Young and off to a bad start

ThyPromoter · February 2016

Hi my name is Jay I am 22 years old and my weight is 390lbs. It was only the other day I looked myself in the mirror for 15 straight minutes and I felt nothin but disgust and disappointment. I wanna change but I want to learn how, if you are starting out or are an experienced dietician or even a trainer. I would love to meet you and gain some knowledge and back ground to live a full happy life not a short disappointing one.

303lissy · February 2016

Hey Jay, welcome! Not a trainer or dietitian, but also someone who's looking to get healthier. I've been really inspired by the people I've connected with here, and that's really helped keep me motivated. I've sent you a friend request here. Make friends and get some inspiration from them!

In the meantime, log your food, start moving, and read as much as you can, either here on the forums and blog posts and other exercise websites and books!

PTSDUK · February 2016

Its never to late to get in shape, lm 46 and in better shape then l was since my army days. Use this site and bodybuilding.com. Don't always need a trainer some good programs on bodybuilding.com . My personal advice is don't listen to bro-science and stay away from the latest fad exercises

bigorange70 · February 2016

Jay, I am like 303issy and not a trainer or dietitian either. I have had success on this MFP. I have lost 12 pounds in 45 days. I try to walk 10000 steps a day. It is hard. I track what I eat but I am not perfect. I have a weakness for desserts. I don't deny myself them but I monitor what I eat. Again I am not perfect and don't really know what your situation is but I can tell you that you cant do a 180 and expect to not have rough times. Try doing small goals but don't deny yourself of cravings or it will make it worse. I am sure I will get bashed by some people saying you have to cut everything out cold turkey but that is just what worked for me

iecreamheadaches · February 2016

I'm 260 and definitely not a professional. This is my second time on MFP, I used it back in 2013 all with going to the gym and lost about 30 lbs. I quit smoking and for whatever reason stopped going to the gym and subsequently regained all of the weight. So here I am again getting back into it. So far I'm focusing mainly on making sure I accurately log my foods, I even have invested in a food scale (you can find some decent cheap ones), and weigh all my foods. I also have begun taking small steps to make myself move more daily (silly stuff like I get up and walk around my office aimlessly for a few minutes, or I park further out (good for stress too, no fighting and getting mad about stolen parking spaces!) to get more steps in. I hardly drink anything that's not water. I am a sucker for sweet tea, but I try to only drink my homemade sweet tea so I know the calorie content and whats in it.

Always remember that this is NOT going to happen overnight, losing weight takes patience. I think that's the biggest thing people coming here don't realize. You didn't put it on overnight (or in 3 months whatever it might be), so don't expect the results to be instantaneous. If you know you're gonna have a problem with numbers on the scale don't weigh every day (i like to weigh myself daily because i like to see what caused the fluctations) and when the number seems like its not budging, measure yourself, or focus on a NSV (nonscale victory) like how your clothes are fitting better or maybe you can take that flight of stairs in your office building without getting winded now. Its not all numbers! BE HONEST with yourself too.

hittrain · February 2016

Jay,

Great job in coming to this place and starting your journey to a better you! You'll hear the refrain a ton but the focus is to change your lifestyle and progress over perfection. I started at 390 myself and am down about ~23 pounds in five weeks. The key? Log everything, focus on "why" you want to change (NOT the scale), and don't get discouraged. It's a long journey but you have a lot of resources available through this site and the people on it. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want encouragement and mutual motivation.

Jon

JeromeBarry1 · February 2016

MFP is the greatest tool! Accurately log your food and see the difference it makes in how you think about you and your relationship with food. Once you get to where all the numbers on your nutrition are green at the end of the day, you're in control.

kgirlhart · February 2016

This is a great place to be. Just be patient and remember that it will be a journey. Some days will be hard, but it will get easier. Logging your food and staying at your calorie goal is the most important thing. Exercise is good for you too, but don't be afraid to start small. Take a 15 minute walk every day and then start going for longer amounts of time. I agree with bigorange that you shouldn't try to completely change everything you eat. There is no reason to cut out any one food group or deprive yourself of the things you like to eat. Just start by working on your portion sizes. You can do it!

ThyPromoter · February 2016

Thank you everyone I do have a few concerns now I am a chef in training and do know the nutrition side of food what I lack is on how to cook them. Does anyone know a good cookbook that I can use to build a better daily diet for myself?

ThyPromoter · February 2016

Hopefully something lean and clean to eat hopefully local foods that's easy to use. Nothing too exotic

AmazonMayan · February 2016

I don't know about a specific cookbook, but skinnytaste.com has some great recipes that are lower calorie and still delicious. Wide variety of dishes.

When I first started I was a volume eater, so I found dumping what I cooked onto a big pile of various greens helped. I had a lot of food to chew and it took awhile to eat it for low calories. I got really good at making non-starchy veggie soups too that I would use my immersion blender to make them seem creamy.

Young and off to a bad start

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