Such a long way to go

Hi! You can do this! Talk small steps. Set a goal of your first 25lbs and work toward that. Sometimes I find that when my circumstances look overwhelming if I break them up into smaller goals it helps.

And remember it probably took awhile to gain that weight so it will take a while to loose it. That is okay! You've already made the first step in choosing to do it.

Start by tracking what you eat everyday. What portion sizes. Get some exercise...even just a little to start.

feel free to friend me if you like.

I have over 200 pounds to lose, and I'm almost to the 100 pound mark. It takes time and effort, diligence and patience, but it can be done!

1mototh wrote: »

Hello! I really need to lose some serious weight. Like, 100 lbs!! I feel so stuck and it is so hard to get started.

I've been in your shoes, not all that long ago. I felt "stuck" but for me what that really was *fear* that I'd never get going or be successful. Somehow remaining heavy seemed like less of a failure than trying and failing.

This of course is total nonsense.

Can anyone offer any advice? Seems like it's just too much but I do want to do it! Thanks in advance.

Advice: START. Now. Not tomorrow, not next week when your parents aren't visiting, not when the dog is back from the vet, not when your kids are off to day camp. Start NOW.

Set a reasonable weight loss objective in MFP and let it pick your calories based on your current lifestyle. 2 pounds a week for someone 100 pounds overweight is not unreasonable. Don't aim higher than that though.

Buy a food scale. Log your food. Pre-log your food before you eat it if you need extra help in turning down seconds or things that maybe shouldn't be in your diet.

If you are able to, exercise too. This will improve your health as you lose weight. This can be walking, running, cycling, going to the gym, all of the above or something else.

And to get you motivated do as another above suggested - go visit the success stories thread.

Remember: you won't get anywhere if you don't start. And despite what you might think today, it won't take as long as you think before you enjoy real progress, improved health, and if you exercise too, real improvements in your fitness and capabilities. You'll be fit long before you hit your end goal and that's a huge win.

Case in point - I started at 255 pounds - 105 pounds over my "ideal" goal weight in September 2014; now 10 months later I'm down 75 pounds and am very fit from the exercise I've taken on and weight I have lost. I couldn't run 500 meters last fall without stopping and gasping; this weekend I ran a half marathon on trails and had a blast.

There are tons of stories like mine here, many far more dramatic.

Start today. Your future awaits.

1mototh wrote: »

Thanks everyone! This really helps. Now, if only I can figure out how to friend people!

If you click on their user name you will see a little person silhouette with a plus sign beside it (if you're on the app). Click on that.

If you're going to add people it is usually nice to write a short note in your request as to why.

It's hard to start because losing a lot of weight can feel overwhelming. Remember time will pass whether you do it losing the weight or not. Like the other poster said, you simply start NOW. Dont wait for tomorrow or next week or whatever. You take it a day at a time, sometimes a minute at a time. You buy a kitchen scale if you dont have one and weigh and measure your food. You lose in a sustainable way. In other words, find your correct amount of calories, don't starve yourself. If you can't see yourself giving up carbs or sweets or whatever, then made room for them within your calorie budget. Losing weight is not supposed to be some sort of a punishment.

Learn to forgive yourself. Lets say you do great for a week. Then due to a family dinner or stress or whatever, you find yourself eating an entire large pizza by yourself. If your at all like me, for years I would then mentally beat myself up, call myself a loser and give up. Now If it happens, I shrug it off, (its only one day, or maybe two after all lol) and carry on the next day. Filure is not because you overate a time or two, its because you gave up.
You can do this, but the right mental attitude is key.

When i first started out and i wanted to lose 50 lbs...it seemed like a lot. But, then i changed my way of thinking. I started telling myself i can lose 1 lb =50 times. It made it a whole lot easier than seeing that big number i needed to lose. You can do it....dont give up!!! It wont be easy...but i assure you , it WILL be WORTH IT!!

rabbitjb wrote: »

you look 20 years younger

@rabbitjb Thanks, I feel twenty years younger too. I'm back to my brain age LOL.

