Can't be bothered - does it matter?

You said some days you have lots of energy and others none. I would definitely start checking into what is causing that. Could be low Vit. D or sleep apnea or depression or allergies. Find out and keep up the good work

Glad you have made the decision to improve your health. Good job!

I've been reading the posts to your question and wanted to respond myself because I have a somewhat different perspective. I have Celiac Disease so have to avoid gluten and have for 20 to 25 years. It helped quite a bit but I have qained and gained on a GF diet. Finally I decided to go Paleo because it wasn't that big a step for me. Cutting out dairy, sugar, and all grains has done wonders for my energy. I've never felt better and I now think I had other dietary issues besides gluten.
I always suspect that other people are dealing with dietary issues that they don't realize they have. See if cutting out some off these foods would help you. I have completely eliminated cravings by cutting out sugar and diet sugars. Hope this helps.:flowerforyou:

I'm same age, close in size . I felt the same way. Had blood tests and my hemoglobin was off the chart low. I've been taking iron T dr request twice a day and I fell good again. It took about two weeks . I'm just now getting back on track with moving and taking the stairs at work and parking on opposite side of building from where I work. Good luck.

I would say yes, but just some walking and fresh air is probably all you need for now. The daily exercise is going to help change your mindset. This journey is about changing your lifestyle, and many of us need to come to the conclusion that daily activity and avoiding some foods is a reality from now forward. It sounds to me like you might have reduced your daily intake too low in hope of speeding up the process. If so, that is not a great plan as it is much harder to maintain. You should be eating enough to keep your energy and moods high, and cravings low. Just don't eat the same ol crap you used too, and all will be good. At this point you really do not need to make major changes to see progress. At some point, yes, you must dial things down, but be patient and persist daily. All will be good my friend.

BTW, print this thoughtful person's post and read it every day. Such kind words. And very wise too.

Awesome post. It is a about little changes for me. I don't want to give up so am taking small steps that build my confidence. After years of berating myself I need confidence boosters.

It does matter because to keep with this long term you sometimes are just going to have to do things you don't want to do and not do things you want to do.

So I think you should set yourself an exercise plan and stay with it, even if it starts with 30 minutes four days a week and works up from there. Just make yourself go whether you want to or not.

This is assuming you have seen a doctor and gotten the all clear to start exercising, which would be a very good idea given your description of your current situation.

Congratulations on the weight loss thus far - you seem to have the nutrition part of weight loss down! As for the exercise part of it, what do you enjoy doing, besides laying on the couch? Do you like to dance? There are plenty of DVD's out there, and videos on youtube also. Do you like structure for your workouts...find a class near you. The accountability might be good for you. Whatever you do, don't think of it as "working out", or "exercise"...it's an activity you like doing, look forward to doing! I do get on the treadmill, but I reward myself with zumba and spin classes - those are what I love! Good luck, and keep going - you're doing great!

There are really some days that I do not want to! On the week I work I have to drag myself out of bed between 2:00 and 2:30 in the morning (which isn't the easiest thing...) because I have to be at work by 5:00 in the morning and work until 5:00 pm so I don't have a lot of time to do it when I get home but if I have to I have to. ( I work 7 days straight and then have 7 days off, it's nice lol) But I do it and get it done and over with and once I do I realize I have so much energy and I feel so much better. Basically I tell myself if I stay in bed I am not going to burn the calories I need to and I won't lose any weight that way. It's worked so far...and congrats on your loss already!

What great advice! I'm so impressed with your views. You should write a book.

Was that comment directed at Natalie?

Thanks ladies for further comments.

I am on a form of Atkins, so I don't eat any sugar or artificial sweeteners, but I do have dairy (for the calcium and to make my soups palatable).

Yeah, soups! My diet consists of home made low GI vegetable soups augmented by 100g or 150g portions of meat or fish. Snacks are hard boiled eggs, raw nuts. I put a tablespoon of cream in every pint of soup which makes it palatable. If I had to give up dairy I would be deterred from eating the soup.

I try to do Atkins induction 65-30-5 ratio, but in reality I allow up to 40g carbs a day. Ideally I would like to keep to 1600 calories, but in practice that isn't enough and I end up having 1800 and even 1900. My BMR is 2230 if I do no exercise, and people say don't eat below it, but if I don't eat below it, I really do not see how I could ever lose weight.

