300lbs to lose, just beginning with a couple questions.

Read this, OP:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Hi - you've already received a ton of replies - most of which had very good advice. I'm just here to wish you good luck, as it will be a long journey and offer a couple tid bits.

- Yeah, it's going to be a long journey. Don't dispair; don't beat yourself up after a bad day; don't turn a bad "day" or "weekend" into a bad "week" or "month". Just get back up on that horse - log it and do better on your next meal/snack. Consistency is key.

- Whatever you choose to do diet-wise, pick something sustainable. This is a lifestyle change, so doing something extreme that promises fast results is likely going to fail you at some point (and probably very quickly). Personally, I'm an advocate for eating what you want within balance (get some protein and fats in with your carbs), and eating at a decent deficit. Whether this is for you or not, just make sure you're up to doing it for the long-haul.

- Set little goals for yourself. When I was heavier, this was the 10 lb mark. Now that I've lost, I celebrate every 5 lbs. This will help keep you focused on what progress you've made instead of what you still have ahead. Personally speaking, this has greatly helped my motivation level.

See a doctor soon.

It has been over a decade unless I missed something.

Get a good blood test and physical.

Then you will know if you have any special considerations.

Zombieinkpot wrote: »

OP, I started at 411lbs with 300lbs to lose. I'm 5ft and female. MFP gave me a goal of over 2000 cals. I kept to it within 100 cals for margin of error. I ate butter and cheese and all the things I liked, I just fitted them into my calorie goal. I found planning my meals in advance and logging them into mfp made everything easier. I have almost reached half way to goal. You can do this, but please eat enough and don't think any foods are forbidden. This isn't about losing weight, it is about finding a healthy sustainable way to live. Good luck!

Zed_cob wrote: »

I'm male and 38, started at 336 lbs. I lost 16 in 5 weeks eating about 2,300 calories per day. It is a good pace. I think the 3,000 calorie is a good start for your size. Please consider staying with that for a couple weeks before going lower. Eat what you like until you hit that 3,000 cal. As you progress then eat healthier, and healthier. That tiredness and weakness is your body saying too much too fast. Please consider this as a long term journey not a sprint.

All of this is good advice from people who know what you are going through...

Whole grain bread is good!

z_vette wrote: »

I feel like I'm off to a good start. In 2 days, I've already managed to lose a few pounds! This is very motivational for me! I know I shouldn't be weighing myself daily, but it's difficult not to! I do plan on only logging weekly weigh ins, however.

While doctors can be an annoying expense they are also one of the few ways you can find out things such as your thyroid levels or your cholesterol or whether you have become type 2 or not. To your advantage is your age and your decision to make a change.

Regardless.

I strongly suggest you use one of the free weight trend tracking programs and log your results in it every day/time you weigh yourself.

Weightgrapher.com allows manual and csv entries.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/how-to-weigh-yourself-accurately/ near the bottom third of the page there is a link to "accurateweightcharting.xls"

The sexypants post is something you should read.

Having said that, you need to balance rapid changes that yield tangible results and positive reinforcement, against your long term compliance with your new relationship with food, and eventually with the relationship you will be developing with moving around and exercising when you start to feel lighter.

And again I caution you to be careful when you decide to try and increase your activity level because at your current weight your joints are very vulnerable.

In the meanwhile outside of a supervised setting where you are making trade offs to achieve rapid weight loss results, consistently eating @ below 1500 Cal will eventually cause problems.

Since 2500 Cal is the approximate maintenance level for someone half your size.... it sounds to me like a good minimum to start at. And so are the 3000Cal MFP suggested, which are already designed to yield a deficit that should result in the loss of 2lbs a week.

All I'm saying is that you have a long way to go and getting there three months sooner is less important that just getting there!!!

As to the rest of it, good logging, experimentation, and reviewing your results will help you make better decisions.

This is not a set and forget exercise.. reviewing and re evaluating is good!

Keto works well for people whose body doesn't handle carbs well; I have my personal doubts as to how sustainable it is over a lifetime.

Eating frequently, meal timings, good breakfasts, more smoothies (why would a smoothie be better than just eating the ingredients? are we trying to reduce our fiber and food bulk intake here?), no food after 8pm; I am sure that they all have some effect, and pretty sure that the effect is much less important than the effect of consistently eating ~7000 Cal less every week, regardless of how you achieve that!

Personally I find it easier to achieve by eating food that fills me up as much as possible, as well as the occasional treat if it can fit it in my goals and totals.

A positive nitrogen balance is also good in helping you maintain as much of the muscle mass you already have as it proves possible (You WILL lose some. As you get smaller you SHOULD lose some as you won't be needing it. But keeping the most of it you can is a good goal to have!). Eating at least the amount of protein your 250lb self would, that would be a good minimum... so I am revising up from the 150 to 200g I originally mentioned, and suggesting 200 to 250g of protein, assuming no kidney issues.

As always, each and everyone of us posts based on their own realities and observations. Make the effort to research the choices you decide to make... and keep on going at it!

How's your workout routine or activity level in general going? I would suggest adding in some healthy snacks for calories, greek yogurt and fruit maybe? quest bars? things like that. I'm not even an expert but I don't think you can find anyone to tell you that 1400 is good.

I know some disagreed but there are a lot of pros to 5-6 smaller meals instead of 1-2 large meals. On top of the claims of raising your metabolism (even people on this board can't agree of course whether it does or not), I'm a lot more sluggish after a large meal than a small one regardless of the content. I ate a HUGE salad the other day and just wanted a nap, as opposed to after a small meal I still feel like going for a jog or bike ride. And I think if you factor in about 400 calories per meal and eat more frequently, even if you have to set an alarm, you'll be full and meet your calorie goal more easily. Try dividing large meals into 2 servings and eating one later... Food for thought.

Congratulations on the start of your weight loss program. I hear that you feel that 3000 calories is too many and you prefer to eat 2 meals. I don't see any problem with that as long as you are under the 3000 calories and you haven't had bypass. Try it out for several weeks. This process and living life in a thin body involves making changes that you want to live with forever.

OP, I'm not sure if you've seen this or not, but this is a fantastic success story from one of MFP's mods: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1103164

His blog is also really inspiring: www.gettingfit4life.com