It's official I'm FAT!

Welcome to MFP! First of all, forget what you think you know about weight loss. You don't need to eat rabbit food, "healthy" or "clean" to lose weight. You don't need to starve yourself, either. There's no magical combination of foods to eat (or avoid) unless you have a medical issue. Eating after a certain time of day won't store fat. No foods "burn fat" and you can't reduce fat in one specific area by doing something special. Drinking lots of water doesn't have an affect on weight loss. I think that covers most of it.

Babysteps! Start slow. Make little changes and keep doing those things until they become habit then add another change. Right now, that change should be getting into the habit of weighing and measuring your food and logging every single thing you eat and drink; everything down to chewing gum and vitamins. You don't need to change what you're eating or how much you're eating yet, just log it all and be brutally honest with yourself. You may not like what you're seeing but you'll learn a lot more if you can correlate what you're eating, with how many calories it contains.

If you don't own a kitchen scale, buy one and use it. Most food should be weighed, not measured, even salad dressing and peanut butter packaging gives servings in grams. If you're inaccurate with your logging your results will not be what you think they should be which is frustrating.

After a week or so of logging, look back over your diary and figure out where you can make some substitutions that will have big impact. Smaller portions at meals. Swapping one or two sweetened drinks with water or something zero calorie. Strive to stay at or just under the calorie goal MFP sets for you every single day. Don't worry about sugar, carbs, fat and protein for now. Once you get logging and staying under your calorie goal you can focus on those things including figuring out your TDEE, BMR, etc.

Exercise isn't needed for weight loss but it's important for fitness and overall health. Don't join a gym right away (babysteps!) just start moving more. Find an activity that you like whether that's walking, running, swimming, biking, Zumba, or whatever. Do something you like so that you'll want to stick with it. Working out shouldn't be something you dread each day.

Take "before" pictures so you can better judge your progress visually. The measuring tape is at least as important as the bathroom scale. 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.

The most important thing right now is that what you're doing is sustainable. You shouldn't be dieting to reach an end goal weight but changing your eating habits for life so you don't gain the weight back. That means that whichever way you're eating while you lose weight should be the way you plan to eat once you reach your goal, just a little more of it.

Welcome! The first step is admitting you have a problem

Sue's advice is sound. Don't starve yourself, don't follow fad diets, don't cut out food groups you enjoy. Just start tracking the calories of what you normally eat. You will find the 'calorie bombs' in your diet quickly.

barlow308 wrote: »

At my doctors appointment today I learned I've gained 20 lbs in 6 months and I actually thought I was losing.

do you have a bathroom scale?

You are on the right path, you'll find support and help here. If you can't diet, don't. I'm not on a diet, I just improved my habits, portion everything and tried my best to be healthier.....

You can do this!!!

barlow308 wrote: »

I guess I've been in denial or just out right ignoring it. At my doctors appointment today I learned I've gained 20 lbs in 6 months and I actually thought I was losing. It was a huge wake up call I need to lose over 100 lbs and I am about to go crazy! I don't think I can do this. I get physically sick with dieting bad headaches, weakness, mood wings and that's just the beginning. I don't know how you guys are doing it. Any suggestions?

Hi and good for you for admitting you need to do this. I recently started and down 10lbs so far. I too, have 50 more to go. I have found MFP tremendously helpful. It goes all boil down to calories. You can eat what you like so no restrictions. By logging down everything you are putting into your mouth, you can then look back and see what you can do to tweak it. I did my initial measurements so I know what I started at as well as pictures. Good luck you can do this.

SueInAz wrote: »

Welcome to MFP! First of all, forget what you think you know about weight loss. You don't need to eat rabbit food, "healthy" or "clean" to lose weight. You don't need to starve yourself, either. There's no magical combination of foods to eat (or avoid) unless you have a medical issue. Eating after a certain time of day won't store fat. No foods "burn fat" and you can't reduce fat in one specific area by doing something special. Drinking lots of water doesn't have an affect on weight loss. I think that covers most of it.

Babysteps! Start slow. Make little changes and keep doing those things until they become habit then add another change. Right now, that change should be getting into the habit of weighing and measuring your food and logging every single thing you eat and drink; everything down to chewing gum and vitamins. You don't need to change what you're eating or how much you're eating yet, just log it all and be brutally honest with yourself. You may not like what you're seeing but you'll learn a lot more if you can correlate what you're eating, with how many calories it contains.

If you don't own a kitchen scale, buy one and use it. Most food should be weighed, not measured, even salad dressing and peanut butter packaging gives servings in grams. If you're inaccurate with your logging your results will not be what you think they should be which is frustrating.

After a week or so of logging, look back over your diary and figure out where you can make some substitutions that will have big impact. Smaller portions at meals. Swapping one or two sweetened drinks with water or something zero calorie. Strive to stay at or just under the calorie goal MFP sets for you every single day. Don't worry about sugar, carbs, fat and protein for now. Once you get logging and staying under your calorie goal you can focus on those things including figuring out your TDEE, BMR, etc.

Exercise isn't needed for weight loss but it's important for fitness and overall health. Don't join a gym right away (babysteps!) just start moving more. Find an activity that you like whether that's walking, running, swimming, biking, Zumba, or whatever. Do something you like so that you'll want to stick with it. Working out shouldn't be something you dread each day.

Take "before" pictures so you can better judge your progress visually. The measuring tape is at least as important as the bathroom scale. 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.

The most important thing right now is that what you're doing is sustainable. You shouldn't be dieting to reach an end goal weight but changing your eating habits for life so you don't gain the weight back. That means that whichever way you're eating while you lose weight should be the way you plan to eat once you reach your goal, just a little more of it.

Excellent advice! Follow it!

Two months from now, it's more important that you are still on MFP logging your food, than go on a crash (unsustainable) diet, lose 30 then binge and put it all back on (plus some) because you were being too strict with yourself.
Think of this as a marathon, not a sprint. Baby steps....

Good luck!

You have already gotten really great advice on this thread. Do "digest" it and apply. I'm down 12lbs in the last month (finally under 299, so yes, I'm FAT too.)

Here's one trick I've learned this last month that has really been game changing.

I use to consume all kinds of cruddy junk food. Cheap stuff from the dollar store, garbage chocolate, chips, etc. Nothing special.

I've eliminated that. Now when I treat myself it's the very best, top shelf treats I can get, then in moderation, making it fit into my day. Instead of a discount candy bar that wasn't that special anyway, I'll grab a Dove chocolate bar, or Hershey bar, and only eat half of it. Junk food is still fun, but now it's celebration.

The other day, I celebrated my being under 300lbs with a very, very high calorie Ice Cream Sunday. (1200 calories! and it fit my day!), but it was the VERY BEST I could buy and I probably won't do that again for another 20lbs.

Best of luck! If I can do it, anyone can do this!

Jeff