Need help from females that have lost 150+ lbs

Stacylynn1977 · May 2016

I need help from women that have lost a large amount of weight or are in the process of doing it successfully,

I am over 200lbs overweight and trying to lose weight , I just need help with my foods.

I am about to start the idealshape and they sent me some info but their info doesn't cover morbidly obese women

I really need help, just if it is looking at my diary daily and letting me know if I am eating the right things

It has been hard, my husband will only go so far with the eating right so I may just need to eat separately from him

Any help is appreciated

Thanks so much

Anyone is welcome to add me

afatpersonwholikesfood · May 2016

My diary is open. I eat a variety of things. Some days make me look like the poster child for certain ways of eating; other days may make you wonder, "She's lost weight eating like that?!".

Eat what you like. Add in new things - especially produce. Some things will need to be eaten in different quantities, but don't keep a rigid list of "good" and "bad" foods or believe that you need to eliminate things. Weigh everything. Clean up your food environment at home - it's easier to say "no" once at the grocery store instead of over and over when something is sitting in your pantry. That doesn't mean to avoid cupcakes/ice cream/etc. For me, I just find it easier to buy those things in small packages when I want them vs. dealing with a dozen muffins on the counter all week.

Edited to add: I am also married. My husband has not counted calories or worried about his weight. That's fine with me and completely his choice. We rarely eat separate meals. Maybe different things for DIY stuff like breakfast and lunch, but dinners are not two different plates. Portions may need to be different, but we make it work. Some nights, he's into salad and plain chicken. Other nights, we order takeout.

meganjcallaghan · May 2016

you'll get way too many opinions that are just that....opinions (as opposed to fact based advice) if you invite anybody to tell you if you're eating the "right things" since everyone has a different idea of what that looks like. You'll have people who tell you sugar is the devil, people who tell you artificial sweeteners will give you cancer, people who will tell you to avoid meat, avoid carbs, avoid gluten, avoid food that isn't "clean", whatever THAT is supposed to mean. It literally comes down to the math. How many calories are coming in vs how many are going out. Eat fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight. Eat things that you like and ignore whatever yahoo tells you "you shouldn't eat that. you won't lose weight". Eat WHEN you like and ignore whatever yahoo tells you "you shouldn't eat after such-and-such time. You won't lose weight". They're all wrong. Just make sure you're eating the correct serving sizes (get a digital kitchen scale if you don't already have one and actually weigh your foods....cups and tablespoons and such on calorie dense items are ridiculously inaccurate) and log everything so you can let myfitnesspal do the math for you and keep track of how things are tallying up during the day. Easiest way to make sure you don't end up eating too many of your allotted calories early in the day and end up hungry later is to plan out what you're going to have the night before. I plop everything in for the next day before I go to bed so that I know roughly what and when i'm going to be munching over the day and with that already stashed in my mental rolodex, it's easier to adjust things if anything changes.

oh yeah. I lost 173 pounds. maintaining for a little over 2 years now.

Stacylynn1977 · May 2016

Makes total sense thank you so much

My legs and back hurt if I stand for more than a couple minutes so I do not excercise much at all, I have put
Myself at 1800 calories right now to see how I do for a couple of weeks

I know I need to start exercising and just deal with the pain

afatpersonwholikesfood · May 2016

Stacylynn1977 wrote: »

Makes total sense thank you so much

My legs and back hurt if I stand for more than a couple minutes so I do not excercise much at all, I have put
Myself at 1800 calories right now to see how I do for a couple of weeks

I know I need to start exercising and just deal with the pain

When you entered your stats into MFP, is 1800 the goal that it gave you? You may be able to eat more than that.

As for exercise, it's important for health and it's been shown to be important to maintenance, but weight loss doesn't require it. When you're ready, start slowly. I started with 10 minutes at a time.

Another edit to add: You don't have to stand to exercise, either. Do a Google search for chair workouts if you'd like.

Stacylynn1977 · May 2016

MFP suggested I eat 2400 calories , I was not losing anything eating that much, my doctor told me 1800 was a good number , so I am trying it out

I have done this so many times before it should be easy , but it seems so much harder this time

afatpersonwholikesfood · May 2016

Stacylynn1977 wrote: »

MFP suggested I eat 2400 calories , I was not losing anything eating that much, my doctor told me 1800 was a good number , so I am trying it out

I have done this so many times before it should be easy , but it seems so much harder this time

If you weigh and log as accurately as you can (there's a sticky thread about logging somewhere, I think), you may find that 2,400 leads to losing. If you feel comfortable with 1,800, then that may be okay as well.

