I cant seem to get started!!!

casseh
casseh Posts: 58
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I've put on 40kgs in about 4 years. Partly due to depression, partly due to the medication I was put on due to depression and partly due to a change in job which saw me going from being quite active 4/5 days a week to not active at all. I've also recently quit smoking and am struggling to stop myself from gaining even more weight. I've started the whole weight loss kick many times, lost 5kgs and then struggled to stick with it. 40kgs is just such a large amount of weight to lose. Any suggestions on getting started, staying on track etc would be great!

Replies

  • jennlco
    jennlco Posts: 17 Member
    Good luck on your new life changes :)
    Start slowly and set yourself small goals. Once they are achieved, you know you are getting somewhere.... and that the changes are working! It will take some time.. but remember.. this isn't a crash diet.. this is a whole life improvement..
    You can do it... one step at a time! I cut out soda and sweet treats and started jogging home from work 3 times per week.. now I run for an hour most days....
    Congrats for starting at MFP... this really is the best community !
  • thordisintho
    thordisintho Posts: 48 Member
    Hello :) I have also put on about 40kg in 4 years, but more before that, so we have a similar amount to lose.
    I know the feeling that your goal weight is so far away that you can't motivate yourself to start.
    But hey, you signed up, didn't you? :) It's the first step towards being healthier. I've only been here a week and I've realised that I wasn't really paying as much attention as I though to what I was eating over a whole day.

    My advice to you is make smaller, fewer goals. Just make one first and set your MFP ticker to that one. I set mine at -10% as my doctor told me that would be a significant start to lowering my blood pressure.
    So instead of setting my goal to 75kg, which is my long term goal weight, I set it to 126 or -14kg. I know it seems simple enough to work, but somehow it does.

    Just remember that every little thing counts, you know, having 1 piece of chocolate instead of two or whole wheat bread instead of just white.

    And remember, don't eat too few calories :)

    Good luck, friend me if you like for support :)
  • casseh
    casseh Posts: 58
    Will definitely set my MFP ticker after I've written this, my first goal would be to weigh in under 100kgs which I haven't done in over 2 years. Whilst its only 13kgs I've never been able to shift more than the first 5 and would bring me out of the morbidly obese category.

    Quantities of food seem to be a big issue for me, if I was eating smaller meals they would not be as bad as they actually are. I also tend to look for food again at around 11pm/12pm at night and end up eating another full meal despite eating dinner at 6pm, so any suggestions on that would be great.

    When I first signed up here at the start of the year I counted calories for 2 weeks and was surprised at just how much food I could eat with 1470 calories plus then exercise calories.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    Try simply logging what you're eating now to start.

    Then try to stay within the calorie goal for a week or two.

    Then focus on changing one or two things about your diet at a time (adding more fruits/veggies, cutting starches, eating less processed foods, etc.) and as those habits take hold, add another goal of change.

    It's a lot easier to gradually build new habits than it is to try to change everything at once.
  • thordisintho
    thordisintho Posts: 48 Member
    Try to eat enough protein for dinner as that should keep you full for longer. Also, veggies are quite filling but not calorie heavy so you can add a salad to your dinner to fill you up.
    Sometimes for me it helps to have a drink of water or if I'm craving sugar I have a Pepsi Max :)
    Just start small, I find that I do better at changing habits if I take baby steps.

    And I agree, I'm not new at reading labels but I'm also suprised sometimes at how much food you can eat and still stay under 1500kcal. I'm even more surprised at how many products have huge amounts of calories :)
  • casseh
    casseh Posts: 58
    Thanks for the advice =)
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