I need to lose 130 pounds and I don't know how...

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I'm at 250 pounds, and I need to be at 120. Ive tried cutting into smaller goals, like every 40 pounds, and every 20 pounds, and it doesn't help. I feel like giving up, and I feel awful and useless. I've been trying to lose weight since I was 15 and weighed 155 and it just seems to keep going in the opposite direction

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  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    If you open your food diary, you'll get more specific advice. Besides that, though, make sure you're logging everything accurately and keep within your calorie goals. :) It does work! Just keep at it and it may be slow, but it'll come off and you'll be more likely to keep it off.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Forget the weightloss. It will go up and down and drive you crazy. Instead, focus on actual, achievable goals. Log everything, every day, for a week. Eat one additional vegetable a day from your normal. Get some form of exercise ten minutes a day for a month...

    Eventually, all these new habits will build into a sustainable weight loss, but it will be all about your health, not a number on the scale.
  • hroderick
    hroderick Posts: 756 Member
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    get a kitchen scale to weigh so you can log accurately.
    learn to eat like a 120 lb person on will when maintaining weight.
    google up on 'mindful eating' it has changed my attitude and leading to success.
    instead of eating fad diets or diet food, i now eat appropriate portions of foods we prepare at home.
    meal planning was a weak spot for me, we got a free trial of platejoy.com and decided to buy a year of it.
    they provide recipes that match your needs and shopping lists, so not real expensive.
    it has really helped me enjoy my food more, save dining out money, and avoid must-eat-something-now crisis.
    i don't think we prepared the same recipe twice in three months.
    (i'm just a happy customer and no other connection to platejoy.com)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    try2again wrote: »
    "The goal is the process"... that is very profound, @kimny72 . Maybe this could be it's own thread? *looking hopeful*

    Thank you :blush: I hope my profundity made up for the fact that I screwed up my little drinker guy :drinker:

    I will consider how and where to make that a thread...
  • thelettermegan
    thelettermegan Posts: 49 Member
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    I like to go over to the success stories page and read the NSV threads - it helps keep me motivated.

    Other than that, a lot of it is lifestyle changes. I have a couple of eggs in morning, salad for lunch, vegetable soup for dinner, pumpkin seeds for snacks. NO SODA. NO DIET SODA EITHER.

    I might have some berries as a dessert.
  • Jennymarie57
    Jennymarie57 Posts: 57 Member
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    I would def start by learning how to use this app for calorie counting, come up with a menu of the foods you like too..Everyone likes some sort f healthy foods..Build your new diet arouND stuff you already like..Look into an exercise class..Journal, that's always a good thing to do when your changing..Give up junk food and diet soda. ..just my 2 cents!
  • JessicaChicago70
    JessicaChicago70 Posts: 83 Member
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    I lost about 50 pounds on MFP by logging every day and exercising. It took me over a year, but I had successes along the way. I exercised, ate healthier and worked on being proud of what I had achieved so far. Don’t be discouraged. You can do this.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    @SaraLynnFiske All that above this message is how it's done. It's easy. There's nothing expensive, hard or annoying about it. Just live a happy life, logging your food honestly and accurately. The tools to make it work are a kitchen scale, the USDA food database, (google knows it) and a bunch of wonderful people willing to help you whom you can find on this site, none of whom charge a dime. Or a nickel. Or a farthing, a peso, a shilling, a ruble, a bolivar, or any other medium of exchange.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
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    All the above advice is wonderful. Reading success stories is motivational, reading the weight loss thread and fitness thread is educational--get involved in the MFP community forums they will help you immensely. Spend some time thinking about the inherent discomfort that comes with weight loss and prepare/gird yourself to make that commitment to yourself. Cherish each NSV along the way--they help sustain you. Find an MFP Challenge to join--have some fun while you reach your goals.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,474 Member
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    @kimny72 Is really onto something. Embrace the process.

    Folks come on here and their goals seem to be X weeks to goal weight, how many times they can hit the gym, or how little can they eat and stay alive.

    How about keeping you diary current everyday for 1 month? Too long? Then a week to start. A food diary is the best weight loss tool. But you have to keep it no matter what. The process is more important than the numbers.
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
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    The only thing I can add to the excellent advice you've received already is that if you can just get through the first 10-20 pounds you will find it super motivating, and I think it will give you the confidence you need to go all the way. Keep in mind that you don't need to reach your ultimate goal to start feeling great about your interim accomplishments. There are lots of rewards and good feelings along the way. Even 20-30 lbs in, you're going to need new clothes, you're going to feel so much better and you're going to really start liking the way you look. Plus the mental and emotional boost from that accomplishment is a thrill. It only gets better from there on out. One last thing that keeps me going is the mantra that losing weight is hard and being fat is hard. Choose your hard. I say all this as a person who's about 75% of the way to a 120-lb weight loss goal.