HELP! I need motivation & HELP. I'm begging!

plussiizeQUEEN
plussiizeQUEEN Posts: 4 Member
edited November 14 in Motivation and Support
Hello.
My name's Summer I'm from Alabama.
I'm 5ft 11in
490lbs/ Several health issues.
I have no motivation and no clue where to start or how too start. I just dont know! I'm lost :(
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Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    The tips in this book gave me focus and direction. I highly recommend it.

    https://www.bullpub.com/catalog/Living-a-Healthy-Life-with-Chronic-Conditions-4th-Edition
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    Don't forget you can reach out if you have questions or need help or motivation. Add some friends on here for moral support :smile:
  • sakapona
    sakapona Posts: 22 Member
    Hello. I just posted the same discussion a few minutes before you! I'm in the same boat. Would you like to be partners in this and lose weight together as motivation?!!
  • Reaverie
    Reaverie Posts: 405 Member
    I dont know your age so I guessed at 35..cause..its close to my age and I rock and all.

    So at 490, the calories you need to STAY the same weight if you dont do much is 2950.. (got this from two sites.)
    So, try 2400 calories and walking what you feel comfortable with each day. Dont like math? Get meals that already have the calories on it.

    Pay attention to how many servings in the package though. Like Ramen Noodles.. YUCK.. one package is 2 servings. If I recall it is around 190 per serving so 380 for an entire package. You can split this up if you like and decide which meal gets the most calories (the one you tend to eat the most on anyways) and prepare the night before what you want to eat.. Or if you are lazy like me.. Use the handy dandy food search thing here that this site has and just "click' and "add" and let it do all the hard work. You can even prepare tomorrows food that way. Just add it now and use it as a reference tomorrow.
  • WickAndArtoo
    WickAndArtoo Posts: 773 Member
    Hi Summer, I find coming on here and reading health magazines very motivating. Health magazines are my favorite because they always have fun articles on healthy foods and help me decide what to buy in the store based on their health benefits.

    For me it's easiest to make healthy choices if it's simple and easy... so the first step is to toss out all unhealthy/ processed foods and make a weekly trip to the store and buy only healthy foods.... and only eat foods you made or bought from the store. (Healthy being Whole Foods such as fruits veggies chicken breasts eggs etc).

    At your weight just eating healthy foods and increasing your activity (walking for you) slightly will begin weight loss easily. Using a pedometer (I just look at the one that's automatically recording in my phone) and aiming to stand up and do a lap around the house/block/your workplace every hour will get you started off great.

    Good luck, I am more than happy to help keep you motivated or answer questions!
  • skellymama1
    skellymama1 Posts: 83 Member
    Hello.
    My name's Summer I'm from Alabama.
    I'm 5ft 11in
    490lbs/ Several health issues.
    I have no motivation and no clue where to start or how too start. I just dont know! I'm lost :(

    Welcome Summer.
    If I were you I would keep things very very simple to start with.
    Set up your stats and work out your calorie goals.
    Buy a digital food scales.
    What foods do you like to eat?
    You can still eat the foods you like and incorporate them into your daily food goals. You need to food prep and food plan.
    Just start with walking around the block if you can . 10 or 15 minutes, then add on 1 or 2 minutes each day. It really is that simple to start with.
    There are lots of really helpful threads on mfp for newbies. Just keep it simple there is no need to over complicate things for yourself.
    You can do it, it won't be easy and you will have setbacks but just keep logging and counting calories and it will work.
    Best of luck to you.
  • Stella3838
    Stella3838 Posts: 439 Member
    Everyone has touched on some really great suggestions. I would just say that incorporating walking into your day is a great way to start exercising. Start with what you can do and add to it. A pedometer is a great investment. Also, drink water!! I've been terrible at this, but I'm finally on track and I'm amazed how much better I feel staying hydrated. Best of luck! You have support here when you need it, but you have to want this and get after it! So get it!!
  • estherjellybabe
    estherjellybabe Posts: 14 Member
    Hello.
    My name's Summer I'm from Alabama.
    I'm 5ft 11in
    490lbs/ Several health issues.
    I have no motivation and no clue where to start or how too start. I just dont know! I'm lost :(

    WARNING: LONG POST.

    Hello Summer,

    First of all I want to tell you that you are not alone and that we have all felt without motivation and without a clue, at some point. But you have done the most important thing, which is to realise that you need to do something about it! We're all on the same boat.

    My name is Esther, I am from Malta (Europe). I am trying to lose weight since I have heart and lung problems, and family history of high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. I want to live long and enjoy a good quality of life. Most importantly I have realised that I deserve to give myself care and good things, and that I deserve to have a high priority. I neglected myself for far too long and now I want to reverse that.

    DISCLAIMERS: I AM NOT A NUTRITIONIST. Going to a nutritionist will help you learn what you should do, especially if you have many other health problems.

