Im not sure how to start :(

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MirryhaD
MirryhaD Posts: 12 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hey, I am a little stuck. I have attempted this time and time again but never get far. I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life and I cannot take it any more. It is affecting me in my personal life as well as at work. I do not have family here for support and I work like a crazy person with an even crazier schedule, so by the time I get home I am just drained. I am looking for pointers and maybe some moral support if at all possible. Please and Thank anyone willing to help.

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  • xxConnie16
    xxConnie16 Posts: 24 Member
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    Meal prepping should help you out a lot!
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,045 Member
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    I would recommend starting by doing a lot of reading. Educate yourself as much as possible on the science behind weight loss and fitness. Learn to differentiate between legitimate information and baseless claims so that you don't waste time and effort and become demoralized doing "fad" diets or trying to adhere to unnecessary rules like "eating 6 meals a day." Find what works for you.

    This is a good place to start:

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • Rose6300
    Rose6300 Posts: 232 Member
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    Hi there,

    You can lose weight without exercising if you don't have time and are drained when you get home. In fact, the best way to start is just by eating less than you're eating now. You can figure out how much to eat by going here: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Realize it's a marathon, not a sprint. You don't have to go super-intense in your weight loss efforts, in fact, that's counterproductive. You will succeed if you string a gazillion days of a reasonable calorie deficit together. You will fail if you try to lose 5 pounds a week, and eat hardly anything.

    Poke around in the "getting started" messages area. There's a bunch of helpful threads "stickied" at the top of it. Read them. They're awesome.

    Best of luck to you!
    Rose
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Just start as best as you can. No start will be perfect. My suggestions for this week:
    1. A week of complete and decently-accurate logging.
    2. Three exercise sessions of at least 30 minutes.
    3. An hour during the week reading support messages here in the forum.
    4. Printing out your logs and circling the three biggest calorie items (meals or choices) in your log and thinking about alternatives for next time that situation comes up.
    5. Add at least 5 friends from the forums who either are like you or who inspire you.

    Notice that there's nothing in this list about weighing less, hitting your calorie goal, exercising heavily, going down in a clothing size. Those are results that you get from following on a plan, don't make them part of your plan. Here are some other one-time things you should do this week...
    • Get your starting neck, waist, and hips measurements
    • Take some "before" photos in clothing that shows your shape. Keep it simple. You'll take progress and after photos in similar clothes and poses along the way.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    The thing about weight loss that almost nobody wants to admit is that it's hard. Once you can accept that and get over that mental hurdle, it really helps.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    Be patient, long term success is what you want. Remember you are not on a diet but rather just making small changes to your lifestyle that you can sustain forever.

    If you want to lose weight, the easiest way is to clean up your diet by reducing calories.

    Exercising with weights and some cardio is definitely going to help but people struggling with weight tend to fall off the bandwagon real quick especially when they go from no exercise at all to hours a day...so be careful with that.

    Use this community and connect with a few good 'friends' who can PM you with more specific questions, support.

    Good Luck
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
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    hi

    It can be a little overwhelming to begin with so don't panic! I'm going to assume you have just started so you are totally new to all this. It's really important that your totally on board with the who concept of MFP and CICO (calories in, calories out) and trust in the science. In order for it all to work (for me anyway) you have to be totally focussed.

    Put all your stats into MFP and it will calculate exactly how many calories you need to eat every day in order to fuel your body and loose weight (make sure you set a realistic weekly loss, there's no hurry)

    I have found that eating similar food on a regular basis works best for me. As yet, it hasn't got too repetitive. I've found what works and I stick to it pretty easily at the moment.

    Breakfast is porridge with 150ml semi skimmed milk and 150ml water
    Lunch is salad with chicken or tuna and light mayo - easily taken to work in Tupperware
    Dinner is usually chicken and veg

    These meals leave me enough flexibility to eat snacks (fruit or protein bars usually) or mix up the meals (adding a sauce or pasta/rice) and I usually get a glass of wine at the end of a busy day!

    I hope that helps


  • LoeshaElizabeth
    LoeshaElizabeth Posts: 96 Member
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    check out fitnessblender.com they are entirely free and give some fantastic advice on nutrition and health as well as providing free workout videos :)
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Baby steps. You are retraining yourself for the rest of your life so don't expect big changes right away.

    Start by getting in the habit of weighing, measuring, and logging all of your food. Don't worry as much about what you eat, just get into the habit of accountability

    Next, cut portions so you are at your calorie target

    By now you should have an idea as to what foods satisfy you and what ones leave you hungry. You should also have a better idea as to what your macro mix should be and how many meals and what time of day you are happiest eating. (Some like 2-3 meals a day, others like 5-6, it makes no difference and is just personal preference)

    Do something similar for exercise. If you don't do anything now, just start moving. Go for a daily walk. Start lifting milk jugs with a little water to add weight, whatever. If you already are active, get into a routine.

    Ease into the new habits and you will go far. many people try to do too much at the beginning and get frustrated if they can't maintain them. One of the best bits of advice I received when I first started was this: "you are not making a big change in your life, you are making a series of little changes"
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    "you are not making a big change in your life, you are making a series of little changes"
    Excellent! That's exactly the way to start!

  • missgnocchi
    missgnocchi Posts: 6
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    LoeshaElizabeth wrote: »
    check out fitnessblender.com they are entirely free and give some fantastic advice on nutrition and health as well as providing free workout videos :)

    i second that. they're great and if you're feeling drained they have lots of low impact cardio and stretching.
    also feel free to add me. :smile:

  • perpetuallyfit
    perpetuallyfit Posts: 153 Member
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    I think if you are too drained out by the end of the day, the best way to lose weight is by consuming lesser calories than you are doing now. And up your water intake!! I've noticed no carbs after 5 or 6 PM really helps to lose weight!!
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,045 Member
    edited March 2015
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    perpetuallyfit wrote: »
    I think if you are too drained out by the end of the day, the best way to lose weight is by consuming lesser calories than you are doing now. And up your water intake!! I've noticed no carbs after 5 or 6 PM really helps to lose weight!!

    So the first part of this, yes. The second part is a good example of what I meant earlier when I said "Learn to differentiate between legitimate information and baseless claims so that you don't waste time and effort and become demoralized doing "fad" diets or trying to adhere to unnecessary rules like "eating 6 meals a day.""

    No carbs after 5 or 6pm is just another means of reducing your overall caloric intake. Aside from this, it has no benefit whatsoever. It's great that this works for the above poster if that is what they want/like to do, but it's not necessary to change your own eating habits to try to accommodate this suggestion. Again, it just boils down to what helps you adhere to your deficit.

    For more info, please see:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/all-diets-work-the-importance-of-calories.html/

    http://www.simplyshredded.com/carbs-at-night-fat-loss-killer-or-imaginary-boogeyman.html

    http://www.leangains.com/2011/06/is-late-night-eating-better-for-fat.html

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