Hi, I'm lost
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I've got 20 years on you but we are about the same. I'm 5'9.5" and I'm right about 349 right now. You can do this! One thing that really helps me is to keep a positive mind frame. Reading really is helpful for me. It keeps me calm and happy. You also need to change your self talk. You really can do this and don't tell yourself any different! I have lost 75lbs and then had a knee injury and surgery and lost my focus. I'm getting it back and you can gain focus yourself. Start slow, make little changes. Park farther away from the entrance when you go to the store - that was a little thing I did at the beginning and it really helped me progress. I hope some of this helps.
Anna.
PS I would also recommend adding more friends here, filling out your profile, setting some milestone goals and what you will do for yourself as you meet those, and adding a picture - just one. You will feel wonderful later when you can see side by side pictures and the difference.0 -
OP. I started at 337.
It's possible. It sucks at the first, but it becomes habit. I've picked up a few things since I've done this... and I post this same thing all over the place.
It might help here too:
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 to stay on.
Best of luck. You deserve a new you and I know that you WANT the change. Make it manageable and it will certainly stick.
**swoon** Preach on, brotha. Love you.0 -
What is an HRM. I have a scale to use for food. Your post is very informative.0
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Congratulations for taking the first step and being here!
I think, before you overwhelm yourself with workouts and diets and clean eating, you should take a week to just start logging your food. Get a scale, use the mobile app (it has a bar code scanner) and just log absolutely everything that goes into your mouth.
Set your goal to maintenance to start and take the week to get a good picture of where you are.
log every bite. when you bite it. every snack, candy, soda pop.
once you have a week's worth of data... look at your average intake.take THAT number and try to set a goal to reduce it by 300-500 calories a day.
That may be as simple as one or two BETTER choices a day and should result in weight loss.
I know that you want to lose the weight fast, but I strongly encourage you to start slow, and once you are used to the habit of tracking what you eat, then you can increase the speed.
Even if you eat 3000 or 4000 calories a day, dropping that by SOME will yield results. Just remember that.
Hope that helps. :flowerforyou:0 -
What is an HRM. I have a scale to use for food. Your post is very informative.
It means "Heart Rate Monitor." Most people seem to recommend the Polar brand. You'll want something that has a chest strap that monitors your heart rate. It works in tandem with a watch which displays the pertinent information you'll need.0 -
Congratulations for taking the first step and being here!
I think, before you overwhelm yourself with workouts and diets and clean eating, you should take a week to just start logging your food. Get a scale, use the mobile app (it has a bar code scanner) and just log absolutely everything that goes into your mouth.
Set your goal to maintenance to start and take the week to get a good picture of where you are.
log every bite. when you bite it. every snack, candy, soda pop.
once you have a week's worth of data... look at your average intake.take THAT number and try to set a goal to reduce it by 300-500 calories a day.
That may be as simple as one or two BETTER choices a day and should result in weight loss.
I know that you want to lose the weight fast, but I strongly encourage you to start slow, and once you are used to the habit of tracking what you eat, then you can increase the speed.
Even if you eat 3000 or 4000 calories a day, dropping that by SOME will yield results. Just remember that.
Hope that helps. :flowerforyou:
Mirey, as always, spot on...
When I first started to truly track what I ate, I was shocked. I logged everything for about a month before I even thought about cutting back on my intake. First, I needed to make a habit of logging, not lying to myself, and really seeing where my intake could be easily changed (for me, it was cheese, pizza, and soda- seriously). When I stopped drinking 1200 calories in Mountain Dew a day, I was shocked at the results.
So rather than shocking myself into completely changing my lifestyle, I came to terms with what exactly that was... then, I just ate a little LESS cheese
And walked a bit more. It's small, sustainable things that get you started. It's the results that keep you going and pushing yourself harder... Who knows, maybe those walks will turn into runs or heavy lifting someday! 0 -
Would love to help keep you honest and motivated! You got this....you sound ready for a change. Feel free to friend me 0
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you don't sound desperate at all - I SOOOOOO admire you for taking this step and wanting to begin a journey to change.
You have come to the right place! I have always been overweight and for the first time in my life I am starting to get it under control due to the support and guidance from fellow MFPers.
You are determined - you can do this. Feel free to friend me, would love to help keep you motivated and watch you succeed 0 -
I see you opened your MFP account in November 2011. Now you need to start using it. Let MFP guide you through the process of setting up your macros and daily calorie goals. Then start logging in EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth. Analyze the data and take note of trends. This is the first step to improving your nutritional life.
