I am afraid to even post this...

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  • tootoop224
    tootoop224 Posts: 281 Member
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    Good luck Tom. You are in the right place.
  • Portugueselove
    Portugueselove Posts: 255 Member
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    Hi Tom,

    My name is Lucy, I was up to 350 lbs in January of 2007. I didn't even know how much I weighed because my scale kept saying "error". I got a 2 free week gym membership and decided to go and that is when they weighed me there and i was shocked at how much I weighed. So i just started working out and counting calories. I lost a total of 70 and plateued for 3 years no matter what i did. I still worked out and counted calories. I gained about 10 lbs back. A lot of my friends had weightloss surgery and kept telling me to do it, but i really wanted to lose all my weight on my own with no need of WLS. Well after being unsuccessful I decided to find out more about the new WLS they had out there which was the Gastric Sleeve. So I decided to do that, even though a lot of people were against me doing it. At that point i was 290. I had it in July of 2012, so I am not even a year out but have lost weight slowly with it also. I don't know what is it about my body that it just tries to hold on to fat. I am still 216 lbs as of today. However someone thought i was around 150 this past weekend... yeah right.. i wish. So anyways i still think this was the best decision i made, i am no longer taking high blood pressure medicine after over 10 years of taking it.

    You will lose weight on MFP if you eat the calories you are suppose to eat, but once you hit that frustrating plateau and your last resort is WLS you can contact me on here with any questions you may have.

    Good luck buddy. U got this.

    Lucy
  • kikass97
    kikass97 Posts: 3
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    Don't be afraid! You should be proud! You have taken the biggest step of this journey, and that is recognizing the need for change. You won't get results until you are one hundred percent into this. I'm realizing more and more everyday that this is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenge of my life. The greater the obstacle, the greater the accomplishment. Just don't crash diet, take it slow. Replace any pop, juice, alcohol with water, and lots of it! This alone will make a huge difference. Take baby steps and before you know it, you will be at your goal weight. Please know that you are not alone in this journey. We are all taking this step in our lives and that itself is amazing. Stay positive. You can do it! God bless!
  • anussab
    anussab Posts: 2 Member
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    Hello,

    I started MFP a few years ago. However, I did not become serious about logging until January. Its true, if you can stick it out for 30 days, it becomes addictive. Make sure you log everything you eat or drink. You will learn so much about yourself.

    I started with exercising only 20 minutes of walking 3 times a week, that was in January. I continued to add more time every week. Then I took the small amount of money I recieved back at tax time and paid for a personal trainer for 6 weeks. I only went to trainer for 1/2 hour twice a week and walked or rode the bike until I was up to 40 minutes.Before I knew it I started feeling so great that I started taking the classes at the gym.

    At first I did not see the results I thought I should as I assumed I should lose 10 or 20 lbs in a month. I was told by the trainers at he gym that your body goes through a lot of changes when you don't diet, but cut calories and begin to exercise regularily. Its now the beginning of June and I have lost 19 lbs. I still have 60 or 70 pounds to lose, but now that I have made this a lifestyle I know it will happen.

    The best advice I can give you is to get friends or family involved and let others view your food diary on MFP. It will help you stay accountable. But, NEVER lie about what you eat in your food diary. We all have bad days. Another thing I did was joined a weight loss challenge with friends. We all support eachother and are doing a 5k together.

    No matter what, you have to exercise and eat less. ON less calories, you really can feel full and satisfied eating 6 times a day. There is not a magic pill or diet that will ever help you forever. As you know, diets don't work. Maybe give yourself one bad meal a week, but do it in moderation. Use a measuring cup to make sure you don't eat 2000 or 3000 calories when you eat the one bad meal. You will learn a lot on this site!

    As far as a budget, I am on a very tight budget and only have $200 to $250 a month. It takes planning and going to the store weekly. You will be eating a lot less and that alone will save you money. Buy meat and fish on sale and freeze it in portions for 2-3 days. Lettuce (which I am sick of) and frozen veggies are cheap... so is yogurt and oats. I hope all of this helps

    Dont give up! You CAN do this! You HAVE to do this!
  • Mkiniry9600
    Mkiniry9600 Posts: 5
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    You can do it man I am on the same boat and as long as we all have a support group it will work out. We all need to take it one day at a time.
  • Jerkface4
    Jerkface4 Posts: 36
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    If you put your mind to it you WILL succeed... Especially with all of us by your side.
  • cuttingshadow
    cuttingshadow Posts: 36 Member
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    My first day here too :) , the group here is a lot supportive... Really wonderful.... Kudos to MFP community
  • thepezzle
    thepezzle Posts: 40 Member
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    Welcome! Sent you a friend request, I'm also in Northern NJ. You can do this! I'm going to link you to an article that helped me (well, a blog that helped me!) http://zenhabits.net/normal/ It's called Zen Habits and encourages slow, progressive change instead of burning yourself out on things. It's a healthy way to approach a total lifestyle change.

