Overwhelmed! Any tips?

No tips yet, but I am looking for advice myself.

I agree with the small changes. It took well over two months before I was completely weaned off the soda (reduced to two cans, then one, then replaced soda with sugary lemonade and tea, and then finally replaced that with water.) I counted calories for over a month before I added in any exercise at all. And I did low-impact exercise for a week before I added cardio.

A slower plan that you can work with is better than a major plan that doesn't work at all.

Step 1 - get your intake under control. You don't have to worry about thinks like fat/carb/protein ratios or whole foods vs packaged foods or any of that stuff just yet (unless you want to). First step is always to get your intake to a reasonable number. MFP can give you an idea of what that should be, there are lots of other calculators out there too.

Step 2 - get some exercise. At this point you don't have to worry about how long to work out or how hard or what type of exercise you should be doing. Just get moving. If possible, find something you enjoy doing.

Step 3 - be patient. This is a long process that involves some trial and error. If you don't see results the first week, don't get discouraged.


Once you have a good handle on those 3 steps, then come back and see us for more tips.

I stopped my couch to 5k when it got cold... There are SO many workout and exercise videos online though that there's always something to do! Yoga, tai-chi, pilates... You name it, it's on youtube or digitally on Amazon!

Watching my food has definitely had the most impact, though. I don't eat super-unhealthy, but boy did I eat a lot! Since looking at my portions I've slowed down my eating, and frequently have a good sized tea or coffee (no milk or sugar) after a meal, which will usually shut my stomach up until it realizes it's full. If I get the rumbles in the afternoon it's now carrots or green beans, which I also end up eating slow, since you need to chew them so much!

As an impatient person I WANT to do everything at once, but it is definitely overwhelming. Even if you take it slow, the results will come.

Edit for recipe discussion: skinnytaste has an amazing collection of recipes, and a section about quick meals.
Because looking to change 3 meals immediately is definitely daunting, log your food for a couple of days and see what your problem meal (if any) is. For me it was dinner, so that's what I try to focus on the most. Once you have one meal down, you can move to the next one, and so on!

I get most of my recipes from skinnytaste.com, lots of variety. I especially like the comments for each recipe. I second the crock pot suggestion. It's so much easier to eat healthy when the meal is already prepared when you get home. Good luck!

I'm in the same boat as you. I've been doing all this research on what I should be doing and it gets confusing quickly. Jjust take baby steps. You have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run. Keep up the good fight.

Great advice here already. I will add when I found MFP in July I started by logging what I ate everyday for about 2-3 weeks, mainly to really pinpoint what my problems were, of course I sort of knew but seeing it laid out in front of me made it a little easier to identify the biggest problems first. For me it was portion control, my portions had become epic, making meals for a family of three that might serve 8-10 and me and my husband (and small child) would eat nearly all of it. So to fix this I hit the dollar store and bought several sets of measuring cups so I always had clean ones to measure, put the digital scale on the counter for weighing. I always have clean measuring cups, no eyeballing because that cup I need is in the dishwasher.

Then taking existing recipes and making them healthier or figuring exact calories, I actually was using spark recipes unti I realized there is a calculator here on MFP, however you do it figure before you make it and if needed adjust. For me looking for lower sodium options, or making it with 1 of something instead of 2 or 3, just as example. Some recipes I swap quinoa for rice, yogurt for sour cream, if a recipe calls for a cup of cream cheese, cut it to 1/2 cup, it all helps, you make little changes like that that allow you to have your favorite foods just a little healthier. I also find planning ahead by a day and laying most meals and snacks helps me budget for outings or special meals that might be more calories.

I only walked some in the beginning and would say the first 30 pounds that was pretty much the only exercise I did. I have slowly been adding more and am still figuring what I like and what works for me, I have purchased a few DVD's a kettlebell and some hand weights for home. In 2013 I joind the YMCA and now do a deep water aerobics class, dabble in spinning and bought a 10 session pack with a personal trainer and started weight training just this week, so through about March I will continue with this plan.

I think it is important to be open minded and change things up as keeping it the same becomes boring and your body will get used to it and no longer respond to those changes. At least for me, I know adding different exercises will be key, I would prefer to just eat healthy and get all the results I would like, but changing is necessary for me to keep losing. I have been playing with calorie intake since mid December and still not sure where I am going to land and results are definately slower, working through this and realizing going back is not an options keeps me going even when it gets hard.

