I've never successfully lost weight in my life...help?

chameleonbones
chameleonbones Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
Okay, so my current (start) weight is around 300lbs. I'm a woman of 6'0, aged 21.

I've tried dieting (1400 cals/day, low sugar, light exercise) for 3+ months at a time before, without ever losing any weight, let alone keeping it off. It was basically an achievement just to not be putting weight on. I didn't understand it, and when I asked my GP she said "you must be adding up your calories wrong" (I wasn't)... :neutral:

I know it's a vague question, but I wanted to hear from people who have struggled to lose weight - What finally got you to do it? How long does it take before your body actually starts to lose weight? Is there something wrong with me or has anyone else had absolutely no results??

Also, any good exercises for seriously fat people? I work in a warehouse, which is fairly intense, but cardio things like jogging are out of the question for my joints.

Replies

  • fearlessleader104
    fearlessleader104 Posts: 723 Member
    Buy a food scale and weigh everything you put in your mouth.
  • angipanda
    angipanda Posts: 7
    I have struggled with this in the past too. I am very motivated to do it this time though. I have heard that lowering your carb intake and writing down everything you eat are great helps. Add me if you like and we can help motivate each other.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    Aivicore. The first thing I would do is get a different doctor. Did they test you for PCOS or problems with your thryoid? There are conditions out there that can make it more difficult to lose weight.

    At 21, working in a warehouse and being 6 foot tall 1400 calories is way too low for you. I would cheat on that like every day because you were probably starving! According to this calculator you could eat like 2400 calories a day and would drop over 60lbs in a year if you just did 1-3 hours of light exercise which your warehouse job definitely fufills.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Trust MFP. Don't set yourself at sedentary since you don't have a desk job. I think with 100lbs to lose you can set yourself at 2lbs a week for your loss. Weigh and measure your food. I'm bad at this. That is why I know when I don't have a loss it's usually my own fault because I get lazy and eyeball portions.

    You might even want to start off by just weighing and measuring and logging all your foods before you set your calorie goal. Get an idea of what you are truly consuming.

    I always see results right away with loss (probably water weight). However, everyone is different. I would give it a full 4 weeks. If no loss, then I would re-evaluate.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,783 Member
    Weigh all your foods, it's really the best way. Fix your meals to take to work with you that way your not guessing at what the calorie count is. Soon you will get good at guessing what things weigh and you'll be able to stop. Log everything. If you want something eat it, just make it fit into your daily goals. If it says a cup of something don't push the stuff down to get more into the cup, that really does change the counts, that's why weighing food is so important. Find friends to motivate just watch out for those who call themselves being honest when they are just policing your diary. Your grown you know when you screw up, you don't need people to tell you that you did. Oh and if you screw up, don't give up. Tomorrow is a new day and it's going to be alright, but you can't screw up everyday and think it's okay, it's not.
    Swimming a great exercise.
  • Smallc10
    Smallc10 Posts: 539 Member
    edited April 2015
    When you say you are counting your calories correctly. Are you sure?
    Are you using measuring cups for foods that are not liquids?
    Are you counting EVERYTHING such as drinks, cooking oils, condiments?
    Do you weigh your meat raw prior to cooking? Do you weight your oatmeal, rice, etc when it is dry?
    Read through http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
    to make sure you are doing it right.

    Walking is going to be your best bet for exercise, along with maybe swimming, or the elliptical if you have really bad joints. You could also invest in a step counter (they have an app on your iphone if you have one of those) and see if you can get in 10,000 steps a day - you work up to that if it is too hard off the bat.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    I never really "got" the whole weight loss thing until I came here. I have always been a sciency math type of person so this system appealed to me from the beginning.

    These two thread give you pretty much everything you need to know to set up a realistic plan and follow it well:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide#latest

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

    I really started having success when I learned
    1. I needed to log everything that passed my lips every day. No taking days or meals off unless for a legit reason. (Its sunday and I don't feel like logging is not a legit reason)
    2. A food scale really increases your accuracy.
    3. MFP overestimates calories burned for most exercises, either only count 50-75% of what it recommends, or find a more reliable way to estimate burns

    You don't have to exercise at all to lose weight if you don't want to. It is all about eating fewer calories than you burn. Some people find it helpful because it gives them room to eat more calories. Of coarse there are all sorts of health benefits too, but doing an exercise you aren't ready for isn't exactly safe of healthy.

