498lbs needs motivation
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Yes to calorie deficit..But NO to eating junk as somebody else said to .... its about lifestyle changes... prob junk food that got you here ...find healthy foods that you like as you're more likely to stick to these after achieving your goals ..
The only thing I would ever buy from maccy d s is a coffee and then not a latte
Start counting steps and do at least 5000 a day to start .. increase when it gets easier
Good luck
The goal is to change what is normal. Whatever the OP is currently eating can be cut down to eat less and then small changes can be made over time to improve nutrition if it is needed. "Healthy" and "junk" are words that have no clear definition and just increase the chances of deprivation and leaving a bad relationship with food. Losing weight make a person healthier all by itself.
Counting steps may not be possible right now.13 -
If I had to eat all low calorie fat free healthy food every day this would never work....moderation and portion control is what makes this work!....land 5000 steps is a lot to start out with....start out with what is comfortable for you and then build on it...
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@billygunn31 tell us about your first day.1
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In a perfect world we would all be able to eat the foods we love and have no problem with moderation.
OP, if you find that you are really struggling with moderation, that is OK. Some of us do have to temporarily, or permanently, refrain from eating certain foods we just can't eat in moderation.
This is going to be a learning experience, so don't feel bad or guilty or beat yourself up if you realize some foods are really hard to moderate. Just learn something from each day and keep moving forward.
Best of luck!5 -
I went and got my self a treadmill today22
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That's a great step, @billygunn111 -- if it's too hard to walk much on it, is there a pool you can have access to? Pool walking sounds tedious but it's helped lots of people who have difficulty standing/moving for more than 15 minutes at a time, get to the point where they can hop on a treadmill like nobody's business.2
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JenniferM1234 wrote: »That's a great step, @billygunn111 -- if it's too hard to walk much on it, is there a pool you can have access to? Pool walking sounds tedious but it's helped lots of people who have difficulty standing/moving for more than 15 minutes at a time, get to the point where they can hop on a treadmill like nobody's business.
There is a pool but it only has ladders and I'm not sure if I'd be able to get out.6 -
I'm glad to read you are taking steps to correct your health. At my peak I was 400 pounds so walked a similar path.
A few suggestions:
It is important that you are working with a doctor to figure out your limits. They may also consider having you see a heart specialist to check what your heart can take. Visceral fat will be a significant issue for you initially and needs to come off over time.
Start simple, slightly reduce the carb intakes and move a little. Little by little keep this going. This will get a nearly immediate purge of the water weight out of your body and that is a good thing. Expect a massive scale reduction almost right away then pretty good drops until you get to around 300 pounds then slower reductions. Water weight is NOT fat loss.
Take a picture today and put it into your calendar reminder for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year from now. Do not rely on the scale totally as a method of success. If you fall off the wagon those reminders will be a trigger to restart.
Plan to play a very long game towards your health. Ideally this eventually becomes a life style change you enjoy and not a daily burden. I lost a tremendous amount of my weight with Yoga and clean eating. At 220 now the hardest thing was just getting started and the first 3 months. After that it was so easy.
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@billygunn31 the pool I go to has a lift to put a person into the pool as well as actual stairs that you can walk down into the pool. Perhaps your local pool has one of those options?0
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Hey Bill:
I strongly caution you about using a treadmill if you are having trouble with your joints at this time.
Protecting your joints when you are super sized is important as having healthy ones will allow you to become more active as you lose weight and your strength to weight ratio changes.
As others have mentioned you DON'T NEED TO EXERCISE TO START LOSING WEIGHT.
Exercise is good and I strongly encourage you to find exercises that you enjoy and which are suitable for your changing condition as you become healthier. <-- as you get lighter you will FEEL like doing more and more things and becoming more active. You will be WANTING to exercise and that would be the time to ramp things up! I personally did choose to walk because it requires the least preparation and has the fewest barriers when starting out. But while it might be a treadmill it could well be something totally different that catches your fancy!
