Needing to lose 136 pounds, any tips?

Little goals.
I have over 150 to move.
10 more to my first goal.

I think it is important to enjoy what you eat so you could look at modifying how you cook and eat meals at home. Since I started (just a couple weeks ago) I absolutely ensure I prepare my breakfast and lunch for work the night before. One lunch I have been loving is a chef's salad. A large bed of lettuce, cooked egg whites, chopped ham, cheese, chopped apple, whatever veggies I have like cucumber and a couple Tbsp of dressing. I can barely finish it and with the egg and ham I get lots of protein so it doesn't feel like rabbit food. I do measure and weigh everything to meet my goals. If you plan a bit you can absolutely make it happen. Sometimes I also cook up a tray of chicken breasts (if on sale) or boneless pork on the weekend and it is ready to use during the week. Frozen stir fry veggies make meals easy too and they are just as healthy as fresh. Also, don't think you have to stick to stereotypical meals, if you want eggs for supper go for it, if you want leftovers for breakfast, have at it. You can enjoy this and make it a lifestyle change. Oh, and I wasn't much of a water drinker. I put an app on my phone "water drink reminder." You input when you get up and when you go to bed and every hour you get a little reminder asking you if you've had anything to drink. I am managing about 100 ounces a day now.
Good luck!

Great advice from your doctor and great for you to come here and post. Start out by tracking your calorie consumption using MyFitnessPal (MFP). If you eat out, there is still a good chance MFP has the dish so you can log it. If it isn't in MFP, look up the calories on the restaurant's website and add them.

It will take a while for you to discover all the sources of calories in your diet. My doctor started me out with the simple advice - don't out, don't eat things made with white flour or white sugar. I don't make it 100% but I try.

Next as you have said you need to discover things you like when you cook yourself. If you are committed to losing the weight then this will be the biggest part of your journey and will take the most work. You will need to learn how to cook and you will need to search, try and discover recipes for things you like.

A few tips... Breakfast - start with toast, butter and an egg. Most people like that. I personally have that on some days and on others I have steel cut oatmeal cooked in a rice cooker and mixed with homemade unsweetened apple sauce, 1/2 scoop of protein powder and cinnamon. For lunch - a sandwich and a piece of fruit. I eat more roasts with the aim of leftover meat for my lunch sandwiches. However make whatever you like, just make sure you log it properly in MFP. For dinner, a good starter is the basic three part meal - a meat (try to stick to 4-5 oz. serving), a starch (I love brown rice made with chicken stock - but potatoes or sweet potatoes are good too) and a vegetable. Snacks between meals can be nuts, fruits or vegetables.

Eat before you get too hungry, once hunger sets in you will either not be satisfied or you will eat too much trying to get full. I find in order to last between lunch and dinner I need a good snack including protein around 3:00pm. For protein I've used either nuts, shrimp or leftover meats.

Finally, losing that much weight will take time. Aim to lose 1-2 pounds a week. The key is consistency. Every day I start the day with the mantra - 'eat breakfast, pack lunch, take out dinner'.

Some here make their food diaries public. Take a look at them for ideas.

Good luck!

The key to keeping yourself within the 1500-2000 calories (which is a VERY do-able amount of calories) and not feel hungry or deprived is to maximize your protein intake by having protein rich snacks like plain Greek yogurt, cheese, nuts. With your meals the same, a good serving of protein, lots of vegetables and a small serving of healthy carbs like sweet potato, quinoa, etc. The goal is limit the amount of simple carbs to keep you feeling satisfied. Budget yourself a treat during the day, like a 1/2 cup of light ice cream or small serving of whatever snack food you like. Most importantly, this is not a diet, this has to be a change in lifestyle/eating habits in order for you to be successful in the long term.

On the weight loss, break it down into mini-goals so the total doesn't seem so impossible. Start with losing 20 lbs, then reward yourself with non-food like a manicure, new book, new outfit, etc. If you ever get discouraged, google what 5 lbs of fat looks like, you may feel like it isn't much, but is significant.

