200+ to lose and totally utterly confused!

I agree with so many here!
Talk to your Dr and a nutritionist.
Buy a food scale, digital is best.
Weigh and measure everything.
Be patient.....it took a while to gain, it will take a while to lose.
Keep up the good work!
Find a good support group...internet or in person.

:flowerforyou:

Great job on taking the plunge to a healthier you!! As I'm not a nutritionist I can't tell you how much your intake should be but I agree with a few posts that you should just take a few weeks to religiously track what you regularly eat. It gives ou something to look at and figure out what needs tweaking. The hardest part of weight loss I face is forgetting to track and picking at food between meals. I find once I start tracking I stop that "boredom" eating. For now I'm not changing up much except tracking daily. If you can make an appointment to see a doctor or better yet a nutritionist in a few weeks. Make it your goal to be tracking daily by then so you have something to discuss with whoever.

Another thing maybe get a few sets of weights and a few resistance bands and start doing simple exercises with them to strengthen you legs and upper body up. Nothing extreme, slow and steady. It's frustrating but as long as you keep moving forward you will always be better off than the day before. Don't think about you big goal, just think about how much better you feel each day. Don't forget there are always plenty of supportive people on here to give you that much needed push.

Wow!

30 replies! Took me ages but I read every word of every one of them.

Thank you everyone very much for taking the time and the trouble.

I wish I could write replies to all the points made but it would take me literally till bedtime and beyond (it's now 3.30pm)

You have sent me some links and other things to look up online so I will do that.

These links were awesome!

http://thatpaleoguy.com/2012/12/19/calorie-rants-and-ketosis-part-1/

http://thatpaleoguy.com/2012/12/24/calorie-rants-and-ketosis-part-2/


I bought electronic scales and have been totally OCD with weighing, measuring, and logging my foods since 6th January. It all on fatsecret - my diary is public. I even log the milk in my tea.

HP mentioned reactive hypoglycaemia (RH) -- I suffered from that for 17 years. Uses to have horrendous panic attacks from eating refined sugars. The docs treated it as a nervous illness. I lost all faith in them after a kinesiologist told me I had RH.

Speaking of docs, in response to the many posters who suggested consulting medics. I have consulted doctors, nutritionists, dieticians, and I have even been sent to the top endocrinologist in my county (after 19 months on the NHS waiting list). The docs (have seen about 15 of them) and the endo had no advice on weight loss other than to tell me that I should "go and lose weight" because my supermorbid obesity will kill me. One doc gave me a booklet called Losing Weight and Keeping it Off, which I still have, and which recommends eating a diet mainly of sugar, bread, pasta and fruit and very little protein and fat. A bit difficult when I have given up all grains and sugars! The head of the surgery I currently go to weighs 280lb and neither he nor his five colleagues have been able to cure him despite having collectively hundreds of impressive letters after their names. The nutritionist simply told me to eat "whole foods" and "healthy grains" and to avoid saturated fat, which apparently kills you in a week (lol).

The dietician was horrified, appalled and disgusted at the amount of meat and fat I ate. She placed me on a vegan wholefood organic diet comprising home made muesli, grain breads, nuts, pulses, seeds and live sprouting things. Cost me a fortune to buy it all from the little whole food boutique. I lasted one day on this and was so ill I had to come off it. When I emailed her to tell her how ill it made me, she said that after I left she researched my medical condition on the net (!!!) and concluded that Atkins was right for me but I should do the low fat version as fat was a killer. I was bloody furious at having paid out so much money for a load of nonsense. Still, next door's rabbit really enjoyed the expensive organic wholefoods I donated to it!

Helena
PS I'm so impressed by nwg's reduction from 373 to 174. OMG I would do anything to emulate that!

There is nothing wrong with meat. If you do restrict any meat, eliminate processed meats as they are higher in calories and many are full of nitrites. Adding a few servings of fish can be beneficial as well as they are loaded with healthy fats and oils. Additionally, when looking at meat, try to get ones higher in total fat but low in saturated fat. I know the evidence around saturated fat is still inconclusive but it can't hurt. I would say, higher fats and protein = more satiety. Other than that, I aim for 30-50g of fiber a day as well to keep the digestive track sound. If you cut grains, cool... they aren't necessary. If you can eat them and still lose, great.. if not, you can still hit all your micronutrients without them.

PS I'm so impressed by nwg's reduction from 373 to 174. OMG I would do anything to emulate that!

Thanks. It has been hard work especially as I have been overweight for 25 years ! I recently looked at some old photos when I was around 14 and couldn't believe what I looked like.

The most important thing for me was to stay positive and have plenty of willpower as I knew it was going to take time. I am not ashamed to say my willpower is not as strong as it used to be but I am learning to maintain / lose slower and I have to eat more calories to do that.

Hi,

Due to the amount of weight that you are looking to shift the history of medical conditions that will probably have a bearing on the timing and amount that you will shift, It seems advisable to go to a professional in this case to really look into your personal situation and create a program for you, if you can't afford to keep going to them one session will probably be enough to at least get what your minimum and maximum calorie intake should be.

Look into super foods, they are calorie dense and nurishing. Try to eat food in it's most natural state. Drink mostly water with lemon or lime, I have a feeling your Ph balance is mostly acidic so this will help bring it into alkaline, do some research on Ph balance it is very important to get this into balance for optimum health and longivity. When choosing your fats, choose wisely, bacon? is that really the best kind of fat? I remember hearing that atkins allows that. Look into foods with the healthiest kinds of fats (nuts, seeds, avocadoes, salmon, savi seeds, chia seeds) these all have Omega 3 fatty acids the healthiest kinds of fats. Limit your intake of processed foods, low fat (aspertame)

When you start to feel better and some of the weight begins to shift, it is important to start moving just a little more every day. Every extra step that you take will make you stronger and will lead to a healthier body. Yes diet is mostly what matters but if fitness isn't part of your transformation then you will just become smaller but not stronger.

