Help needed!!!!

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  • davidhooie
    davidhooie Posts: 8 Member
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    First of all, I want to tell you that the advice you have gotten on here is very good! Make friends on MFP and ask them to help you stay accountable. Also, it gives you the opportunity to help others who are some steps behind where you are. I would encourage you with 3 things if I may.

    First, remember the words "BABY STEPS". I have them printed on a piece of paper and taped to the mirror in my bathroom. It is a reminder that change takes time and every tiny step you take in the right direction is getting you toward your goal. Be patient with yourself!

    Second, the person who said not to think of it as a "diet" was dead on! Diets imply that you will stop eating one way and go back to the way you ate before. Mentally, you are giving yourself a short term window when what you should be doing is permanently adjusting your food choices to something healthier. Find what you like as a healthier alternative and stick with it.

    Lastly, and I can't emphasize this enough, please don't ever let the word 'disgusting' crawl into your head/heart and make its home there! Our world thrives on body image and no one feels the pressures of that more than young women. I am the father of a teenage girl and I see it first hand. I have always told my daughter that beautiful starts on the inside and goes outward from there. Please remember that truth and embrace your beauty while you work on changing the package that it is wrapped in!

    Feel free to add me as a friend, I'd love to hear how you are progressing!
  • spara0038
    spara0038 Posts: 226 Member
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    When starting on a new diet plan, it's so tempting to think "right from this day onwards I will eat X calories per day and exercise Y times per week and therefore lose Z lbs per month" and, while this can be very motivational to begin with, what most of us fail to take into account is that changes in diet and exercise can often take time to fit into our busy lives.

    ^^ THIS. I'm such a numbers person and I had everything calculated. I thought: "Ok, I'm starting on 1/30/14, going to eat 1200 cal/day and burn 300cal/day to lose 1lb/week- and I'll reach my goal by the end of summer!" It worked... initially. Then it stalled out and I gained some weight back, some of which I'm sure is water bloat. BUT- rather than get discouraged, I'm now finding ways to mix it up and fine tune it until I find something that works. I started incorporating weight training and upped my calories to 1400/day, which seems to be working better.

    Now, not even 2 months later, I look forward to exercising after work and the eating part of it has just become second nature to me. I do still have my splurges (I still like my pizza and my wine!), but I try to confine them to the weekends, or at least to work them into my calorie goals. Even if I have a bad day, I log everything I consume because I've reached a point where I've realized I need to be honest with myself. No, I'm sometimes not making progress... but no, giving up isn't going to help either. Your future you will thank you for that mentality.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    I find that for me personally, I have to be less of a strict-calorie-counting person, and focus more on getting healthy. Some days I hit my deficit, other days I don't. But if I don' t hit the deficit because I ate more fruits and veggies, I consider that a win. I have my target calories, and I use my two breaks at work to walk 15 minutes each, which usually comes out to two miles a day, 30 minutes. I am working to incorporate strength training into my routine (as it continues to burn more calories up to 24 hours later), but I haven't achieved that yet. Regardless, rather than beat myself up on it, I just keep walking, because at least I'm getting moving. In a little over 3 weeks, I've lost 7.4 pounds.

    I've found that drinking water is the key to my personal loss, as I've tried every restrictive diet/workout program/combos known to mankind (or so it seems!), and it is only now that I'm drinking more water that anything is happening with me. A co-worker went on a product called GoCleanse, and it has worked wonders for him, but whenever he is off of it, the weight all starts creeping back. However, one of the things he learned on this journey is that on a minimum, you are supposed to take your weight in pounds (those on metric could use a conversion - or a modified calculation, I think!) and divide it in half. Whatever that number is, you are supposed to drink that many ounces of water as a minimum a day to clear your body of toxins and improve your digestive and metabolic functions. For me, when I did my initial calculation (this time) it was 272 pounds, divided by two equals 136. So 136 ounces is 17 cups (8 oz is a cup) of water a day. For me, it is easier to refill water bottles as we have a refrigerated and filtered cooler at work, and water bottles I'm using are 16.9 ounces. This comes out to a little over 8 water bottles a day. So I am for that. And I can seriously tell a difference. Yes, I'm in the ladies' room a little more often, but it is well worth it to see the evidence of my body's fluids getting clearer (even with the little excess that clears out from a multi-vitamin). Not wanting to get graphic, but all of my "processes" are getting more efficient! :-)

