Need inspiration

kenlove1030
kenlove1030 Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I am a 28 year old man who is looking for a change in his life. I am perfectly happy with my marriage, my faith in Christ, and my friends and family... however there is one aspect in which I need to get control over. And that is my weight. I am having sleep apnea surgery in the upcoming months and need to lose some weight before then. I currently weigh 350 lbs. Now if you were to see me in person you wouldn't believe me but I am. I find normal activities hard to do. I find myself struggling to breath and my sleep apnea doesn't help alongside the fact I work over nights.


My goal is to lose atleast 40 lbs by my bday October 30th. The surgery may be before or after that. But 40 lbs by Oct 30th is my goal. The reason I am writing this is because I need motivation. No one I know personally is on a diet or goes to the gym. So sometimes its hard to stay motivated. I am asking for people that care for others well beings, may you be Christian or not, to please friend me. You don't have to have conversations with me. just a little daily encouragement will help.

PLUS I HAVE A REALLY IMPROTANT QUESTION: WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO STOP DRINKING SODA, AND WHAT IS A GOOD SUBSTITUTE(HEALTHY) OTHER THAN WATER., I DRINK THAT ALREADY

Thank you to those who have taken time to read this , and to those who might feel led to criticize or make fun please don't and keep moving.

Replies

  • ActiveJason
    ActiveJason Posts: 8
    Hey

    I know that feeling all to well of trying to cut soda out, it's a very hard thing to do. It took me several tries to finally get control over that.

    I found the best way for me to cut it out was to find something else to take it's place. for me it was tea, If you have a tea shop near you there are many types and blends of tea to meet your tastes. I've discovered a few that tasted like just like juice and since I drink it straight it is calorie free. If you don't want it hot, make an iced tea. You can even add carbonated water to the iced tea to make it fizzy.

    Keep fighting the temptation to grab a soda and before you know it, you won't be that interested in it any more.

    Once I cut soda out of my diet loosing weight was SO much easier.

    Just remember to take it one day at a time, and don't get discouraged, you will meet your goal.

    Jason
  • TheDarlingOne
    TheDarlingOne Posts: 255 Member
    Hi ya Ken (I assume your name is Ken from your username anyway lol)

    I'm sending you a friend request - I'd be interested in following along with you on your journey to October, and cheering you on when you reach goal! :)

    As far as your question - the thing that has helped me the most......
    soon as i realized I CAN have soda...that it's not this forbidden - naughty - i gotta have it kind of thing....
    the allure dwindled fast.
    Soon as I realized, sure, go ahead and have that 20oz coke, long as you're logging it - and you realize it's 240 cals you could have eaten and had water with instead...if that's what you want have it...
    my desire went down quick.

    I was drinking AT LEAST 4 20oz bottles DAILY EASY! if not more. sun up, to sun down, I was a coke fiend as I jokingly say. I would tell my friends to i.v. me up - just hook it into my VEINS it felt so good going down haha. (clearly, had an issue lol)

    But soon as I got how myfitnesspal works - and the fact that nothing is off limits really, long as you stay within your calorie goals, it made things more comfortable. (sure some things are 'better for you' than others...in the long haul....but from a strictly 'weight loss perspective' of calories in vs cals out - nothing really is off limits long as you make it work for your calories that day)

    I have a 20oz in the fridge at work today, but i've already factored it into my menu - I just know I can have it, long as I'm willing to put the work in, to work it in lol

    Have a great rest of the week - glad to have you here!

