350+ pounds Support for Men & Women

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  • CheezWhiz88
    CheezWhiz88 Posts: 116 Member
    edited January 2018
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    @freddieg275 :
    Glad you're here- people here are incredibly kind, inspiring and understanding because we are all on the same journey.
  • pstimie79
    pstimie79 Posts: 30 Member
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    Good morning or evening to all . All my life ive been struggling with my weight, this morning i got the fright of my life, i am weighing more today than ive ever weighed in my life 249kg. Today i said , no more, my goal for this year is to shred 100kg by end of December.
  • pstimie79
    pstimie79 Posts: 30 Member
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    leeonmcdaniel wrote: »
    I've noticed not a lot of guys have commented on this thread and that kinda makes me hesitant to disclose my particular weight. However I'm young at 23 going on 24 as of end of March. My whole life I've always been bigger. In High school it was fine because I played football and it didn't seem like my weight was a issue due to always running and weight lifting in gym for conditioning. however I've been out of school since 2012 and just never kept up the strict diet and weightlifting routine I had back in the day. at this current point in my life I'm over the 350 threshold and my goal is to be down to 275. It is a lot of weight to lose but that was my weight as a senior on the offensive line and I want to get back into shape. My fiancé has started something called the military diet and she has lost 5 pounds already and I plan to stick to this diet strictly along with some excising, such as walking my dogs and such. I'm hoping that this will be a good community to be apart of and not feel so judged.

    keep us in the loop my man, as this is a huge journey, its good to have all the support of youre fiancé. if indeed possible, where can we have a look at this military diet, im very curious.
  • fatoldladyonamission
    fatoldladyonamission Posts: 572 Member
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    rabidhamster87 wrote: »
    fatoldladyonamission wrote: »
    Yes 500 calories on fasting days and 1350 the rest I think. It's been working great. I'm 27lbs down in a little over 3 weeks!

    I'm really intrigued by your fasting plan! Did you find that plan somewhere or decide on it for yourself? What days do you do your fasting? Do you have anymore information about it? I might give this a shot too!

    I do Tuesday and Saturday fasting, spreads it out nicely and means I avoid the takeaway temptation on a Saturday night as that was my old routine. I'm doing Lighter Life 5:2 which is sold in Superdrug stores if you're in the UK. I'm afraid I don't have my diary open because I don't want the comments about it being unhealthy when I'm desperate to lose at least the first 60lbs as quickly as possible. On my non fasting days I'll have a quorn stir fry with every vegetable I can think of in it but cook it in vegetable stock rather than oil, I had a cloud egg with wholemeal toast for breakfast yesterday and that was really filling and yummy. Tomorrow I'm going to have a Jamie Oliver recipe for spicy roasted cauliflower with sweet potato oven fries home made of course! I usually eat around 1000 to 1200 calories a day that way sometimes the full 1350.

    It's actually been working really well and I've gone from 325 to under 300 for the first time in 18 months. Now I want to get to 250 before I consider changing it again. I figure by then I won't be scared to leave the house to exercise so that should help too!
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
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    Hi, guys! I started MFP last January sitting at 375 lbs. I'm now 275 lbs and working on getting to 260 lbs to get to a BMI under 40 for the first time in I don't remember how long. I've done this simply by counting calories. I've tried to eat more Mediterranean style as my budget will allow, so I'm shooting for whole grains, less processed stuff, fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, fish at least once a week, chicken, beans, healthy oils (and butter instead of margarin - I find I use way less that way!), etc. I cut down on sugar just because I wanted to eliminate empty calories and not because of sugar addiction and found that I can tolerate splenda and stevia as my alternate sweeteners.

    There are tons of methods for losing weight, and we all just need to find the one that works for us. Low Carb and Keto just don't work for me - I can't get to that level of carbs with any sort of saeity at all. But I know for some folks, especially those who are pre-diabetic or diabetic, low carb can work wonders! I also found that the low fat mantra that we've been sold for years wasn't all it was hyped up to be, either - which is why there is a slow swing back to more whole foods like butter instead of margarine and htat sort of thing.

    My advice is to be patient - you didn't gain it over night and you won't lose it over night, and losing too much too soon can be unhealthy! Though when you are starting high, you can tolerate a slightly faster loss rate than someone starting lower, so if you find yourself dropping 3-4 lbs a week to start off, that's okay (though please, please talk to your doctor! I'm going from my own experience, which definitely isn't right for everyone!)

