45 yo woman with 160Lbs to lose

malvakai · May 2013

Help!
I don't know what I need to stay focused and motivated. I don't know if having friends will help me. I tend to post my foods for a few weeks here then just fade away. I've gained more weight, now I'm up to 310 and I'm scared. I keep going up. I have a whole person to lose and it's getting harder to move.

I can walk still. I have some yoga DVDs. I eat pretty good foods, usually, but just too much of them. I'm hungry all the time it seems like.

I've looked over the 20/20 Lifestyles website. I think the idea of radically cutting my sugars so I quit craving food every hour on the hour would be good. Also, saw on Dr-what's-his-name today that wheat, even whole wheat, might be doing the same thing, making me crave sugars. But I'm not sure about dieting (cutting out specific foods), I've never really done it.

I'm 45 this year. I used to be an athlete but I can barely put on my shoes now. I have 3 grown kids who have moved out so I have a bit of empty next syndrome. I can walk 2 miles but it's hard to get motivated to do so and afterwards I'm so hungry and tired I don't do anything else.

Help! How can I keep going more than 2 weeks here?

dru8376 · May 2013

Sending you a friend request for starters

Liliansamata · May 2013

Hello Mal,
You can add me as a friend :flowerforyou:

Maaike84 · May 2013

I've never had this much weight to lose, but I've seen a lot of success stories of people on this website who did, so I am sure you could do it too!

I can imagine that it seems like an insurmountable challenge; maybe you could try and set yourself smaller goals? Don't start with just radically cutting out sugars or wheat, do something that you can manage in the long run, it's a lifestyle change you want to achieve and you want to be able to continue doing it for more than two weeks.

And I guess; remember what you are doing it for! For yourself, for your kids, for any grandkids you may have, but mostly for yourself! You can send me a friend request if you like and if you want support. I am sure you can manage whatever you put your mind too!

slender20 · May 2013

I will add you. You know if you used to be an athlete and you already eat healthily than I am sure you can do it!

violetpurves · May 2013

hi, I totally know how you feel I weigh in over 300lbs too and im only hitting 32. I've tried cutting down carbs and lost 4 stone but when I stopped, I gained it all back. I struggle to walk because of my weight. I have to say MyFitnessPal has really helped me. I'm not on a diet as such I have a limit of 1500 calories a day and so I can eat whatever I want as long as I stick to my calories a day. As soon as you stop thinking of it as a diet and start thinking of it as a healthy way to live it does help honestly. I find it really hard to exercise and get to paranoid about walking outside but I've found I love swimming and I go when everyone is basically working or at school. I'll send you a friend request and we can lose this weight together, don't worry your not on your own.\

jenniferwren · May 2013

i will add you too - ten pounds at a time, one day at a time x one hour, whatever works, but if yoiu have some mfp friends that kind of holds you a bit more accountable if you won't account for yourself xxx

also when i started i kept reading the amazing inspirational success stories!

Dynamis600 · May 2013

Hello Mal,

I have stuggled with sugar cravings too. I take Chromium to help with them. But recently I was diagnosed with sleep apneoa and have began CPAP and since then I have noticed the carb cravings have almost gone. Lack of sleep can cause carb cravings so maybe that is something your Dr should look into. BTW I am 47 and weigh 268lbs.

cynthiadmail · May 2013

I am 42 had a baby in Dec of 2011 and I was up to 330 pounds. I got scared. I didn't want to die due to my weight like a lot of my family has. Having my youngest kicked me in gear because I felt horrible, I couldn't take looking at myself in the mirror to see what I became. My biggest tip is Know your enemy.. Learn all you can about weight loss, and nutrition

I have searched and read and searched and read everything I can about weight loss, nutrition and I still read every day all topics on here, all the u tube vids I can and I've read books , I read alot of posts on MFP as there are alot of great ideas and tips on here.
And drink that water !!!

I can say this, I have those days where I just don't want to get out of bed, I'm tired and or just don't want to go to the gym but I think let me just get my warm up on the bike and see how I feel but let me just get my butt to the gym and by that time, I'm there and I put in my full workout.
I started out slowly I was doing DVD workouts at home because I was to embarrassed to go to the gym.
You have to want to change your life but I can tell you to there are days when you think why am I working this hard, why don't I just give in or you just don't feel like working this hard to get health, or you question why ? why am I doing this . or there are days when you go over your calories . But that was that day put it behind and just keep going. And you have those days and even months where nothing seems like its moving with the numbers on the scale. ( even tho your measurements are changing )
You can lose the weight, but don't get caught up in the speed of what you want to what your body is going to give you.
Eat healthy ( very healthy )

move your body that's all it is.
When you start to feel the changes it will finally click. I hope you stick with this and stay on MFP and really LEARN all you can about making these changes because the more you know the better you are able to arm yourself with what you need to make your lifestyle change.

Liliansamata · May 2013

I'm sorry I called you Mal. It's Cynthia. Apologies again.

Jokenmit · May 2013

send a request...and welcoming any coming my way. I had 197 pounds to lose. lost 120 so far. Still have 77 more to go.

