Well, here goes.

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rrobinson1216
rrobinson1216 Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Well, I'm new here. Not new to MFP, I have actually had it for a long while, but didn't get started. I am currently in the first week of getting started. I started at 365, and finally bought a scale and decided that it was time to go. I am setting a personal goal of 225 by Sept 1, 2014, though I am hoping to hit it sooner. I've dumped all the snack food and junk that was in my apartment and took a buddy with me grocery shopping, not only to help me find good stuff, but to keep me from buying anything I shouldn't!

Anyway, I am hoping to join the community and get some motivation by seeing some success stories as well. I saw one recently that was an animated GIF of her transformation of about 88 pounds - Amazing! I think I'm going to start taking weekly or monthly pictures to do it myself. I've set a daily goal of 1,900 calories, and I think that's pretty good so far. I've been below for the past few days, and my weight has dropped from 365 to 357. Anyway, I'm also looking for some advice on integrating light exercise into the process - I'm not going to jump into super training or Insanity at my weight yet...I don't feel it's a good thing to do until I feel better and can really get some progress going. I would like to see if anyone has started with walking/jogging or other things and how they built up to those other programs later. Wow, this was probably too long...but Hi!

Replies

  • CharleneG_Barnes
    CharleneG_Barnes Posts: 25 Member
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    read Kevins blogs......
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BeingKevin?month=201210
  • sarahfit_
    sarahfit_ Posts: 7 Member
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    Hi there!!

    I don't have a huge success story of losing a ton of weight, but I have changed my lifestyle around this year as well and I feel so amazing! The best thing I can tell you is to stay consistent :) sometimes we get frustrated with patience and wanting to see results sooner, but if you stick with it, results will come. As for exercise, even taking a walk for 30 minutes a day will help, and you can increase speed, intensity, and resistance however you like! Once your weight starts to go down it will be easier on your joints for more intense exercise to further your weight loss! Tracking food can be a pro and a con - some people become overly obsessed with it and tracking exercise especially, so I would advise against that. Just track your food, and try to get some extra activity done outside of that! I also have a food scale so that I can be as accurate as possible :) Good luck, and welcome!!
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Good luck!

    And it's perfectly fine to concentrate on diet only if you want, then tackle the exercising once you've gotten the hang of things. Just add in some walking for now, and set monthly or weekly mile goals. Once you're comfortable there, add in some weight training. You'd be surprised how the little things will help you feel better and aid in the transformation. :flowerforyou:
  • runrogerrun
    runrogerrun Posts: 122 Member
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    I applaud you for taking the first step(s). Walking is very good place to start as far as excericise goes. You can begin with short times and short distances and just increase a little each day/week. My hat is off to you. Keep goin!!
  • StheK
    StheK Posts: 443 Member
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    Hi! Just stopping in to say that I didn't start exercising until I'd lost about 65 lbs. I started when it felt like my body was ready for that. I had no trouble losing without the exercise, but at a certain point I had stopped hurting all the time (my knees and feet and shortness of breath) and had a little more energy to burn. This is what has worked for me, but I'm sure you'll hear plenty of different answers, since there doesn't seem to be one "right" answer. Do whatever is going to help you stick with this long-term, because that is the key- you just can't stop trying.
  • NC0224
    NC0224 Posts: 11
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    I would say to do what you feel comfortable with starting out. It's going to be a big change for you mentally and physically, so you want to make sure you don't get too overwhelmed. It's all about YOU when it comes to fitness and eating right. You have already made the best decision you could have - to become healthy. If you don't feel comfortable with exercise yet, then don't start it. You will lose weight just from lowering your calorie intake. Also, walking is a great way to burn calories, and you don't necessarily have to walk for hours to make a difference. I used to take my kids for a walk in the stroller for 30 minutes and burned quite a bit of calories. When you do start exercising and want to know what you are burning you could invest in a heart rate monitor - that is a motivational tool in itself! Basically it's all about what works for you, what works for me might not necessarily be your answer.

    Definitely surf through the community boards, there are all kinds of success stories, as well as people who are currently working toward their goal. That will give you an idea of what is out there. You can do this! :)
  • jeanrenaud21
    jeanrenaud21 Posts: 3
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    For me it was take ne step at a time. First it was watching what I put in my mouth. Cutting out as much refined sugar as I could, added an extra serving of veggies every day until I got to a good place. After that is was the bike :0 started at 5 min a day. After a couple of months I got to 30-35 min a day.I took my time to get there. After 7 months, I have lost 44 lbs and have another 35-40 to go. Sometimes it is a slow process, I still take one day at a time and try to do the best I can each day, Good luck!
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
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    Definitely do what works for you.

    Patience and the courage to make changes along the way were the big lessons for me.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TheEffort/view/fat-to-skinny-with-a-touch-of-psychosis-571278

    Good luck to you. :smile:
  • rrobinson1216
    rrobinson1216 Posts: 2
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    Wow..such a flurry of posts! Sounds like joining this community was one heck of a right choice! Thanks everybody. I think what I'm going to start off with is 30-45 min of walking(just around my apartment complex) and I got a new pair of KILLER over the ear headphones, so I can enjoy lots of music in the process and just focus on me. I'm so excited to get started on this. I know every day won't be like the first two (8 pounds and counting!) once my body catches up with what I'm doing, but I'm just taking it a day at a time, and cutting 1750 calories a day from what I probably used to eat (based on the BMR). This place is awesome.

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