The next step is to find a way to get MOVING!! Preferably low to no impact. If you have access to a pool for aqua exercise, that is ideal since the water counteracts gravity and will make it easier for you to move while also providing some resistance to help strengthen your muscles. If you do not have easy access to a pool, check out low cost options like a membership to the YMCA. They often have indoor pool facilities and sometimes even host therapy exercise classes which is a great way to get started.
Aqua exercise is great because you will feel tired, yet great from your daily accomplishments ... but the water should insulate your body so you shouldn't experience the pain that sometimes accompanies exercise for larger people. You will also enjoy the feeling of freedom that happens in the pool as you discover you are able to move your body in a way that is not so easy to do on dry land. Great sense of accomplishment and reinforcement. I started with aqua exercise after an automobile accident last year, and after a couple of weeks began to "crave" my water workouts and even became grouchy with people and things who came between me and my pool time.
As you build up your strength and endurance, you can add walking, biking, etc. as may be comfortable and accessible for you. Every few weeks, add on and keep increasing the difficulty of your workouts, and before you even realize it, you WILL be able to run through that field!!
You don't mention in your profile if you have any hobbies, so start making MFP, exercise, and nutrition as your hobbies. Instead of feeling disappointed in where you are now, start spending some time reading other people's posts and stories. It will remind you that you are not alone and that there are lots of people who face discouragement from time to time and then find ways to overcome it and keep going.
Best wishes to you for long term success!!0 -
MFP can be the best thing that ever happened to you if you really give yourself to this process. Honestly, to be successful at this, you have to decide that there is no other option, that the weight has to come off. It can't just be something you want. It has to be something you need more than anything. Which it is, of course. You can't live your life weighing over 300 pounds. All of the things you mentioned you're missing out on? You can have them. If you stick it out, you'll have a different life in a year. Not to mention, you're 25. You don't want to get to 40 and still be fat. That's not a good feeling.
Fill out your profile, put up a picture, and add some friends. Get involved, and stay active. It helps to keep you accountable, and you'll benefit greatly from the support.0 -
OP. I started at 337.
It's possible. It sucks at the first, but it becomes habit. I've picked up a few things since I've done this... and I post this same thing all over the place.
It might help here too:
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 to stay on.
Best of luck. You deserve a new you and I know that you WANT the change. Make it manageable and it will certainly stick.
This is the best thing I have read since I have been on MFP!!! Great advice!!!:drinker:0 -
Great advice... work on one or two items to improve per week and those subtle changes every week that will seem easy to day will multiply over the months and in a year you will be eating much better. Able to exercise better and you won't believe the changes that have happened. Too many people take an all or nothing approach. Fix a few things at a time and take a piece of advice at a time and work on that then add an additional item next week to work on. Anyone is welcome to add me... I'm still learning and improving even after dropping 185 pounds in 14 months.Congratulations for taking the first step and being here!
I think, before you overwhelm yourself with workouts and diets and clean eating, you should take a week to just start logging your food. Get a scale, use the mobile app (it has a bar code scanner) and just log absolutely everything that goes into your mouth.
Set your goal to maintenance to start and take the week to get a good picture of where you are.
log every bite. when you bite it. every snack, candy, soda pop.
once you have a week's worth of data... look at your average intake.take THAT number and try to set a goal to reduce it by 300-500 calories a day.
That may be as simple as one or two BETTER choices a day and should result in weight loss.
I know that you want to lose the weight fast, but I strongly encourage you to start slow, and once you are used to the habit of tracking what you eat, then you can increase the speed.
Even if you eat 3000 or 4000 calories a day, dropping that by SOME will yield results. Just remember that.
Hope that helps. :flowerforyou:0 -
Well, I think its a great start. I LOVE this site. I started July 5, 2013. I weigh myself now on the 5th every month because that is the day I started. I was alway a little over weight before about 165-180, but I had muscle. In 2009, I ballooned- and not just due to ptegnancy... I went from 190 and was 238 the day after I had my son - Jan 2010. Then in August of 2010 I weighed 246, and found out that I was pregnant again!!!. I lost weight. Down to 230. Had him in may 2011... I weighed 246, yet again. Then went up to 252, dieted, was back down to 220, the gained it all back when I ended the diet. So this year my fiance proposed a second time, but this time we set an actual date. April 17, 2015. It hit me. Its real now. I want to look good at my wedding. I want to run around with my now 2 & 3 yr olds and not have to catch my breath. I want to play football w them and ride my horses again! I found this site completely by chance. I ran with it and havent looked back. I log on everyday multiple times per day. I have a great group of supportive friends. Feel free to add me and check out my friends! I thought I would never be able to lose the weight or curb my food addiction, much lesd actually run!0
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I think you are making the right first step, you are here. Now you can do the rest.