Dynamis600 · May 2013

I will send you a friend request.:)

kazzsjourney · May 2013

Feel free to add me...im 45 and have lost 183 pounds

Lind140 · May 2013

Reading your post was like reading my past history. I topped out at 346 3/4, tried for a while
and jumped back up. I finally reached a "breaking point", I was miserable and couldn't move
without having to stop and rest my back etc. My solution then was Weight Watchers, the group
lectures, support from others and supporting others in their goals was a big factor in staying on
track,. You can do that here with good friends. I'll send you a friend request and I'll help in any way
I can. BTW I've lost 166 pounds, if anybody was set for failure, it was me but I finally got control after
a while. It wasn't easy, but nobody promised me otherwise, you do what you can with what you're able
to do. Good Luck!
Linda

Debby0904 · May 2013

Keep your head up. All is not lost. Posting will help you stay the course. You need to ask yourself how badly do you want it. Find a program you LOVE to do and do what you can. As you get better at it, I promise you'll get more excited. Also, diet. Not to diet but what you put into your body. That is 80+% of this.

I will be 46 soon and have lost 60 pounds. In a year slowly. This takes a lot of time so don't get discouraged. Back then my mantra was one meal at a time, one workout at a time and one day at a time. It helped me not to get ahead of myself.

maegmez · May 2013

Feel free to add me....my story so far....

I'm 41 and have been overweight for at least 19 years, I got to 258.8 pounds! When I looked at how much weight I needed to lose for my height, I was so upset. I needed to lose 130 pounds and it was depressing. But then as mentioned above, I broke them down into smaller goals. I went by stones. 14 pounds is a stone. Then I would set goals to get me out of obese class 2, then obese class 1, then 50 pounds, 75 pounds. My next goal is 100 pounds and then I have about 11 pounds after that to get out of the overweight range. I'm looking at 100 pounds gone in less than a year. I would have reached that at the beginning of May but found I was pregnant and shifted to maintenance calories and then we lost the baby so I took a week off of exercising but still ate healthy foods.

My best reommendation is to eat your foods that you enjoy. If they are really bad, give them a makeover. If they can't be made over, find an alternative. I rarely drink my calories but I love drinking water now. This is a lifelong journey and you have to make it work for you, you have to be happy and content doing it. If you have a bad day or week, don't say you fell off the wagon, just look at it as a normal day and don't repeat it. I still enjoy my pizza every week, I go for thin crust, half a pizza is about 400 cals. Then I load up half my plate with veggies, and I mean loaded.

Get up and walk your behind off, don't use weather as an excuse. If you don't feel up to it, just tell yourself that it's just one hour out of your day and then you are done! I have lost so much weight, I freeze quite easily now but I dress for the weather and get on with it, no excuses.

You CAN do this!

One of the best things about losing weight! Shopping, shopping, shopping!!! I love shopping for clothes now. I'm down to a size 12 and right now I shop second hand. Cheapest way to do it since you are dropping so many dress sizes but you find so many bargains on designer clothes. Best to check the next size down too! I also sew and can't wait to start sewing some clothes, but that will come when I reach my goal weight.

Don't let the scale be the final word if you go up. If its more than a pound gained that week and you know you have eaten right then it's most likely water retention. Pay careful attention to fat, sugar, salt, and fiber grams. Fat is well, fat. Sugar should be kept within goal. Many dont follow and go over but your liver can only handle so many grams before storing excess as fat. Don't go over on salt as this is automatic water retention. Fiber, you can go over on fiber as its good for you but if your body isn't used to getting the right amount or you go over (not a bad thing) your body will hold water. However, as your body gets used to more fiber, you won't hold water.

Pinterest is packed full of lots of healthy eating recipes. Just make sure you calculate your calories by entering the recipe in MFP.

All the best!

rhondajoco · May 2013

Feel free to add me. I'm just starting out myself - beginning my third week. Today, I am finally getting the courage to step on the scale after several years. I am 43, and after quitting smoking, working on finishing my college degree and transitioning from a fairly active job to strictly desk work, I have really packed on the pounds over the past four years.
My suggestion is to keep things simple. Promise yourself that you will enter everything you eat into the food tracker - even if you go way over your calorie goals every day. Don't get discouraged. Remind yourself that this is a learning process and you are working to find which foods/times of day etc are problematic for you. Eventually, you will become more mindful of what you are eating and will start hitting your goals more easily.
As for exercise, if I am not feeling supermotivated, I set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes and just walk briskly around the house. Doing this several times a day will be a great start!
Finally, just having people to check in with, support and seek support from can be wonderfully motivating as well. I really hope we can help each other towards our goals of healthy living and finally living our lives to the fullest!

jenreit · May 2013

Howdy! I am new here too and also have 100 to lose. You CAN do this. We can all do it. We just need to stay motivated. I am losing so slowly but still I am losing and moving and I haven't felt better in a long time. I will add you as a friend. I also just started posting myself.

XXbrendaXX · May 2013

Hi there! I am 43, and started my weight loss journey almost 10 months ago at 320 lbs. Today I weigh 209. It is possible, but you have to want it enough to stick with it! You can do this! Feel free to add me.

LuckBeWithU · May 2013

Welcome aboard.
I'm 47, lost 84 lbs. with more than 60 to go to my goal. (Staying for more)
I would love to help support you on your journey.
I'm very active and committed to doing this.

Feel free to add me.

scp29440 · May 2013

Hello! I am brand new to this board myself and I know it takes alot of courage to take that first step, but just like with anything else, this wil be a lifestyle change. It won't be easy, but it's gonna be worth it! I want to loose about 60 lbs and I need some major motivation! I will be 49 in a few months and would love to get this weight off before I turn 50! It is gonna take a whole new way of thinking for me. I can't eat like I did 5 years ago! Gonna have to take it one day at a time! But it can be done!

45 yo woman with 160Lbs to lose

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