How do I even start losing weight?

llama_kay
llama_kay Posts: 3
in Getting Started
i have been big all my life. I need to lose at lest 50 lbs to be consider "healthy". I'm only 5'1 and weigh 189. I have know idea what to or how to eat. My mom keeps telling me I need to stop eating so I don't end up like her. She's have weight losse surgery and so is my brother. They're having it on the same day. They have doctors telling them what to do. While I have no one. If any of yall can give me tips I really would appreciate it. Thanks!

Replies

  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    edited January 2015
    Weight loss is simply calories in versus calories out. Meaning eat less, move more. No weird diets, no magic pills, no elimination of the foods you like, just cut down on your portion sizes. A piece of bread turns into one, cake is now a sliver. It's not easy you will get hungry, but once your mind and body get used to it, it goes much easier.

    Be faithful about logging in your calories every day. In this you will learn which foods you're eating too much of that are the problem, and you will automatically start making better choices. Make certain to set reasonable goals, it's not an overnight fix.

    Stick with it, and you'll get to a much healthier, happier you, and something that will stay with you forever.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    1. Throw out everything you "know"--about meal timing, about bad foods, about carbs, about sugar, about fat, about clean eating. ALL THAT MATTERS FOR WEIGHT LOSS IS CALORIES.
    2. Weigh and log everything you eat. Don't eyeball. Be honest with what you put in your mouth, because your body will count it even if you don't.
    3. Eat the calories MFP gives you. Not enough? Eat more, but log every single bite. Accuracy and honesty will get you to the finish line, even if you slip up.
    4. YOU GOT THIS!!! Believe in yourself.


    ps Motivation is overrated. Just put one foot in front of the other and eventually this will all be second nature.
  • llama_kay
    llama_kay Posts: 3
    Thanks!
  • Wheelmom2
    Wheelmom2 Posts: 1
    Hi Honey,
    I think its wonderful that you are ready to start your weight loss journey. I too have battled weight issues all of my life. However I have finally after two failed attempts found a solution. The AMA recommends that for weight loss you should have a 1200 calorie eating plan. Many of such plans with menus are on line. I also am reading Dr. Phil's 20/20 diet book. I recommend this as well as his original weight loss book that he wrote 10 years ago. One of the major things that has helped me is to write down everything I eat or drink. Tracking it allows me to see what foods work best for me. Hang in there and take it one day at a time.
  • _BellaLuna_
    _BellaLuna_ Posts: 8 Member
    Hi there. I too was in this position once upon a time and it's a hard road if you don't have support and help. Losing weight isn't just about food and exercise - it's a mindset. A lifestyle even.
    Not eating will do more long term damage than it will good as your body requires fuel to function. What are you eating? How much are you eating? When are you eating? When it comes to snacks, if I think I'm hungry I'll have a big glass of water and wait a few minutes. In many cases we think we are hungry when we are in fact thirsty - our bodies can show very similar signs when it comes to the two. In terms of main meals, I started by cutting out butter on sandwiches, replacing full cream milk with skim milk, stopped eating chocolate and drinking soft drink (not that I had soft drink very often) and learnt how to read nutrition labels on food packaging. When I used to eat meat I substituted frying meat with grilling or baking it in the oven.