But caloric control is (ALL that is) needed to lose weight and to get started!9 -
Hey Bill:
I strongly caution you about using a treadmill if you are having trouble with your joints at this time.
Protecting your joints when you are super sized is important as having healthy ones will allow you to become more active as you lose weight and your strength to weight ratio changes.
As others have mentioned you DON'T NEED TO EXERCISE TO START LOSING WEIGHT.
Exercise is good and I strongly encourage you to find exercises that you enjoy and which are suitable for your changing condition as you become healthier. <-- as you get lighter you will FEEL like doing more and more things and becoming more active. You will be WANTING to exercise and that would be the time to ramp things up! I personally did choose to walk because it requires the least preparation and has the fewest barriers when starting out. But while it might be a treadmill it could well be something totally different that catches your fancy!
But caloric control is (ALL that is) needed to lose weight and to get started!
THANKS ALEC! Good advice. I will add slow walking is better than nothing. Walking at even 1mph doubles your energy expenditure. If you have bad knees, a recumbent bike can be a good choice. Resistance bands while you sit will help. A caloric deficit is what you need, but protein is your friend. Protein in class 3 obese subjects when raised to 30% of caloric intake showed as much as a 1000 calorie a day reduction in intake. Might also suggest learning about nutrition. CICO is primary driver in weight changes, but something a good professional told me, "Quality matters." Not organic or any BS like that. Real whole foods. Good luck my friend, from one big guy to another!6 -
psychod787 wrote: »THANKS ALEC! Good advice. I will add slow walking is better than nothing. Walking at even 1mph doubles your energy expenditure. If you have bad knees, a recumbent bike can be a good choice. Resistance bands while you sit will help. A caloric deficit is what you need, but protein is your friend. Protein in class 3 obese subjects when raised to 30% of caloric intake showed as much as a 1000 calorie a day reduction in intake. Might also suggest learning about nutrition. CICO is primary driver in weight changes, but something a good professional told me, "Quality matters." Not organic or any BS like that. Real whole foods. Good luck my friend, from one big guy to another!
And good advice on all the other options, including increasing protein. Personally my "take" on things would be to view this an excellent experiment that is approached out of curiosity and desire for optimisation as opposed to as an unwanted necessity.
I most certainly found out that I **enjoy** things such as 0% greek yogurt, and lean proteins, and, dare I say it, vegetables and fruits not necessarily slathered in excess dressings.
Yes, enjoy them. And yes, if you eat them you **will** crowd out higher calorie less satiating items. You don't *need* to set out to eliminate things out of your diet (maybe some things you will decide are not just worth it to you and that's OK).
But these things are more advanced, I would say, post the first week or so on MFP. The first week or two, all one really needs to get a handle on is keeping track of things and logging food before it is eaten.
Did you notice that before? It makes a BIG difference
<and not necessarily aim for the moon right away.... a bunch of small changes over the next few years implemented one by one and creating a cascade of improvement and any one of us, the OP included, will be greatly surprised where they can find themselves>
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billygunn31 wrote: »So I desperately needs to lose weight needs motivation and to be keep accountable.
Due to weight standing and walking for any amount of time is hard and becomes painful
I have been losing weight without exercise because I tore ligaments in my feet and ankles, just by following MFP's calorie and macro recommendations. About 17 lbs in 2 months (250 lb start weight).
When (if?) my feet heal then I'll introduce exercise. So when you get down to a weight where you won't hurt yourself, you can add it too.
Recognize it's going to take you a couple of years to lose it all safely from that weight. Don't believe these crash-diet TV shows where people go from 400 to 180 lbs in a year.3 -
billygunn31 wrote: »Going to try and only allow myself 2000-2500 calories a day see if that works
What does mfp recommend? Since you're starting at 400+ and a dude that sounds good for calorie targets but might even be too low. You have a doc working with you on this? Might be a good thing to get one if not.