    Prepare for the fact that you are going to have good weeks and bad, and that as they weight comes off, the loss rate will slow. And the loss is not going to be linear! Water weight, hormones, and other factors can cause plateaus and even jumps in the scales. Be patient, don't panic if the scale stalls or goes up, and keep at your plan! Use long term trends to make decisions to tweak, NOT daily weight fluctuations!

    Be willing to compromise with yourself. Trying to cut out everything bad and staunchly refuse to ever allow them in is a recipe for failure - will power can only last so long. Get to know yourself, what your weaknesses are, what time of day you are your strongest and weakest, which food types you respond to the best, what makes you feel full longest, and work with yourself. Truly, you can lose weight eating anything as long as you stay within your calorie limit, and while of course its healthier to eat fresh and wholesome foods rather than processed, its not mandatory, so the occasional treat is okay! Look for lower calorie versions of favorites or smaller portion sizes. for instance: once in a while, I crave a Little Debbie fudge round. But I've learned to divide it into 4ths and have found that over time, as I consistently stuck to my calorie routine, that 1/4 of that fudge round was enough to satisfy me, and I either give away the rest or save it for later treats!

    Some folks feel full longest on higher fat diets, others on higher carbs. One method truly isn't any better than the other - go with what works for you. Don't buy into the fad diets or trends! Sensible eating is truly better! And please, don't slash your calories incredibly low at the offset. Your body will not thank you and it will backfire.

    Exercise truly is not a necessary component and you can lose weight without it as long as you stick to your calorie limit. But exercise does have its own health benefits in strengthening your heart and muscles, making it easier to get around, etc, and of course, it provides calories that you can eat back. Again, go with what works and is healthy for you!

    Okay, enough for the unsolicited advice lol



    When I first joined I too went looking for 300+ lb groups as those of us who start at such a weight really have some unique issues to deal with, and I wanted to be around folks who understood what it was like to carry weight like that, try to jump start a healthy eating/exercising program with that kind of weight, that sort of thing. Though I admit I still haven't started a regular exercise routine yet.......I can't help it - I HATE formal exercise!

    Anyway, I did find a group called 300+ which is dedicated toward those of us who have vast amounts to lose. If you guys are interested!

    A
  • lmcclatchie
    lmcclatchie Posts: 14 Member
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    gin_rummy wrote: »
    ***deep breath*** I just found this thread and am going to throw my story into the pot too.

    I know you guys know what I'm going through. That's why I'm here. I don't have anyone IRL who I can talk to about this as I know they can't possibly understand. Maybe surrounding myself with people who are in the same boat is what I need.

    (sorry for the long post!)

    Thank you for throwing your story in to the pot :) I think you are right, we all know where you are, and I doubt that anyone has magic words to help you with the hopelessness you are feeling, except to say that we do know it and that perhaps together we can all power through.

    To everyone else, thank you for the welcome. You are all truly inspiring to me.
  • alevans4
    alevans4 Posts: 37 Member
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    JimmiRayCole wrote: »
    49 and new on here. I was at 350+ lbs in Oct....now I'm down to 274 and feeling 100% better...DILLY DILLY!!! :D Gotta stay focused to get down past 250. Not gonna be easy and hasn't been so far but having the support of family and friends makes this journey much easier to tackle. I got this!!!!!!

    Keep it up man, you're doing awesome! 250 seems really doable as quickly as you're losing.
  • alevans4
    alevans4 Posts: 37 Member
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    leeonmcdaniel wrote: »
    I've noticed not a lot of guys have commented on this thread and that kinda makes me hesitant to disclose my particular weight. However I'm young at 23 going on 24 as of end of March. ...
    This story echoes mine a lot. I was also athletic in high school and played sports including football and gained weight *very* quickly when I got out of college and started working in a sedentary job. I kept eating the same way I had when I was being so active and the weight piled on quickly. Before I knew it I was at a weight where it was difficult to lose and that weight has stayed with me for years now.

    You can lose it and get back to where you were! It's just going to take some effort. Definitely pulling for you.