    (ps: if you accept my friend request - you'll soon find i'm a rambler. hope you're cool with that lol)
  • chadraeder3
    chadraeder3 Posts: 279 Member
    I pretty much gave up soda too. I used to drink about 1 or 2 20oz a day now soda is a special treat or when I was really sick I needed some calories that I didn't chew (problem with my jaw) so I had a couple sodas. I switched to tea's I really like green tea it has caffeine but also antioxidants but if you are going to switch to tea please brew it yourself or make sure you read the labels on the bottles many teas have lots of sugar added which defeats the purpose of switching from soda. Also water is your friend

    I started off in the low 300's and now I am down to about 260. Not really huge changes in my life just I just cut out a lot of fast food more veggies and fruit (I love fruits even more now) the first month was hard but if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything. Also I found that hunger this the best seasoning I really used to hate veggies and now I find myself craving them weird. As for exercise I just walk a little bit nothing dramatic just a couple of walks through work instead of picking up the phone and calling someone on the other side of the plant I walk over to them. Small changes over the long term are better then huge changes over the short term.
  • lavieboheme1229
    lavieboheme1229 Posts: 448 Member
    Hi Ken,

    Welcome. I'm not sure I'm the best person to support you on your journey, but I'm sure you will find plenty.

    Regarding soda- try starting with fresh brewed ice tea with lemon. If that isn't sweet enough for you, you can try some sugar alternatives (splenda, stevia, or suck up the calories and go for sugar in the raw or honey).

    And if you are craving a soda like the world is going to end, have one. So you don't have 4 the next day. Good luck on your surgery.
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
    I'm also a tea person...and my favorite is Lipton's raspberry although it can get pricey if you drink a lot. I wasn't a big soda consumer before so that isn't a big issue for me. Another good substitute is Ocean Spray Diet Cran-cherry which doesn't really taste "diet" at all. Much better than the straight cranberry.

    You say you have no friends who are watching their diets or going to the gym. Maybe instead of looking for someone to inspire you...you could be the inspiration for others. Who knows, they just might join you! Wishing you well.
  • mak061
    mak061 Posts: 19
    Hi Ken,

    Im Christian too and I think that you would pray for things right? Pray that you'll loose that urge for soda. It works, just got to have faith :-)

    My brother drank a lot of coke. He hated diet coke. I just kept encouraging him to have it. He actually turned to diet lemonade rather than the diet coke. His weight loss change is being noticed by everyone. He is doing exercise and being a lot more conscious with a balanced diet etc but the less sugar has had a great effect.

    You said u drank water, so no problems there.. Im just wondering, what is it about soda that you're attracted to? I just love the cold feeling in the throat, nothing beats it. But, that feel good feeling is so so short lived. and as someone else said, the calories that's in that soda, its really just not worth it.

    All the best with your goal!
  • ltowne
    ltowne Posts: 129 Member
    Best of luck!!! Losing weight is the hardest thing in the world for me. I have never been out-of-control, but have always strugged with 20 pounds or so... am like a yo-yo most of the time. I LOVE food and it is my emotional release from the good times and the bad times. I understand the struggle no matter how much you need to lose. I also have sleep apnea (of which the doctor was surprised to learn). I HATE that crazy machine, but most of the time I sleep better. I hear the surgery is pretty tough so hang in there!

    As for the soda...that is a hard one! I gradually switched over to Diet Rite and that gets rid of the calories but doesn't help on the heathy side. Try hot teas (especially green tea) or add some fresh squeezed oranges or lemons to water to give it a different twist.

    Best wishes and I will send you a friend request and will be here to support you along your journey!
  • JCrazyRunner5
    JCrazyRunner5 Posts: 144 Member
    I was kinda in your spot also about a year ago. I was 27, I weight about 235 (not horrible fat, but I was 6ft3, 40 inch waist, and busting out of an XL) way different than the 190lbs person i was used to being, and knew that if i kept doing what I was doing I would keep adding another 5-10lbs a year forever. I ate fast food 3 times a day. candy, junk everything. The thing about weight loss that I see people do is they try to do way too much, too early. You are right cutting out soda would be a great idea, but like anything else you have grown accustomed too, you cant cut it out cold turkey, you.will.fail. I was the same way with pizza when I started my journey of getting down to 200. All the articles I read said taking away something completely is more mental than anything. So what did I do? I ate fast food pizza or homemade pizza once a week and made sacrifices so it fit into my diet, whether it meant walking for 30-45 mins or just saving calories. The same goes with exercising, a lot of people think just hitting up the gym and trying to eat that 1500 calorie goal is going to work. It might for some people, but you are trying to change your lifestyle. I believe firmly you have to concentrate on one thing at a time. When I started my journey I set out my goals of losing 2lbs a week until I reached 30 lbs, the good news i didn't starve myself, i followed the guidelines, and i lost it all in 3 months. The first 1.5 months it was all making sure I was eating right. There would be evenings after 7pm where I felt like i was starving (I really wasn't, bc i had eaten 1,800 calories most days), IT WAS BOREDEM! If you think just eating is hard, just imagine trying to go to the gym an hour everyday, and try and guess how many calories you burned, and sabotaging your diet. The second 1.5 months, after 15-17lb weight loss, I started walking, 30 mins, at a time, up to 1:15 hrs at a time. I did eat an extra "snack at night" while doing this low impact exercise, but nothing big, to take away from the hard work of watching what I ate.

