time to admit I'm morbidly obese!!

I was morbidly obese forever (like 13 out of the last 17 years) once was over 300 lb...and I am finally just at the bottom of "regular" obese (5'8" and 194 lb)

I can tell ya that this website is SO helpful, if you log honestly and follow the guidelines MFP sets for you within reason you should see a big change over time. My best advice is just do not get discouraged. 1 lb or so per week does add up. I've lost almost 70 lb in a year. But most months I lose just 6 lb. That kind of puts it in perspective, I hope.

Me too girlfriend...5'2" 295 at my highest. I cook for my family too, it's all about portion, balance exercise. Keep plugging away!

You have to take small steps at a time- first make sure you are not grocery shopping in the junk food isle, start cutting back and getting rid of sodas and sweets. No stopping at fast food locations for that quick meal. And you need to start an excercise program, even if its as simple as walking indoors early in the mornings at the local mall, or in the evenings, but you have to start to get active! There is lots of good advise on here and like others say, you have to log down EVERYTHING!! take it day by day. A big part of the battle is finally realizing your overweight and wanting to do something about it. You will get there!

Me too chica. Once we accept it, we can start working on a better us! My motivation is my cousin's wedding and going to see my in laws! My son is also a big motivation to me. I want to be able to live a long life to see all of his accomplishments A good website for healthy meals is skinnytaste.com! Good luck in your journey!!

At my highest I wasn't too far off from where you're starting now, and I share the same goal of working towards a balanced life of eating better and moving more instead of relying on any quick fixes. Feel free to add me, I know how a bit of brain picking and encouragement can go a long way when you're just starting. Might seem like a daunting journey but trust me, it's doable and there's nothing stopping you from getting there (except you ).

To publicly recognise it is a good step, as it indicates you are willing & ready to put things into action.

Before diving into diet books, fad eating cycles & 3 hour long exercise routines I'd strongly reccomend taking a few steps.

Firstly, visualise your goals - then make realistic time-frames in which to achieve them.

1lb a week may seem low, but over a year that's 52lbs!, a huge amount to drop over a short period - aim for something realistic & hope for the best - not disappointing yourself with unrealistic goals is an important move.

Secondly, what got you into the problem you are in today? - for me it was simply a case of poor diet choices & mild snacking over a long period of time, it took me 7 years to get to a place where I wanted to do something about it (a couple of pounds every few months over a long time adds up).

Do you comfort eat?, is it related to volume of food - or the nutritional value of the food you eat (such as eating not much, but very high calorie foods). Understanding where you went wrong is a very useful step in understanding how to solve the problem & prevent it from occurring again.

Once you get to the stage of selecting a diet for you try to pick one which will work for you - which fits with your life responsibilities (for me, I had very little time - so a diet of mostly fresh foods which didn't require much cooking was key) - I also made sure the 'diet choices' were always easier than eating badly (so no buying naughty foods, to eat badly required me to leave the house).

Additionally, it's critical to remember we are human - we make mistakes & we are not perfect. This realisation is important for two key reasons - firstly, it will stop you giving yourself such a hard time (in part for getting to this stage & secondly if you slip up during the diet) - secondly, when making diet choices/lifestyle change plans take into account any personality flaws you have (not that you certainly have any, but to give an example - I'm lazy when it comes to food & have poor self-control around sweet foods) - to lose the weight I did I made the healthy diet food options easier than the unhealthy ones & removed all temptation from the house, I make plans taking into account my flaws instead of pretending I had perfect self-control (if I did have that, I wouldn't have got to where I was in the first place).

Finally, once you have the diet aspect in control - slowly add exercise, anything you are comfortable with at first - but seek professional advice as to what's best for you once you are used to the routine of regular exercise (countless dedicated forums to exercise which would be better suited).

Hope it works out well for you.

Weight Loss Surgery. Check out the groups for "VSG" - plenty of pre and post operation contributors.