    As far as exercise goes, you don't need to go hard straight away - build up your fitness levels first. If you are not currently active, I'd suggest starting with a half an hour walk a day. It is a good way to begin getting your body conditioned to regular physical activity if you are not currently exercising.
    With regards to food, I highly recommend using the food diary on the MFP app - it will help you track how much you are eating and what you are eating (I am a huge fan of the barcode scanner - considered a piece of chocolate today and put it back when the scanner told me 297 calories. Don't think so!).
    Drink plenty of water. Lots and lots of water.
    I hope some of this helps. Good luck - you are not alone. x
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • duna_pruna
    duna_pruna Posts: 27 Member
    I would like to suggest that you not focus on your mass (weight) but either your body fat or your measurements. Our culture is so obsessed with weight, but body composition is far more critical to long term success. I started MFP 19 months ago. It has taken me that long to go from 29% to 24%. I only lost 12 lbs, but I dropped 3 dress sizes. By getting your lean mass up, you keep your body burning calories and it helps to keep you healthy. Also, as you age, the muscle will protect your joints and back from injury. I am not a weight lifter, but I do exercise every day for an hour. The above comments are true; weight loss is very simply calorie reduction. You must faithfully log everything. I would set your timeline at 3 years to get to maintenance. This is a long term thing - not a quick fix.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    Wheelmom2 wrote: »
    Hi Honey,
    I think its wonderful that you are ready to start your weight loss journey. I too have battled weight issues all of my life. However I have finally after two failed attempts found a solution. The AMA recommends that for weight loss you should have a 1200 calorie eating plan. Many of such plans with menus are on line. I also am reading Dr. Phil's 20/20 diet book. I recommend this as well as his original weight loss book that he wrote 10 years ago. One of the major things that has helped me is to write down everything I eat or drink. Tracking it allows me to see what foods work best for me. Hang in there and take it one day at a time.

    That is a blanket recommendation and may not apply in her case. When OP signed up, she put in her age, weight, activity level, and goal. MFP gave her a number--which is the number she needs to use, and it is probably not 1200.
  • ramseyarose
    ramseyarose Posts: 8 Member
    If you eat clean meaning no crap , no packaged foods, no fast food , you can eat more, in turn you will be full. Clean food is full of nutrients that your body needs and is low calorie so you can eat more of it. Packaged foods, fast foods are high calorie so you can only eat a little bit of it. but no one ever eats a little bit of fast food. Ive been known to eat a whole bag of Doritos thats all my calories for the day!!

    Protein will make you feel full for a long time . ex chicken breast , egg whites, cottage cheese, greek yogurt plain, Kefir, beans, steak, pork ,

    no white bread crap its all full of sugar which means high calories, whole grain breads

    green veggies! all of them . I blend 2 oz kale 2 oz spinach and 4 oz of mango juice Odwalla with 10-12 oz of water Daily and make my 7 yr old daughter drink it too.

    fruit is all good but they are all full of sugar so it is easy to go fruit crazy and over do it!

    Drink water all day ! Trash all soda . Way too much sugar and diet drinks are crap too .
    Water is your new best friend.

    move! dance ! walk! You Tube has Tons of workouts, Search Jillian Micheals on You Tube !

    Make it fun!

  • acmanna
    acmanna Posts: 200 Member
    Glad you are making some changes! Feel free to add me as a friend.
    1200 calories in many cases is too low. You can still lose weight and enjoy the things you like. Buy a food scale, weigh and measure everything, log everything. If you have a bad meal/day log it and move on. Adding in some exercise is great but you don't have to to lose weight. You can start small by walking more and there are plenty of free YouTube videos. Fitnessblender is my fav.
    Best wishes to you!
  • mxchana
    mxchana Posts: 666 Member
    edited January 2015
    Kay, kudos for tackling this challenge head-on at such a young age! respect-037.gif You are going to reap tremendous benefits by getting into a healthy lifestyle so young.

    There are four things I would do to start (this is how I started out):

    (1) Begin logging in what you actually eat every day. (You can keep your diary private if you like so that you don't have to worry about anyone judging what you are eating.)

    (2) Begin walking every day, at a comfortable pace, and log in that exercise. You might start with 10 minutes a day and then increase it once you feel you can, a little at a time, until you get to 30 minutes a day.

    (3) Enter your stats in the MFP fitness profile and see what recommendations come up for you as to daily calories etc. You may not be able to achieve those goals yet but, it will show you where you want to get to.

    (4) Buy a digital food scale. That scale is going to become your best friend. It will help you find out for real how many calories you are taking in each day.

    These are just beginning steps, and as you get further into your journey you will began to make changes to move closer to your goal.

