Want this more than anything

Hi and welcome!

I like this thread
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside/p1

best wishes

If you think losing weight will make you happy you will be disappointed. Happiness comes from a different place. Lose to feel better. Lose to fit in different clothes. Lose so it's easier to get in and outv of the car. Lose for any number of reasons just don't expect weight loss to solve all your problems so you can be "happy"

There's a lot of confusing information about nutrition, for sure. Here too though, people have used different approaches, so you won't get one clear answer. What they have in common is eating less than you burn and the food choices being stuff you can actually live with for a good amount of time.

For *me*, it was helpful to eat more meat, veg, whole grains, dairy (yogurt and cottage cheese are good filling snacks for me), nuts than other stuff. Like 80% of my diet would be that. That's what kept me full and fuelled for fitness. I'd have a chunk of meat, 1/2 a cup of maybe rice or potatoes, 1-2 cups of salad or cooked vegetables.

The other 20% would be whatever else I wanted. Maybe once or twice a week, I'd have McDonald's, or Indian takeout, but I tried to not eat too much of that. My thing was not to do that two days in a row, because it was a slippery slope for me.

How much do you have to lose? Try to eat as much as you can get away with while you go. It's easier that way, more sustainable. Some people pick "2 pounds a week" and the truth is you don't have to be at 1200 calories to lose, you can do it on 1800, depending. (I did.) Much more comfortable that way.

I started out with Jillian Michaels' fitness DVDs (30 Day Shred) and got interested in other activities after that. I'd say, start with whatever activity you enjoy. Try to do 30-60 minutes of something (even walking) most days. Exercise isn't necessary for weight loss, strictly speaking, but it gives you a buffer so you can eat a bit more, and it keeps you healthy. Cardio can help keep appetite down, for some people.

Type of exercise - personally, I'd suggest not doing too much high-impact stuff, because that puts you at risk for injury, and you want to be able to do this for a long time.

At some point, you'll want to do resistance training to keep your muscle mass as you lose. (Otherwise, you'll end up the same, just smaller.)

All that's assuming you have no physical limitations - do you have any? Also assumes you eat meat, not sure. If you're a vegetarian or have other dietary restrictions, you'll want to keep protein high (someone else can help with that).

Carbs aren't necessarily bad, it's just that for some people, eating a lot of them without enough of the other stuff can make it hard to meet protein etc goals while staying under your daily calorie target. (Some people just get too hungry on that and wind up going over. Other people can just eat less of whatever they're already eating. That's not for me, though. I always do worse when I eat McDonald's too often.)

You want fibre, in my opinion, because it helps keep you full. For me, that makes it easier to stick to my goal. And fibre (mostly in veg, fruits, grains) - IS in things like white carbs, but you might get more fibre from some other things. (But like baby potatoes with skin on them have a lot of fibre.)

Totally avoiding carbs or whatever is going to make it harder to stick to it in the long term. 80:20

Honestly, really wanting it is THE most important thing.

Everyone does it differently. I eat a high-carb diet, full of healthy foods, mostly fruits and veggies. Some people eat a high-protein diet. Some eat high-fat diets. The best way to do it is the way that works best for YOU.

If you really want it, you'll do it. Most people who fail are failing because they don't really want to do the work of losing weight. They just want to be thin and they go through the motions without actually wanting to do it.

When you really WANT to succeed, you do!

You wanting to make a change is where it starts. Take it easy on yourself and know that you can and will do this, just not overnight. There's going to be victories and setbacks but look at it all in a positive way, you can learn from all of it. Make small sustainable changes, add exercise. Find something that you enjoy, dancing, walking, martial arts, exercise classes, yoga, etc.. Do what you like and add strength exercises that will change the way your body look and as women we need to have as we get older for bone health. Eat nutritious food and throw in a treat every now and then. Everything in moderation.

I am a work in progress, I'm not at goal weight but the first thing I learned is that weightloss happens in the kitchen. Buy a food scale and measure your food. Try to have a protein with every meal. Have healthy fats(avocadoes, raw nuts, fatty fish), fibrous foods (veggies and fruit) in your diet. What worked for me was to eat complex carbs more than simple carbs. Sweet potatoes, oatmeal, grains and I limit the processed stuff like pasta and bread. I still include them but not with every meal. I want to have a healthy relationship with food and this works for me.

If binges happens, it did for me, look at why. Are you missing nutrients, eating too many simple carbs, not eating enough filling nutrient dense foods? Make small changes if you have to and
don't give up. Log it and just continue on. We are all human, it happens.

Good luck and remember you can do this!