Too fat, never going to lose weight!!

SarahMacphail1 · September 2017

Yup. My main goal at the moment is to get my blood sugar under better control, that's more important to me than losing weight if I'm honest although the two tend to go hand in hand. I'm setting myself smaller goals such as stay on track for a week, lose 5lbs, walk x amount of miles a day, cut down on sugar. They all seem a lot less daunting than losing 80lbs does and I figure it's not just about the scale.

You can do it

Take it in small steps.

Rickster1967 · September 2017

However fat and unhealthy we are the human body always retains its' incredible ability to heal itself and to improve.

This is because we have an innate mechanism called 'Specific Adaptation' which means the body & its' systems will make changes, as required, in response to the demands we put on it. This is why men who lift heavy weights grow bigger muscles (Specifically the body says 'OK, we need to get stronger') and also why marathon runners are skinny.

You can use this principle of Specific Adaptation to achieve the goals you set. So, no you are not too fat to lose weight. You can do it. What you need is a method by which your system will respond by burning fat.

There are any number of ways to do that including taking amphetamines. However, you no doubt want a healthy option so you need to design a programme that will leave you satisfied, not craving and worrying about food all the time, will get you moving.

My specific advice would be to do this:

1. Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate. That is the number of calories you burn in a day just doing your normal day. That may be around 2000 or so.

2. Set a calorie intake just below that BMR and divide that into 4 or 5 meals a day.

3. Eat more or less exactly the same foods at each meal of the day. You can vary how you present them but make the ingredients and quantity the same (ie you can have scrambled eggs, or poached or omelette; grilled chicken, roast chicken, poached chicken etc etc). Eat whole foods that fill you up, eat plenty of greens, including at breakfast.

4. Start gradually increasing your activity level. Go for a walk every day even if it is 5 minutes. Very quickly, your system will adapt to the activity and you'll find you can do more. Gradually increase the volume of activity as you improve.

5. Keep your calories constant & increase your activity, do not be tempted to eat more because the app says you can.

6. Don't be tempted to cut calories if you hit a plateau, trust the plan and keep increasing movement. Your system will adapt and as long as you keep a calorie deficit then you will drop weight.

7. Seriously consider supplementing your diet with Vitamin D3, a good Fish Oil supplement, Vitamin C, Magnesium (transdermal magnesium best). Branch Chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a good idea too. You need nutrition to achieve optimum results so don't skimp and live on low nutrition 'filler' foods.

8. Make sure you are getting good sleep & rest. Relaxation and de-stressing is vital too so make time for chill out.

9. Make the mental commitment to achieving your goal in a REALISTIC time span. If you wanted to lose 100lbs a realistic minimum would be 50 weeks at 2lb per week. So, make the mental resolution to stay the course. You couldn't really get it done faster so prepare to strap in and seeit out out.

10. Finally, BELIEVE it can and will happen. This is very powerful. Form a complete image in your mind of you at your ideal weight and study it in detail. Spend time every day looking at that image - notice all the details of how you look, dress, feel, act, behave and think. Get your mind in her mindset and place that image out in front. The power of belief and association with p[ositive images cannot be underestimated. If your unconscious mind really believes you can and will achieve the goal in the image, this will provide massive motivation.

All the best and good luck

veganbaum · September 2017

rickinnercirclebet wrote: »

However fat and unhealthy we are the human body always retains its' incredible ability to heal itself and to improve.

1. Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate. That is the number of calories you burn in a day just doing your normal day. That may be around 2000 or so.

2. Set a calorie intake just below that BMR and divide that into 4 or 5 meals a day.

5. Keep your calories constant & increase your activity, do not be tempted to eat more because the app says you can.

You'v received good advice, OP. I have lost about 60 pounds, and it's been over quite a period of time. The last 20 have taken about eight months or so. I'm not in a rush. I know how it works. I'm twenty pounds lighter than I was last winter. My goal is to successfully maintain, so I have made small, sustainable changes and gone slow so hopefully those changes will stick.

I did want to address the above. DO NOT calculate BMR and reduce from there. That's what your body needs if you were to stay in bed all day. TDEE is what your body burns in a day when you actually get up out of bed and go about your day.

