How do I get serious?
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Baby steps! Pick one little thing, like drinking 64 ounces of water a day. Focus on that. Once you are doing that easily, pick another little thing, like a ten minute walk every day. Keep on taking baby steps toward your goal. Don't worry about the finish line. Just take one tiny step.
You can do this! There will be days you want to quit. There will be days you mess up. Don't beat yourself up over those. Just go back to working on your baby steps. 0 -
whats stopping you? is it the magnitude of how much you have to lose? i bet it seems daunting, having to drop at least 150 pound before you can be considered in a normal BMI.
that old proverb "a journey of a million miles begins with one step" is true. you just need to have one day where you are making healthy decisions, and then one day turns into two...0 -
You have to decide to be serious about it. I started at 325, and one day I realized I was sick & tired of being sick & tired all of the time. I am the only one that could change it, and now everyday I make sure I put my health & fitness toward the forefront and I stopped making excuses. Believe me, I had a lot of excuses.
How about for now just focus on losing ten pounds, and then take it from there. Starting above 300 can be daunting, but just take it on step at a time, you don't even need to exercise to lose weight (exercise will help, but it isn't necessary). If you are able to lose ten pounds with just eating at a deficit (which you can do), then you can see if you might want to add moving more in. Good luck!0 -
You have to want to lose weight and be healthier more than you want to overeat. It can seem insurmountable when you have a lot to lose. I started out at 290 and am now 130, so I can relate. Try not to look at the whole amount. Do it in stages. I focused on 10# increments and upon reaching my "mini" goals, moved on to the next one.
The first 3 weeks were the hardest. Every time I felt like eating something extra I asked myself if it was worth it. Most of the time the answer was "no". I also come on MFP and read the success stories for motivation. It works for me.
Find what works for you! You can do this!0 -
Get sick and tired of being sick and tired and get a backbone instead of a wishbone. If you're not sticking with it, it's because you're not committed to it. And commitment comes from being consistent and daring to take on the challenge.I keep telling myself that I'm going to lose the weight but I never stick with it. I weigh 350 pounds and probably gaining more. What can I do to get more serious about it?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
^^^ wow, great way to put it: "get a backbone instead of a wishbone" ... sounds like something my granddad would say (he just ALWAYS seemed to say the right things). keeper.0 -
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I hope they help the OP - they're certainly helping me.0
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Try really hard to find what works best for you. I get overwhelmed with big goals so I keep things simple and small. For example, one meal at a time (sometimes taking a whole day is just too much). Some days, I only get 10-20 minutes of exercise in. So what- it's more than I did before. It's small but it's progress.
Stick to small goals and plan ahead.
I also have a Pinterest board that is private I post all the clothes I would love to wear, plus some motivational quotes. I look at this when I need a lift.
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I'm not serious most of the time. I'm having fun with this life change! That being said, when I decided to tackle this weight loss head-on, I was strategic, determined. I had a plan.
"It’s puzzling to me that so many self-help gurus urge people to visualize victory, and stop there. Some even insist that if you wish for good things long enough and hard enough, you’ll get them—and, conversely, that if you focus on the negative, you actually invite bad things to happen. Why make yourself miserable worrying? Why waste time getting ready for disasters that may never happen? Anticipating problems and figuring out how to solve them is actually the opposite of worrying: it’s productive. Likewise, coming up with a plan of action isn’t a waste of time if it gives you peace of mind. While it’s true that you may wind up being ready for something that never happens, if the stakes are at all high, it’s worth it. "- Chris Hadfield
You might enjoy An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield.0 -
Write out all the reasons you want to lose weight.
- To look good
- Health
- Family
- goals, etc.
On the same piece of paper write out all the excuses that get in the way of your goals.
- It's already Wednesday I'll start fresh on Monday.
- The holidays are coming up I'll start after the holidays.
- Too tired
- etc.
Post the list and read it often. Memorize the excuses. When your thoughts rise up to get in the way of progress you should immediately recognize the excuses. The wanting part is easy; "I want to weight less" or "I want to look good this summer". The mental barriers between you and your wants (goals) is the tough part.
Excuses are the enemy. Know the enemy.
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By getting serious. The only thing that is going to get you to do it is you. Either you are happy being fat or you aren't. If you aren't then you have to make that decision to work at losing the weight and come hell or high water stick with it. Keep moving forward. There will be ups and downs. Take it as slow as you want but keep going. It's not a race. Make changes you can live with, not quick fix fad "diet" gimmicks.0
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I keep telling myself that I'm going to lose the weight but I never stick with it. I weigh 350 pounds and probably gaining more. What can I do to get more serious about it?