I wish you luck, big changes are never easy, once you find the right thing for you, the weight may come off fast for awhile then slow. Never give up, try to keep making better choices every day and remember that this is for your health and happiness, looking good is a bonus:-)

Everyone will have an opinion and there is more than one way to correctly lose weight, so to speak. You must find the correct and healthy path that works for you. People here have offered a wealth of good ideas and advice. Take what you need. You needn't accept anyone's word as gospel.

By way of background, my starting weight was approximately what yours is. What is working for me is focusing on the eating. I will need to incorporate formal exercise eventually, but in my case, and it sounds like you may have similar issues, I have advanced hip arthritis and the pain associated with this condition prevents certain, but not all, exercise. This will not always be the case, and it does not prevent me from moving more than I have in the past.

As for my eating, I try my best to keep it practical. Truth is, for me, if it is not practical, simple, and user friendly, I will not succeed. Know yourself. Set yourself up to succeed.

Because I originally carried around the equivalent of a 200 lb person with me 24/7 (imagine actually throwing a 200 lb person over your shoulder) I factored in the extra energy necessary to do this and added it into my calorie requirements. The fact is, it requires more energy, or calories, for me to walk 100 feet than it does for a person who is on 30 lbs overweight to do the same activity. We instinctively know this because we know that the heavier we get, the less we can do because it's harder to do things when you are carrying the equivalent of a 200 lb person with you all the time than if you put that person down.

Our bodies need nutrition and fuel regardless of how much we have to lose. Decreasing our calories too much for our work load will only cause our metabolisms to slow down making us feel sluggish and precipitating cravings that are very difficult to resist. I do not need any help with low energy or cravings, so I calculate my BMR and set my calorie requirements high. I do not always...usually do not...eat the maximum allowed, but I can if I want or need to do so. This means, for me, that most days, I am successful in meeting or coming in under my goals for the day. This, naturally, makes me feel good, and yes, I do lose weight.

I do not consider myself to be "on a diet." I am merely doing my best to eat just under the caloric requirement for whatever weight I am at at the time. Because I am not "white knuckling" it by "dieting," but rather, am learning new ways to eat normally and reasonably, I hope and believe that I am in the process of developing long-term habits and conduct that will continue when I reach my goal weight range. When I reach this range, I will already be eating as I should continue to eat and nothing will change. The prospect of dieting at 1200 calories a day then "going on maintenance" after reaching my goal...for me...is patently absurd and does not give me ample opportunity, mentally or physically, to feel what it is like to eat healthy and normally and to practice those skills all the while losing weight. I want normalcy. I will never have it because I am not a normal eater, but I strive for as much normalcy as I can find in making my changes.

Do not worry. You absolutely WILL lose weight eating approximately 2000, or more calories per day, and you will not feel miserable, deprived, or have unreasonable cravings. You will wake up feeling successful and feel good about doing this the next day and the next day after that. Best of luck to you on your journey. We will do this. It hurts too much to be this heavy and I find that when I am eating what I want when I want it, I never feel satisfied, I am always preoccupied with what I am going to eat next, and good food does not taste good. If I am going to be preoccupied with food and what I am going to eat next anyway, I might as well have the benefit of food tasting good and feeling satisfied when I eat healthy nutritious food, plus I get to lose weight in the bargain.

P.S. Write it down...no matter what. Even if you have gone over your daily requirements. Often you will find that it is not as bad as you thought, or maybe it was really a lot of food, but the unknown is much worse on us psychologically than the actual truth.

With all the issues you've listed, I do not think you should rely on advice from strangers on the internet. I would go to a doctor who specializes in nutrition and can work around your constraints, and ask lots of questions during your visit. Good luck!

Hi Helena, I agree with this. I didn't know you had so many serious health concerns.

I don't know how the health system works in the UK, but I would go and see your doctor and get a referral to see a dietitian for your body health, and one for a therapist for your mental health. You'll need to work on body and mind to get you to a good place.

If you are dead against seeing a doctor, my suggestion would be, with whatever eating plan you choose, try eating lean protein every 3 hours with a meal or snack to keep your muscles happy, i'm sure you don't want to lose muscle along with your body fat. I understand that you aren't moving around much, but start with a little bit of activity and resistance exercise every day and improve small baby steps at a time. Using your own body weight or a bottle filled with water would be enough, you don't need to go out and buy anything.

But again, I really think that given your conditions you should seek professional advice.

Blessings and good luck.

It does get very confusing doesnt it? I too can only tell you what I did. I started at 380 pounds and have lost 180 pounds...I did this by eating 1800 calories with calorie cycling till i got down to about 210 pounds and then i lowered my cals 100-150 cals at a time. Currently I still calorie cycle and eat 1450 calories. As to exercise...do what you can...I started just stepping up on and down on a step...only like 10 at a time initially but did it a few times a day....i only increased exercise when i felt ready. Feel free to add me if you want extra support)

I have my own opinions, and it's based on my own observations after having lost 200+ pounds.

If you're interested in chatting, feel free to FRIEND me.

-BootJockey

If you're tired of starting over...
STOP GIVING UP!!!

-Do It Now!