Anyone else considered morbidly obese and feel discouraged?

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  • pwittek10
    pwittek10 Posts: 723 Member
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    Stick with it!
    They way you feel about yourself is so worth it when you reach your goal.
    If we can do it , so can you.
    This is for you and about you.
  • triskaidekaphile13
    triskaidekaphile13 Posts: 92 Member
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    I had a BMI of 44.7 which was morbidly obese when I first started to lose weight. I told myself that I would try to get down to a UK size 18/20 so I could shop for clothes in more stores. I did that and maintained for several years at 17 stone (238lbs) and started again July 2012. My BMI today is 26.4 and I'm on track to have a BMI below 25 by the beginning of September 2013. I now wear a UK 14/16.

    I set myself small goals and had rewards in mind for all of them, none of which were food. I knit and love expensive yarn. I like music, trips out etc. However, the biggest reward is being able to run for a bus, walk up a hill, run up stairs, buy clothes in ordinary shops.

    My current weight is something I couldn't imagine when I first started 126lbs ago. However, I still set myself small goals and although I have an overall goal of a BMI of 22, that doesn't mean achieving those small goals along the way aren't victories.
  • chell53
    chell53 Posts: 356 Member
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    According the BMI charts Im "Obese". I dont consider myself obese. Overweight? Yes, but not obese.

    38319904.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

    this is what the chart says for me as well, I too do small goals at a time, have tried many times before and failed this time I feel different and I am going to do it!!

    DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED YOU HAVE FRIENDS HERE!
  • skyekeeper
    skyekeeper Posts: 286 Member
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    Hang in there! I was over 300 pounds at 5'1 and morbidly obese 15 months ago! I have lost 142 pounds and am still considered overweight! I try not to think about it anymore. As long as you know you are doing what you need to do (eat right and exercise), you will get there! Good luck!
  • patsimmon88
    patsimmon88 Posts: 35
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    I do 5 lb goals , because I have problems with my thyroid, any pound off is a big hurdle. So I know what I need to lose over all, but i keep track in 5 lbs goals, It's more motivating to me.
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
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    I hate hate hate the classification morbidly obese and it's even more depressing that in order for me to be out of this classification I need to lose 70 more lbs. I'm so much more active now and have worked my fat *kitten* off to lose 50lbs. but to know that in order to be considered "healthy" I need to lose so much more than I thought is just frustrating. I'm not going to let it get me down but was just curious if anyone else finds this hard to swallow.

    I forgot to add "my story". A month or so ago, I went to a local Curves, where I've been teaching Zumba, and while I was waiting for the ladies to arrive, I decided to get my measurements taken right there by the "qualified" personnel. I figured, if they knew how to measure me, my measurements would be accurate, right?

    Well, after they took all my measurements and brought out the size chart, bmi chart, etc, here's what they told me:

    My body fat percentage is 30%. According to my measurements, I should be wearing a size 14-16.

    Now, if you take a look at my profile pic, which was taken two weeks ago, would you concur or disagree with the statement that I am "overweight"? Oh sure, I could lose another 10 lbs, but that would take me down to the lower end of my normal weight range. Also, I've been wearing size 10 clothing since about mid-March.

    The lesson I learned is: the charts are wrong, the measurements are suspect, and the clothing size I wear and how I feel is actually the REAL barometer of how I feel about myself.
  • xinit0
    xinit0 Posts: 310 Member
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    According the BMI charts Im "Obese". I dont consider myself obese. Overweight? Yes, but not obese.

    According to the colour charts, my eyes are "blue". I don't consider them blue.

    The BMI charts are a population guideline... you can consider yourself skinny for all it cares, but the clinical term will remain "obese."

    It's only an ugly word if you give it power. Same with the BMI charts... they don't have any power, but they're a nice rough guideline to what's healthy IN THE POPULATION. There are people who are outliers, but for the most part, it's a good guide.
  • xinit0
    xinit0 Posts: 310 Member
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    On Christmas Day 2012, my BMI was "Super Obese" at 45.59.

