Day one of my 100 pound journey.

Well, its not actually day 1. More like day 4 but its taken 4 days to get my body adjusted to a new way of eating. Its taken me some courage to finally admit to myself that I am no longer that primed college athlete or the active young 28 year old that jogged 5-7 miles per day. Im obese. Severly obese. There was a time where 250 pounds was unspeakable. Early this week i was tipping the scale at 315 pounds. Its embarassing. Its humiliating and it has affected nearly all parts of my life.

Every effort the past several years to curb this has only been met with set backs. Ive gone on numerous diets. Nothing has worked for any length of time. Atkins, low calorie, paleo...

Exercising, I have sadly discovered, is nearly impossible to undertake at age 44 and at 314 pounds. But Im diving in. This time is different.

Ive made up my mind. I love my family. I love my kids. I love where I am in life, and to shorten this because I'm to lazy and fat to do anything about it is inexcusable. I want to be attractive to my wife. I want to have confidence again. I want to sit in a roller coaster with my kids. Im tired of being the largest person in any room. I want to look in the mirror and not feel disgusted with myself. I want my kids to be proud. I want to live to see grandchildren.

Today is Day one. I may come back and update this every so often, and I may never read this again. But if you see me a year from now. Ask me if Im 100 pounds lighter and back in shape. IF im not. Then share your dissapointment to me. Show me this post. remind me that I have everything to lose and nothing to gain by being an obese, lazy, unattractive slob.

100 pounds. One year. 215 pounds. Thats my goal. Somebody help me.

Replies

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    44 is definitely not too old to undertake exercising! Some of the fittest guys here are 50+ and got there at your age or older. Hopefully they'll chime in :blush:

    You've listed all the right reasons for doing this. No reason you can't follow through. As far as your one year timeline, that may or may not happen (think lifelong change here!) But you can definitely be much improved :smile:
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    For exercise, just ramp up carefully. You need to push yourself, but not injure yourself. I have a bad back and usually end up overdoing it, spend a week resting, usually go back to McDonald's for food because it hurts to stand in front of the stove, then I am out of the habit, and a few month later I go through it all again.

    This time, I am moving more slowly towards my fitness goals. I watched how many steps I was getting for a couple of days and added 1000 to get my goal. Then, I worked on getting those steps faster. Finally, I added in another 1000. Once I get to 10k with this strategy, I will start adding strength training.

  • klmurphy2255
    klmurphy2255 Posts: 2 Member
    Good for you for tacking back control. It is so hard to do. Something you said struck me... "I'm tired of being the largest person in the room." Amen to that!!! I hate that i always feel everyone is looking at me and not for any good reasons. I wish you much success and cross my fingers for myself because I, too, am on a 100 lbs journey.
  • falconeer37
    falconeer37 Posts: 12 Member
    I believe in you. It’s going to hard and you’re going to be tempted to give in, but you’re strong enough not to. One day at a time!
  • thelifeilove1
    thelifeilove1 Posts: 195 Member
    edited February 2018
    A many times loser and re-gainer, my advice is to make changes you can live with and use caution not to make such drastic changes you burn out. Log every bite, the good and the bad, you're doing it for your observation, not what others on here think about you. I'm around 8 months into my latest go round, and have made a choice to make small changes that result in a slow, but much more tolerable, plan of attack. Good luck to you whatever method you try.
  • nmcrowley
    nmcrowley Posts: 4 Member
    edited February 2018
    48 years old and still kicking it. It’s tough though and gains are lost quickly. Hit me up for any advice or insights.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    You can do this, one day at a time. Put the weight loss into smaller chunks to make it seem not as overwhelming. I've lost 86 right now, in 6 more pounds it will be 100 from my highest weight. I want to lose 8-13 more then into recomp for me. 3 more will put me at my original goal, 8 will put me at ultimate goal, 13 will put me at a surgeons goal to have some surgery done. Feel free to friend me. My diary is open, I work out almost every day if not every day. I find having friends on here very motivational. More so than the forums. Together we can all do it.
  • SephiraAllen
    SephiraAllen Posts: 78 Member
    edited February 2018
    April 14 of last year I weighed 390 pounds, today, I'm at 274. I'm also 44 and though I'm not a huge exercise fan, I'm currently doing a challenge thingy at my gym so I've been going 2-3 times a week. It's definitely not been easy, but it's totally doable. Look into doing TRX if your gym has it. It's not super intensive (I mean, it can be, but they can modify it easily as well).

