45 year old female, over 300 lbs. I need support.

Diets are for the medically ill, you are looking for a lifestyle change . This is a great community to get direction. Feel free to swing by my support group "Firing On All Cylinders" anytime for questions and I hope my posts provide you with valuable advice. Best of luck with your fitness goals!

Hi, my name is Kim and I to was very comfortable in my own skin until one day I looked in the mirror and I did not know how big I really was until I went shopping with my mom and sister and everything I tried on was too small, I could not find anything pretty in my size and I just want to crawl under a tree and cry, but now I have found myfitnesspal and it really is helping and I really need support on this journey, so feel free to add me as a friend, lets support each other.

You can do it!
One thing I've learned is that it will take time. Don't make losing weight your goal. Make reasonable lifestyle choices your goal every day. Add a little non impact exercise. Cut our a few calories (not a lot though). Find some sort of aquatic class. And do all those little things daily. And don't weigh yourself. Wait a month or so first. It's easy to get discouraged when you don't see immediate results, but it's the long term goals, that are important, not the daily ups and downs.

:happy:

Ah reahhly understahn yer pain.

Ah used tah be about 265 lbs, evehn though ah was werkin on tha farm everyday fer about 7 ehrs.

Ah came dahwn tah about 120 lbs through mah frahnds usin this saht.

We ahll beleif in you and you jest don't knah how moch *kitten* ah bin gettin since that wayyt came oaff.

Ah'm here fer yer s'port. PUSUUHS MEHHHH

You can do it!
One thing I've learned is that it will take time. Don't make losing weight your goal. Make reasonable lifestyle choices your goal every day. Add a little non impact exercise. Cut our a few calories (not a lot though). Find some sort of aquatic class. And do all those little things daily. And don't weigh yourself. Wait a month or so first. It's easy to get discouraged when you don't see immediate results, but it's the long term goals, that are important, not the daily ups and downs.

:happy:

I have to respectfully disagree, sort of. The structure of using the MFP method works much better for me that cutting a few calories and not weighing myself did for most of last fall. I determined to lose weight in September 2013. I "watched what I age" and "cut back" and did lose a tiny bit. Then in January I heard someone mention MFP so I downloaded the app. That was when my weight started to come off on a regular basis and it continues.

I do think if you have never, ever followed a controlled eating plan before it makes sense to track your current calorie intake and get an understanding of how many calories are in each food you generally eat. But I don't think you should / need to do this for a long, long time before you begin eating better.

Hi My name is LaDonna I am 35 years of age and looking to loose 100 lbs. I am starting small though working at loosing 10 lbs at a time so I don't get so frustrated for not loosing the 100 lbs the first week...lol I just started on here this past week and I am looking to add some friends to help motivate me and motivate them. This is my first time writing on the message board so I thought that I would reply and say hi..good luck to you and I hope you the best

Hey, have you seen www.youtube.com/divaslimsdown ?

It's a great vlog series by a person who was 341 lbs when she started. She's been very inspiring for me and many people. If you go into her weight loss tips playlist, it could help. Starts off with basic things like drinking lots of water.

Wishing you the very best of luck!

You are totally in the right place !! sounds like you have just had the epiphany we have all had to make that change.....mine was a hospital visit for a minor abdominal issue but it was a wake up call about my health and my life.
You can do this, and yes, it will take time.....but it will be so worth it...I predict even in a couple of months if you want it bad enough you will see changes.
Good Luck !! x

Hi, Jeannie.

I've never really dieted before so I know it will be harder than I probably think.

I think you've gotten a lot of good advice already, but I wanted to address this.

I also think of it as a lifestyle change, not a diet, but my suspicion is that if you haven't dieted in the past it actually might be a lot easier than you think. This is my second time losing (like most people in this position I have a boring story about how I came to gain weight again, but it wasn't due to feeling restricted), but the first time was my first time trying to lose weight ever, and I went from feeling like I had no control over it, had no idea what to do--weird given that I'm usually good at finding out what information I need to know--to realizing that something that had seemed so overwhelming was really quite logical and simple.

One thing was not to focus on the number on the scale (which my prior dedication to not weighing myself had caused to take on some kind of excessive significance), but to track it for informational purposes while focusing on getting healthy, eating well, exercising, taking various steps toward all those things. Then, if for some reason it turned out my weight didn't budge (which is probably a common fear), I'd still be achieving my goals. But as it turned out--MAYBE because I hadn't spent years messing around with my metabolism or building up a love/hate relationship with specific foods--it actually came off surprisingly easy.

One simple thing that is so helpful is just to understand what you are eating and where the calories come from, which is why logging everything works so well. I don't know how you eat now, but it's quite possible that you won't have to change what you eat all that much--certainly not to the point of being hungry or replacing everything you like with diet foods (both not necessary and generally not advised)--but just start being more mindful about it, which you get through logging. Plus, it can be quite interesting to learn how many calories are in different items, etc.

Your reluctance to tell others makes sense to me too, and I feel the same way (other than people here, who can be extremely helpful and encouraging). One reason--not saying these are yours--is that everyone seems to have ideas about the best way to do it which can be overwhelming or confusing, especially before you feel confident that you know what you are doing. Another reason is that for a lot of people it can be mentally unhelpful to have others try to help by commenting on what you are eating, etc., again, especially before you feel comfortable with your own ideas.

Take one meal at a time. Planning meals is essential. Don't obsessively weigh yourself. Find a way to incorporate some of your favorite things into your meals. I am not into denying myself. When I practice denial the craving can grow overwhelming and I will end up eating 3 times more than I would have had I allowed myself a small portion. I leveled with myself by asking myself "if I live 50 more years will I never again eat a snickers bar, a piece of birthday cake, an ice cream cone, etc." The answer is HECK NO! But, I will take 2 minutes to consider whether I really want or need this. If the answer is yes, I'll have a bit and take it off my daily calorie/fat/carb, etc allotment. More often though, the answer is no. I am a 52 year old female. 6 weeks ago I weighed 290 lbs. I checked yesterday and I weigh 272.
I am so glad I found this place. Everyone seems so supportive.