Need to lose 100lbs

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cthart68
cthart68 Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi I am Lisa from Ct I am looking for suggestions to lose weight I am 47 years old problems with asthma and knees and a foot surgery that has left me with pain every day, it's hard to exercise so I need tips on foods to start getting the weight off. I don't mind less calories as long as I am staying full if not headaches set in I feel like a mess and need help.

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  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,361 Member
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    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.



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  • blondx7
    blondx7 Posts: 1,683 Member
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    Hi Lisa, I am sorry to hear that you have these problems that make it difficult for you to exercise. One thing I found about dieting is that you won't feel full, but you will feel satiated enough to wait until the next mealtime. I have to eat at set times or I'm a total mess. If you don't eat at least 130g of carb daily, you may have headaches and feel like crap. I try to do 50% carb, 30% fat, 20% protein. Make sure you have a protein source like 3-4 oz of baked chicken or canned tuna or an egg for breakfast or lunch. You don't want to make it to dinner with no protein that day. Good foods to keep you full are an egg scrambled in Pam spray, fat free Greek yogurt (add splenda if you don't like unsweet), whole grain English muffins, Healthy Life 35 calorie whole wheat bread you can get at Wal Mart. I personally can't do 1200 calories a day. I can do 1500 but that is like the minimum I can do without wanting to kill everyone around me. Play around with your calorie counts and see what you can actually do. If 1200 is way too low for you don't do it.
  • PositivelyFlawed
    PositivelyFlawed Posts: 316 Member
    edited June 2015
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    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 :)
  • Sorova
    Sorova Posts: 101 Member
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    Vegetables are your friend! They're pretty low in calories but they offer a lot of nutrients and they fill you up. Try roasting different veggies in a light coating of olive oil. Try eating different veggies raw as snacks: I like carrots, cucumber, zucchini, and cauliflower. Steaming veggies, like broccoli, is a great way to cook them without adding unhealthy sauces.

    Also make sure you're getting enough protein from good quality sources. Eggs, chicken, fish, tofu, greek yoghurt, even a steak now and then if you enjoy them.

    Embrace home cooking and learn to cook healthy. Get a cookbook from the library, or buy one. Exchange recipes with people on MFP. Try things out!

    Eating differently is an adjustment and it'll take time, so don't be afraid to ease into it gradually. Having your exercise be limited is frustrating but the most important part of weight loss is the kitchen, not the gym. You can make significant improvement with just eating at a calorie deficit, and eventually exercise will become easier.
  • rgm13774
    rgm13774 Posts: 51 Member
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    I'm here to help and stay motivated. Feel free to add me
  • cthart68
    cthart68 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you so much

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