Also, I would definitely eat more in response to more activity. If I ate what MFP gives me (based off of NEAT and not TDEE), I'd be eating around 1500/day. My activity level is much higher than my sedentary job. I eat around 1700-1900 M-F and Sunday and around 3,000 Saturday. You need to fuel your body appropriately. If you move more, eat more.

Just take the numbers MFP gives you, add your exercise and eat some of those calories. Learn how to log accurately. Adjust your numbers based off of your results. You'll get there. It's better than the alternative.

tinkerbellang83 · September 2017

dawn_westbury wrote: »

buffalogal42 wrote: »

What are your stats? (Height, starting weight, goal weight?)

I am down 113 lbs (20-ish to go) - there are no quick fixes. This took me over 2 years of sticking with a plan ... if you are committed and realize it is a long process, you CAN succeed!!

I am 5'5" and weigh about 235lbs .. My ultimate (wish) goal would be to weight what I did before I had my daughters (125lbs), of course that was about 20 years ago! I really just want to lose as much weight as I can (or that I need to) to feel good about myself, be healthier, not get out of breath going up ONE flight of stairs etc etc! Whether that ends up being 125lbs or 155lbs.

Losing weight won't necessarily make your feel good about yourself, that's a mindset issue you need to work on too. As was already mentioned above, you need to work on your attitude towards yourself too, self-love is a far better place to improve yourself from than self-loathing.

I started out at 255lbs, currenly down to 218lbs, it's been slow and steady progress so far, but at 218lbs I am still heavier than I have been earlier in my life, but I am a whole lot fitter than I ever was at my slimmest and I have lot more confidence in myself.

Enter your stats in MFP, don't necessarily go for the fastest rate of loss, fast isn't better, sustainable is, get yourself a food scale, log your normal food intake honestly and accurately for a couple of days and then review it to see what small sustainable changes you can make to get from what you were eating to what you need to eat to lose weight. As time goes on you can start focusing on making better nutritional choices, but concentrate on calories first so as not to overcomplicate things.

Start doing little things to be more active, it doesn't have to be exercise necessarily. Walk up the stairs instead of taking an escalator or lift, if you drive - park further away.

Little changes add up.

myfavoritealpha · September 2017

Agreed. Just enter your stats, take one day at a time. Lift Heavy, change your workout plan every couple months and eat good foods at a caloric deficit. Find some good friends to motivate and possibly participate with you.

vivelajackie · September 2017

I was over 400lbs when I started out. I looked at myself and where I was and that was my starting point. I just got lucky in lacking desire even then to lose it quickly with fads and just signed up here, plugged in my numbers and a desired target weight, and stuck to it. If you don't start there's NOT going to be improvement, but if you do start? It's seriously one day at a time. There will be situations where you lose hope, but push past them. Good luck!

Morgaen73 · September 2017

Yeah I was there and thought the same. Boy was I wrong.

2011rocket3touring · September 2017

In the beginning I was just focused on the process. I asked myself "what did I do to get fat" and then worked on doing the opposite.

nowine4me · September 2017

My goal is the lose 3# by the end of 2017, just 3. Four would be great. Losing weight takes time, effort and a calories defect. In my case, about 100 a day.

Need2Exerc1se · September 2017

dawn_westbury wrote: »

buffalogal42 wrote: »

What are your stats? (Height, starting weight, goal weight?)

I am down 113 lbs (20-ish to go) - there are no quick fixes. This took me over 2 years of sticking with a plan ... if you are committed and realize it is a long process, you CAN succeed!!

I am 5'5" and weigh about 235lbs .. My ultimate (wish) goal would be to weight what I did before I had my daughters (125lbs), of course that was about 20 years ago! I really just want to lose as much weight as I can (or that I need to) to feel good about myself, be healthier, not get out of breath going up ONE flight of stairs etc etc! Whether that ends up being 125lbs or 155lbs.

You do it one day at a time. And there will likely be bad days, days where you give in and overeat. But recognize that this is just one day and tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow you can do better. Don't be in such a hurry that you make yourself miserable. Slow and steady will lead to good results, less loose skin, better adherence, less discomfort.

Be kind to yourself and keep your eye on the goal. You'll get there. If you have children you know how time can fly. This time next year you will be so much closer to your goal. Best of luck!