    Welcome to a great online community! welcome-0005a.gif Hope you find these helpful ... best of luck, you can do this! ~ Kathy

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  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Read the Announcements at the top of the message board threads. There is great information in them for getting started.

    Baby steps are key. Don't try to change your entire life overnight or you're bound to end up frustrated and overwhelmed and those lead to quitting. Get yourself into the mindset that you're making a lifestyle change and not something that you will eventually finish. Time-based goals for weight loss are bound to lead to "failure". Weight loss is not linear and you will lose pounds faster at the beginning than at the end.

    Start out by simply logging everything you eat. Every single thing. Weigh solid foods and measure liquids that can't be weighed. Don't underestimate calories eaten or overestimate calories burned in exercise. You're only cheating yourself if you try to play with the numbers or pretend you didn't eat as much as you probably did. Logging everything makes it easier to see where you can make simple changes that have a big impact.

    Start strength training as soon as possible. In my opinion it's more important than doing cardio. It is easier to maintain the muscle you already have than to build new muscle. When we lose weight it is a combination of water, fat and muscle. Your body has built up muscles to move around your extra weight. If you can keep them as you lose weight you're going to look amazing when you've lost the fat that is covering them.

    The measuring tape is a better tool than the bathroom scale for judging your progress. In addition to "Before" pictures, measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs and any other body part you want to track and start recording them in MFP now. When the scale isn't moving your body might still be shrinking especially if you're lifting weights.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
    edited January 2015
    Wheelmom2 wrote: »
    Hi Honey,
    I think its wonderful that you are ready to start your weight loss journey. I too have battled weight issues all of my life. However I have finally after two failed attempts found a solution. The AMA recommends that for weight loss you should have a 1200 calorie eating plan. Many of such plans with menus are on line. I also am reading Dr. Phil's 20/20 diet book. I recommend this as well as his original weight loss book that he wrote 10 years ago. One of the major things that has helped me is to write down everything I eat or drink. Tracking it allows me to see what foods work best for me. Hang in there and take it one day at a time.

    I'm very close to OPs height and weight. I tried 1200 calories a day and couldn't drop any weight. MFP told me to eat 1350. I put my calorie intake up to 1400 and now drop lots of weight.
  • rach021979
    rach021979 Posts: 103 Member
    edited January 2015
    Because I have back pain issues a lot of people on this site tell me that the calories you consume equals weight loss or weight gain so stick to your daily goals. Are you able to exercise? adding in some exercise 3 to 5 times a week REALLY helps!! (that always helped me before I got injured) Good luck! you are a beautiful young lady and I know you will do great!
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    1. Throw out everything you "know"--about meal timing, about bad foods, about carbs, about sugar, about fat, about clean eating. ALL THAT MATTERS FOR WEIGHT LOSS IS CALORIES.
    2. Weigh and log everything you eat. Don't eyeball. Be honest with what you put in your mouth, because your body will count it even if you don't.
    3. Eat the calories MFP gives you. Not enough? Eat more, but log every single bite. Accuracy and honesty will get you to the finish line, even if you slip up.
    4. YOU GOT THIS!!! Believe in yourself.


    ps Motivation is overrated. Just put one foot in front of the other and eventually this will all be second nature.

    This, all of this! Start with weighing everything, and being honest. By doing this you can eat what you want, but will find that fresh fruit, veggies, and protein fill you up longer. Be consistent, and it will come off. Quickly at first, but it will slow down. Don't be discouraged by the slow down. Make MFP apart of your day.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
    Welcome! I will add you didn't gain the weight over night and it will not come off over night. It is a long process. You will have great days, bad days and ok days. Just remember this is a journey. My trainer told me to look at it as "marathon not a sprint."

    Log all of your food and start off small. For example set a small realistic goals like "I want to walk 3 miles without stopping" (if you are able to exercise) so when you reach those you feel good about yourself. That really worked for me.

    Good luck! You go girl!

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