To the OP it really can be as simple as starting and not stopping. The time passes quickly anyway as another just said, so make the most of it and get going and keep going.

If you have questions or issues along the way, ask here. Surround yourself with positive friends here who are on the same path as well as those who have made it and you'll have people watching your back when you need them.

Looking forward to reading *your* success story!

Mike

I started making small changes to establish new healthier habits. I started by just logging my food honestly to see how much I was eating. Then I started counting my calories. I didn't cut any of the things I enjoyed out of my diet I just learned to eat less of those things. One example is I went from drinking soda everyday several times a day to drinking soda once or twice a week. I went from eating three pieces of fried chicken to two pieces to eating fried chicken just on rare occasions. Instead of getting mayo on my sandwich at Subway I got lite mayo which did not taste any different to me but had 100 fewer calories then regular mayo.If I wanted something like ice cream or a candy bar I ate it, I just made room for this treat in my calorie allowance. It was a lot of small changes over time that lead to big changes in my weight. All without feeling deprived or going on a diet.

1. Start logging now, without making changes. Give it a couple of weeks to see where your habits and problems are, and what you'll need to adjust. Buy a food scale. Digital, by preference. You have to weigh EVERYTHING, at least for now, or you're not going to get an accurate picture of where you are.
2. Make small changes at first to give yourself time to get used to it. I started with just swapping soda out for unsweet tea with sweetener. That knocked about 200 calories of those meals right away! So find something small like that to change at first, give it a week or so, then change something else.
3. Look at your daily calorie goal and decide how you want to divide it up. Some people like eating several times a day, some prefer two big meals and maybe a couple of snacks. How you divide it up DOES NOT MATTER. What matters is the final calorie count of the day. So divide up how many calories you can do for each meal, and that helps you plan what to eat for them.
4. Like junk food? Once you split up your calories for the day, if you want junk food, just figure out how much of something will fit in one of those spots. Or two. You don't have to give up your favorite foods unless a health reason develops, you just have to be careful to limit what you eat. I didn't give up soda, but I realized it was costing me calories I would prefer to eat, so now I only have soda for specific gatherings. Mostly game nights.
Step back: Went over for the day? It's ok, everyone has off days! You can go over without sabotaging yourself, just as long as it's only occasionally. Just log it and start fresh the next day. Don't ever take an over day as an excuse to stop!
Step to the right: Exercise is good but NOT necessary. Most of my weight loss was done without any exercise. Oh sure, I had some here and there, but it wasn't consistent, and even though I'm trying harder now, it's more to try and get my asthma under control rather than for weight loss. Exercise is good for a lot of reasons, but if you're having trouble starting, don't stress it. When you've lost some weight, it will be easier down the road.
Step to the left: Don't stress about holidays and special occasions. Don't make it an excuse to binge, but if you go to a birthday party, it's ok to have a slice of cake. Just not 4 or 5. Maybe it's the Southerner in me, but my family tends to celebrate special occasions with food, and I finally realized I was making myself miserable when I didn't join in. So now, I join in, just make sure to take a moderate amount of food, not loading up my plate.
Hands on your hips: Profit!

Just remember this is not a diet plan, this is you making a choice to change how you eat for a better life. You want this to be long term, so it will be slow, but it is effective!

Would also like to point out that everyone has a different technique for this process! I'm giving you tips that worked for me, and they might work for you. If not, look around and try something else. You may find you have to cut all junk food for a time to succeed. Some people do, some don't. What's important is to find a process that works FOR YOU, not just use someone else's process.

One meal at a time, one day at a time. Get a cute profile picture to use here.

Literally everything everyone else has said. And make MFP an inegral part of your life. I feel like the more time I spend here the more time I stay focused on my goals, when I'm too busy, I forget to read the forums or celebrate my friends' victories I start to go off the rails.

I just discovered this group for those of us who have over 100# to lose. Check it out.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3322-100-pounds-with-no-surgery