Everyone will have a lot of advice for you and most of it will be really valuable. I will tell you that you should listen to people and then apply it to yourself and find what works for you. Some people will swear a calorie is a calorie, no matter what it is you eat. Others will swear that you need to eat clean. Try it and figure out what works for you and what you can live with to make yourself the most successful you can be.
You don't need trainers. I started at my heaviest of 306.5 just by walking. I still walk and I'm down more than 70lbs from my heaviest. Exercise doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. Just move your body. Find videos online or at the library. Just walk.
You can do this. It won't be easy and it won't be fast, but you can get to where you want to be. Feel free to add me if you'd like a friend. Good luck to you in your weight loss journey!!0 -
I appreciate you sharing your personal thoughts and feelings. Weight loss can be such a sensitive thing and a deeply personal issue. But you sound ready and that's music to my ears. You've been given lots of words of wisdom already. I'll just add that it's possible that what you think you need to do to lose weight might not be true. You don't need to starve or suffer. People burn out and quit because they think they need to be a Biggest Loser contestant working out for hours on end and eating tiny bowls of cereal but it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to go to bed hungry and eat celery to lose weight. Start sending out friend requests and keep coming back here everyday. Read the threads - especially the success stories. Start logging your food. Just do those things before you do anything drastic. Don't expect perfection from yourself. Stay determined. :flowerforyou:0
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Welcome to the REAL reality show - You, losing weight, and being able to show off!
I wont get into all the shoulds/shouldn'ts. You gotta find what works for you. If you send me a private message with your email, I'll send you a copy of the plan I am following, and a before and after picture. The number on my ticker below is proof enough that this one was the one that worked for me. I have lots of stories, but don't want to hijack your thread.
Welcome aboard!
Bluefish0 -
Hi Smokey
My highest weight was 340 but I had already lost about 13 pounds by time I found this great web site, so I was at 327 when I started logging my food and exercise. For me losing weight is a competition with myself. Basically If I don’t login in it would be because I did want to know how many calories and carbs I have taken in. I am borderline diabetic so I track my carbs very closely. I think my food dairy is open so you can take look if you would like. The only times I did not sign in was when I was traveling in early June and did not have internet access for my laptop and when I had shoulder surgery in April. The doctor put me on a 1800 calorie diet 231 carbs and exercise 40 minutes a day. Since I hate having to pay money to use a Gym, I just set up a routine to go walking during my breaks and lunch at work. Also being active around the house has helped. I switched out my power mower for one of the old style reel mowers. Takes twice as long to mow the lawn but the benefits are in the extra calories I burn. Anything you can do to burn the extra calories only benefits you0 -
Excellent response. Being honest with yourself, realistic and patient is definitely the key to success!0
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Every person that loses weight has to start at the first day committed, the first block walked and the first ounce lost. It is an uphill battle that is worth every sacrifice. Who do you want to be, the chubby person sweating on the treadmill after 60 seconds or the chubby person in line at McD's? You can do it, you have it in you. Don't worry what you think others think of you, chances are, they are proud to see you trying to better your life. Stick with it, you are worth it.0
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Smokey, I think you are incredibly brave and I thank you for posting your story. As I was reading, you echoed a lot of my own thoughts toward myself. I've ALWAYS been overweight, and not just 'chubby' as my mom would say to soothe my feelings, I've always been obese. I'm at the highest I've ever weighed now and I know that if I don't make a change, I'm only going to get bigger and bigger. And obviously, I don't want to die early due to my health but deep down it has nothing to do with health, it's about liking myself, and for a while I didn't like myself very much. I've said horrible things to myself (you're so fat/disgusting/no one wants you/you can't do this/keep eating all that food because you won't ever succeed), etc. and then I realized, if an actual person talked to me the way I talked to myself, I would think he/she was a horrible human being. So I think the first step is cutting yourself some slack on the past, but taking charge of your life and getting the information/help you need to do better from here on out, whether that's through support on this site, a dietician, whatever you need. I've finally begun taking steps to change my life, so now when I can't button a pair of pants I used to wear that is now 2 sizes too small, or I get out of breath while exercising, I tell myself that it's okay, because I am making a change, and I am working on me, and I CAN do this, slowly but surely.
At the end of all that, I just wanted to reaffirm that you are not alone here, so many of us are struggling but we keep fighting, together and that's what matters. Good luck on your journey 0
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