Uh, no :noway:

Your starting weight and height were/are the same as mine. I hate to be cliché, but if I can do it, so can you. And after losing the first 60 pounds, I gained that half an inch in height that I'd lost due to all that weight pressing me down.

At first, make small changes. I think that I've failed in the past by changing too many things too quickly. Go to this website and calculate your BMR and TDEE: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ I would not recommend doing MFP's 1200 calorie idea--good way to burn out quickly. If you do, make sure to eat back your exercise calories.

Don't ditch your favorite foods, nor do you need to now eat only 'healthy' foods even if you don't like them--also a good way to burn out. Just eat less than you burn. Simple...but not easy.

Feel free to send me a friend request!:flowerforyou:

I'm in the same boat. I'm 360lbs and tired of it. I joined MFP three days ago and I have to do something now. I can't put it off any longer. I'm looking for supportive friends and I will support and motivate also. We are all in this together.

I'm with you, wayyyyyy heavier than I'm comfortable with, I am a time challenged mother of 3, wife of 1. Friend me if you like, I could help motivate and use some motivation myself sometimes.

Me too girlfraaaan!! I had to own up to it because my wedding is Nov '15 and I want to be lookin' good from then on out I am too young to let myself stay this unhealthy! Stating you have a problem and having the desire to change it are the first steps of the process....if you need a bud feel free to add me!

My worst was when I was 260-270 at the end of my pregnancy, which then I lost to 240 after my son was born. I kept the weight for a year (abusive relationship), before walking away and just by working 5 days a week on my feet (full day summer gig) I lost 45 lbs over that summer, got down to just under 200 lbs. I have been floating between 180 and 215 for the last 4-5 years after that, and now am taking serious measures to lose weight. I take this challenge from multiple sides: I eat no more than 1200 calories a day, 3 square meals with lean protein and lots of fruits and veggies; nixed added salts, sugars, soy, alcohol, processed and junk foods, grains/starches, and dairy; and exercising by burning at least 600 calories a day by walking and building resistance. After just getting under 190 today I am still technically obese, but I have been breaking this down in groups of 20 lbs, my next goal is getting under 170 so my BMI (I am 63.5") is under 30, and therefore just overweight, not obese.

I am/was in the same boat (not sure of my current BMI). I started my weight loss journey at 410 pounds in September 2007 (at my engagement party). I got down to 295 for my wedding (July 2009) and then the unthinkable happened - my husband of 9 months was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in April 2010. He was in the hospital for a MONTH (after his successful surgery, he vomited and aspirated which caused pnemonia and shock/sepsis for his body). Thankfully he is in remission now, but I gained back all but 35 pounds of what I had lost. After he was finished with chemotherapy, I started working out again and got back down to 275 when we decided to try to get pregnant. Well, we did and I gained a bunch prior to pregnancy due to infertility medication and then gained another 45 pounds during my pregnancy. So when my son was born I weighed in at 369 pounds (this was November 2012). I have since dropped down to 243 before Thanksgiving, but did not do well over the holidays and haven't been able to get my head back on straight since the start of the New Year. I am NOT gaining all this weight back again - I am 50 pounds shy of my 200 pound goal and I AM going to get there this year (hopefully by the end of the summer). Looking for friends and support of folks who KNOW what it's like.

I was morbidly obese at this time last year -- and I had almost given up hope of ever losing weight. Then something in my head clicked and I knew it was time to change my life for the better. I started logging my food daily. Then, a few weeks later, I started exercising (only 25 minutes at a time at a very low intensity). A while after that, I stopped drinking wine except on very special occasions.

And here I am a year later, someone who loves her new, healthy lifestyle -- and who still can't believe that she's dropped all this weight. If I can do this (at age 50) you can do this. There aren't any secrets. There isn't any magic. It's simply about consistency and knowing what you want for yourself.

You've come to the right place! Everyone here is super supportive and motivating!

Weight Loss Surgery. Check out the groups for "VSG" - plenty of pre and post operation contributors.

No.