Overweight Mom--350 lbs I need help

The reason I love MFP is because using the calorie counting system, I never have to deny myself of any food. Yesterday we ate lunch at a deli that serves sweet tea that I just LOVE. I haven't had a sweetened drink in quite a while, so I decided to treat myself. I logged the calories and made sure that I stayed below my calorie intake for the day in the other things I ate and drank and with my exercise.

I don't think you have to say, "I'll never eat a fried food". Maybe say, "I'll eat less fried foods, and when I do eat them I'll log them" As long as your logging your calories and meeting your calorie each goal, you will see the scale move.

I think walking 30 minutes a day on the treadmill is a great place for you to start your exercising. I'm sure as the weeks and months go by, you'll decide to try other things, but for now I think the treadmill is a good start.

Good luck and congratulations on making this decision to change your life!

Starting in a similar place as you. Highest weight is unknown but for sure was about 360. I started last year at 325. Got derailed for the majority of the year after having lost 15lbs and now back as of this Feb and 9lbs down. At our high weight and used to eating a lot of cals (I shudder to think what I was really consuming!) I would recommend setting your goal to a half a pound a week loss. It will give you the most amount of cals in a day while keeping you in a deficit and I haven't had a week where I lost less than a pound. It's very important to feel like you can achieve your goal and for me on a day where I did not exercise that 2lbs a week setting was too restrictive.

Do not starve yourself. And like everyone here mostly has said, everything in moderation, including making all these changes. If you overhaul your life it will be overwhelming and you may fall back on old ways fast. Make one new healthy decision at a time.

Walking 30 min a day on your treadmill is fantastic! My mom lost a lot of weight when I was younger just from walking the dog every day. Stick to it but maybe every week or two try for new improvements. A slightly longer distance or a slightly higher incline. Our bodies get efficient or lazy about things if we do them over and over again.

I've found having friends on here to be very helpful so I've sent you a friend request. I try and comment on friend's accomplishments as I know it makes me feel good and encouraged when people comment on mine :-)

You have taken the most important step by admitting you need help and that you are motivated to do this! I have struggled with my weight all of my life. It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions until a recent tragedy that I personally went through. It forced me to take a good look at my life and decide whether I wanted to continue down the path I was going or change. I chose to change and have never felt better! :happy: I think 30 minutes a day is a great start. That is actually my goal too. It has taken a lot of playing around with different methods throughout the years, but I have finally discovered what works for me and took off. My recent journey only began a little over a week ago and when I weighed this morning I discovered I was down 8lbs and 3 inches in a week. I started at 244.5 and am 30y/o. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and discover what works best for you. One big tip people have always given me is to drink plenty of water. You'll find the more you drink it, the more you crave it. Good luck on your journey and feel free to add me as a friend!

You have already gotten a lot of sound advice on here. Measure and weigh all your food so that you know how much you are actually eating. Then start tracking your food and exercise - everything - the good, the bad and the ugly. Figure out how many calories you should be eating using a calorie deficit calculator (I like http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/caloriedeficitcalculator.php). Whatever you do, stick to it. You are not going to lose the weight overnight, but if you stick with it you will start to see the results.

Hang in there. Your family will benefit from your new lifestyle too!

They key for me was learning to stay consistent with both exercise and eating. This site was really the babysitter that I needed when I first started and needed a hand to hold. You just need to be able to get in the habit of counting your calories and keeping them under / around your calorie budget and stay consistently active. you've taken the first step and as long as you keep at it, you'll see results fairly quickly... at least at first. The important thing is to understand that this is a process and takes work, but the results will give you more joy than you've probably felt in a long long time. There is always someone on here that will be willing to lend a helping hand, all you need to do is reach out.

You can totally do this!!! I this because I started this journey to a healthier me January 6th, 2013 thinking this was going to be so incredibly hard and I would fail. Guess what... ITS EASY!

Okay so you gave up soda, HUGE CONGRATS! I gave up soda as well went form 12 Dr. Peppers a day to zero. Best thing you can do for yourself. The bloating goes away after about 10 days, and you will feel better. Water is your best friend. Drink as much of it as you can. I like mine ice cold. So I make sure to have 12 ounces of water every hour. (I pee a lot) It really does help with keeping the snacking away.

Best advice I can give you, log everything you eat. No matter what. I was shocked at how many calories were in foods I used to eat. Learn to cook food you love that is healthy. It took me a few days to find that "Oh my goodness I love this!" as I am a picky eater, but since then I have been trying new foods and recipes nearly everyday. (They don't always turn out good, but I am trying)

In less than 3 months I have lost 35 pounds. I exercise very little, as I hate it. I watch my calorie intake, eat a lot of protein, and strength train my muscles. No need to push yourself into something you don't like yet.

You were given some good advice. You need to find what works for you and like others said, don't cut things out completely, limit them. If you go cold turkey on everything you are going to binge and then say well I blew lunch so I might as well blow dinner, which turns into well yesterday sucked so I will restart Monday etc etc etc. I have been there, done that. I try and give myself a "free" day once a week. Some people call it a cheat day, but I like "free" because it doesn't have such a negative sound to it.

Good luck. I have sent you a friend request. I log on daily and try and comment often. I have a lot to lose so not going anywhere fast except down on the scale :-)

Every one is welcome to add me as well.

Barb

You will lose weight if you keep your diet in check. I started out following MFP, eating my exercise calories back and walking on the treadmill 30 mins a day. I lost about 17 kilos doing that.