Treece68 · September 2017

I was almost 300lbs when I started MFP for the 2nd time I had gained back the 20lbs I had lost the first time, and I never changed my stats. I have actually tried this time and I am now at 243. I can see the changes and I am proud of myself. Every once in a while I will catch my whole reflection and think why am I doing this I still look the same this fat apron will never go away. It is hard but it is worth it that I am down two pants sizes, and two band sizes for bra's.
Little by little I am losing, and when I see that scale move 1lb on Monday (the only day I weigh myself) I know I am doing the right thing, and I know I can do this. You can to, you just have to try.

BootCampC · September 2017

my motivation is someone who says "you cant do that". change the attitude and you will

cheryldumais · September 2017

dawn_westbury wrote: »

buffalogal42 wrote: »

What are your stats? (Height, starting weight, goal weight?)

I am down 113 lbs (20-ish to go) - there are no quick fixes. This took me over 2 years of sticking with a plan ... if you are committed and realize it is a long process, you CAN succeed!!

I am 5'5" and weigh about 235lbs .. My ultimate (wish) goal would be to weight what I did before I had my daughters (125lbs), of course that was about 20 years ago! I really just want to lose as much weight as I can (or that I need to) to feel good about myself, be healthier, not get out of breath going up ONE flight of stairs etc etc! Whether that ends up being 125lbs or 155lbs.

I'm 5"5" too and went from 251 (pre MFP) to 145. I still have ten pounds to go but it was worth every step. The best part of doing it on MFP is that you design the plan that works for you. There is no magic but persistence pays off and over time you will find that your tastes may change and your desire for food will diminish. I was astounded at how little food would fill me up. It has taken me two years to get where I am but I was down about 75 the first year. In the beginning I was shooting for 165 so when I got there I decided to see if I could get a bit lower. Don't fret over what your ultimate goal will be. I can't imagine going back to old habits now. I'm 60 years old and wish I hadn't waited so long to get here.

It's really worth it kiddo. Take it one step at a time.

Quasita · September 2017

I blog/vlog about this a lot at times. It's one of the conversations that I think is sorely lacking from the support communities, and I'm determined to change it.

I started out nearly 400lbs overweight at 535lbs HW. I told myself that I needed to focus on commitment to a plan and invested in my success. Made myself use trackers, engaged with mental health professionals, routinely checked in with my doctors to make sure I was measuring by what *really* matters for weight... Which is not your appearance, but rather your health parameters. During the times where the weight stalled out or I couldn't see a change, my bloodwork indicated otherwise and that I was making myself much healthier in my effort to just try. At the beginning, I was definitely in a mental space where I'd given up, that the finish line was sooooo far away, why even try? So my first focus was not on the calorie cuts or the exercise burns, but rather on tracking my water, fiber and general caloric intake, and working on my mental health and self-worth issues first. When you find the switch to turn your brain from self-deprecation and worthlessness to believing that you're worth an investment, I've found that the progress and effort is much easier. I firmly believe that becoming extremely overweight, for most people, is not a matter of relationship with food, but an issue with the relationship with self.

I'm down ~240lbs at this point, and have another 100 or so to go to be "average". I'm about 50lbs from my high goal. To give an idea, however... I started my efforts in 2011. Yes, that's 6 years. I haven't always been perfect, I've had downfalls and health scares and got off track but the point is that you always, always push to move forward, be better than you were yesterday.

Give yourself permission to be imperfect. Feel free to get in touch... OP or anyone else. I'll be happy to share in the story.

bobshuckleberry · September 2017

Set a small goal, reach it, set another. Along with a weight loss goal, set attainable lifestyle change goals. Like starting tomorrow I will park as far as I can from the store, my office, wherever. And I will not have dessert/sweet treat more than twice a week. Once you master those, add new lifestyle goals. It has to be something you can do the rest of your life and you are comfortable with.

malikahaha · September 2017

Oh my god, no! I had a colleague who weighed about 24 stone. She would sit and eat all kinds of rubbish so when she told me "I need to lose 12 stone" I said ok, good luck, and never spoke of it again. One say she came in and said "I've lost 2 stone" and honestly, I was really proud of her. I then left that place of work but she recently posted on Facebook that she's hit her 5 stone mark! Honestly we were all guilty of thinking she couldn't do it!

