Overwhelmed

theworldofjel13 · January 2015

Ok, so I have decided to try this whole weight loss journey again. I'm hoping I can actually stick to it this time. I had lost about 70 pounds last year, but then my dad ended up getting really sick, the stress of that made me put most of my weight back on. My dad passed away september of last year. That was my breaking point, I started to eat like crap and stopped working out. I'm hoping this community will inspire me to get back at it. I just feel overwhelmed on what I should and should not be eating. Any help would be appreciated.

ros2will3run · January 2015

Hi, sorry to hear about your dad..i really love mine too. Don't worry..about diet! There's loads of opinions and advice on mfp.
A lot of people say just have what you want, but keep within the calorie limit..and begin again to get fit, exercising..some eat back half the extra calorie allowance earnt from sport.
I guess it's good to nourish the physical body with nutritional tasty veg, pulses, too, and cut back on carbs..that's the way I'm going..still early days. Best wishes..

theworldofjel13 · January 2015

Thank you for the tips and tricks. Best wishes to you as well. I'm hoping I can find something that works for me that I can stick to.

dadjoey · January 2015

Do not go on a diet!!! Change your diet!!! Dont make any changes you cant live with forever.I Best way to go about it is to make a few small changes...hell, maybe even one change if thats all you can handle at the moment. Ie. drink 3 cokes a day. Change to two cokes a day for a period of time, then reduce after you are comfortable with that. Add another change and work that for a period of time, then up the ante some. The changes will be small, and much easier to handle.
Another rule i follow is every decision is just one decision. Meaning, you didnt get where you are by making one bad decision. You made many consecutive decisions to get there. To get where you wanna be, you have to do the same thing. One good decision at a time. I started with making the rule that I would make 2 good decisions for every bad decision. Then worked from there. Now, I allow myself one bad decision every few days. Most of the time i stick to it, sometimes i dont. Superbowl sunday is a no decision day for me. I dont wanna not enjoy stuff....so tomorrow is a wash, but monday right back at it. I have lost 56 pounds in 55 weeks. Not earth shattering, but very consistent. This app, if you follow and input everything is a great tool. Teaches you about portions, sodium, fat, carbs and how exercise helps.... Good luck....

cwolfman13 · January 2015

there's no reason to be overwhelmed...all you need to do is worry about hitting your calorie goal..it's as simple as that...you don't have to demonize foods and eliminate things...you just have to hit your calorie goals. As a matter of nutritional needs, make small changes along the way...trying to make whole sale changes overnight isn't going to work for most people.

This is actually very simple but people are just convinced that losing weight is this big complicated mystery thing (the industry doesn't help)...but it really, it is very simple.

Your body requires XXXX energy (calories) to maintain the status quot...when you exceed that threshold, that energy gets stored as body fat for later use...when you undershoot that threshold you make up the difference by dipping into your energy reserves...aka fat stores. It really is that simple.

jillshadow · January 2015

I am sorry to hear about your father. My mother very almost died this year and going through that was the hardest situation I've ever been in. I also lost my dad when I was 9, so I can sympathize with you. Anyways, if you are up to suggestions, I have one. Since you are so upset, the absolute BEST thing you can do is to keep exercising, even when you feel down. For me it really makes all the difference. I suffer from SAD (ironic, I know. But it stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder) and I am much, much happier and sleep 100% better and without sleeping medication when I exercise. The whole endorphin's thing, you know.

999tigger · January 2015

Sorry to hear about your dad, its one of those massive life events that just takes as long as it takes. If you lost 70 before then surely you know what works for you?

Id agree with wolfman in keeping it simple, there really isnt any reason to be overwhelemed by the mechanics of it.

I have two tips.

1. Be smart and ease yourself into it. If you are overwhelmed then take small steady steps so that you can adapt as you go along.
2. Get the right mindset, so you understand why you are doing it and that the diet/ exercise can be your plan to get somewhere you really want to be and is your friend, not soemthing you have to endure and fight against. By approaching it in that way it becomes a lifestyle change that you are more likely to stick with. Exercise cna be a really good refuge and assistance towards fighting depression.

Good luck. You can do it if you can master being consistent.

loulamb7 · January 2015

Excellent suggestions. Start slow. No dramatic changes or too much to figure out or worry about. Maybe start by just logging calories accurately for a couple of weeks. Then switch to eating at maintenance and logging. Then cut back by 250 per day and monitor the results for a couple of week. Then up to a 500 calorie deficit and continue the process.

Sorry about your dad.

theworldofjel13 · January 2015

Thank you everyone. I know I can do it. I just have to get myself together, and I know this isnt going to be easy. I know I'm not going to lose this weight overnight. The 70 pounds I lost before, I didnt do it the "right" way, I did a lot of crash diets. And sometimes only eating once a day.

Overwhelmed

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