Hi All!! Alot to lose so feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Hello Jimmie, you made the right choice. This is a great place to start, especially if you want support. We are all here to support each other on our journey. Just take one step at a time, you got this :happy:

Hi Jimmie!! Its completely understandable to feel overwhelmed, but at least you took a moment to realize that it was time for a change. At this point as long as you change your eating habits you will begin to see a drop in your weight. Once you feel more comfortable them you can begin to exercise at your own pace. You should set small goals for yourself so you don't feel so overwhelmed. You were able to take the hardest step which is to make a change for the better

Welcome, buddy. Just remember, you eat the elephant one bite at a time. You can do it. Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like.

We really can't lose it all at once anyway, so I like to think I only have to lose 1lb. That's not so tough. Then I'll lose another lb. After all, that's how we gained it in the first place.

I just created an account but I messed up my profile and couldn't figure out how to change it.

Click on "my home" at the left of the blue navigation bar at the top of the page.
Click on "my profile" in the middle of the dark blue lower navigation bar.
Click on the green button that says "edit profile".
Type whatever, wherever.
Click on the green button at the bottom that says "save changes".

I have quite a bit to lose. Right now, I'm about 430 lbs. It just seems like I have so far to go.

So first you're going to get to 429.
Then you're going to get to 428.
You get the idea.
Eventually you'll get to your healthy goal weight.

Right now, you're probably eating 4300 cal per day to maintain your current weight.
To drop 2 lb per week, which is a reasonable & healthy rate, drop 1000 cal. 2 lb per week is about 100 lb per year, so this is going to take several years.
That's still an awful lot of food, so as you get used to it nudge it down 50-100 cal every few weeks until you're at 10x your goal weight. (See my blog post below, about setting goals. Go look at the BMI chart & make your initial goal the highest weight in the green range for your height.)
That calorie goal is your _absolute_ goal, not your net. Ignore net. (That's what my doctor told me.)

I can barely do any exercise. I just don't know where to start. I have to reclaim my life.

Good news: you have started.
Now you have to keep moving forward.

Here's a famous post that you should read several times, until you get it:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I've done blog posts about motivation & encouragement:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/motivation-encouragement-680938

exercise: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/exercise-667080

and setting goals (both weight & calories): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/setting-goals-667045
Start with that one, after you read sexypants.



The good news is that most weight loss comes from eating less.
You can do that.

"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake. However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

Start with what you can do now. If that's just walking to the end of the driveway & back, do it. Do it several times a day, until you can increase the distance.
Do arm exercises using a bag of flour in a plastic grocery sack for weight.
Eventually, see if you have a city recreation department that might have a pool to swim or walk in, or a gym you can use. At the very least, parks are usually nice places to walk.
I use Planet Fitness, which has a basic membership at $10 per month & they're open 24/7. Many locations have personal trainers & classes so they can show you how to use the weight machines (or free weights, if you like) & help you figure out what to do & how much of it, and you increase the exercise as you get stronger.


And I agree with what others are saying about taking pictures & recording measurements.
Get a face shot, plus a front & side full-body photo.
Even if you don't show them to anyone else, just keep them on your computer or phone, you'll want to look back at them in 6 months to see how well you're doing. (And when you hit 50 lb or 100 lb or 200 lb down, you'll probably want to post them & get congrat's.)
In the past 6 months, I've lost 40 lb, 7" off my waist, 6" off my hips, at least 2" off my biceps, thighs, and calves.
You have a lot more to lose, so progress will be more rapid at first.

Celebrate every 5 lb you lose, every time you drop 1 BMI number, every inch off your waist, every time you can increase your exercise duration or weight that you're lifting, when you're down 5% or 10% or 20% from your starting weight... you get the idea.
I actually sat down & made a chart showing the weights I want to hit, the BMI that goes along with them, and I'm recording the dates as I hit my goals.

dude you got it, i know its cliche but go a step at a time. Start by removing 1 negative thing out of your diet each week, (type of food, type of drink, etc) until all the bad things holding you back are gone. Then just start out small by doing whatever exercise you can for as long as you can. Make a song playlist full of your favorite songs, and workout through the playlist, then each week add a song to increase the duration of the workout... a year will go by and you will be shocked by your results. Its a slow and steady race, but if you keep going and push through you will be guaranteed to win.
Its never easy to take that first step but by being here your already on your way, i believe in you man!!

Right now, I'm about 430 lbs. It just seems like I have so far to go. I have to reclaim my life.

Try to separate your journey into two parts--

1. Reclaim your life now. Begin living a happy, fulfilling life that you're proud to share today. Perhaps you can't run marathons--set realistic expectations--but there are plenty of rewarding things you can do. Music, art, writing, reading, education, groups/clubs, helping your family, volunteering for charities, etc.

2. Lose weight! No rush on this one. Small steps over time will move mountains.

I can barely do any exercise.

That's okay. Weight loss is more about what you eat anyway. Toning/strength is where exercise comes in.

I just don't know where to start

Log what you eat today. Repeat tomorrow and the day after Next, begin to make moderate restrictions that you can handle life-long--less calories, more vegetables, more fruits, etc. Voila! Each month you're lighter. As you get lighter new opportunities will unlock for you. Integrate them into your life slowly!

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. If you ask a question on the forum, give as much information as you can ("yes, I have a food scale and weigh my food" is worlds better than "I eat a palm full of miscellaneous boiled chicken parts..sometimes.")
17. Be honest with yourself and honest with us.
18. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

and make sure to read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

...and here's another approach.

Block off 6 weeks. log EXACTLY what you eat for those six weeks, weigh at the beginning, weight at the end. If you've lost, you're eating under your TDEE. If you haven't lost, congrats.. you found your TDEE, if you've gained... then you're above TDEE.

From there, look at how much you lost or gained and you have a rough estimate of how to shift your intake to balance it out.

Online calculators are great, but they're just estimates. They give you decent ideas for starting points. From there, it's on you to fine tune it.

Welcome. I'm new here too but I just wanted to say you made it past the first step and that was starting. I was where are are not too long ago. Just keep at it. You can do it. Never thought I could either and I'm about to pass the 100 pound mark. Just keep at it and you'll start to see results and once you see results you won't want to stop.

Welcome Jimmie!

So there was a great guy on here that started at over 450 lbs, and was overwhelmed too. He started with logging his food and going for a walk. At first he could barely walk any distance because it hurt his knees and feet and he'd be out of breath. Now he runs (yes, runs) 5k's. Does crazy bouts on the elliptical. Has lost all kinds of weight. Anything is possible. And while he's a great guy (and all kinds of inspiring), there's nothing magic about him - he did it and you can do it too. There's lots of people here to help.