    Just realize that this won't happen overnight but it WILL happen. Welcome to the MFP community. Can't wait to see you progress!

    PS: I'm a real person, not advertising that blog but it was a major eye opener for me so I wanted to share it, I hope that's ok.
  • Principal71
    Principal71 Posts: 4
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    Hi,

    You can do it. Take it one moment at a time. Don't give up on yourself. I'm not sure if you are a believer, but I know from personal experience that prayer can make such a positive difference in your life. He can give you strength when you think you can't take even one more positive step. Eat a healthy breakfast and walk right after for at least 15 minutes. Enter the info into your My Fitness Pal food and exercise sections as soon as you finish. Celebrate your great start to the day by sharing your joy in prayer. Remember, one moment at a time:) YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!
  • mrmurray0927
    mrmurray0927 Posts: 1
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    Hey Tom,

    I just wanted to let you know that I'm so happy you are here! I'd love to cheer you on and help any way I can, I'm sending a friend request your way and I promise I won't talk about cats :D Welcome!

    Melisha Murray
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Ok, breathe deep and relax. You can do this. Don't focus right now on 200 pounds to lose. Focus on a smaller victory. You probably have some other health issues... That may well exacerbate the situation. That is ok. Focus on a 2 lb per week weight loss. Keep your calories in check. Don't worry too much about a lot of exercise to start out. That will come. Just 2 lbs per week. In 10 weeks, you will be down 20 lbs... That is 449... Less than 450.... That will be good (Actually, you will likely make it to less than that in 10 weeks. At that weight, you can consume a lot of calories and still lose weight --- but you do have to change your lifestyle. Depression is nothing to be ashamed of... Many go through that. You can make it through that as well. Often a side effect of mood disorders is either over or under eating. We eat to comfort us... But the key is to watch what it is we do eat.

    Consume nutritious food. My bet is that you may actually be UNDER nourished. Many obese people are (Yes, I was obese... Notice my ticker.. I was 344 when I started about a year and a half ago. I am now 220 +/-... I don't focus on 2 lb per week (or really any loss at all right now... Losing still comes.. it is just slower and I am ok with that)... I was on BP meds... I am no more and often my BP is less than what it was when I was on meds. You can still have some ice cream and a little cake but just consume less than you have before. Change things gradually. As you lose weight, you will have to tighten the wrench a little tighter and start doing some exercise. Yup, the "E" word. But it is not as bad as it sounds. Find something you like to do and do it... For me it included going to a gym... I can't stand a spin bike so guess what... I don't spin.. But I don't mind a tread mill and I'll do that. I like weights and most are amazed at the transformation my body has made.. I actually wear a size 32 pants (I wore a size 34 pant when I was 170 pounds several years ago... the differnece? Weights... I have more lean body mass than I ever have. My body fat percentage is well below what it has been in a long time... But, a year and a half ago, I was taking the same single trepeditious step you are making today. you can do it. I have confidence in you. Just do it one step at a time... One day at a time. If you mess up today? Start new tomorrow. JUST DON"T GIVE UP. You've got this ...
  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    Hi Tom,

    Welcome. I believe that you can do this.

    You have a long way to go. It will be hard at first, but your body will eventually adapt to fewer calories and exercise.
    It gets easy once you reach a place to maintain weight.
    Don't try to jump into something high impact like insanity - it will kill your joints. Right now any kind of low impact aerobic exercise - including a slow walk - is enough.

    Make gradual changes. Nothing transforms overnight. Even if you do the right thing 100% of the time it will take a long time to show and society will still be judgmental based on size, so be prepared and patient. As you get comfortable with one change, make another. The people who succeed are not the ones who run marathons the first day. The ones who win are the people who cut out soda, get a walk after a big meal, tighten up the day after overeating, and stay consistent over time.
    No single meal will make or break you. And at 400 + lb you can still eat a lot of calories and lose weight. It doesn't have to be like a gastric bypass where the morbidly obese patient eats a cracker once or twice a day. You can still enjoy life and lose weight.