    Another thing that I find truly helpful is that I sincerely work each day to motivate each of my friends here on MFP and on a private Facebook group we have. Most of these folks I personally know, but some I know only online - but I feel like I really *KNOW* them now. In working to motivate others, I find myself motivated! It is really strange, but it works. And I don't motivate them to help myself. I genuinely want to share anything I've learned that might help them or just remind them someone is in their corner. And I find that more times than not, it works to buoy my spirits as well! And then once they feel better, they pass it on, and it goes on and on!

    Feel free to add me (that goes for anyone on here needing or wanting to share motivation!) on here. Shifting my focus to getting healthier rather than worrying about a dadgum scale has also taken a lot of the pressure off. It is all about making your thinking match your goals. If you are only wanting to lose weight, there are many unhealthy paths. If you focus on making sure you are healthier, weight loss will be less complicated! Best of luck to you!
  • 130marie
    130marie Posts: 2
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    hi there,
    I've been where you are. I have PCOS which means obesity right from the start. I've been over weight since I was 14 years old, now I am 53.
    I took a family picture this pass Christmas and refuse to hang it up. So I started the next day. I found a Raw food shopping list that I started on January 23, 2014. (I love it I dont have to cook...I hate cooking). and the Whey protein drink (one scoop) chocolate from Walmart. I took out ALL process food from my diet and if I cant read the label I dont eat it. After I started with the fruits and vegetables and fiber my body and mind got use to not having the junk food and I was so stuffed I couldn't have eaten them if I wanted to. I would also have minute oatmeal (not instant) every morning.
    I stuck to this way of eating for a good 2+ week no cheating (I was down 15 lbs.. Since I started at 220 lbs I lost 44.5 pounds as of 3/18/14.
    I can not do much exercising due to physical disabilities so I manage to start the Wii fit. I started out by doing the Basic step program about 20 minutes a day (no all at once) I then went to the running in place and the step total of 20 minute, and I walk.
    I use the raw food list as my guide but I do eat other food if I crave it, I just dont over due it.
    The list below is what I eat. I dont eat every thing on the list just what I like. I did also buy flat bread (watch the labels) I dont eat raisin or banana cause they are not good for losing weight. (later I will add them back to my food list).
    The think is to remember to exercise even if it is 10 minute a day and when I feel like going off the wagon that is ok cause I go back to it the next day. I tell myself, "people may say I am not fat and I look ok, But I tell them my body is not healthy." I'm hear if you need advice or encouragement just keep on plugging away one day at a time.
    good luck and keep us posted.

