475 lbs and terrified

God bless you honey! Although my weight loss goal is not the same I understand your struggle and am here to offer support. You can do it! You are never alone on here.:flowerforyou:

Welcome. No two people have the same journey, but I do understand a little of what you are saying. I am, and always have been, my own worst enemy. I have no idea why, but I self-sabotage like a boss, and so my weight is something I've battled for quite awhile.

I'm so sorry someone felt compelled to write such cruel things to you, but perhaps they have unwittingly done you a favor. Please recognize that anyone who would be so unapologetically unkind to another person has some very serious issues of their own, the difference is that they are choosing to inflict those malfunctions on others. That right there is reason enough to toss anything they say to you directly into a virtual waste bin.

And the person who said you are the same as everyone here is right. You are so much more than a number on a scale.

I wish I could give you some magic words that would fix whatever it is that causes you to work against yourself, but since I've not yet been able to figure out why I do it to myself, I'm hardly qualified. What I CAN say is that you deserve to celebrate every single positive change you make in your life, and that the journey must be about much more than weight. The weight loss needs to be the byproduct of the lifelong self improvements you make, be they in diet, activities, or anything else you want to change about yourself.

And last, but not least, you are so far from being alone. Countless other people struggle just as we do, and for every heartless jerk out there, there are 5 people who would love nothing more than to lift you up and see you succeed.

Have you heard of the app Lift? It's designed to help people develop positive new habits and I really like it. Take it slow and give yourself all the time you need.

Heartfelt hugs from me,
Julie

The fact that you are even here proves that you're worth it. And in case you haven't noticed by the immense amount of comments on this post, you definitely have so much love and support here for you. Sending a friend request your way, OP. Don't let yourself forget that you will never be alone here.

Also I wanted to add that if you start taking certain things out of your diet or you go over your limit DONT STOP. I have had so many days where I haven't been on track but got on track the next day. You have the power and it will take some time but you can do it.

I believe you can do this.

There are folks on here who HAVE DONE THIS & are maintaining.... cut calories and start walking!!

Bump

Hey Love, Its okay...You have to remember that losing weight is mental mostly but physical thing as well. You have to strengthen your mind in order to lose weight. You have to tell yourself I want to be healthier more than I want this cookie,pizza, and anything you can think of . I have faith in you because I use to be you. Depressed and sad but the only person that can make you happy is you.

First of all, please try not to take the negativity of other people to heart. You have enough negativity to battle on your own. You are a person and just as valuable as everyone else in the world, regardless of your weight.

Don't try to focus on how far you have to go. Make an attainable goal, like getting to 400 lbs.

Don't radically change your diet to something overly complicated at the start, instead start to learn about calories and protein content, and learning to fit the foods you like within your goals. You can still eat the foods you are comfortable with, just in smaller portions. If you choose to try and do low carb, clean eating, or paleo in the future, leave that until after you have a better understanding of nutrition, which you can gain from tracking your nutrition on this site.

If you f**k up (and you will) that's fine. Start again with the next meal. And keep starting over again and making healthy choices after you mess up. If you don't give up on the long term goal, you will see progress.

Finally, as someone with severe and long term depression, self-esteem, and anxiety issues I sympathize with you deeply. Losing weight may help but won't fix those things. What will help you most - and I KNOW this from experience- is a cleaner diet and some exercise. If you're willing to try medication, wellbutirin (bupropion) worked well for me and also promotes weight loss.

I sent you a friend request. I believe you can do this.

P.S. - I looked at your face picture and although I may not be your type, I would definitely consider you an attractive person.

Most of us have been to the point you are at. Hating ourselves for various reason's. Finally something snapped in our brains or with us physically and we HAD to make a change. As another poster said, he was going to be put on blood pressure meds, I WAS put on blood pressure meds at age 35, I was told to lose weight and I MIGHT be able to get off them (due to genetics, I know it's not likely and if nothing else over the years I might have to be on MORE meds). But I'm doing what I need to do to make me be a better me.

And that's what YOU need to do. There's been a ton of helpful wonderful advice given to you already so I'm not going to add to it. But I am going to add you as a friend to cheer you on and watch your progress.