I feel like I'm never going to get there...

Hey there,
I know it's a cliche thing to say, but you can do anything if you put your mind too it. What I do when I'm feeling low and unmotivated is I seek out motivation from pictures, fitness/weightloss magazines, and pictures of myself and ask myself If i want to be overweight. Obviously the answer is no, so even though some days I just do not want to go to the gym, I tell myself it's the only thing that's going to shed those pounds. The message boards are also a great source of support and inspirational ) just give yourself lots of reminders to keep yourself on track, and have small goals at first, i.e. by May 1st you want to of lost 14 pounds, or something! And everytime you reach a goal, treat yourself! Then move onto the next. Just little suggestions so i'm sorry if this doesn't help you much, best of luck stay positive xxx

i know it can feel like that, but the weight loss adds up quickly, just as the weight gains do! consider a 1 month time period. even if you only lose 2-3 pounds, thats 4-6 pounds away from the 2-3 pounds you may have gained by not taking control of your eating and diet habits! its adds up quickly! just keep going, you will be so happy you did!!!

I did not have as much to lose as you do, but I did manage to lose 100 pounds from my heaviest weight and transform my body. I took it a step at a time. I started at 232. My first goal was to get to 225. Then 210. Then under 200. I tried to set 10 pound goals for myself. My original goal weight was 145. Once I got there I realized I could still do a bit more and got down to my high school weight and a smaller size than what I thought was possible for me. I logged every day no matter how bad it was.

I'm sure that exercise will be hard at first and you will have to try things that won't hurt your body. Start small and work your way up. The "good" news is that you will get a pretty big loss at first just by changing your diet.

Stick with it. There are so many great people on this site who have gone through what you need to do. Come to the boards for inspiration like you did.

Good luck to you!

Don't worry about the destination and enjoy the journey. If you can exercise for 5 minutes today try to make it 6 tomorrow, 7 the next day and so on. Set a new goal for each day and make them fairly easy. Today replace 1/2 of your usual soda with water then try to increase. Keep the high calorie bad for you stuff out of the house. If you really want it you have to make a trip to get it and only get a small portion. Emotionally journaling has helped me a lot. It gets the garbage out of your head. Instead of reaching for a snack reach for your pen and write down what you are feeling and why you really REALLY want to eat a pint of ice cream. Take it one day at a time. Good luck.

I feel like maybe I should start a personal journal or something and force myself to take time out of the day to write in it. I think a big part of my weight gain was just due to pouring all of my problems into food. It sounds so pathetic but it is what it is.

Also, outside of walking on a treadmill (which I have at home now) what are some other exercises for someone of my weight? Just keep pushing each day to walk a little more?

i used to drive around the parking lot for 20 minutes, looking for the closest parking spot... now i drive to the back of the parking lot, no matter where i go... there is always a spot, and it adds some extra steps to my day! DANCE! if im home, alone, i throw some music on, get my cleaning crap out, and dance my house clean! sometimes at night, while im watching the tv, i get the urge to do some floor exercises while im watching tv... anything that gets you moving, will help!

What I've done:

I never, ever think about losing 109 pounds. I think about the ten pounds I'm currently working on; because I reckon I can lose ten pounds. And I've done that five times so far and I'm working on the sixth.

I enjoy the journey; I try not to restrict my calories so much that I get really hungry, or sad that I can't eat.

I pay attention to how it's going -- I started feeling better in myself once I'd lost about 15 pounds; after about 20 my closest relatives who knew I was logging could tell that I was looking thinner, at about 35 pounds people started saying "hey, I like your hair" or "you're looking great" and at about 50 pounds a lot of people noticed.

If I lose a pound a week, I think 'huh, well, in a year I'll pretty well be at goal" rather than "oh noes only a pound I have so many".

I don't beat myself up if I stuff up for a day or two, just get back on the train when I can.

I try to take some exercise every single day, even if it's only a little walking -- and yes, I tried to push to do a bit more than the previous day for the first few months. I started with walking, with step (just stepping up and down on the Wii Fit board while watching TV), and Wii games like Dance Dance Revolution and Walk it Out and so on. Now I do dance, badminton, cycling and running. And a bit of swimming and strength work.

There are some great threads here for people with loads to lose around here. It's worth finding one of those to hang out in.

I am already there!

I haven't had McDonalds in four months.
I get at least five serving of fruits and veggies every day.
I have worked out almost every day for three and a half months.

I am just waiting for the scale to catch up.

In the meantime, I focus on nutrition and fitness goals.
This week, my nutrition goals were set by a challenge here on MFP and are just based on tracking. Turns out I drink 20 cups of water on a regular basis!
My fitness goals are: 1) get back to my strength routine four times a week; 2) build up the strength to do full push-ups (mini goal of ten consecutive girlie ups); 3) improve all of my scores on a fitness test I took last weekend.

don't look at the big picture! you are right...thinking about losing that much weight IS daunting. Just don't go there. Do 10 or even 5 pounds at a time. Set small goals. And remember that this is a journey. Commit and just know that it WILL take time, but it will be SO worth it in the end.