    ****

    Here is what I did:

    1. Enter this challenge knowing that this is going to be a change you will do FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, and that you will need to PERSEVERE. In other words, you will need to keep at it, even after you got one too many chocolate squares, even after a hard day at work, even when you are tired and hungry and sad. You are going to bounce back on plan immediately after realising what you have done wrong, and you will not give up just because of one bad day, or one bad meal...because you know you're not 100% perfect, and that's ok.

    2. Take a good look at your pantry, freezer and fridge. Most of the food we get at supermarkets has added fat, oil, sugar, preservative, and artificial sweeteners. This has to go. That includes ready-made dinners, sauces, soups... Everything has to go out. If it's in the house you will likely fall for it in a moment of weakness. Give it to charity or family members without health or weight issues.

    3. VERY IMPORTANT: the foods you should eat must be as close to their natural origin as possible.

    This means that 75% of what you eat has to be:
    - raw fruit
    - vegetables; in large quantities and high variety. Eat many differently coloured vegetables, especially leafy dark greens.
    - beans and lentils.
    - brown rice, barley, seeds, quinoa, spelt etc.

    Then 15% of what you eat can be:
    - boiled potato
    - wholemeal pasta (ONLY wholemeal)
    - max. 3 slices wholemeal bread daily. (80 cal per slice. very dense)
    - tofu
    - seitan (NOT IF YOU ARE INTOLERANT TO GLUTEN)

    Another 5% of what you eat includes a few nuts in your daily diet:
    - e.g. 10 almonds per day OR 4 walnuts per day (NOT BOTH IN THE SAME DAY)

    Finally the last 5% of what you may allow yourself would be:
    - egg : twice a week ONLY (very high in cholesterol). This includes eggs used in home-baked meals.
    - low-fat cottage cheese (2 spoonfuls per day)
    - low-fat yoghurt WITHOUT SUGAR ADDED
    - white fish and (ideally wild) salmon.
    - chicken breast or chicken legs WITHOUT THE SKIN AND FAT.
    - skimmed milk or soymilk

    You should eat NONE of the following:
    - beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, horse, goat, bacon, ham, gammon, prosciutto
    - hard cheese, butter, full-fat milk, cream
    - sausages, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, burgers, pizza, liver-pate, kidneys, liver, brain.
    - Canned tuna, swordfish, shark, king mackerel, tilefish (high in mercury)
    - any vegetable oil, margarine
    - peanut butter (too concentrated and too easy to overeat, so best not to buy it)

    Tips:
    - drink a glass of water before starting your meal (fills you up more),
    - eat to 80% of your stomach capacity (don't eat until full)
    - eat slowly.
    - brush your teeth after a meal, to let your brain know you are done eating.

    Total water consumption per day is MINIMUM 2 LITRES.

    Get a good night's sleep. It makes a huge difference.

    4. After you adjust your body to eating clean (maybe a week or two), the next step is to learn how to count calories. Myfitnesspal is really perfect for this. Learn how to portion out food by weighing it. Get a good food-weighing balance. This takes some practice but most people get the hang of it really quickly, so don't give up. If in doubt you can always ask us here or look it up online :) if you're a bit old-school, keep a small notepad and pencil on you at all times and note down everything.

    5. Determine how many calories your body burns every day, depending on your age, height, weight, activity level etc. Again Myfitnesspal does this for you, but you can google it and you'll find it in a few seconds. Then decide how many kgs you would like to lose per week or per month. My suggestion is to not go too fast because you will not be able to maintain this in the long term. I am personally doing 0.5kg per week (1.25 pound) with a sedentary activity level, and I feel it is very doable.

    6. Set mini-goals along the way, and then the final end-goal. Psychologically, the power of goals is amazing. Hitting those milestones is really an achievement, and you really feel like you are doing something good for yourself. Do not set time-limits for your weight-loss. Forget about time-limits completely. This is going to be for life, so it takes the time it takes.

    7. Count EVERYTHING. Even your cheat meals. Oh and when I say cheat meals I mean ONE MEAL, not a whole day of binge-eating (that can literally cancel out a whole week's worth of hard work and effort). And when I say "cheat meal" I mean WITHIN REASON. Not a whole pizza (3000 cals = one week of effort). A small plate of spaghetti with bolognese sauce and some grated cheese (700 cal) is probably a better cheat meal. An ice-cream is another cheat-meal. Not more than one of these cheat meals per week. Remember they are really not good for you, ideally you don't do cheat meals at all, but if you really must, keep it under control.

    8. Think of calories like you're thinking of money in your savings account. Is it worth spending 400 calories on a bag of Doritos, when I can save that up for a big meal tonight where I can feel much more satisfied? Is it worth spending 250 calories on a chocolate bar, when instead I can have a breakfast of oats skimmed milk and blueberries which will keep me going till 1pm? If I overdid my limit today by 100 calories, I can go for a 45 minute walk and so I will earn back 200 calories.

