Over 200 - Where did you start?

Options
dawn__westbury
dawn__westbury Posts: 46 Member
in Getting Started
Hi! I have around 100 pounds to lose 🤦🏻‍♀️ .. For those of you that have to lose or have lost a significant amount of weight, where did you start?

Replies

  • dawn__westbury
    dawn__westbury Posts: 46 Member
    Options
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Shortgirlrunning wrote: »
    Start with small changes. You don’t need to overhaul your lifestyle overnight. I started with just tracking my food. Didn’t worry about eating super healthy or only home cooked meals. Didn’t worry about exercise. Over time as my changes became habits I would add new ones.

    This.

    The goal is not to lose the weight but to have a process that you can stick to that facilitates weight loss. The more normal it feels the less you will fight it. Once you have your hunger under control the hardest part of weight loss is the mental battle.

    If you are interested in losing weight in a sensible and sustainable way you are welcome to join the MFP Larger Losers group:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133315-larger-losers

    It is specifically for people who have 75 or more pounds to lose or people who started with 75 or more pounds to lose. It is also for people who started with that much that are done that wish to come by and support others in their quest to do the same.

    Joined!
  • xLyric
    xLyric Posts: 840 Member
    Options
    I started at 225 and I'm at 157. I will probably go until about 130 or 140. It's tempting to shoot for 125 just for the even hundred, but that would put me about 3lbs away from underweight.

    I started with calorie counting, and that is still the main driving force. I have never aimed for healthier food unless I wanted it, I just ate within my calorie limit. Sometimes that felt low, so I got into step counting and eventually running, just so I could up my calorie goal.

    It's pretty easy now that I've done it for a while. I know how many calories I can have if I complete my step goal and how many I can have if I have a lazy day. My Fitbit helps me stay on track because I like evenly hitting goals; I'll get up and walk just to not miss a streak.
  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
    Options
    I started by using Nutrisystem. Added in a lot of walking after a couple of months. Worked for me.
  • ConfidentRaven
    ConfidentRaven Posts: 1,428 Member
    Options
    Shortgirlrunning wrote: »
    Start with small changes. You don’t need to overhaul your lifestyle overnight. I started with just tracking my food. Didn’t worry about eating super healthy or only home cooked meals. Didn’t worry about exercise. Over time as my changes became habits I would add new ones.

    ^So much this. Many of the people who started out when I did are long gone and most of them had one thing in common, an all or nothing approach. They were only going to eat kale salads and chicken with no dressing, and go to the gym no less than two hours a day. A good portion of those still here and going strong started like I did with small changes over time that were sustainable to them. There is no one size fits all plan other than start with baby steps.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Options
    In the past when I started here it was how quickly can I lose the weight? I changed everything all at once, got burned out, a holiday or vacation came up and then I was just done. This time, I have started small and keep making changes once I am comfortable with my first changes. My first few weeks was just logging, then I made sure I had the correct numbers of servings of fruits and veggies. I actually gained a few pounds in my first month. I started walking - goal was just to meet or exceed the previous day's walking slowly increasing to around 9k steps minimum. Then I started reducing the amount of fat I was eating (boy was I eating a lot of chicken wings!). Then I added the exercise bike. Now I am starting to run. I am going to get back into weights soon. The important part is that I have plans for holidays and vacations. I took a maintenance break for about 3 months over the summer - just kept my weight in a 10 lb range. Now I am back to lower calories and losing the weight again. I still have wings, just not a few times a week now. I have lost 40 lbs and am still going.
  • speyerj
    speyerj Posts: 1,369 Member
    Options
    Another great place to get support is here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10774013/women-200lb-lets-double-down-this-december#latest

    It's an open group discussion on the forum. A new one starts every month. Its a place to list your monthly goals, check in for accountability, share success stories, ask for help, receive encouragement.
  • durhammfp
    durhammfp Posts: 493 Member
    Options
    Danp wrote: »

    ...I eat food I like (without moralising or judgement), track what I eat (as diligently as needed) and try to eat in a deficit most of the time.

    ^^^ This.

  • amkita
    amkita Posts: 183 Member
    Options
    lots of great comments here!

    I started at 263, and am currently at 211 (52 lbs down) with another 50+ to go. I only wanted to add that it's important to be patient, both with yourself and with the process. I've been at this 6 months, and I imagine it'll take at least that long--if not longer--to get to my goal. and that's ok! there's a lot of life to live and enjoy along the way. try not to let the inevitable bumps in the road get you down, because you can always keep moving forward.

    the thread @speyerj mentioned is great. I've found it's useful to have weekly check ins to track the process, and there are a lot of supportive ladies there. and! the group @NovusDies pointed out is wonderful--lots of useful info from others working through a large amount of loss.
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
    Options
    Start with having or finding a surefire and personalized only for you reason/motivation/inspiration for doing it all in the first place. With me [I started at 281 lbs in May], it was having hip replacements in January and April. The resulting new movement, mood and fear of being miserable and immobile again has propelled me ever since. As with rehab from the surgeries, I began my journey slowly, only doing what I was able, then adding and adjusting little by little. When I started getting better with walking, I spent weeks adding literally 15 seconds a day to my treadmill time. It wasn't until August that I (re) signed on to MFP. With that plus increased and more consistent exercise, I began to see results. My last weigh-in came in at 240 lbs the day before Thanksgiving. Unless medically required, try not to become scale obsessed. Sometimes I will let weeks go by without stepping on scale being more comfortable and secure with what I'm doing than I have been in a long time. Verify any advice offered especially in these threads to be certain that it's viable and right for you. What I or anybody posts here that works for us might not, or will be bad for you. Just be sure. Best of luck.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    Options
    I agree with so much of the advice given here.

    I started out a little over 300 lb and lost about 45 lb VERY slowly (mainly through exercise and stabs in the dark at what I hoped was healthier eating). I've used MFP for 6 1/2 years now, to lose about 90 more pounds and have maintained the loss. I still track my food 90% of the time and find when I stop, I will slide back into old bad habits.

    For me a lot of the really helpful stuff in the beginning was just having a mindset that this will work and it may be slow but it's going to be consistent good progress. Then it actually "worked" a lot more quickly than I ever expected. I set small goals for myself instead of trying to focus on the final number on the scale. For me that was an excellent idea. I feel like going from say, 270 to 220, felt like such an accomplishment and even if I never got to 160-170 I would still feel like a success. Then every subsequent lower goal was just another "win"!
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Options
    Started at 215, currently maintaining at 110-115.

    Just consistently eat within your calorie goal. That’s the only thing that causes weight loss; no need to complicate it more than that.

Categories