    In the beginning though, don't worry so much about working out. If you can add some extra walking into your day, that is fine, but if you can't exercise at all to begin with, don't feel like you have to. When I was first starting, I couldn't do a lot of stuff, though I did swim laps for a couple months (was the only thing that didn't darn near kill me). But other than that, I didn't exercise at all (other than whatever walking I was doing during the day). I lost 100 pounds within about 9 months just sticking to my calorie goal.

    Don't stress if you have an off day. Just get back to it the next day. If you are craving something, find a way (as much as possible) to work it into your calorie goal for that day, or save it for a "cheat day." Just don't have too many of those, especially when you are first starting out.

    As others have said - make sure you log everything (even on the bad days) and just take each day as it comes. Stick to goals that don't make you totally miserable. Better to lose a little slower than overwhelmed and quit.

    You can do this!!

  • sschauer513
    sschauer513 Posts: 313 Member
    I was there too 400+ and got tired of all the pills keeping me alive so I changed 16 months down 120+ still have more to go but love being able to shop at regular stores, not be winded and crush it at the gym. You have the why part down to lose weight now you just need the how part. Find the lifestyle you can sustain the weight will come off.
  • rabernathy2012
    rabernathy2012 Posts: 3 Member
    You guys are all so encouraging. I didn’t know how much I just needed to hear some of your own experiences. I’m still trucking along! Logging every morsel. How do I share it publicly?
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
    You guys are all so encouraging. I didn’t know how much I just needed to hear some of your own experiences. I’m still trucking along! Logging every morsel. How do I share it publicly?

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/201687-how-do-i-make-my-diary-visible-to-other-users-

    Step by step on how to open diary.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    edited February 2018
    I started working out at 59 and 301 and now at 62 and 155 am in the best shape of my life and maintaining normal weight for 1.5 years . Good places to start are walking, water fitness if that's available to you, and strength training. Start where you are and progress each day. When I started I could barely make it 1/4 mile and now I can easily walk 10 miles without rest. Follow the MFP instructions for setting up your calories, get a food scale, and start logging. Read success stories forum, lots of good stuff on there,

    PS Print out your first post and stick it on your fridge or computer.
  • jacesmom4930
    jacesmom4930 Posts: 25 Member
    You’re not alone! I don’t want to speak for anyone else but I can relate to how you feel and I suspect most of us on MFP have felt the sting of
    Disappointment in ourselves as well.

    Keep logging in and reaching out for support! It makes all the difference in the world!

    Feel free to friend me. I’m also a part of the 40’s motivational group and they’re AWESOME! Super supportive bunch of daily loggers who have lots of laughs.
  • mdouhan
    mdouhan Posts: 22 Member
    I am in the exact situation as you are but need to loose 200 lbs so let’s stick together, motivating each other is the best way to stay on track I am on day 7 of a looong journey
  • miz_ppyn
    miz_ppyn Posts: 118 Member
    im on day 10 i found it really hard for the first 4 days suffered with migraines and no energy. but day after day its slowly getting easier. good luck on your journey. and keep us updated
  • Sherri_VA
    Sherri_VA Posts: 7 Member
    You've got this!
  • SaraMakingChanges
    SaraMakingChanges Posts: 178 Member
    Hey there, I sent you a friend request. I’m on a similar journey but started with a lot more to lose and I’m on day 280ish... 75 lbs down still over 100 to go. Hope we can connect. All the best to you on your journey!
  • TorontoDiane
    TorontoDiane Posts: 1,413 Member
    the inspiration in here is incredible... I too have over 100 pounds to lose.. we can do this !!!!!!!!!! slow and steady is the way to go.. be careful not to drop weight too fast.. or you will end up with a gallstone problem.. people do not realize that quick weight loss almost guarantees that .. take care and enjoy the days to your new life
  • mjrebel4273
    mjrebel4273 Posts: 8 Member
    I can totally relate with feeling down on myself and absolutely hate looking in the mirror. I too have a family and feel like I am cheating my kids because I am not active and when I am I struggle and can't keep up like I should be able to if I were healthier. This is a great place to start your journey, I am here for the second time around... Take it day by day and think of the end result :)