Get it girl, you'll be able to do it I promise you x

mrswiggum · September 2017

I think we all think our goal is unattainable at some point along the way. But it's not unattainable, you're not too fat, and you can do this.

I started off about 360 pounds -- seriously, morbidly obese. It took me three years, but I lost almost 190 pounds. It's been about a year since then, and I am still maintaining/could lose a couple more pounds (I kind of bounce around a five-pound range that I'm OK with). Just take it one day at a time, focus on small goals (like others have said), and DON'T GIVE UP. You will stumble, you will mess up, you will have bad weeks, but you just keep going, do your best, and it'll work out!

My suggestions are:

Find exercises that you truly enjoy, whether it's running, lifting weights, playing basketball, swimming or whatever. Make it a priority to set aside time for yourself and some activity. I started off walking a little bit a day. I built it up to a couple miles at a time when I got stronger. Now I run almost every day, challenge myself to constantly improve, and I also found I LOVE cycling. Find something that is fun and challenging.
If you are competitive, make weight loss into a game. Challenge yourself to keep up your MFP streak. See how many days you can go (I'm nearing 1,500!). Try to hit your calorie goal exactly. Find a way to make this fun.
Find alternative foods to "bad" stuff you have weaknesses for. If you can plow through a pint of ice cream (like me), find a store that sells Halo Top, which is like 1/4 the calories and has a lot of protein. If you are addicted to potato chips, try some baked (not fried) sweet potato chips or something. Super into rice with your dinner? Make "rice" out of cauliflower. Etc. etc. etc.
Alternately, if you have weaknesses, DO NOT EVEN KEEP THESE THINGS AROUND. I know if I have chips of any kind in my kitchen, I will devour them. I do not buy chips. But I buy small apples or berries to keep as healthier things to snack on.
Stay positive and believe in yourself. Know that a bad day or a bad week is not the end. Tomorrow is a new day with a clean slate. Do not beat yourself up if you mess up -- we all do it. Just move on.
Be patient. In time, you will start to notice a change in how your clothes feel, improvements in your physical fitness, and hopefully overall better health. And after a while, people will start to ask you, "Did you lose weight?" and it'll feel awesome and it will help motivate you.

Good luck! You can do this! And one more time, DON'T GIVE UP. Just keep going.

edspader · September 2017

This is how I have felt for the past few years, honestly. I've been working off-and-on trying to lose weight through my entire 40's. I'd lose 10 pounds and then plateau or stall, I'd gain 2 pounds out of the blue and become frustrated, etc. But I wasn't looking at the bigger picture. Every grain of sand in the hourglass.

Recently, I've lost 20 pounds. That's 1/3 of what I want to lose. I did that taking small steps and making sure I stayed on course. One of my biggest flaws was celebrating little victories. I'd lose 8-10 pounds and say to myself, 'You know, self, you have worked hard! You deserve a little something, you know what I mean? Something to make all of this worthwhile." But I failed to recognize that what makes it worthwhile is being around to see my kids have families of their own.

So, baby steps! Stay on course! Add me if you want, I'd love to help keep you motivated!

Rhayemun · September 2017

I am 5'4" and started this journey at 252lbs. I got all the way down to 168lbs, very unhealthily. I was eating 500 calories a day. I was MISERABLE! I gained 63 of the 84lbs back. So disappointed in myself. HOW COULD I DO THIS?! But you know why I gained it back? I really screwed myself over by obsessing. Now I have been on the weight loss journey again since 07/15 and I am down to 217 from 231

Eating 1500-1800 calories a day and just being active (for about 30 min) 3 days a week! I'm losing more slowly but THAT'S OKAY! It just means it will be lasting and meaningful weight loss that LASTS. I know you can do this! I have a goal weight of 135lbs! I'm cheering for you.

batters1964 · September 2017

Like others have said one day at a time. I started this year weighing over 300 lbs. I have lost just over 60. I know I have so much more to lose to be healthy.

I set mini goals. I set MFP to maintenance if I am eating out or celebrating for that day. My target loss is currently 1 lb per week because that is achievable for me to do without feeling I am on a diet, which I wouldn't be able to maintain.

Honestly, I feel so much healthier and confident now and that keeps me going.

You can do this!

Too fat, never going to lose weight!!

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