Small steps, learning and trying everyday will pay off over time. Good luck!

My advice: Start tracking what you eat. You don't have to make any changes at first, although you can. It's your diet that is going to make or break your attempts to lose weight, so you need to see those calories. They add up fast!

Fill out your profile and goals here on MFP.

My advice: Start tracking what you eat. You don't have to make any changes at first, although you can. It's your diet that is going to make or break your attempts to lose weight, so you need to see those calories. They add up fast!

Fill out your profile and goals here on MFP.

this.

even if you eat junk, still track it on here. once you see how horrible it is for you it will help to change your mind about eating it again. im sad to say i ate fast food (wendys and burger king) at least 4 times a week and went to the gym just to maintain how big i was without getting any bigger.

once i saw how many calories etc were in that scrumptious double whopper with cheese no tomato it was like getting hit in the face. just like you can tell a kid not to touch the pan on the stove cause it is hot, until you physically see how horrible it is it may not sink in.

it was then i decided to really cut back on the fast food and after about 3 weeks i eliminated it completely.

its not about losing the weight as fast as you can nor is it about giving up because one week you gained a lb after 3 straight weeks of losing.

its about making changes and sticking with them, then finding out what works for you. while its nice to hear others advice on what exactly they eat or their workout routines, they arent you. your genetics may be different and it will not have the same effect on you.

I find that cooking (and eating) is a lot easier if I measure out all my food once a week, usually on Sunday since that's when I have free time. I buy a load of ziploc bags and measure single servings of pasta, rice, cereal, chicken (which I then freeze), etc. Even things like nuts and chickpeas. It takes up a bit more storage space than keeping things in a single canister, but not much (and I have these neat rectangular stackable glass canisters from Ikea that the bags fit into nicely). I've battled eating disorders all my life, and I find it really hard to estimate what a normal portion size should be - I undereat about 70% of the time and overeat the other 30%. Measuring everything once a week really helps. It takes an hour or so to do my food for the week (I don't bother with fruits and veg - I end up with enough of a deficit at the end of the week that an extra portion of fruit and veg here and there doesn't hurt me) and it makes eating a lot less hassle since I don't have to either guess or weigh things before each meal.

Of course, this only applies if you buy basic bulk ingredients like I do, instead of serving-size packages.

Edited TWICE for bad auto-correct. *glares at phone*

Also, making a week's menu plan (with some flexibility) saves on a lot of time - and mental stress - at the grocery store. No more wandering around thinking, "What might I want to eat this week?" and ending up with junk.

A little while ago, I logged everything I ate during a "normal" day while at my heaviest weight, just to see how many calories I'd been consuming. This pretty much sums up my reaction:

A little while ago, I logged everything I ate during a "normal" day while at my heaviest weight, just to see how many calories I'd been consuming. This pretty much sums up my reaction:

AHAHAHAHA! I love that!

Just my thoughts on if you want to gradually get in to weight loss

Step 1 YOU MUST GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME. Start telling yourself you can do it you will do it. You must think positive.

Start with I will go to the gym X times a week (maybe its 2-3 times 30 min) What has worked for me is classes. I will go to zumba or step x times a week. If you are signed up & paid to go to a class you feel more obligated to go.

IMHO Nutrition is more important than working out. You can lose weight and not work out. Figure how many calories you are takingin now and subtract 2-3 hundred and figure out how much fiber you are getting in. I would say start with fiber. I will get X amount of fiber in this week. You should be taking in 30-40g of fiber. Start slow and work yourself up to that much. Fiber keeps you regular and helps with digestion so I would start there. Like I said figure out what you are taking in now and slowly work up to more and more fiver each week. I do feel you need to log everything you eat and track it its a good habit to get in to and this sight makes it really easy to do.

Every 2-3 weeks or so add a new level to it. 3 weeks in I will go to gum 4-5 times for 45 min. I will eat 35-40 g fiber and add in x amount of protein. Just my opinion but protein and fiber are 2 major things you want to be taking in. Try and cut out high sodium best way to lose water wate is cuting out sodium.