    Vegan Shopping List – Choose Organic, Fresh and Raw!
    For free vegan and raw recipes see thebestofrawfood.com
    Produce
    ???? Avocado
    ???? Broccoli
    ???? Celery
    ???? Carrots
    ???? Cabbage
    ???? Cucumber
    ???? Green/String Beans
    ???? Green Leafy Vegetables (Kale, Chard,
    Spinach, Lettuce, Collard Greens, Beet
    Greens, Dandelion Leafs, etc.)
    ???? Seasonal Veggies (Pumpkin, Endive,
    Sweet Corn, Fennel, Kohlrabi, etc.)
    ???? Tomatoes
    ???? Mushrooms (Shiitake, Portobello, etc)
    Fruit
    ???? Apples
    ???? Bananas
    ???? Lemons
    ???? Seasonal Fruits (strawberries, tangerines,
    pears, cherries, oranges, etc)
    ???? Young Tai Coconuts
    Herbs
    ???? Garlic
    ???? Ginger
    ???? Onions
    ???? Fresh Herbs (parsley, basil, etc.)
    Nuts & Seeds
    ???? Almonds
    ???? Cashews
    ???? Brazil Nuts
    ???? Almond Butter
    ???? Tahini
    ???? Sesame Seeds
    ???? Hemp Seeds
    ???? Flax Seeds
    ???? Pine Nuts
    ???? Pumpkin Seeds
    ???? Sunflower Seeds
    Snacks
    ???? Chocolate Bar - Green+
    ???? Lara Bars
    ???? Didi’s Raw Granola Bar
    ???? Pecan Cookie – Good Stuff from Mom and
    Me
    ???? Trail Mix
    ???? Baby Carrots
    ???? Dried Fruit
    Sea Vegetables
    ???? Nori Sheets
    ???? Dried Kelp, Dulse etc.
    Condiments
    ???? Pesto
    ???? Tapenade – Black Olives
    ???? Tapenade – Sun Dried Tomatoes
    ???? Black Olives
    ???? Salsa
    ???? Artichoke Dip
    ???? Stone Ground Mustard
    ???? Apple Cider Vinegar
    ???? Tamari (Soy)
    ???? Miso (unpasteurized)
    Oils
    ???? Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
    ???? Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    ???? Sesame Oil
    Spices/Salt
    ???? Himalaya /Celtic Sea Salt
    ???? Raw Vanilla Beans (or powder)
    ???? Cinnamon
    ???? Herbs of choice (Provence, Curry)
    Sweeteners
    ???? Raw Organic Honey
    ???? Raw Agave Nectar
    ???? Liquid Stevia
    ???? 100% Pure Maple Syrup
    ???? Yukon Syrup
    Grains & Pasta
    ???? Spelt Flour
    ???? Spelt Pasta
    ???? Quinoa
    ???? Buckwheat
    Bread (refrigerated)
    ???? Sprouted Bread or Tortillas (e.g. Ezenkiel)
    ???? Sprouted Bagels (e.g. Alvarado)
    Super Foods
    ???? Carob Powder
    ???? Camu Camu / Acai Powder (vit C)
    ???? Chocolate Powder (or Nibs)
    ???? E3 Live (Blue Green Algae)
    ???? Goji Berries
    ???? Green or Wheatgrass Powder
    ???? Lucuma Powder
    ???? Mesquite Powder
    ???? Maca Powder
    Supplements
    ???? MSM Sulfur
    ???? Vitamin B-12 (or from E3-Live)
    ???? Vitamin D3
    ???? Vitamin K2
  • Holly_Wood_888
    Holly_Wood_888 Posts: 268 Member
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    Its great that everyone has sooo much motivation to give!

    My question is what is the amount of calories you set MFP for?

    Second, you have to think about this as a life style change not a diet.

    This is what i do (wrong or right it works for me):

    I have my calories set at 1800, take a walk for 30min 2-3 times a week (dont log the walk so no eating the burned calories), have one cheat meal a week without tracking the damage and eat 3 meals plus 3 snacks!

    you can add me
  • mlh612
    mlh612 Posts: 311 Member
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    I agree with what others have said - don't think of it as a diet, think of it as a lifestyle change. My focus is on eating healthy, but that doesn't mean I am forbidding myself from chocolate or ice cream on occasion. Everything in moderation and then you don't feel like you are restricted to what you can and can't eat. Best of luck and feel free to add me.
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
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    I agree with what others have said - don't think of it as a diet, think of it as a lifestyle change. My focus is on eating healthy, but that doesn't mean I am forbidding myself from chocolate or ice cream on occasion. Everything in moderation and then you don't feel like you are restricted to what you can and can't eat. Best of luck and feel free to add me.

    I've lost 25.6 pounds since Jan 3rd and I've never restricted what I would eat just the quantity. I have some dark chocolate regularly, I've had Frozen Yogurt bars, I've had really good full fat Ice Cream, I've had eccles cakes and Sticky Toffee Pudding - But I've stuck within the plan for the week if not the day in all cases
    The whole point of this is learning to live within a healthier lifestyle. You can eat anything in moderation and exercise. it's the moderation part that i'd say pretty much all of us have had a problem maintaining and the exercise second.
    At 53 going on 54 I want to ensure I don't have the health issues i've seen crop up for friends that are caused by weight issues or other bad habits (and I've managed to quit smoking and haven't drank in 12 weeks either - though I will moderately when i've lost the weight I just would rather spend the calories on food while at a deficit. when i have 6-700 more calories a day a drink or 2 will be a nice addition

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