164lbs to lose
staceysforster
Posts: 20 Member
Hey!
I have worked It out in total I have 164lbs to lose, my target is Christmas next year, I would love to fit into a size 14 (UK) dress. Problem is though although I have my target etc I need inspiration and motivation? I tend to give up so easily and although I know I want to be thin, I just cannot bring myself to exercise and am on a VERY limited budget for food too so just tend to give up!
HELP!
I have worked It out in total I have 164lbs to lose, my target is Christmas next year, I would love to fit into a size 14 (UK) dress. Problem is though although I have my target etc I need inspiration and motivation? I tend to give up so easily and although I know I want to be thin, I just cannot bring myself to exercise and am on a VERY limited budget for food too so just tend to give up!
HELP!
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Replies
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hi welcome to mfp . take it slowly and do small targets at a time0
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In all honesty, healthy eating is much cheaper than you think. The key is making your own food. You can pay $6 (3.84 British Pounds) for a loaf of organic bread, or you can make your own organic bread for less than $1. If you have a hard time committing with everything start with one thing at a time. Instead of walking 2.5 kilometers everyday and eating 1500 calories just focus on eating. Today, stay within your calorie limit. Next week incorporate more vegetables into your diet while staying within your calorie limit. Maybe two months down the road once you are successful and confident in your diet start exercising. You can exercise all you want to but if you're eating too much you won't lose weight so I'd suggest get your diet under control and you can incorporate exercise later.
I would suggest breaking your large 164 lb goal down into small obtainable goals. Use a jar with marbles. Make one jar weight lost and the other weight to lose. Put your short term goal into your weight to lose and as you do your weekly weigh-ins move the marbles. Once you've obtained that goal leave those marbles in the weight lost jar and put your next goal in your weight to lose. It makes your ultimate goal seem more visually obtainable and also makes you remember your progress.
Keep in mind the weight won't come off as quickly with dieting alone so eventually you will want to incorporate exercise.0 -
What has worked best for me has been not even having a goal in mind. I knew I wanted to lose weight, so I just changed my lifestyle to one conducive to weight loss, and I lost weight. By not doing this to reach a specific goal, it's felt more like a lifestyle - part of my daily routine - rather than slogging through a diet. Now that I'm feeling like I'd be happy switching to maintenance, I've picked a goal so I can prepare and figure out how much I should be eating at that point. Good luck!
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This is must my view but it seems to work for me :-)
For most of my life I thought I needed to change my body weight - whatever I did didn't work and I just gained. I needed to drop 70lb when i started this time. I've had a revelation though in that I needed to change the way I do this (what I did before didn't work). I have now decided I need to change myself and view success or setback as how well to the new me I am. This means that if I exercise and get somewhere near my target - and drop messages onto MFP, I am the new me I want to be and I have succeeded - the number of the scales is not significant at all - its the number in MFP and having physical exercise that determines my success. . For me this has two benifits, firstly it is more real for me. I am judging myself for stuff that is totally in my control - if my body decides to pick up 4lb of water over night that is nothing to do we me and therefore irreverent to my judgement of success or failure. Secondly it takes me away from saying I am in a failure state and success is a year away - and then what happens when I get there - I no longer need to do anything ??? No, I would hope i behave just like I am doing today :-) I look at myself as a winner everyday instead of a loser who needs to work for a year to be a winner0 -
also keep completely away from sugar and simple carbs.. try it :-)0
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Aw, you can do it ! We are in the same boat, I have a limited budget as well and I need to lose about 200lbs. So maybe we can encourage and inspire each other. "BABY WE GOT THIS" ;-)0
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I am also fighting obesity and I have found MFP to be the right tool to motivate me. The one and only thing that I require myself to do every single day is to log my diet and exercise. That's it. I have done so consistently for 41 days and I have lost 22 pounds. If I go over my calorie targets on a particular day, I do not beat myself up instead I learn from it. Why does MFP work for me?
1.) Careful logging helps me understand what a real portion looks like and where calories add up. I am not as obsessive as some, but I weigh and measure most things now. And it's easy to log - if you have the app on your phone then you can just scan the barcode on many food items. Understanding portion sizes and calorie values has made me feel satisfied with a whole lot less of high calorie items while I munch relatively large quantities of low calorie items - it works.
