Help with weight loss

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VTorres26
VTorres26 Posts: 20 Member
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Here is my story..... I have three beautiful kids and a fiancé. The battle for me began with my third pregnancy. I gained crazy weight and ended up with gestational diabetes. Had to prink my finger 4 times a day. Post baby..... I loss 20 pounds after having my baby and gained 50 back within a couple months. I now am borderline diabetic. I have no energy to loss weigh and I work a desk job 9-10 hr days. I am very unhappy with myself and what I have become.

The issue with me is I really try and then give up because it becomes to much. I have about 100 pounds to loose and need some help as to HOW I can do it.

No 1 problem: I drink a lot of soda.... I have tried giving it up but when I do.... I find myself dehydrated because I will have water right in front of me but will not drink it. Also without soda I get crazy headaches....

No 2 problem: I am not a big eater. My body starves food a lot. This is due to me not eating eggs or a lot of vegetables. I like pasta, and some sugar... (only sugar is the soda and with coffee).

please help. I have logged on and off for months now with embarrassment and being to shy to post but I really need to do something about this. I need energy and weight loss.......

Replies

  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    The best way to start is by making small changes.

    You don't have to give up your soda or anything else.
    But if you do drink several sodas every day, do realize that those sodas end up being quite a lot of calories, and excess calories lead to weight gain. Rather than ditching the soda cold turkey, try to simply drink a little less. Have you tried swapping in some diet soda or flavored carbonated water? Weaning yourself off soda slowly will be a lot less difficult in the long run, and it will probably help with the headaches as well.

    It's also not necessary to eat certain foods or cut specific foods from your diet. If you're in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. However, eating whole foods is important from a nutritional standpoint, and it definitely makes it easier to stick to a calorie deficit. You want to make sure your body is getting the macro and micro nutrients it needs and that you're not deficient in any vitamins or minerals. Try to incorporate some fresh, whole foods into your normal diet, and you may discover that you like some of them. If you really don't like to eat and prefer to drink your calories, you could look into supplementing your diet with protein shakes by blending fresh fruits, vegetables, and a protein source into a smoothie. There are lots of good recipes out there, and perhaps eating more fresh fruit will help you cut down on your sugar cravings.

    You just have to take it one step at a time and find things that work for you that you can stick to in the long run. Don't deprive yourself of the foods you enjoy - just try to work your favorite foods into a more balanced diet. You don't have to run a marathon or go to the gym for hours - just try to be a little more active every day. There are LOTS of great workout DVDs that you can do at home, or you can just start by going for a walk around the neighborhood with your family.

    Make sustainable changes, log all of your food, eat at a moderate deficit, and work toward being active a little bit every day.
    You can be successful. :smile:
  • inkydnk3
    inkydnk3 Posts: 62 Member
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    I'm no expert here and have my own issue with weight loss and workouts but my personal opinion.....buckle down. If you want the weight off your going to have to make changes in your diet and limit the stuff that put you there. It's hard to give up things you've grown to love, believe me I know! Trick yourself a bit. Eat and drink healthy for 6 days of the week. Also workout on those days. Allow yourself one "cheat" day a week where you can have the soda and pasta. I guarantee you, once you start seeing results during those 6 days your "cheats" days will turn into more healthy days.....Just my opinion and what works for me.
  • hauhaut901
    hauhaut901 Posts: 66 Member
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    Mate , it seems you already know your problems , there is no secret...until you detoxify your body of all the sugar you put into it you will have a hard time , it's like a drug addict , after the first 2 weeks it will gradually become easier :)

    EDIT : Also , realise that the fact that you weight more means you eat/drink a LOT to maintain it , all you have to do is cut soda intake by half and you will start losing weight. (My maintenance is 1900 calories for example , if I drink my 2 liters in soda , that means about 400 calories JUST FROM SODA , imagine how much YOU could lower your calorie intake by not drinking it , just force yourself to drink water , I also hate it but it's the only way , sometimes I also make tea if that is more acceptable for you :) )
  • legnarevocrednu
    legnarevocrednu Posts: 467 Member
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    This is probably similar to what the other poster said, but maybe you are trying to make TOO many changes at once? Focus on one thing at a time. Not sure what you can do about the headaches (that's a common side effect), but maybe start to slowly decrease how much of them you drink so that your body isn't shocked by it? Make small, attainable goals. Maybe decreasing your soda consumption bit by bit nutrition wise, and walking for 15 minutes fitness wise. Once you have completed those, set another one. Good luck! You can do it!!
  • bsuew
    bsuew Posts: 628 Member
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    I agree with the other. If you could change to diet instead of full you would be suprised! It will take a couple weeks but then you wouldn't ever want another full flavor one. Try flavored seltzer water, there's a lot of really tasty ones! As far as not likeing water try putting flavor packets in it, or lemon, limes, oranges. Find something you like and just start with that. I had 100+ lbs to loose. I have lost 72 lbs. Very slowly but I pray it never comes back! I've got 28 to reach my original goal and then I'll go from there. Probably another 15 to 20 lbs. Good luck you can do it! Log everything you eat consistantly, and log every little bit of exercise you do.
  • saramichelle723
    saramichelle723 Posts: 18 Member
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    One of my main goals when I started was to drink more water and less soda. I was drinking diet soda so no extra calories, but I never drank any water, at all. The thing that helped me most to drink more water was to use a straw. I know it sounds silly, but I would leave a bottle of water on my desk all day and never take one sip, but when I got a large cup with a straw, I would unconsciously sip throughout the day, and it would be gone well before the end of the day.
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
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    You have to make this process every bit as serious as you make your family time and your job. You can start off with small changes and move into bigger changes, but until you take it seriously and make it a priority, nothing is going to change.

