up to 6-10, I hated water), record what I eat everyday, 10% weightloss goal, ect.
I knew that I needed to take baby steps so that I can learn to run!
Change the way how you are thinking about it all; it's a lifestyle change NOT A DIET!
Be proud of every step & accomplishment you make towards your ultimate goal :happy:
Tell everyone you know about your new lifestyle & the support you will receive back will help you to keep going. MFP is great for that support, we are all in it together

Feel free to add me as a friend if you want.

I have 80 to lose and I also feel overwhelmed by the number. So I make mini goals...17 pounds to be pre-pregnancy #2...another 10 pounds to be pre-pregnancy #1...another 10 pounds to fit into my wedding dress...etc, etc.
Good luck!

Depending on what is realistic, I have 65-85 lbs to lose. Dividing it into the mini goals is a great idea........I am currently to what I weighed at the peak of my pregnancy. It has been a stressful 2.5 years since my son was born (he had some medical issues- and thank goodness is doing great now). I need to lose 25 lbs to get back to my pre pregnancy weight. I was actually trying to lose weight when I got pregnant, soI need to lose another 30 lbs to get to my wedding dress, and another 20 lbs to get to my goal. Hmmm...I think I'm going to have to break down these goals even more. One pound at a time, right?