2.) MFP encourages me to exercise with the "eat back your exercise calories" philosophy. My target is about 1500 calories, but I really struggle with keeping my calories under 1800. However, if I go for a 30 minute walk, then I can have those extra 300 calories. Wait - I am too tired to walk today??? Well then, I just have to keep my calories under 1500. It's all my choice as to what I want more - to be lazy or to eat. I exercise most days now...
3.) Friends - there are a lot of great people here who have lost a lot of weight. By adding a few of these people as friends, I have been able to see what they eat, see what kind of exercise they do, see their successes and failures, get their encouragement and know I am not alone in this journey. They inspire me every day and it has made all the difference. You do not need to know the person you request to "friend" with you - but I do suggest that when you make the request you read their profile and goals and pick them for a reason - a common interest, a shared philosophy, something they said on a forum...
I hope MFP works well for you, too. Good luck on your journey!0 -
It's definitely doable! Eating well isn't expensive if you do your research. There are plenty of recipes that are both budget and calorie friendly. Once you're in a routine, add in some exercise - just walk to start.... The pounds will start coming off and that will be yur motivation. MFP is a wonderful resource! Feel free to add me as a friend :flowerforyou:0
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Walking start walking that's all I did for the first 3 months just build up the amount of time you do weekly and you'll be amazed at how quickly you get there. Good luck0
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Set small goals and give yourself a non-food reward eg a favourite magazine or new nail varnish/lipstick when you reach one. DON'T look at the overall amount. Remember the saying 'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!'
If food costs are a problem, try visiting budget supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi, their quality is good and prices low.Or you could go to other supermarkets late at night when they reduce stuff, which will be fine if frozen. If you have a street market near you, they are much cheaper for fruit and veg.They won't be the perfect size and shape demanded by supermarkets, but perfectly edible.Good luck with your weight loss journey.0 -
What as worked for me is a step at a time, small goals and not to be in a hurry, enjoy your life still go out with friends but limit what you eat and drink, you will do itI am sure you have tone in the right frame of mind good luck on your journey and most of all enjoy0
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I'm around your age, add me if you like 0
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This
And remember, don't give up.I am also fighting obesity and I have found MFP to be the right tool to motivate me. The one and only thing that I require myself to do every single day is to log my diet and exercise. That's it. I have done so consistently for 41 days and I have lost 22 pounds. If I go over my calorie targets on a particular day, I do not beat myself up instead I learn from it. Why does MFP work for me?
1.) Careful logging helps me understand what a real portion looks like and where calories add up. I am not as obsessive as some, but I weigh and measure most things now. And it's easy to log - if you have the app on your phone then you can just scan the barcode on many food items. Understanding portion sizes and calorie values has made me feel satisfied with a whole lot less of high calorie items while I munch relatively large quantities of low calorie items - it works.
2.) MFP encourages me to exercise with the "eat back your exercise calories" philosophy. My target is about 1500 calories, but I really struggle with keeping my calories under 1800. However, if I go for a 30 minute walk, then I can have those extra 300 calories. Wait - I am too tired to walk today??? Well then, I just have to keep my calories under 1500. It's all my choice as to what I want more - to be lazy or to eat. I exercise most days now...
3.) Friends - there are a lot of great people here who have lost a lot of weight. By adding a few of these people as friends, I have been able to see what they eat, see what kind of exercise they do, see their successes and failures, get their encouragement and know I am not alone in this journey. They inspire me every day and it has made all the difference. You do not need to know the person you request to "friend" with you - but I do suggest that when you make the request you read their profile and goals and pick them for a reason - a common interest, a shared philosophy, something they said on a forum...
I hope MFP works well for you, too. Good luck on your journey!0 -
When I first started changing my lifestyle I changed one small thing at a time.
Each couple of weeks it was something different. Something's were as simple as parking further away from work and only having one cappuccino instead of 3 or 4 a day.
Being healthy doesn't have to be expensive and I now would only spend half on my shopping compared to what I used to spend. I buy very limited packaged food, no longer buy soft drink and do most of my fruit and veg shopping at the local market.
Exercise doesn't have to be about sweating it out at the gym (even though now going to the gym is one of my favourite things to do, and I never thought this would be possible) it can be simply being a little bit more active everyday.
Life is here to be enjoyed. I'm so called I made the decision to change mine because now am actually living it and having a great time in the process.
You can achieve anything, you just have to give it a go.0 -
As far as the limited budget, most of us can relate. My wife and I, both here on MFP and both successfully losing weight (a total of about 120 lbs.), We have changed very little in what we have always eaten, just the serving sizes which actually means it is, for us, less expensive. The only thing added for us is more fruits than we used to eat but everything else is pretty much the same. Almost all of our meals are eaten at home and I do the cooking so I have slightly altered some recipes to lower calories but that has not changed the taste.