    Swimming, using the elliptical, and walking are all good low impact exercises. Resisitance training is also very useful to help maintain more muscle mass while you lose.
  • een2016
    een2016 Posts: 13 Member
    If you do not mind, can I ask, how did you arrived at 1400 calories?
  • een2016
    een2016 Posts: 13 Member
    enterdanger wrote: »
    Aivicore. The first thing I would do is get a different doctor. Did they test you for PCOS or problems with your thryoid? There are conditions out there that can make it more difficult to lose weight.

    At 21, working in a warehouse and being 6 foot tall 1400 calories is way too low for you. I would cheat on that like every day because you were probably starving! According to this calculator you could eat like 2400 calories a day and would drop over 60lbs in a year if you just did 1-3 hours of light exercise which your warehouse job definitely fufills.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Trust MFP. Don't set yourself at sedentary since you don't have a desk job. I think with 100lbs to lose you can set yourself at 2lbs a week for your loss. Weigh and measure your food. I'm bad at this. That is why I know when I don't have a loss it's usually my own fault because I get lazy and eyeball portions.

    You might even want to start off by just weighing and measuring and logging all your foods before you set your calorie goal. Get an idea of what you are truly consuming.

    I always see results right away with loss (probably water weight). However, everyone is different. I would give it a full 4 weeks. If no loss, then I would re-evaluate.

    This.
  • ginny92802
    ginny92802 Posts: 66 Member
    Just an anecdote from something that happened to me - I was having a half cup of light ice cream almost every night. At first this was fine and I lost weight ok, but eventually it slowed down even though I should have still been in deficit. Once I started WEIGHING my ice cream instead of measuring it with a cup, I realized that I was able to pack quite a bit more in the cup than the actual serving size of 60 grams. So I was probably actually having a serving and a half, and tracking it as a serving. These things add up and chip away at your deficit. So when the doctor told you that you were counting them wrong, she didn't mean you couldn't add, it's just that it can get tricky sometimes to be accurate. Definitively invest in a food scale and weigh as much as possible! Also I sent you a friend request!
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    fearlessleader104 wrote: »
    Buy a food scale and weigh everything you put in your mouth.

    This^^ Once I got a food scale and actually realized how much I was truly eating, I was able to modify my food intake. Also, up your daily calorie limit. I'm 5'9, 184 and my daily calories for loss is 1950 per day. It keeps your from getting too hungry and allows you to fit some chocolate or ice cream or whatever. That really helped keep me from binging on those things.
  • NEdblT
    NEdblT Posts: 11 Member
    Smallc10 wrote: »
    When you say you are counting your calories correctly. Are you sure?
    Are you using measuring cups for foods that are not liquids?
    Are you counting EVERYTHING such as drinks, cooking oils, condiments?
    Do you weigh your meat raw prior to cooking? Do you weight your oatmeal, rice, etc when it is dry?
    Read through http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
    to make sure you are doing it right.

    Walking is going to be your best bet for exercise, along with maybe swimming, or the elliptical if you have really bad joints. You could also invest in a step counter (they have an app on your iphone if you have one of those) and see if you can get in 10,000 steps a day - you work up to that if it is too hard off the bat.

    This
    I also use a Fitbit One not only to count steps and activity but I personally call it my Non-Activity monitor. :-)
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
    Aivicore wrote: »
    Okay, so my current (start) weight is around 300lbs. I'm a woman of 6'0, aged 21.

    I've tried dieting (1400 cals/day, low sugar, light exercise) for 3+ months at a time before, without ever losing any weight, let alone keeping it off. It was basically an achievement just to not be putting weight on. I didn't understand it, and when I asked my GP she said "you must be adding up your calories wrong" (I wasn't)... :neutral:

    I know it's a vague question, but I wanted to hear from people who have struggled to lose weight - What finally got you to do it? How long does it take before your body actually starts to lose weight? Is there something wrong with me or has anyone else had absolutely no results??

    Also, any good exercises for seriously fat people? I work in a warehouse, which is fairly intense, but cardio things like jogging are out of the question for my joints.

    There's already some good advice here (weigh your food, log every bite) but I thought I'd chime in on the exercise part.

    I'm a big advocate of exercise. As a long, long term exercise avoider, that is a big turn around. I won't say I truly enjoy it, but I know it is essential if I want to 1) be healthy and 2) lose weight. Exercising allows me to eat enough to not be hungry and still maintain a calorie deficit.

    You have advantages over me. You're much younger and much taller. Your BMI is lower than mine was when I started this 2 years ago (mine was over 47, you're at just over 40).