    I'd only recently heard the term, but I think Super Obese should come with a cape.
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
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    I get this thread. I remember when I really had no education about weight and weight loss, I noticed a doctor wrote "Morbidly Obese" on his sheet about me - and I had never really heard that term. it was scary. On one hand i thought "I need to take control of this" but on the other I was "OMG IM GONNA DIE TOMORROW!"

    It is definitely a scary term.

    As I have learned more about nutrition and weight loss though, those kind of terms have significantly less effect on me.
  • action_figure
    action_figure Posts: 511 Member
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    Yeah, I get that. But I can do so much more now, that really the numbers are just numbers. My BMI was 64 when I started, and now it's, oh hell, I don't know what it is now and I can't be arsed to look it up, but it's lots better. This morning I went out for my regular bike ride and I almost killed my damn self because I started crying my eyes out just a few miles from home. See, I love biking. It's the only exercise I ever did before, and I did it even when I was heavy (but not at my heaviest). But when I got over 300 pounds I just couldn't. Everything hurt, I was stiff, my balance was off and I couldn't ride. I still wanted to though. All I wanted was to find some way to afford a recumbent trike that would hold all 350 pounds of me so I could ride again. But those are over a thousand bucks. Way outta my price range. This morning, I was zipping along the roads at 20 MPH on my cheap *kitten* second hand craigslist special with the wind blowin' my purple hair everywhich way and I gave zero ****s. It was so amazing, transformational and happy making that I started tearing up and nearly wiped out. My point is, forget what the damn BMI chart says. Use it for data points, but listen to your body and trust your process.
  • action_figure
    action_figure Posts: 511 Member
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    On Christmas Day 2012, my BMI was "Super Obese" at 45.59.

    I'd only recently heard the term, but I think Super Obese should come with a cape.

    Please let there be a cupcake on the cape. PLEASE!!!
  • queenbekks
    queenbekks Posts: 58 Member
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    When I get discouraged, I always tell myself not to focus on how long it takes, how hard it is to eat right long term, etc etc etc. All I can control is what I'm putting in my mouth right now, today, and whether I get up from the couch and go for a walk right now, today. Hang in there, 50 lbs is a HUGE achievement!
  • Kittyvicious1
    Kittyvicious1 Posts: 190 Member
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    For some motivation look up: Michael Jordan: Look into my eyes on youtube.

    It is awsome. I watch it all the time. It helps me, hope you too
  • caramelgyrlk
    caramelgyrlk Posts: 1,112 Member
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    I spent the past 4 years losing 312 lbs. and by classification I am still consider class 1 obese and yeah know what I could give a crap less. Someones interpretation of where I should be by some bogus scale will not define me... I know how I feel and how I look and that is all that matters... Do I want to lose some more weight?? Sure...... I am at 248 currently and been in maintenance for the past 8 months (healing from a circumferential body lift) but may shoot for 235ish at some point but am happy where I am at... I will never me that 6 ft. 1 in. 185 lb. BMI chart male, it just won't happen. I am not built that way.... Don't let it define you, just keep working at it you have done great so far... Best of Luck....

    Perfectly said.
  • KimLee76
    KimLee76 Posts: 89
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    I hate hate hate the classification morbidly obese and it's even more depressing that in order for me to be out of this classification I need to lose 70 more lbs. I'm so much more active now and have worked my fat *kitten* off to lose 50lbs. but to know that in order to be considered "healthy" I need to lose so much more than I thought is just frustrating. I'm not going to let it get me down but was just curious if anyone else finds this hard to swallow.

    I was and I think I felt overwhelmed moreso than discouraged. The # of lbs I had to lose was greater than the actual normal BMI weight.

