Hello

welcome to mfp!!:drinker:

Welcome! Oh and regarding the weight loss surgery, what they DON'T tell you is "results not typical". A large number of people really fail with even gastric bypass, as their body adjusts or as they can't adjust, I personally know 2 people who are still huge (the only 2 people I know who have had that surgery, in fact). So slow is better, healthy is better, changing the lifestyle is better.

I can sum up in a few sentences what I've learned from here and the trainer over the past 5 weeks:
- Cardio workouts burn fat (20 min minimum at a time). But you only have to get your heart rate up there a little to burn fat, I walked 2.0 on the treadmill and my heart rate was way up there in the beginning, and that's a slow walk! No need to pant and lose your breathe.
- The more you build muscle, the more fat you'll burn without doing anything.
- Don't undereat - 1200-1250 is the minimum or you'll put your body in starvation mode and you'll not lose weight - or worse, gain it!
- Your body will adjust roughly every 30 days to what you're doing, and you will hit plateaus. That just means your body has adjusted (that's a good thing, long term) and you'll need to change what you're doing to get your body to lose weight again. Sometimes that means actually eating MORE.
- The fatter you are, the easier it can be to lose in the beginning. The thinner you are, the harder it is to lose. The last 20 pounds can be the most difficult because your body will fight you to keep on that extra weight.
- Set reasonable goals so that you can suceed. This means in what you eat and your exercise. If you set up a goal to work out 7 days a week for 2 hours cardio... you'll get tired of it, things will get in the way, etc. Set reasonable goals and adjust as you meet them. Set yourself up to suceed and you will. For example I set my workout goals for 3x/wk for 30 mins cardio. I knew I could do that. I just switched it to 5 days a week 45 mins cardio - and i go every day for an hour, exceeding my goals, and having fun. But I set the goals so I can MEET them.
- Everyone screws up. Don't sweat it and immediately get back on the horse and keep going.

Hello and welcome to MFP. You will love this site if you don't already. I love this site so much. It is so motivational, supportive, helpful, and everyone is so nice and friendly. I just wanted to tell you good luck on your weight loss journey. You can do this.