SOS - I don't want to hit 300 lbs! Help me to help myself, please

Wtg for starting! Its hard but you have a support team here. I sent a friend request. I dont get in the forum alot but i post on the wall several times a day.

You can add me too for support. I am 65 and was up to 223 lbs. I'm 5'6". I have really bad knee/ankle pain, probably due to weight, old injuries and arthritis. I found I was just sitting around, not really socializing and feeling sorry for myself. I've tried diets before lost weight though never quite getting to goal 145-150, then gaining it all back. This time I've told myself that my husband and my two daughters are also becoming obese and I have to change our lifestyle. So far its only me changing but I have hopes as they see me transform and become healthier it will give them the incentive also. I also found that our "celebrations" always were food orientated. Its your birthday, lets go eat, you graduated, lets go eat. So now I say no, when I reach my goal. Frankly eating out isn't appealing to me anymore..new clothes are. Being able to walk around my neighborhood with the dog is. This morning I got on the scale and I am down to 189. For the past 2 weeks I and up and down to this weight. So hopefully I will begin to lose again shortly. I don't want to sound like an ad but this time I am eating "Nutrisystem" foods and one day a week I will eat my own "revised" meal. I always over ate, have a big bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce...yum..but I'd have 2 sometimes even 3, though I kidded myself by just adding an extra spoon or so. But it added up. Now I don't touch it. On my food days I will eat fish and a non starchy veggie. I still have a way to go learning to eat healthier but finally after 3 months I am satisfied most days with my portions. Yesterday I learned I was eating too much fruit and that may be a cause in my stall of weight loss..too much sugar...See I was also a sugar addict. So I am reducing that today to stay in my limit. Sorry guys for the long post but if I can help motivate any of you feel free to add me. I log everyday now and comment.

Every word of your post is true to my heart.

@Moby_Dick,

Thanks for your honesty. That alone is inspiring. I've never been where you are, but I've seen some amazing transformations shared here on mfp. I'm looking forward to seeing you share yours over the coming months and years as well.

You can do this

That is a goal you have set yourself. Print it and put it on your fridge. So you see it everyday. I would start cleaning up the diet one thing in a time. Get rid of soda and juices. Water, water and water is number one. Never skip breakfast. I always have oatmeal with few eggs it keep me full longer. skip the fries,pasta and pizzas. Take one step at time. one day at the time. I see myself in you. I stepped in before. It will not be easy but with the list on the fridge you will succeed.

So, I started losing weight when I was 290, also a writer who was working at home. I lost about 100 pounds, stopped for a while, and gained about 10 pounds back before deciding I'm not quite done yet.

I would recommend starting small; pick out the first and easiest thing to change, and get good at that. I started by just counting calories for a few weeks to see how much I was really eating. Once I had a handle on that, I focused on no longer drinking calories, and then I started cutting back on specific foods here and there. I started moving around more after that.

Also: keep your expectations reasonable. It took me something like two years to lose those 100 pounds, and I don't ever really stop thinking about food. I still weigh my food, and I still always have to understand that deep in my heart, I have bad habits. I effin' love salty snacks while watching TV with my husband. (Hence, the regain over the last year.)

Good luck with it! It's not easy, but it's also not complicated. You can do it!

sbrandt37 wrote: »

Wow. What an open and moving request for help!

Lots of people have already given great advice. I will offer a little more. I have been through some of the same things you have, including illness and insane steroid-related weight gain. It is very depressing and the eating habits are hard to break. Here are some things that work for me:

1. Love yourself. Life is hard. You survived, so you must have done something right to get this far. Now you are ready to do something about your weight. Congratulations! You are off to a great start.

2. Take care of yourself physically and emotionally. Don't do it because you should. Do it because it feels good and you deserve it!

3. Log your meals carefully and honestly. Aim for modest calorie deficits daily. MFP makes it easy, as long as you keep at it.

4. Do *something* active every day. Go for walks. Take the stairs instead of an elevator. Find some workout videos you like on Youtube. Join a gym and use it. Do some calisthenics at home. Something.

5. Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are not. Snacking prevents over-eating at meal-time. Replace simple carbs with protein and higher-fiber alternatives, whenever possible.

6. Do what you can, when you can. When you can do more, do more.

7. Don't worry about the big weight loss goal. Focus on the small successes that move you toward it and celebrate each one as gift to yourself that contributes to your long-term health and well-being.

Each step taken, each stair climbed, each french fry not eaten, each dessert skipped, each mile walked, each trip to the gym, ... they all add up. Over time, those small successes will lead to your big goal, and if you make them a habit, you will stay there.

This is all great advice.