  • alevans4
    alevans4 Posts: 37 Member
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    freddieg275 wrote: »
    Hello everyone. I am pretty excited to have found this thread. I hope I am able to pull some extra motivation from watching everyone else. Lord knows I need it. I have battled extreme obesity most of my life. I have fought it many times, having lost over 100 pounds twice now. In June of 2016 I started keto and it went fantastic. I went from about 440 to 325 in about 6 months. I even documented the journey on youtube and had a really decent following. But when I stopped. I stopped hard. I spent the next year and a half saying I will start again tomorrow. Before I knew it, I was back up to 442 (4 days ago).

    Everything is uncomfortable. Putting on shoes and socks. Getting into my truck. There literally is no room in between my gut and the steering wheel so it rubs when I turn. I am over it. So sick of feeling this way. My wife and I started Keto again about 3 days ago. I joined myfitnesspal and I enjoy using the app on my phone but I needed to reach out and make friends. My feed is very empty.

    So here I am ....34 years old and well over 400 pounds. Making the journey again. Would really love for it to stick this time. Thanks for hearing me out and I look forward to seeing you all do well.
    Dude I feel you. I'm in the same boat. For a while, when I was getting out of my car my stomach would push over the horn and beep it. Talk about embarrassing. I've also lost 100+ pounds before and gained it back. Really hoping to keep it off this time. My problem is I typically get to a place where I'm feeling so much better that I slack off a bit. Need to carry it through this time.

  • alevans4
    alevans4 Posts: 37 Member
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    pstimie79 wrote: »
    Good morning or evening to all . All my life ive been struggling with my weight, this morning i got the fright of my life, i am weighing more today than ive ever weighed in my life 249kg. Today i said , no more, my goal for this year is to shred 100kg by end of December.
    You can do it! I had the same experience in September last year; bought a scale that could weigh me and found I was 100 pounds more than my worst estimate. Since then I'm down 107 pounds. Just start :)
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
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    alevans4 wrote: »
    Dude I feel you. I'm in the same boat. For a while, when I was getting out of my car my stomach would push over the horn and beep it. Talk about embarrassing. I've also lost 100+ pounds before and gained it back. Really hoping to keep it off this time. My problem is I typically get to a place where I'm feeling so much better that I slack off a bit. Need to carry it through this time.

    Been there, too. Back in 2012, I lost 90 lbs. But fatigue set in, I plateaued, then came thyroid issues, and before I knew it, I was with 5 lbs of my highest weight all over again.

    That is what makes this round so anxiety-ridden, because I know its so easy to slip back into old patterns and habits! They say within a month you can establish a new habit, but I completely disagree with that. I've been eating this new way for a year now, and even now after a year, its so easy to slip out of the counting habit and back into the over-eating one!

    Last time, I plateaued heavily. This time around, I've slowed down, but its because I'm having such a hard time lately with fatigue, mental and physical. I'm finding it really hard to tell myself no when evening time comes around, and that's when I slip and end up eating over my calorie limit. So I try to hold as many calories as I can until evening, and try to skip or delay breakfast to compensate. And it works better some days than others. I"m at 1400 calories per day at the moment, and if I'm realistic and honest with myself, I know I'm not going to be able to go any lower than that, as I'm struggling now to eat that level. So I'm at the point where I really need to start regularly exercising - problem is, I hate exercise passionately! I had to remodel my house, so I've compensated for that with all the hard work, but that's finally tapered off.

    there's another thread on here related to diet breaks and they make a lot of sense (though I can't follow all the deep sciencey part of it all lol) It makes a lot of sense to take a break for a while, practice eating at maintenance and prepare for the day when I achieve goal weight and enter the life-long maintaining phase, but at the same time, the idea of giving myself permission to maintain for a while is very hard! I see how much more I have to lose makes it feel like giving up, and its scary because I gained it all back before and I'm terrified that if I go into maintenance for a while, that I won't be able to start up again.

    Calorie counting worked for me in 2012, but then life set in and I let my weight creep back. I tried going back to calorie counting so many times in the last 5 years, but it never clicked - will power and desire never seemed to line up, and each time I tried, I fell off the wagon quickly. I don't know what was different last January, but I tried again and it finally stuck, and now I'm a year into. So my fear is that while mentally, I'm fatigued and I know in my head that a period at maintenance would be good for me, In my heart, I'm terrified of the idea!