I didn't see this post before I responded - you really should not eat below your BMR - it causes damage to your body's ability to function properly. After a while eating under, you lose muscle mass and slow your metabolism...but I have not seen a BMR so high before, so maybe calculate it again? just to be sure. And, as I said before, track your food

I have been there...I get it. At my heaviest I carried 335 pounds on this 5'1 body. It was a miracle I could manage to get through a 12 hour shift at work. Today I am at 202...my lowest weight since I was in high school. I actually enjoy exercising now. I had to start small..just walking down the street to the mailbox instead of taking the car, parking farther out in the parking lot so I would have to walk in farther. In the beginning it can seem overwhelming and an insurmountable mountain to climb..but it is not. Make sure you are eating enough to fuel your body. I try to get to at least 20% below my TDEE. I dont always make it there...but I give it a good shot. For months I was eating very low calorie (under MD supervision) but I have found now that I need more calories and I am doing my best to get there. Start small and move...the more you move, the easier it gets..I promise :happy: You are already doing great...keep it up! :flowerforyou:

I would say getting your possible sleep apnea checked out tAkes priority over worrying about if you should force yourself to workout or not!! Especially at your weight. I have family members with it. Sleep apnea, snoring, obesity are possible symptoms of cardiovascular issues. You need to find a good cardio Doc that will refer a sleep study

If would say if you are working out every other day , good!! You do deserve off days. I am only concerned of your total lack of energy esp. Not getting off the couch. Could be a possible sympton of the possible above. Just get yourself checked out.

Bump for later!

I am really enjoying this thread and all the positive feedback the OP is getting. It's actually quite refreshing from the norm!

I agree 100% with AuntiMC says; lose the weight first then try exercise.

It makes it so much easier for your body to adjust to movement. I have about 40lbs to lose and starting on my journey. I don't exercise as much as I should, because I feel the same as you, but I have found that stretching and yoga have helped improved my flexibility and range of motion...so exercise doesn't hurt. Look into Hatha Yoga and even chair yoga. Once you can stretch your tight muscles (you will be sore nonetheless), you will find walking won't be as debilitating as it is now. One step at a time.

One of my epic fails right now is sugar. I have recently stopped drinking alcohol and my body craves sugar like nobody's business. If you have any tips to help me curb this sugar dilemma I would greatly appreciate it. Maybe I should post a thread about it............

Bump for later!

One of my epic fails right now is sugar. I have recently stopped drinking alcohol and my body craves sugar like nobody's business. If you have any tips to help me curb this sugar dilemma I would greatly appreciate it. Maybe I should post a thread about it............

Alcohol and sugar--specifically the fructose portion of sucrose (table sugar--i.e.sucrose, is 50% fructose) are both metabolized in the liver in similar ways. I know a recovering alcoholic who won't even drink fruit juice, as it gives him a strong craving for alcohol. Fructose, in large amounts, contributes to obesity, Type II diabetes, and renal disease. It was recently announced by researchers that high fructose corn syrup is linked with pancreatic cancer as well. The amount that we get in a couple of servings of fruit are not a problem--especially as it is encased in fiber and released slowly to the liver. The problem is the 500 calories a day of sugar in the typical N. American diet (only 40% of which is consumed in frankly "sugary" foods---the rest is hidden in processed food). Just to give you an example, a small to medium Valencia orange has about 2 grams of fructose and a 12-oz. can of "orange" soda pop has about 26 grams of fructose in a total load of 44 grams of high fructose corn syrup.

But it may not even just be sugar that is a problem--but fruit focused diets as well (I remember a fellow here in the forums who claimed that he lost 70 pounds through eating fruit exclusively). Becoming a "fruitarian" (that is, eating only fruit or mostly just fruit) may be dangerous. Steve Jobs was a "fruitarian" for many years (he even named his company after his favorite fruit---Apple Inc.) He died of pancreatic cancer. Interestingly, the actor chosen to play Jobs, (in the upcoming biopic) Ashton Kutcher, apparently adopted an all-fruit diet (to get into character?) and said that he had to stop because it began to give him pancreatic issues. Fructose in large amounts--even from natural sources---appears to be a problem as well.

What appears to be successful in curing sugar cravings is to go on a fast from fructose for a couple of weeks (no fruit or vegetables containing fructose, like tomatoes and carrots and, of course, no sugar or foods containing sugar like ketchup, sweet salad dressings, etc and no "sugar alcohols" like manitol, maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, etc.). What this does is to "reset" (that is it lowers) the levels of fructokinase (the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the reaction between fructose and ATP in the liver). I eliminated sugar from my diet a couple of years ago but I was plagued by a craving for sugar off and on until I did the fast from fructose a couple months ago. Now, I can see cake, cookies, etc. and not even WANT it let alone crave it.

There are some people who have an inherited lack of ability to make fructokinase in their intestines, livers and kidneys, and are thus, unable to absorb fructose, which then gets dumped into their large bowel where it ferments. They are "naturally thin" but understandably, they have a lot of digestive issues and must avoid all fructose and fructans (contained in wheat, barley and rye and a few vegetables, the most common of which is onions). Interestingly, it has been observed that some obese individuals seem to be very efficient in converting blood glucose into fructose!

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I didn't see this post before I responded - you really should not eat below your BMR - it causes damage to your body's ability to function properly. After a while eating under, you lose muscle mass and slow your metabolism...but I have not seen a BMR so high before, so maybe calculate it again? just to be sure. And, as I said before, track your food
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The morbidly obese have a different set of rules to play by; we have a mass of fat storage that the body can access and it's not quite the same as other people eating lower calories. Also, OP made it quite clear that she uses another food tracker because she couldn't find enough UK foods in this database.

Edit: Did not properly quote, so I made my own addition to set the text aside.