Need to lose 100lbs

I have rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, cardiomyopathy and heart failure. I've lost 85 pounds and now work out one to two hours a day. But, when I started in January 2014, I could only walk about a quarter of a mile at a slow pace.

Your health problems are likely to improve with weight loss. In the meantime, you can still move! Walk as much as you can when you can. You can work the upper body sitting down. But, let's face it...the key word is "deficit" and you don't need to exercise to do that! Eat less. Move more.

Welcome, I need to lose a 100lbs still and have lost 43 lbs so far with diet alone and increasing activity i simple ways - parking farther from the stores, taking stairs instead of elevators etc. but not specific excercise routine since I was too self conscious and afraid of injury.

For me, I completely reconfigured the way me and my family eat. We cut out processed snack foods in our work/school lunches. So no granola bars, no crackers, none of the prepackaged stuff. To clarify nothing wrong with that, but when you want to eat to feel full, those foods don't cut it. (You can have 150 calories in a single granola bar and be hungry in 30 mins or have 20 baby carrots and a tbsp of hummus and feel satisfied for hours)We instead replaced those processed snacks with fresh fruit - bananas grapes, cherry tomatos, melons, apples most often as well as peaches and plums - and veggies - celery,baby carrots, cucumber, peppers. We added hummus or nut butters for extra protein to dip veggies in. We switched to whole grain bread and used shaved lean turkey, chicken or ham for sandwiches.

I buy both light yogurt (40 calories) for a dessert type feeling and also greek yogurts (100 calories) as a protein option.

I had switched to coffee with milk and no sugar, which i liked until I went on vacation adn consumed too much sweet coffee drinks, so i'm back to 1 cream and sugar, but this is someplaces i'm hoping to cut back down. 1 extra large cream and sugar is 160, 1 extra large with milk 40 calories. lol i just need to readjust my tastes.

We opted for more salads as side dishes rather than heavy noodle dishes like sidekicks (again nothing wrong with them, but much calories for not a lot of food). We actually stopped having heavy sides with a lot of meals like tacos, sloppy joes and hamburgers as it wasn't necessary on top of the main course.

I completely stopped regularly buying chips, cookies, ice cream and cakes since we demonstrated very poor self control. I'll buy tortilla chips as a side if we're having a mexican dish sometimes, but don't keep them on hand. With ice cream, if i do buy it's a 4 pack of drumsticks or ice cream bars so there is a very small quanity, since we also demonstrated poor control.

We still eat out weekly, but our instinct now is to make healthier choices while still enjoying what we want (i.e half fries/half salad on the side, an appetizer to share rather than per person etc)

Individually I lowered my carbs (for blood sugar issues) and increased healthy fats (mainly avocado). Before adding avocado to my breakfast i was starving by 10:30, but now stay satisfied until 12:30-1. Feel free to view my diary. May has been a bit helter skelter because of vacation struggles, but going back to jan-apri should reveal some better options

A sample work day of food looks like this: (about 1700 calories for 1.5lbs/wk)

Breakfast: 7:30am - 350-450 calories
1 whole wheat english muffin toasted
1 egg
1/2 avocado (sometimes i switch this out for a few slices of ham and some cheese)
pepper to taste (for me lots!)
plus coffee
sometimes a banana if i'm feeling hungrier

Lunch: 1:00pm 400-500 calories

2 slices whole wheat bread
3-5 slices lean turkey or ham deli meat
1/2 tbsp light miracle whip or mustard
lettuce (which i almost always forget to log lol)
1 or 2 f/v sides - tomatos, baby carrots, grapes, banana

Dinner: 5 or 6pm - 600-900 calories
Lean protein choice (lean ground beef, chicken breast or tofu)
Carb choice- tortilla, brown rice, sweet potato
Veg choice

Snacks:
I don't usually need a snack after dinner, but if i do it's a bit of chocolate or ice cream or popcorn, depending on calories


I have to say I am almost never hungry. My 1pm I am definitely ready for lunch, but i'm not suffering, same with dinner. By dinner I'm ready to eat but not ravishing.

Drinking water is good, but I am bad at this, but I do try When i do feel a bit hungry I'll suck on sugar free candies or mentos and it helps.

I added you to friends if you want to ask any other questions or just for support

I'm here to help and stay motivated. Feel free to add me