Brand New Member with Lots and Lots of Weight to Lose!

Just sent a friend request!

Welcome! Congrats on taking the first step!

Feel free to add me as a friend. I'd be happy to help motivate you and answer any questions you may have!

One thought is that it is very likely you have leptin-resistance even if you don't yet have insulin-resistance (in fact, leptin-resistance precedes and predicts insulin-resistance). You are on a likely path to Type II diabetes as well---a very high proportion of those who are "morbidly obese" become insulin-resistant and develop Type II. That must be your motivation---to get healthier---both for yourself and for those who love you. That's tip #1. Post that bit of motivation on your refrigerator and anywhere else in your house that you need a reminder. Remember that losing more slowly, is a better plan as you are less likely to regain. Calculate your TDEE and subtract 1000-500 calories a day from that (that will help you to lose about 2 pounds or 1 pound a week). Since you are pretty big, it is probably safe to go for the 2 pounds a week (1000 calories a day) but as your weight declines, you should go to a 500 calorie-deficit and that will reduce your loss to 1 pound a week. When you get to 20 pounds or less from your goal, you should drop the calorie-deficit to 250 calories a day to reduce your loss to a half-pound per week. If you follow this plan, you will lose all the weight you want to and are much less likely to regain. By the way, losing 120 pounds in nine months is WAAAAY too fast---I'm not surprised that you gained almost all of it back (and probably did a bit of damage to your body in the process, but, fortunately, the human body is pretty resilient and yours will respond well to you treating it better).

When you are maintaining, it is important to "exercise off" any slip-ups or occasional indulgence in your diet. When you go on vacation, step up your exercise to compensate for the higher number of calories but it is very important that you make wise choices while eating out and still log your calories so that you know how much extra you have to exercise to compensate.

#2. The only way to "cure" leptin-resistance and avoid insulin-resistance and Type II, is to follow a sugar-free, lower carb diet (around 100 grams of carbohydrates but reduce the carbs a little if you find that you are still having trouble controlling your appetite). Sometimes, it is useful to reduce carbs to around 20 grams for a couple of weeks to "kick-start" the weight loss but it is VERY important that during this time, you allow yourself to eat as much fat as you want. This will necessitate eliminating all added sugars and any starch in the diet as well as eliminating fruit for that two week period. That will back off your fructokinase hormone production. Once the two weeks is over, you will want to add a serving or two of low-fructose fruit per day (berries or citrus) back into your diet but avoid putting back any added sugar and/or starch. The majority of your carbohydrates, at that point, should be coming from vegetables--doesn't matter what kind. You will want to cut back your fats at that point to keep yourself within your calorie allotment. My fats usually run to about 100 grams per day, some days more, some days less but I always stay within my calorie framework. Once you cut out the empty calories of sugar and starch, you will be surprised with how well and nutritionally you can eat (and how satisfying it is).

# 3. You must exercise. If you have joint problems, then, you will probably want to do as I do, and go to your local public pool for vigorous exercise in the water. They have different programs based on fitness levels. Ours has four different programs. The cardio (a couple of hours a week---but you can start with an hour a week) will help with a lot of what is messed up in your body but the most important part is weight training. It won't hurt to get a couple of lessons from a trainer to learn to lift weights properly. Weight-lifting is amazing for increasing insulin response and helping you to burn calories 24-7---something that cardio does not do.

If you find that you are still hungry, then eat more but make sure that it is nutrient dense food--and continue to pursue your exercise goals, gradually increasing over time. This will work and you will improve your health a lot. I'm about two-thirds of the way toward my goal and I feel SO much better (and I'm a lot older than you---I wish I had had this information when I was your age). You CAN lose body fat AND improve your health in the process. Good luck!

@aroundthemulberrybush: I had a lot more to lose, so 120 was a relative drop in the bucket. I lost that weight under my doctor's care and supervision as well. Thanks for your advice.

I'm glad it was medically supervised. I recognize that sometimes, obesity can get so bad as to constitute a medical emergency, calling for very drastic weight-reduction. You have accepted that you have an eating disorder and there are physical and spiritual aspects of eating disorders. From what I have read, leptin-resistance is the physical fuel for disordered eating and it is what must be conquered in order to fight regain. Weight-loss alone will not do it. The spiritual part can be addressed in various 12-step programs like Overeaters Anonymous. You can look them up in your local phone directory--the meetings are free.

Welcome and glad to see you here. I think this site is great and if you use it well can be a huge help. I still have about 70 pounds to go so I am in for the long haul! Feel free to add me as a friend if you like