    Another issue I deal with is knowing in my head that the less I have to lose, the slower it will be, and that its healthier to lose less at lower weights, meaning that while being 100+ lbs overweight means that its quite realistic to lose 2 lbs per week, as the weight goes down, so too should my expectations, and I may be nearing the point where I need to adjust down to 1.5 lbs per week. But like the idea of maintenance, the idea of allowing myself permission to slow down the weight loss is also terrifying.


  • lmcclatchie
    lmcclatchie Posts: 14 Member
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    An interesting and, hopefully, inspirational story I just came across:

    https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/150-Pound-Weight-Loss-44447751
  • abbyjcpc
    abbyjcpc Posts: 13 Member
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    Hello!
    I’m 35, 3 kids, and highest weight was 348. I’m 326 now after 4 weeks of strict control (so hard!).

    I’m looking for some more support buddies here. I am preparing for bariatric surgery this spring and I realize the importance of getting my head and nutrition right before I do it. I’ve lost 150lbs by myself and gained/relost it several times. The yo yo has to stop for me.
  • lmcclatchie
    lmcclatchie Posts: 14 Member
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    Welcome abbyjcpc - what a fantastic start! The thought of bariatric surgery (any surgery, for that matter!) is scary to me, so I'm curious how/why you came to that choice.
  • GothicsDarkAngel
    GothicsDarkAngel Posts: 78 Member
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    @abbyjcpc Please be aware that the yoyo can continue after WLS. You must realize that WLS doesn't fix our mental setup. Therapy is needed. I say that as a nurse who has years of experience with WLS patients, and as a friend who has seen both sides of the WLS coin.

    I wish you all of the best. Don't be afraid to ask any questions.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
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    GothicsDarkAngel wrote: »
    @abbyjcpc Please be aware that the yoyo can continue after WLS. You must realize that WLS doesn't fix our mental setup. Therapy is needed. I say that as a nurse who has years of experience with WLS patients, and as a friend who has seen both sides of the WLS coin.

    I wish you all of the best. Don't be afraid to ask any questions.

    I agree. Please thoroughly research WLS before making the decision to have it, and don't always listen to the just the success stories touted by the office and the media. there are a lot of folks who regain the weight after WLS because in order for it to be successful, you still must change your lifestyle and eating habits. The surgery forces it on you for about the first year, but if you return to your old habits you will regain the weight.

    Just a friendly caution! I'm not completely against WLS and know that there are folks for whom it is truly the last and only viable option; I'm just saying realize that it's not by any means an easy way to lose weight, and the side effects can be horrible. I always recommend that anyone considering WLS talk to folks who've had it done and preferably done more than 5 years ago-and there are plenty of folks here at MFP who can help with that! Ask them to be dead honest on the ups and downs, the pros and cons, and give advice on how to make it successful, because WLS is not something you can reverse, or in some types, reverse easily.

    Both my brother and sister in law have had it done, and they both say that there were aspects of it that they were not prepared for before. Not that they still wouldn't have made that decision, but that the reality of life afterwards wasn't what they had been led to envision.
  • evilfairies
    evilfairies Posts: 98 Member
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    I have had three different primary care doctors over the last 5 years (due to moving, not because I'm picky!) and each one of them right off the bat took one look at me and said I need weight loss surgery. My current doc told me there's no other alternative. I have low blood pressure, cholesterol, and no other health issues besides my weight, so for him to tell me there's no alternative was infuriating.

    I know several people who have had surgery with great success, but I also know a couple who fell into old habits and ended up gaining their weight back anyway. You get out of it what you put into it.
  • fatoldladyonamission
    fatoldladyonamission Posts: 572 Member
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    I must admit I’ve done the conversation with my doctor about having WLS. I wanted it, he didn’t want to refer me. Even though my BMI was shocking before I started doing MFP again, and probably still is! I’m kinda glad he didn’t. There’s risks with surgery and I’m a wuss. That said a friend who was a little lighter than me had it done and swears it was the best thing she ever did. She’s less than 18 post surgery though.

    I figured if I can make this work then for me it’s a whole lot cheaper than WLS and possibly easier to maintain because I’m changing my lifestyle. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong for anyone else though, just that I’ve decided to give this a go. Whatever you decide I wish you well and I hope you’ll stick around and let us continue to support you.

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