I second the advice to set smaller goals, like 5 lbs, or 20 lbs, or whatever, things you can achieve in a fairly short time-frame.1 -
An interesting thing about being heavily overweight is how many toxins you can flush from your cells down the toilet by drinking large volumes of water throughout the day. Like literally peeing 10 times a day. You will be surprised how much of that weight can be flushed away with the right water intake. It also keeps you full. 1/2 gallon 3litre bottle. You can squeeze in some fruit for flavoring. You don't have to run circuits or have some insane crash diet. Just literally pass it through your system with water. When you know some things can be easier like this then it makes doing it easier also. Also, it's a way to measure that you can do things. If you can't get your water intake right, then what chance have you got of doing anything else right? When I notice myself falling back I look at water. Am I taking enough? The answer is no if I find myself falling back. If I am taking enough water, everything alls falls into place naturally. It's the first step, the easiest one and helps your diet tenfold.1
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billygunn31 wrote: »Going to try and only allow myself 2000-2500 calories a day see if that works
What does mfp recommend? Since you're starting at 400+ and a dude that sounds good for calorie targets but might even be too low. You have a doc working with you on this? Might be a good thing to get one if not.
I second the advice to set smaller goals, like 5 lbs, or 20 lbs, or whatever, things you can achieve in a fairly short time-frame.
Yep, given the OP's situation should have medical supervision. Best of luck to OP.0 -
billygunn31 wrote: »I went and got my self a treadmill today
Be careful on the treadmill please! Particularly if you're having difficulty walking/moving.
Treadmills are far less forgiving than the rest of the ground. That belt is going to keep moving regardless of what happens. Stumble slightly, a bit of a misstep, tweak one of your joints, need to slow down or stop suddenly, all these things present no issue on solid ground but on a treadmill could send you tumbling hard because of that moving belt.
The other thing to keep in mind is that while the treadmill (if you're careful) may assist in getting you moving it likely won't have a noticeable impact on your weight loss. It's likely right now you won't be able to maintain an effort level and duration high enough to impact your calories out in a significant enough way to aid in weight loss. Even more so if the extra effort results in a corresponding (and completely normal) increase in appetite and calorie intake.
The treadmill (as long as you're careful) isn't necessarily a bad idea but use it focusing on the movement and fitness benefits it will give you rather than on the weight loss benefits which will be minimal at best.
G'luck and keep us all informed about how your going!4 -
billygunn31 wrote: »I went and got my self a treadmill today
Did you check the weight capacity on the treadmill? Unfortunately unless you got a very high end machine weight capacity is usually 350 pounds or under. May have to look at other options until you get your weight down to the machine's limit.
This article talks specifiaclly about treadmills for standing workstations, but the general ideas apply
https://www.workwhilewalking.com/do-weight-ratings-on-treadmills-really-matter
Best of luck.1 -
BatmansKcak wrote: »An interesting thing about being heavily overweight is how many toxins you can flush from your cells down the toilet by drinking large volumes of water throughout the day. Like literally peeing 10 times a day. You will be surprised how much of that weight can be flushed away with the right water intake. It also keeps you full. 1/2 gallon 3litre bottle. You can squeeze in some fruit for flavoring. You don't have to run circuits or have some insane crash diet. Just literally pass it through your system with water. When you know some things can be easier like this then it makes doing it easier also. Also, it's a way to measure that you can do things. If you can't get your water intake right, then what chance have you got of doing anything else right? When I notice myself falling back I look at water. Am I taking enough? The answer is no if I find myself falling back. If I am taking enough water, everything alls falls into place naturally. It's the first step, the easiest one and helps your diet tenfold.
Most of this is myth. Drinking excessive amounts of water only helps you lose water weight. The initial water loss that many people experience anyway will help with joints and physical pain caused by the weight but water loss is not the primary goal and water weight always comes back here and there.
Drinking a little extra water can help some people register fullness faster at meals but there is no reason to start carrying a huge water bottle around and emptying it into yourself multiple times a day.
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Just know we're glad you're here. You're not alone. Welcome!
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