Just for reference, I'm currently 219 pounds/5'10"/30 (lost 170+ so far), active, and I eat an average of 1,800 or so to lose 2 pounds per week. Some days, with exercise added in, I eat beyond 2,000 calories.

xCyanideGirlx · May 2016

I have like 140 pounds to lose so im right there with ya

meganjcallaghan · May 2016

just keep it up and add in whatever exercises are safe and aren't going to cause you more damage than help as you can....once you get used to it and it becomes a habit it will get a lot easier. Depending on whether or not you find you actually really like whatever you choose to do (enough to do a lot of it), you might find you get to eat any and everything you could possibly want. lol....I run at least 20km almost every day between running to and from work and on my lunch break, so I'm kicking around at least 3000 calories every day

dotsgal1 · May 2016

Take it one pound at a time!

DanSTL82 · May 2016

For weight loss, it doesn't matter what you eat. It only matters how much you eat. Calorie-wise.

For general health, your typical healthy foods (lean meats, veggies, good fats) are needed. But for weight loss, focus on your calorie count above all else; that's what matters.

Stacylynn1977 · May 2016

Thanks for the advice everyone!!! You have all pretty much said the same things, I need to just focus on my calories for now, so I will do that and see how it goes

calichiro · May 2016

Check out the podcast "Half Size Me." The host lost 170+ pounds, and her entire focus is "how do you maintain it?" I've found it extremely motivating, even with a small amount to lose. If she can do it, anyone can!

afatpersonwholikesfood · May 2016

calichiro wrote: »

Check out the podcast "Half Size Me." The host lost 170+ pounds, and her entire focus is "how do you maintain it?" I've found it extremely motivating, even with a small amount to lose. If she can do it, anyone can!

Sounds neat. Will check it out.

42firm03 · May 2016

calichiro wrote: »

Check out the podcast "Half Size Me." The host lost 170+ pounds, and her entire focus is "how do you maintain it?" I've found it extremely motivating, even with a small amount to lose. If she can do it, anyone can!

Seconded. Focusing on changing habits in ways that stick matters more than anything else. I'm down 80 with 40 more to go, at least. This is not my first rodeo, This time it works and keeps on working because nothing I've done is a temporary fix.

lorrpb · May 2016

We each need to try different things to find the food that keeps us satisfied emotionally & physically while meeting our calorie goals. And that will change over time. I agree about the importance of exercise for your health and well being. 2 years ago I could not walk more than 1/4 mile without excruciating pain, could barely get up from my chair, and couldn't stand for more than a few minutes. I started off walking however far I could walk and light strength training. Now I just completed Couch to 5k running program 5 days before my 61st birthday and run 30-40 minutes 2-3 x week, plus fitness classes and walking 4-5 miles a day. I don't really feel like I'm talking about "me" when I say these things because it is so unbelievable.
SW 301
CW 161
GW 150
23 months
My Newspaper Article Feature:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10347057/my-success-story-made-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper?new=1

kristieshannon · May 2016

I agree with what's been said here. I'll add, start making changes slowly. Pick a goal, work on it until it feelings comfortable, then add another. For example, this week start using a scale to weigh your food, commit to logging everything. Once you've got that down start working on making a healthy change or two here and there with what you're eating-such as adding I more fruits & veggies, swapping out water for beverages with calories. After you've got that down get a step tracker. Wear it for a week just to see what your daily average is. The next week try increasing your steps by just a bit each day. Small changes over time will add up to big changes! I started with over 100 to lose, I'm down 30 so far. Nothing extreme for me, just keeping my intake within my goal and increasing the amount I move.

RredSonja · May 2016

I think it's ok to eat separately from your partner, if that's what works. I think anything that works FOR YOU is just fine. The hard part is finding out what does work for you. Keeping to a calorie goal day after day, week after week, and (for us!) month after month, and year after year means ignoring with a passion the stuff that doesn't work for you. Read everything. Research everything. Think back to what you were eating and how you were eating when you were at your healthiest weight. Look back at why past diets failed - HUGE lessons there.

Need help from females that have lost 150+ lbs

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