    There's a long process ahead so take it one day at a time. Don't think of the goal or end point. Just survive the day at a deficit, and you will never gain weight again. This is not a plan or a program - it's the rest of your life.

    I was only 50 pounds overweight. But I had carried most of that weight around since I was a little girl. Losing it was like trading in my old life for a new one. I could walk places without getting winded. My shyness and depression vanished even though I did nothing to treat them. Your weight is not who you are.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    Hi Tom,

    It's been a few days since your original post and this was on the first page, but I thought it bore repeating since you may be getting overwhelmed with all those private messages (PM's) and friend requests (FR's).

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin

    Just read it again. I'm gonna post it on my profile to refer back to repeatedly. If you send me a friend request you can always find it on my wall. Thank you for your brave and soul baring post. Without it I would have never seen this link and be able to place it someplace I can refer to over and over again. :flowerforyou:
  • MissChyna
    MissChyna Posts: 358 Member
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    I'm so glad you are taking the first step. It's a long and hard journey but with the right mindset...you can do this!


    Sent a friend request ^_^
  • 250gorilla
    250gorilla Posts: 31 Member
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    I understand where you are starting. I started at 426 and felt really bad. I started eating less process foods and walking 15 minutes with Leslie Samson tape it killed me. My 80 year old dad could out walk me. But I joined TOPS Take off Pounds sensibly a weight loss support group a non profit group only $50 a year and Myfitnesspal to log my food. Its taken me 2 years and I still have 70lbs to lose. But I am doing it one step at a time. I feel so much better now, I can move , don't have to worry if I can fit in seats, etc....Make a vow to get up each day and move a little more, eat a little less and take the steps to save your life. When you crave to eat something you know you shouldn't ask yourself is this worth the way it makes me feel. I like the way making smart choices make me feel. I am now off diabetes meds, Blood Pressure meds. I won't go back for no one. You may have to not put yourself in the places you binged . Change your habits. Change your life. I walk with my family on holidays instead of participating in a holiday binge. Make social gatherings about being active not eating, sitting watching tv, movies, cards. I won't say it's not hard because it is. But make up your mind to change and you will.
  • mkkd
    mkkd Posts: 6 Member
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    Hey Tom,
    I think it takes a very brave person to take the step that you are taking. I would love to help you in anyway I can. I am offering you my support. I will say that you do need to take the good with the bad, not all days are going to be successes. But hang in there. Good luck.
  • ketchuplover
    ketchuplover Posts: 28
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    Have a jubilant June everybody :)
  • shanellef05
    shanellef05 Posts: 17 Member
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    Support-wise you've come to the right place. I reached my lowest point a few years ago and decided I had enough of being fat and depressed. I had tried and failed multiple times to lose weight before that but my heart wasn't in it. I feel that if deep down you don't really want to do it with every part of your being you will probably fail. The first temptation that came along was always my excuse to fall off the wagon... Not now. I want to lose weight... very badly. I'm not fooling around. My goal is to be 199 by August 10th, which will be my 30th birthday... I'm hoping to hit this goal but I won't be too surprised if I don't because I haven't given myself much time. I'll get as close as I can though.

    You can get lots of support here. We're here for you!
  • 260ToGo
    260ToGo Posts: 16 Member
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    You are all amazing, these 5 days I've been here so far are just astounding everyone is keeping my on point and continuing to read this thread and the people who are still posting, it's just amazing to have the community behind me! Thank you all so very much. I truly don't know how I can repay you all but I will do my best to support each and everyone of you however I can. Please feel free to message me at any time night or day (Eastern Timezone), and I'll do my very best to help in anyway.
  • sorcha1977
    sorcha1977 Posts: 133 Member
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    Hi Tom. I'm sending a friend request. I was terrified when I started too. It was so hard to face everything and look at the long road ahead. But you know what? After a year, it's habit, and I'm so proud of myself and what I've been through. I promise you'll get there too. :)

    I started out just walking as far as I could, and I did some exercise DVDs with modifications to save my knees (I couldn't bend them back then). Most of it was eating right since I couldn't exercise much. I just did what I could. Now I'd say it's 50/50 diet and exercise since I can do more. Just go at the pace that's right for YOU and don't try to emulate anyone else. You'll figure it out, and if you need help, just read the boards or ask your friends. :)

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