Trying to Make a New Start.

mpatte92
mpatte92 Posts: 5
in Getting Started
Alright, I could post a long wall of text that no one will read or I can give cliff notes and elaborate if anyone has questions. I'll go with both.

So, about me.
I'm 5'7" and somewhere between 178 to 183 pounds. I don't know the best time of day or what to weigh myself for the most accurate reading. Obviously, for me, this is not healthy and certainly not attractive. My relationship has been on the rocks for the last 10 months (the entirety of the relationship) because of my weight and it's repercussions on his being attracted to me physically. I am, finally, ready to make the change and I have no idea where to start. I put my info in on MFP and got that I should eat 1200 calories a day, which I have also read works for some people and not others. There is so much information out there and I have no idea what my GW should be or how quickly I should expect to get there or which information I should be listening to. So, I figured I should go straight to the source and see what worked for people similar to me or see if anyone actually knows what they are talking about, lol. To clarify, my now ex-boyfriend said that if I want to save things, he needs to see that I actually want to change my weight instead of just talking about it and doing nothing, like I have for the last 10 months, and we will see what happens. I want to make it clear that, as much as I would like to save my relationship with him, I want to do this for me. I want to be able to play with my kids when I have them and not become obese, because that does run on my father's side of the family and I have seen the damage it causes.

Tl;dr: I am 5'7" and 178 to 183 pounds. I know absolutely nothing about weight loss or where to begin. Help is much appreciated.

Replies

  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Start here, read these in their entirety. Report back after you have read it all.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=sexypants&page=7

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet?hl=in+place+of+a+road+map

    eta, I think I linked somewhere in the middle of the sexypants thread, go to the beginning.
  • rachaelgoslan
    rachaelgoslan Posts: 66
    Hi there sweetheart, advice from me is take it slowly, small changes to start with until you get yourself into a good routine. In regards to that male my ex husband always used to take pot shots at my weight....We are now divorced lol !! I have a good exercise routine now of 3 to 4 days a week but I started at 2 days a week. I always weigh myself once a fortnight on a sunday morning, works for me but everyone is different. Feel free to add me as Im on here every day x
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    1. Read the links that prattiger65 posted. Those are really useful. If you want more reading, this post in the "Eat, Train, Progress" group is great:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

    2. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after visiting the bathroom. That will give the most consistent results. You should still expect a fluctuation of 2-4 lb. every day due to water retention, solid retention, and malignant elves messing with the scale.

    I recommend weighing yourself every day, but doing some math and focusing on a weighted average. An exponentially weighted average can help you filter out the noise and focus on the trend, as John Walker explains in "The Hacker's Diet" (http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/). The chapter on "The Rubber Bag" explains, briefly, the source of these fluctuations. The chapter on "Signal and Noise" explains how some simple math can filter them out. Walker explains how to do the math, but you can also set up a free account on his server to do it for you, or use a service like Beeminder or TrendWeight.com.

    You can see my results from August 2013 here:

    HackDiet.png

    As you can see, my daily weights bounce up and down a lot, but the trend goes downward almost every day. I found that reassuring. If your weight is mostly below the trend, then you're losing weight; if the trend starts to go up consistently, you're gaining weight.

    3. I'm glad you're doing this for yourself, because your ex sounds like a jerk. If you had been together for several years, and you had suddenly gained a lot of weight, such a comment might be more excusable (though I think not), but after 10 months, it's out of line.

    Good luck!
  • SharonNehring
    SharonNehring Posts: 535 Member
    Definitely read the sexypants thread. Each forum has a selection of posts at the top of the first page with information for new members too.

    As to what to try, don't try to change everything overnight. Start logging every day. After a couple of weeks, take time to look at the trends. Are you meeting your goals? Are there instances when a healthier food could have been selected? Do you need more protein, less carbs etc? This is a learning process and it'll take a little time.

    I have to tell you that your boyfriend does not get to decide what is right or wrong for you or what you should weigh. If his feelings for you are purely based upon weight, then he's not worth it.

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