    You might already be burning a lot of calories at your job. However, if you want to do more, here is what worked for me... I got a Wii, a Wii balance board and the Wii Fit software and committed to a minimum amount of cardio using it each day. I think I started at 15 minutes, but pretty quickly ramped it up to 30. The cardio exercises on it are easy and won't stress your joints. As I got more fit, I added other Wii exercise software. I now do at least an hour, usually more like 1.5 hours every day of Wii Zumba and/or vigorous walking each day. Believe it or not, I found I need the Zumba or my knees can't handle the walking. If you work up to it, a little jumping is good for the joints. By exercising that much, I can eat close to 2200 calories a day and still lose weight (about a pound a week for the last month).

    I also love my FitBit. It pretty much keeps track of all my exercise for me (since it's almost all step based), so I don't have to log it separately, and it gives me credit for being active when I'm not exercising. I've been tracking it carefully for just over a month now (weighing and logging pretty much everything I eat, so I have an accurate measure of calories in) and for me it does a great job of tracking calories out.
  • briannadunn
    briannadunn Posts: 841 Member
    edited April 2015
    This may be helpful..I was exercing like a fiend. Lost to 182 pounds..then last February I stopped losing weight and kept gaining..maxed out at 252 pounds despite everything I did. I cried as I watched every month my weight going up and me getting sicker and was in lotts of pain. I threw in the towel and after much bloodwork and getting imaging done and switching to a different doctor we discovered I had a ton of stuff wrong that was contributing to my weight problem including having my Grandmothers autoimmune disease. I discovered I a severly allergic on the autoimmune level to many many things I was eating accounting for the no weightloss and major inflammation throughout my system.In 5 days I have noticed a huge difference. If your not losing weight with a normal diet and exercise it is worth checking for allergies to food that may be preventing you from a healthier lifestyle..lets hope you arent allergic to things like me..I cant have soy, gluten, corn, dairy, eggs, beef, bananas, walnuts, peacons, black pepper, peppers, pineapple, mushrooms, and yeasts. This leaves me very limited food options.
  • ms_sugah
    ms_sugah Posts: 8 Member
    It is SOOO easy to get discouraged. I am there right now. But being honest with myself, I know I have overeaten these last couple of days. Reading these encouraging conversations lets me know I am not alone in my fight. I too would like to at least once in my life experience a goal breaking weight loss for myself. Thank you to all who contributed to this thread. Your words are motivation!
  • comittobethin
    comittobethin Posts: 42 Member
    I have PCOS which is practically the devil when you are trying to lose weight. What I find most effective is doing 45% protein 30% fat and 25% carbs. I am a big girl too, I used to be 320 and currently I am 292. I found that when i just went to work out 3 times a week, I would overeat on the days I didn't work out so I switched to working out 6 times a week but doing less each time. I used to do 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical (which doesn't put much pressure on your joints and is a great place to start) and 30 minutes of weight lifting (the most important part! if you are going to skip something skip the cardio not the weights) but then I switched it to mwf 15 min of cardio, 30 min of weights and TThSa 30 minutes of cardio. It not only helps me stay on track but it makes me be more mindful of what I am putting in to my mouth. Also, don't make a habit of eating back your calories. I have seen that sabotage the best of them.

    In addition I don't allow myself "cheat meals" in the traditional sense. I feel like those meals gave me an excuse to eat bad and it spiraled out of control most of the time. Instead, I allow myself to have my cravings but I fit it into my calorie count. For example. I LOVE shrimp quesadillas. I found a way to make them somewhat healthy at home. I love burgers and french fries so we have a bag of french fries in the freezer and a mini frozen cheeseburger.

    Take periodical pictures so that you can SEE the difference rather than weigh it. Write down the reasons that you want to get fit in the first place and superglue that sucker to your fridge. Start a weight loss countdown and put that on your fridge. Get other people motivated to go work out with you and cook healthy meals together. ANYTHING that will keep you motivated.

    If you are doing something that isn't working, change it. There has to be some reason that your body isn't letting go of that weight whether its underestimating your food consumption, over estimating your calorie burn, or maybe its just a process that doesn't work for you. Play trial and error for a while until you find something thats doable long term and gives you the results that you want. There are going to be some weeks where you weigh in and you dont lose anything or you gain something back. IT'S OKAY!!!! That is NORMAL in weight loss. Not every week is going to be perfect. You have to take it day by day and look at your non scale victories (NSVs). I used to get winded going up our apartment stairs and now I maneuver them with ease. That alone makes all the sweat, tears, and blood (yes blood) worth it. Keep on trying and don't let anything get you down. If your whole heart is in it and you aren't half assing anything, the results will be there!

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