    9. Exercise: this is really important and many people neglect this because they're so focused on food (I'm guilty of this). I don't know what your level of fitness is, but I'm guessing it's low. Start with 15 minutes of walking every day for a week. Then the next week, do 20 minutes. Then the week after that add another 5 minutes. Keep within a reasonably comfortable level of exercise, do it 5 days a week minimum and stick to it. After hitting 40 minutes of walking you can start logging them in to Myfitnesspal. You will find that you can shave off 200 calories in one 45 minute walk - that's like two bananas or a small bowl of oats! Exercise is meant to keep your metabolism high and to build up stamina in your muscles. It is also very important for cardiovascular health and mental health. Getting 30 minutes of sun on your skin daily also ensures your body makes Vitamin D.

    10. Get support from your friends and family and here on this forum. It is very important to get encouragement, and equally important to identify who is trying to sabotage or discourage you for whatever reason. Sometimes you will find that some people who you thought were friends, will actually start to act weird or sabotage your efforts; for example when they see you are eating healthily they will start making fun of you, or try to convince you it's useless, or that you don't have to, or on purpose eat something you really used to like right in front of you, just so they can see your reaction. Do not fall for this. It's cruel of them to be honest, and if they cared they would not find it entertaining to watch you suffer when you are trying so hard to do something good for yourself (saving your health). Imagine if there is someone hooked onto drugs who trying to be clean, and his friend tries to get him to use again. Everyone would agree that is not a good friend. Same for this scenario.

    11. Don't weigh yourself every day. It fluctuates a lot, due to water retention. Also, you will have a lot of water retention just before and during your period, it's normal. Weighing yourself one or twice a week is probably more realistic.

    12. In our fast-paced world, we sometimes want convenient solutions for healthy eating. Prepare food in bulk and freeze off portions of it. They come in very handy down the road when you've been working late and had no time to cook and are so hungry you could eat a horse :) just pop it in the microwave and there you go. Soups, home-made pasta sauces, vegetable patties and raw vegetables are very good freezer-candidates. You can also prepare food for three days in a row. e.g. I boil three days worth of rice, lentils and long green beans and just leave it in my fridge in sealable boxes, already portioned out. Very convenient, grab and go.

    ***
    Once again I want to remind you that I am NOT A DIETICIAN and that you should primarily seek medical / nutritional help from professionals.

    I hope you found my super long post at least a little bit helpful, Summer. Up til now I have lost 11.4kg (25 pounds), and I still have another 32 pounds to go. Please do feel free to add me as a friend on Myfitnesspal. I would like some friends here too :) I wish you the best of luck, you can do this! You deserve good health.

    Take care

    Esther
  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 649 Member
    The one thing that successfully motivates me on a sustained basis is imagining myself in the life my dreams. I always see myself in that better life as a thin active healthy person. I imagine wearing cute clothes and going on wonderful adventures.

    If you relate to a movie star or celebrity imagine doing the things they do, having their cute clothes etc. it can be fun... you can do this on a long walk and make progress toward your goal.

    I have maintained most of the weight loss for 10 years and many of the things I imagined actually happened to me. When I gained back 15 pounds this fall after an event out of my control I go back to that. right now I am imaging getting back into all my cute clothes and going to Rome.
  • dejavuohlala
    dejavuohlala Posts: 1,821 Member
    Hi Summer

    Well there is lots of advice above for you to absorb so I won't overload you anymore. Just to say be consistent, log everhing you eat and drink and any exercise.! Stay with it. Get a small group of mutually supportive friends on here, chose the ones that encourage and motivate you and that are honest. Good luck if you have any specific questions send a message or ask us.
  • estherjellybabe
    estherjellybabe Posts: 14 Member
    I FORGOT TO ADD:

    ******

    Under the list of things NOT to eat:
    - Chocolate, chocolate spread
    - Cakes, cookies, sweets, candy bars
    - puddings, custard, pastries,
    - Biscuits, crackers, cereal-bars
    - Almost all commercially prepared breakfast cereals have lots of sugar added to them. (plain rolled oats are a natural tasty alternative especially when taken with fruit).
    - Do not add sugar to any food and drink.
    - Ice-cream, full-fat yoghurt, most yoghurts have added sugar in them.
    - fruit-juices have high amounts of added sugar (even when they say no added sugar, its bull), and no fibre to keep you full
    - Sodas/fizzy drinks/energy drinks; they have insane amounts of sugar and salt. Also avoid the ones with artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose etc) since they may have a cancer-causing effect in the long term, so it's best to avoid them as much as possible).
    - Alcohol: any type, any volume, ALWAYS has a lot of sugar and always has a lot of empty calories (1 glass wine = 200 calories!)
    - Deep-fried foods, fries, oven-baked wedges, roux-based sauces, white creamy sauces, ketchup

    Learning to read food labels is extremely important, you will quickly be surprised by how much oil, fat and sugar lurks in commerically prepared foods.