    SMART+R goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound + Reward) works for some. I honestly rolled my eyes at that system as 10 or 20 lbs here and there wasn't even going to put a dent in it. In the end, I think I did sort of use the system but I had to focus on something more relevant to me than pounds like inches, % body fat, fitting in something that was too tight, or improving the time it took me to walk a mile. I had to find other ways of feeling a sense of accomplishment along the way.

    I really didn't set a soft goal weight until the last -20 lbs or so because I honestly couldn't gage what I'd look or feel like at any weight. I had to closer to feel confident about what was a realistic weight based on BF%, waist to hip ratio, and some other factors.

    One thing I wish I had done was taken more pictures along the way. I had avoided the camera like the plague for years so it was difficult even finding a before pic. It can be a double edged sword because sometimes when I was feeling like a million bucks, I'd take a pic and be like, good gracious, I thought I was smaller than that lol. The pics are more useful for comparing where you were to where you are so no matter what I think I look like now, I can compare what I looked like a few months back and still feel great that it's better.
  • NancyJeanSmith
    NancyJeanSmith Posts: 31
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    I was way super morbidly obese!!! I weighted 388 lbs. I have no idea what my BMI was, and I didn't care, at that time. Even going to the doctors, they would put on my record morbidly obese. Now that shook me.

    When I finally started checking my BMI, on MFP, it was in the 40s. I just kept loosing weight, and it kept coming down. I'm sitting at 31.6 at this moment. Now, when I hit 29.9, I will no longer be considered obese. I will be considered over weight. However I'll always be considered over weight according to MFP, unless I get down to 199 or less, then I'll be considered normal. I spoke to my podiatrist about it, and he said that the BMI test is flawed. The test doesn't take into account your muscle or fat content. I'm 6 ft. tall, and I weigh 233 lbs. My podiatrist said that I looked fantastic!!! He asked me what I wanted to get down to and I told him that all my doctors are telling me that a good weight would be 200 lbs. and he agreed and told me not to go below that, because of my bone structure, which is huge!!! Now, according to my BMI, I'll still be in the over weight category, but I'm not even concerned about it anymore. I know how I feel, and I know how I look and GOD has everything in divine order!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!
  • GormanGhaste
    GormanGhaste Posts: 430 Member
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    "I will become what I know I am."

    Thanks Kitty.
  • hingraham70
    hingraham70 Posts: 5 Member
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    I am right there with you! Actually just "dropped out" of a bariatric surgery group. I was planning on getting the lap band last fall, then was told I am not a candidate because of my severe acid reflux. At the same time, my loving old english sheepdog mix, Sebastian developed cancer of the spine and passed away after 10 short years. I spiraled into a deep depression over the winter and went back to the surgical group about a month ago, determined to have gastric bypass. After speaking with a friend who went into cardiac arrest after her bypass, then she developed MRSA and another infection that she will have for the rest of her life. Another friend of mine told me she had a friend that died from complications from the surgery. The result? I changed my mind.

    I am a mom of 2 older teenage daughters, and I am considered morbidly obese. I originally had 95 lbs. to lose. I have lose 23 on my own and am determined to not fall back into my old eating patterns and sedentary lifestyle. It is important for me to keep looking at what I have lost and forge on, rather than dwelling on the amount I have yet to lose (72). Don't let labels discourage you. Just keep on keeping on! We can help each other!
  • bongochick45
    bongochick45 Posts: 130 Member
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    HELL NO! I'm 5'3'' and suppose to be 125-115. Child please! I will never be that small. I am an H cup and ain't no way in hell you can be 115-125 and hold these puppies up naturally. LOL!

    But for real I'm comfortable with me. I just wanna be healthy, and look good in a pair of jeans and a tank top. :smile:

    I will always be a big girl in society's eyes. My long term weight goal is 160 and that will still put me in the obese/overweight realm. And to me that's just dandy. I love me some me!
  • Love_Is_My_Fuel
    Love_Is_My_Fuel Posts: 211 Member
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    You guys are all awesome...Thank you so much for sharing your inspirational stories and motivational messages to me. Love MFP so much and it's saved my life!!

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