Plain and simple - you have to want it. If you don't want to do it, no amount of tips or tricks are going to kick your butt into doing it. You have to want it, want it for yourself.0 -
Unfortunately it is hard, but I started by always writing down (I keep a piece of paper or small note book handy) what it is that is difficult for me to do or I simply cannot do because of my weight and I keep the list by my bed side and look at it and read it aloud. I have also a list of what I will be able to do when I lose weight and I read those aloud in the morning and night. Keep after it!0
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I think that you just need to start here. Log your food and your exercise. Just do it. If I don't log my food I know I will not lose. It isn't as tough at you have made it out to be in your mind.0
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Small steps. Really small. And then build on them.
I've been working on this for a year. Actually quite a few years - I used to be about 20 kilos heavier than I was when I started logging on MFP.
So, small steps, and build on them. For example, I started by eating all the usual stuff, but making half my plate at each meal consist of the lower calorie fruit and vegetables; for me, that was anything but bananas, avocado, potatoes, beans, peas and sweetcorn basically. This was for two reasons - veggies made me feel generally better. And all those veggies filled me up. I didn't deny myself any of my 'bad' foods. I just ate lots of good foods along side them.
(Later I learned that by eating enough protein I could stop myself craving 'bad' foods, overeating and bingeing. I'm not that interested now in the foods that I used to crave, the ones that triggered binges. I can have chocolate in the house and NOT NEED TO HAVE IT ALL IN MAH BELLY RIGHT THIS MINUTE. )
The next step was to move more. I wanted to do Couch to 5k, but that seemed impossible. So instead of running for 30 minutes, I went walking for 30 minutes, and made the commitment to do that 3 times a week. It's not much. You can even break it up into smaller chunks of ten minutes. Then I added in intervals of walking as fast as I could. After three months of that, I wasn't quite ready for running for 1 minute - which feels like a long freaking time at first. But I could sort of slowly jog at a brisk walking pace for 30 seconds. C25K is a 9 week program. It took me about 6 months to get to where I could 'run' for 30 minutes. Small steps. :-)
And the next step is the hardest - learn to pick yourself up quickly right after you fall. That means starting again tomorrow at first. And work up to starting again at the next meal. Forgive yourself. Be kind to yourself. This is the only body you have. Ok, it might not be fabulous right now, but you have to love it anyway, with all its wobbly bits. Why? Because hating it leads to negative emotions, and negative emotions often lead to overeating on dopamine fix foods full of fat and sugar. That's a nasty downward spiral. Honestly, when you are kind to yourself and the body you have now, you'll find it easier to work towards the body you want in the future.
Work out WHY you want to eat the cake/chocolate/doritos. Pay attention to it. It's often nothing to do with hunger. Work on the reasons behind the craving.
This is a long journey, take it slowly and you'll start to find things to enjoy about it. When I was at school and always the last, wheezing, aching, exhausted, breathless one back from horrible cross country runs, I never thought I running could be a fun thing to do. Why would you do that to yourself? Ugh. But I look forward to it now. I also enjoy finding ways to make cake fit my macros. :-)
Do these three things and you WILL start to feel better mentally and physically. And hopefully that feeling will become addictive and lead you to make more changes.
And once you've managed those three it won't seem like such a big step to tracking calories in and out. Everyone on here will tell you it's as simple as making sure you eat fewer calories than you burn. Because it actually is that simple, really. You can still have cake/chocolate/doritos. There are no bad foods. You just need to make sure that if you are having cake today, at some point today or tomorrow maybe, you need to create meals that have fewer calories so that you don't go over your allowance. You'll find that a big chunk of lean meat and some stir fried veggies or salad will satisfy you just as well as a Big Mac meal.
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I have this problem frequently. I've been on and off MFP for about two years now. Certain things help me get back on board:
- Reading about weight loss. Success stories do nothing for me, but I have a hungry intellect, so reading about research, learning more about how the body works, any well written diet book (even if I disagree with the conclusions) is going to fuel my interest in weight loss.