I had 100 pounds to lose and have gotten off 65. Trust me, I have quit at a lot of things over the years. IF I CAN STICK WITH IT, ANYONE CAN!!!!!

YOU CAN DO IT! Just break your total goal into smaller goals! Don't concentrate on the ultimate goal - focus on the smaller goals. Tick each one off and tackle the next one. So you get tired after five minutes of exercise. Do the five minutes. Lengthen it to 7 then 10 then - well, you get the idea, but keep moving! Log everyday, stay within your calories, and make wiser choices (you get more that way) and eat small meals more often to space it all out over the day. YOU CAN DO IT! :drinker:

Feel free to add me if you're up to accountability and support :bigsmile:

I set small realistic goals and this helps. I have a lot to lose and it will seem like it takes forever, but getting overweight did not happen over night for me, so I try to be realistic in knowing that I won't lose it over night.

I highly recommend starting out with 5-10 minute workouts a few times a day and then working up in 5 minute increments as you feel you can do it. It gets easier. I remember when walking up a flight of stairs caused me to be out of breath. I remember when tying my shoes was challenging. That was only 45 pounds ago. I was miserable however and I could barely exercise for 15-20 minutes and now I am up to a 60 minute workout usually 5 times a week.

I just started taking Zumba (have been to 3 classes) and it gets easier each class. Never give up! You can do it and it can only be done in small steps, but just keep saying "This will totally be worth it", because it will. Keep your head up and know that every 5 or 10 minutes of exercise you do will be helpful. :happy:

I feel like maybe I should start a personal journal or something and force myself to take time out of the day to write in it. I think a big part of my weight gain was just due to pouring all of my problems into food. It sounds so pathetic but it is what it is.

There is a blog function right on this site! I use it nearly every day and it does help a lot. Where else will you find a place to vent with readers who know what you're going through? Make lists, write about your feelings, be funny, serious, ask questions...but get it all out. Weight loss is not just a physical thing. The mental changes are phenomenal...and you should have a journal to talk about it.

Hey there,

My name is David, and I topped-out at 450lbs. I feel your pain, believe me!!!
I'd be happy to be a "friend" and buddy, if you want one...

My wife has also lost 100+ pounds!

Welcome to the club!

-BootJockey
-250lbs

For every pound lost, put away a dollar or two. Every ten or twenty pounds, go and buy yourself something new. New workout gear, or continue to save it and go on vacation as a reward.

Just keep moving. It will get easier the more you lose and it will feel better each time. You CAN do it!

You have heard it before, but you cannot focus on how much and how long. Take it only one day at a time, one good habit at a time, and pat yourself on the back if you get through the day doing healthy things for yourself.

The great news is:
Since you are bigger, your weight loss will be bigger in the beginning, which is an excellent motivator.
Focus on how good you feel and how your clothes fit rather than just the number on the scale.
Remember it took 24 years to reach your weight. But it will not take that long to lose it.
Find pictures of the way you would like to look, or picture yourself. Make a vision board (poster board with a collage of all the reasons/pictures of how you see yourself). Do you aspire to fly comfortably in an airplane seat to a fun vacation?
Do you have a picture of a celebrity or person who's body you admire wearing the types of clothes you want to wear?
YOU can do it. You really can. This site is such a great tool for making that happen.

The most important thing is that you have taken that first step to try to do something to improve your situation. As far as exercise goes, more important than how long you exercise, is that you do something every day. Work on being consistent first then increase your exercise time by a min or so each week. If it hurts when you add more, back off for a day or 2. I started out at 319 lbs and started using my recumbent bike 7 min a day and even that was very difficult at the time. I would alternate sometimes because my knee would hurt from the bike, and sit in a chair and do boxing or tennis on my wii. I have lost 42 lbs now and am up to 40 min on the bike. I worked up to it over a period of almost 4 months adding a min a week, sometimes I would be in pain, so i would have to give it a rest for a day or 2 and ice my knee and switch to sitting down at the wii. Because I am still very heavy, it's amazing how many calories I can burn riding my bike, way more than a smaller person would burn doing double what I do. If you would like to add me as a friend, send a request. I am always open to new friends and try to be a good support and I keep my diary open if you would like to take a peak. Just so you know though, I don't give myself too many breaks and I have my calories set rather low for someone my size, but all for a good reason; I have some very serious medical issues going on and will be looking at surgery soon (if I can get some more weight off) so I am in a hurry to get to a weight where surgery will be safe. Believe me, I would rather be eating more and anyway the healthiest and safest way to lose weight is slowly. I wish you all the best in your journey.