    I wish you luck, and you can do it. It has been officially a year since I lost about 35 lbs, went from a XXL down to where a L is very loose, lost 5 inches on my waist, and two suit sizes, and I have put on about 5lbs of muscle and my sizes haven't changed. Even when you get to your goal weight, it is a challenge of knowing its enough.

    Good luck!
  • BreaksGirl
    BreaksGirl Posts: 9
    I need inspiration too Ken! Please friend me (and anyone else reading this do the same). I am a 44 year old woman and want to lose 30 pounds by my birthday in October. I could use lots of prayer and inspiration! Thanks and God bless!
  • shannonespinoza
    shannonespinoza Posts: 18
    Hi Ken! Welcome :) We all have our daily struggles, carbs were mine but I don't crave them so much now. You will find that if you continually drink water or tea you will not want the soda so much. It's as much of a habit as anything else and you can certainly break it! Good luck! If you need encouragement, please feel free to add me :smile:
  • AniaSie
    AniaSie Posts: 6 Member
    Hey! I hope you will achieve your goal, and then some! I wish you luck and support you in it! As far as soda goes, I have had the same miserable dilemma! I tried the tea, I tried iced coffee, you name it, I've tried it. Not that i was ever a huge soda drinker, but when i wanted one, there was no stopping me. Here's what finally worked form me - crystal light. Here i will mention you will have to do some trial and error, as some flavors are less appealing than other, however it varies between people. You add the powder into water and bom! you have a flavored drink... I still occasionally want something carbonated, that's when i get a perrier water and add crystal light to it, or just have the perrier by itself. Hope this helps and again best of luck!
  • Lonestar5775
    Lonestar5775 Posts: 740 Member
    I found that easing into quitting soda with flavored water helped me. That and finally just realizing how much more I wanted to be in shape than enjoy the flavor of a soda. I guess it was a matter of priorities. Like a lot of faith related actions, I had to accept responsibility for what I did or did not do. My body answers to me and not me to my body.

    You have the power to do it, it just has to become an overwhelming goal. I'll send you a friend request and see if I can help motivate some.
  • newtothishelp
    newtothishelp Posts: 50 Member
    OMG, i have the exact same thing with soda! I managed to cut it out for a few years a while ago, and now am back on it. what i did was a) make sure i found something to replace it that i like, and always have that with me.
    b) hear my physios voice when she told me that soda (coke especially) has corn starch (i seem to remember) in it, which is what they use to fatten up chickens. That image normally helped.

    a lot of people think having an addiction to soda is weird, and easy to stop, but as you and i both know, its not that simple! I actually found it easier than i thought though.

    I think what you're doing is exactly right, set yourself smaller goals. I, myself have over 110lbs to lose, and I am breaking that down into chunks of 10lbs, and rewarding myself when i get to each, otherwise it seems like a difficult goal to reach. the rewards may be getting my nails done, or going to a nice restaurant (although being good whilst i'm there!)

    I wish you all the luck in losing the weight. Please feel free to friend me, i am always here for motivation! I have just started on my quest too.

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