- Focus on one thing at a time. Years ago, I was successful at eliminating the practice of adding sugar to coffee or tea. Some time after that, I managed to eliminate soda - not forever, just long enough that it's extremely rare for me to want any. Than again I quit fast food long enough that I don't really like it anymore - I still eat it, when I don't have time for anything else. But I don't crave it any more. These are all small wins that made each return to dieting that much easier. Earlier this year I built up habit of eating more vegetables and meal planning. When I resumed dieting a couple months ago I started with one rule: homemade meals only for two weeks. I can't say I really followed it
, but that small effort kicked off all my other efforts quite nicely.
- Just log your food. This is a habit that you have to build to control your calories. Sometimes, making good food choices becomes less of a drag than weighing and logging food. So, if you just decide to log all your food for a month, without any restrictions, you'll be building a useful habit. Then, what often happens, is seeing what you're actually eating becomes the catalyst for seriously wanting to make changes. Similarly, you can start weighing yourself and recording that too. That can be a helpful catalyst as well.
I suggest you start trying some of these, and then do some soul searching and make guesses about your own catalysts. Like others have said, nobody can really tell you how to do this, the ideas above are just what works for me.0 -
For me, I just decided I was going to do it. I don't know how to get someone else to do the same thing. In the words of Yoda, you either do it or you do not. There is no try. If you aren't going to be serious, I would suggest that you shouldn't attempt it at all. If you do, you will just fail and end up worse off than before.0
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TimothyFish wrote: »If you do, you will just fail and end up worse off than before.
That's not necessarily true - the "worse off than before" part. I've "failed" several times. But then the next attempt is always more successful. So the attempt actually made me better than before.0 -
You are absolutely right, but some foods are triggers to binge. I really haven't given much up, but I have my trigger foods for sure!Realize that it does not have to be this hard. There's no reason to label food as "bad" much less throw it away...
Doing what you said is definitely easier, making sure you are eating at least 20% below your calories for the day. I think health can come later. For me, I can't keep trigger foods in the house. I just don't have that kind of self control (maybe one day)!
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I tend to disagree (for me anyway) with the start small changes advice.
I guess I tend to be an addictive personality, all or nothing type. I'm a month in to my weight loss process, and I've invested in a fitness tracker, a gym membership, running shoes, clothes, etc. Not to mention time and effort. I feel invested now. I have skin in the game. I've passed the point where I can just say "screw it" and walk away.
I was also north of 300 lbs. Have been on the border between obese and morbidly obese literally since age 12. At 35 years old, my knees and hips and back hurt me often than they should. I'm more tired and have less energy than I should.
I looked down the road to where this path goes at age 50... And the path probably doesn't make it to 60, and if it does, it is probably taking daily injections for diabetes like my father, and with pretty poor quality of life.
How do you start?
I don't know. Both times I've done it, it just clicked in my head that I have to change this. From there, it really isn't that hard. You just do the work.
I'm sure you, like me and most everyone here, are tired of being the fat person. Tired of feeling bad. Tired of avoiding certain activities and social situations that require, say, swim wear. Tired of having to pay extra money for clothes that you don't even like.
Just decide. Either stay the way you are, or fix it in your mind what you really are. From there, your body will conform to your expectations.
Id say good luck, but you don't need it. All you need is will, work, and maybe a little support.0 -
I found this on another forum and thought of you, thought it might be really useful. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1 Good luck again! You can do it!0
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tigersword wrote: »Listen to Nike and Just Do It. There really is no other way.
This. I started on a random Friday last April, at 375 lbs. I've lost 134 lbs so far.
You really just have to go for it.0 -
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TimothyFish wrote: »If you do, you will just fail and end up worse off than before.
That's not necessarily true - the "worse off than before" part. I've "failed" several times. But then the next attempt is always more successful. So the attempt actually made me better than before.
Ditto. I learned something every time I failed. This is by a long shot, and in many different ways, my most successful attempt yet. It's like the pieces have all fallen into place. All those small steps and missteps got me somewhere, eventually.
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You have to want to do it.0
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Get sick and tired of being sick and tired and get a backbone instead of a wishbone. If you're not sticking with it, it's because you're not committed to it. And commitment comes from being consistent and daring to take on the challenge.I keep telling myself that I'm going to lose the weight but I never stick with it. I weigh 350 pounds and probably gaining more. What can I do to get more serious about it?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
agreed,excellent advice.
also, go see your doc and they will give you help and advice as well as 350 other reasons why you NEED to lose weight to live a healthy life.
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Alot of great advice already given. You have to want to do it for yourself. Make small changes you know you can achieve and commit. You can do this. Good luck. You will get lots of support here.0
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