    Notice that most of the things in the list of what not to eat are things that have been processed, refined and very modified from their original natural state. Remember to eat foods as close as possible to their natural form.
    ********
  • UnicornAmandaPanda
    UnicornAmandaPanda Posts: 161 Member
    Hello! Congrats on the start of your journey!! Two thumbs up for making the first step! You should definitely see your doctor, find a nutritionist or dietician to help you along the way. Just know that you CAN do this!!!! Start by moving a little more and eating a little less! Sending love your way!❤
  • MrsBeia17
    MrsBeia17 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi Summer, you are already doing better than the day before because you've made up your mind to work on you. I look at it like this...if I can give myself to my job for 8 hrs a day, I can give my all to at least 30 min a day for myself. Youtube has tons of workouts from beginner to advanced. Stay encouraged and keep pushing forward!
  • gfjazz
    gfjazz Posts: 285 Member
    Hello I am 71 active and was on Jenny Craig
    Budget gas made me forgo and instead try frozen food like jenny
    Measure,write or log all food walk indoors UTube videos free
  • dejavuohlala
    dejavuohlala Posts: 1,821 Member
    Yes what^^^^^ said
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    When someone says they need motivation, this is my go-to post on MFP:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p1

  • Hopelessone
    Hopelessone Posts: 270 Member
    You made a good start already by joking MFP! Lots of helpful people on here. You can do this! Add me if you want
  • Navallez
    Navallez Posts: 433 Member
    Feel free to add me we can motivate and support each other: )
  • indiacaitlin
    indiacaitlin Posts: 691 Member
    I've added you! Happy to help, you can message me if you like :)
  • FitnessGirl11mfp
    FitnessGirl11mfp Posts: 232 Member
    You are already on the right track just by starting mfp :-) Start by logging everything especially the things that can be easy to forget like spices & condiments. Be honest with your logging and with yourself. Be patient. Don't deprive yourself of the foods you love.
    I'll add you, I'd be happy to help :-) Feel free to message me!
  • 4sumpi
    4sumpi Posts: 3 Member
    edited January 2017
    Hello there. I know that my post will likely be unpopular and torn down because I do not agree that with such a large amount of weight to lose, you need to lose only 1-1.5 pounds per week. Looking at something clinically and living it are two different things. I weighed 295 in October and lost 40 pounds in 10 weeks. Many people LOVE to tell me how unhealthy it is to lose weight quickly (because being 120 pounds overweight ISN'T unhealthy.) It is all well and good for someone who wants to lose 20 pounds to tell you to lose 1-1.5 pounds per week, but if you want to lose 250 pounds, that will take 5 years. I know just having 120# to lose and looking at a 2 year commitment to losing all that weight seemed so overwhelming that I had just given up (for 20 years.) I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I have been overweight or obese my entire life, so even though I can never know exactly how you feel, I have a pretty good idea. If you want to email me, I will tell you my story and maybe something I say can help you find a starting point. BTW, I live in the Florida Panhandle...where do you live in AL? I hope to hear from you. I guess there is a way to add me as a friend on here too [personal details removed by mods]...I hope to hear from you soon.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    4sumpi wrote: »
    Hello there. I know that my post will likely be unpopular and torn down because I do not agree that with such a large amount of weight to lose, you need to lose only 1-1.5 pounds per week. Looking at something clinically and living it are two different things. I weighed 295 in October and lost 40 pounds in 10 weeks. Many people LOVE to tell me how unhealthy it is to lose weight quickly (because being 120 pounds overweight ISN'T unhealthy.) It is all well and good for someone who wants to lose 20 pounds to tell you to lose 1-1.5 pounds per week, but if you want to lose 250 pounds, that will take 5 years. I know just having 120# to lose and looking at a 2 year commitment to losing all that weight seemed so overwhelming that I had just given up (for 20 years.) I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I have been overweight or obese my entire life, so even though I can never know exactly how you feel, I have a pretty good idea. If you want to email me, I will tell you my story and maybe something I say can help you find a starting point. BTW, I live in the Florida Panhandle...where do you live in AL? I hope to hear from you. I guess there is a way to add me as a friend on here too, but I would likely check my email more often. If you want to contact me, my email is xxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com...I hope to hear from you soon.

    I agree that she might need to lose more weight than 1 - 1 1/2 lbs a week due to the health issues that she mentioned. Don't you think however that because of those health issues that she should be getting medical advice from her doctor and a dietitian instead of a complete stranger off the internet that admits they are no doctor or dietitian?

    The starting point that you have offered to help her find should be a trip to her doctor! She has health issues that you are not qualified to give advice on.
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