As far as a goal weight, many people set small short term goals and it works for them, I have but one goal in mind and that is to reach my target weight with no ending date in mind. No ending date for two reasons, #1 to avoid being let down by some unrealistic goal and #2 this is a never ending thing really, it is a complete lifestyle change. Anything else would just lead to regaining the weight0 -
hello! Welcome!!! I have 100lbs to lose and I can use a motivational partner! We CAN do this!!!!!! add me as a friend!
:happy:0 -
Eating less is key, and that will save you money. You don't have to buy what you aren't going to eat or drink. Exercise helps a bit, but 80% is in the eating.0
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I am in the process of losing 120 pounds. MFP is the best part of this whole process. Entering my exercise and eating everyday lets me see the progress I'm making. I can tweak my food plan and make sure that I'm eating healthy. I am also on a very limited budget. Lots of salad and protein like beans are helping a lot. I am lucky enough to be living in a condo complex that has a workout room and pool. I walk every day and swim laps in the pool. I get exercise DVD's at the library for free and get lots of great exercises off the computer. Don't look at the total weight you have to lose. Make small goals. I'm doing this in 10 pound increments. Good luck!0
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Hello!
Just want you to know that you can do this. We ALL can do this. NO one of us can do it alone. I'm here for ya and so are the most amazing people on MFP.. 164 lbs to lose? set small goals. I have 100 to lose. I started off with changing my eating habits. MFP has really helped me really see what I put into my mouth. And make me think..."Did I really NEED that?" Or "what could I have done better?", "How much harder could I have pushed myself to burn off that extra 100 cals?" My main key is not to stress over it!! You will do great! You're here, right?0 -
Hi Stacey, feel free to add me for mutual support 0
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Congrats on taking the first step. You say you "don't exercise" but I read on your profile you have 2 kids. I assume this means a great deal of running around after them, cooking for them, cleaning for them etc, and that sounds like both hard work and exercise by itself. While I was in rehab for my bad knee, I would push my empty grocery cart around the store for 10 minutes before I started my needed shopping. Have a staircase in your home? Don't go up it once, do it 10 times, find the 10 minute workout videos on line. Do little bits, in tiny increments throughout the day. You don't need to change into a spandex suit or sweats to start burning more calories. Dance while you're dusting. Go to you tube and learn to twerk and threaten to embarrass your children with that if they don't behave. Build up muscle to burn more calories. You can do this! Gift yourself 10 minute increments of time throughout the day for something that helps you!0
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Every comment on here has been so helpful! I have readjusted diet, started walking a little and bought a couple of DVDs which I am doing in the evenings occasionally.
Been trying to avoid canteen food, as it's high in fat etc.
Little steps, here goes!0 -
For me, it helped to break up my big goal into smaller goals. When I first started I would think about how I had 95lbs to lose, and it felt overwhelming. Then, I broke it up into smaller goals and gave myself plenty of time. It helps to motivate me without me feel like it's too big.
Eating healthy on a budget can be done. I like taking healthy ingredients and making up my own new recipies. It makes my food more exciting, exactly what I want, and I can control the calories better.
You've taken a big first step. Good luck on your journey and don't forget they are many us here ready to support you.0 -
Here ya go.
1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.
pretty much that.
...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:
the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.
Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.
I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.
Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.
Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable.0 -
You have received some AMAZING advice!!!
I wanted to reiterate what some others have stated.... set small goals.
You stated you want to lose 164lbs by the end of 2014. My question to you is... You want to lose this weight for good, right? So, you want to lose it the RIGHT way. Therefore, follow the advice the people here are giving you. You may not hit the date goal but you WILL lose the weight. It's a slow and steady process. The body acts and reacts in various ways. Not always the way we want it to! So, if you set the smaller goals with a larger goal - SOMETIME in the future... that will be much easier to attain and you will be less likely to give up!
You CAN do This!!!
Good luck! 0 -
Awesome advice on this post. I have about 70 pounds I want to lose and I find that I have been very similar to you in the past. For some reason, this time it has just clicked with me. I am logging food, exercising, paying attention to what I am doing. I have always had issues, but it is just working. Best of luck to you. I feel like I am not at a place in this journey to give out advice, but I can cheer you on!!!0
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