    I've been where you are. I had every excuse. I was tired. I worked too much, didn't have time for exercise. It didn't matter how much or little I ate, I had an underactive thyroid and I'm over 40, its hard to lose. I didn't want to feel headachy from lack of caffiene. I was already drinking diet, what did pop hurt? It didn't matter anyway, I was probably just destined to be overweight.

    Those were the things I told myself to make it ok not to try. I found out how wrong I was.

    I won't lie to you. This is hard. But is it worth it....yes!!

    Focus on things you can change first. Have one less soda a day and every few days, have one less than that. Try to eat more natural foods, less processed. Try drinking a little more water every day. If you want a snack, have it. Try reducing your portion sizes by 10%. Try walking. Take a five minute break on your lunch hour and walk 2.5 minutes in one direction, 2.5 minutes back. Next week try six or seven minutes. (My first walk was only seven minutes round trip and I thought I was going to drop. Now, 63lbs later, walking is still my main source of exercise.)

    After an initial weigh in, stay off the scale until you are no longer obsessed with the number and you are only concerned with how you feel. The scale can be tough to handle until you understand normal body fluctuations.

    You will find the changes in your diet and a little exercise will give you more energy. You will start to feel better about yourself. Someone will notice your skin has brightened up or your clothes have gotten a little big and will complement you and that will give you encouragement to keep going. You have children, go outside and play with them, it will make it a family event and you will get some exercise in. Your whole family will feel better then. Its a snowball effect and you can keep it going until it becomes second nature.

    You can do this, if you want it and if you put in the effort. Good luck to you.
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
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    Sorry...accidentally double posted.
  • Way2slk
    Way2slk Posts: 48 Member
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    First of all........ Do you want to lose weight seriously????? You are smart enough to know that.. "If you are happy with what you are getting.... keep doing what you have been doing" If not NOW, then WHEN??? Is your health more important than the soda??? Food is fuel for the body. We are addicts and we need to treat our eating like that too. You don't put an alcoholic in a bar and say, "You can do it" You have to take away the stuff that addicted you. Mine is Carbs and Sugar. You are going to get headaches and feel like crap for a few days, but that is short time compared to YOUR LIFE. The choice is entirely up to you. We are here for you, but we can't do it for you.
  • itsscottwilder
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    Focus on things you can change first. Have one less soda a day and every few days, have one less than that. Try to eat more natural foods, less processed. Try drinking a little more water every day. If you want a snack, have it. Try reducing your portion sizes by 10%. Try walking. Take a five minute break on your lunch hour and walk 2.5 minutes in one direction, 2.5 minutes back. Next week try six or seven minutes. (My first walk was only seven minutes round trip and I thought I was going to drop. Now, 63lbs later, walking is still my main source of exercise.)

    +1
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    i was addicted to soda and probably hadnt had one glass of water in 6 years. NO LIE. for the pat 5 weeks i havent had one sip of soda. I have had only water. i hated it at first of course. but gradually i began to like it. I mean really like it. I probably still love soda but i refuse to put empty calories in my stomach. and i havent touched a diet soda either. but the difference is i am extremely motivated and dedicated and will not let anything stop me from getting what i want. thats just me.
  • VTorres26
    VTorres26 Posts: 20 Member
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    Thank you to all that has responded so far. I do want to do it. Posting this post is my first step to changing. I am very shy so this was a lot but I am happy I did because I realize that there are people out there that care and want to help. Trust me... I have no friends so this is a lonely journey. But I believe with my fitness pal it will be different now because I'm sad about it. My job notices and I am not healthy. Thank you so much!!!!
  • itsscottwilder
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    No 1 problem: I drink a lot of soda.... I have tried giving it up but when I do.... I find myself dehydrated because I will have water right in front of me but will not drink it. Also without soda I get crazy headaches....

    This is called withdrawal. It's not a headache. It's an addiction. Excessive Sugar, Processed Food, High Fructose Corn Syrup. It's not good for you. It's just the food industry's way of keeping you addicted and coming back for more. Is that who you are? An addict?
    No 2 problem: I am not a big eater. My body starves food a lot. This is due to me not eating eggs or a lot of vegetables. I like pasta, and some sugar... (only sugar is the soda and with coffee).

    I don't even know where to start with the problems in the above statement.

    You don't want weight loss. You want easy weight loss.

    Well it took work getting overweight. Now it's gonna take a LITTLE effort to lose that weight.
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