I started out with Lean Cuisine for lunch. Not maybe the healthiest choice but it was within my calorie allotment for the day and weaned me off of takeout chinese food. Eventually I started creating my own with more protein and less starch, substituting veggie strands for the pasta and increasing the protein. I bring a couple pieces of fruit and use a rye cracker with low fat cream cheese for breakfast or alternatively I like a slice of whole grain toast with low fat peanut butter. Dinner is usually lean meat or fish (4 ounces), rice or potato (1/2 cup) and some type of veggie (1 or 2 cups). This leaves me room a few treats in the evening. I'm on 1200 to 1400 calories so you have a bit more room. I also don't probably get as much protein as I should. You could add in a snack of low sugar greek yogurt or alternatively some low fat string cheese or a small handful of almonds or some other healthy nut. If you like smoothies a nice protein powder smoothie works (whey isolate is the least revolting in my opinion). I make one with chocolate whey isolate, 1/2 banana, ice, and cashew milk with PB2 powder. It rocks. For amazing meal recipes try skinnytaste.com and inspiralized.com. Good luck.

Lots of eggs and meat. God I love protein!

Slimzone meals if ur in the uk also Healthy cereals and cereal bars fruit Greek you don't starve yourself that's my tip make sure you eat enough to feel full but hose the right things

I wish more doctors had sense yours does!

My biggest recommendation is make changes you can live with, so they will stick. It HAS to be forever or you'll be doing it again.

For protein I like the usual sources, like chicken, fish, and turkey. I also eat greek yogurt and cheese daily, hard boiled eggs frequently, nut butter daily, and black beans every week. I used to eat protein bars, but found myself burned out on them after a short time.

Make one change a week. Week one, maybe start weighing your food. No changes, just weighing so you see how much you're really eating and where you can improve. Week two, smaller portions. Week three, add an after dinner walk. Week four, drop the soda. Etc etc. Whatever small change you can work into your life will help you make this a habit, and get the ball rolling. Slow and steady with a weight loss like this. You'll likely put up some big numbers the first month but remember it took time to put it on, it comes off with time. Feel free to add me - I've been at this about 3 years, with a break from Feb of last year until recently to have a healthy pregnancy. I'm 55lbs into a 117lb goal.

I have lost 100+. I will admit for the first year I was strictly on a prepackaged meal plan. I still use the food, but I now eat "regular food" the majority of the time. I make sure I get my protein in, more than anything else. I usually get enough fiber from the foods that I eat. I do snack. I aim to eat every 3 hours at least.
If you are new and not used to having structure I found that planning out and logging my meals for the day really helps. 2 years later, I pretty much know what I can eat to fall within my calorie and nutrient goals. I make sure I have a fruit and veggies everyday. As far as protein, I eat yogurt, chicken, and eggs most days. Yogurt and chicken everyday.
There are a lot of snacks that are good and not necessarily high in calories. I also have popcorn just about everyday.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

Generally, I know where my weak spots are (eating out, for example) and try to plan ahead. It can be as simple as asking myself on Hannukah, "How many calories are there in a jelly donut anyway? 270? Okay. What will it take for me to not feel deprived and not go off-program? Can I stop with 1/2? Yes? Okay. Now journal it BEFORE I eat." And then, going off knowing that I can have a half a jelly donut, it will taste good, and I have no reason to feel guilty over it because I'm actually still within my daily allotment.

(As opposed to before, when my internal monologue was more along the lines of "Oooh. You ate a donut? Might as well consider the day a write-off now. Have another while you're at it.")

I do find that tracking what I'm going to eat before I eat it helps me stay on-track better.

Also, I seldom eat-back the calories I burn through exercise. I think of them as a cushion in case I guesstimated wrong when I tracked something. (There are a LOT of different totals for vegetable soup, for example. And if it's something I didn't make myself, all I can really do is look at what seems to be close and hope.)

That's good advice. I am very good at writing off the day. Then it spirals out of control and a month is gone before I know it.

I just got back on my health im doing a sort of primal diet where I eat mainly veggies and some type of lean protein and I can tell you im not hungry! I dont really count to much on calories because fresh veggies are very low in calories but feel you up!! Snack often and if you go out to eat just tell the waitor to only put half on the plate and put the rest away!

Lots of good advise here and elsewhere on the forums, but make it simple, do not think about losing 136lb. Think about losing 1lb, move more, eat less, lose that pound, then onto the next pound.

Good luck