Looking for Support to lose 100 + lbs

My name is Cindy and I am the mom to two wonderful boys who are 13 and 12. I have been married to the love of my life for 14 1/2 years and we have been together for 21 years. I have an incurable blood condition where I make too many platelets and I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. I am looking to change my lifestyle to be there for my family for years to come and have heard really good reviews from others about MFP. Hope to have support along the way.

Replies

  • Robertajfoster
    Robertajfoster Posts: 1 Member
    Hi Cindy. I have been working out with Pahla B on YouTube for a couple months. Her exercise is geared towards women over 50 but there are lots of younger women and even a few men that I know of. She also has a podcast that she does and some talk about goal setting and learning to be kind to yourself. She has some good advice about losing weight and her Facebook group is called the Killer B Hive. It is a wonderful group and many of the members have a similar weight to lose. I wish you the best on your weight loss journey. MFP is a great place to monitor what you are eating.
  • JK_BestLifeEver
    JK_BestLifeEver Posts: 9 Member
    Hi Cindy - my goal also is to lose 100 pounds. I am really hoping to do it in a year however a year and a half is probably more reasonable. I am Retired and only cooking for myself so that makes it easier. I am doing it “flexibly plant-based”. That means I am mostly a plant-based eater with an egg or two thrown in, a salmon fillet now and then and perhaps some tuna. Very rare chicken. Never any beef. I started June 8, 2020. I haven’t missed a day on my treadmill walking from 20 minutes to 40 minutes a day. Even With a bad knee I have actually been able to do it and find that after I walked a while it gets easier and I am more motivated! MUSIC HELPS!!! I connected with the health coach at my insurance company and they are the ones that recommended using my fitness pal. I also bought a scale that connects via Wi-Fi to my fitness pal app. (WITHINGS brand) It’s awesome. I was planning to weigh myself weekly but I see that a lot of people do It daily. I don’t know if I can do that or if I even want to. Tomorrow is actually my second weigh in since buying my new scale. The best thing about this journey of losing weight is being in control. I am a control freak and with no kids at home anymore to boss around - ha ha - well, i’m now taking control of myself on my eating and it’s awesome! So, if you have any questions about plant-based eating I’ll be happy to help you! All the best to you and your journey!
  • Jackiefrost1013
    Jackiefrost1013 Posts: 31 Member
    I too need to lose over 100 pounds. I will send friend requests and to those that come after me you welcome to send one to me. I need all the support and motivation and will give back as well. Let’s do this!
  • Megan_smartiepants1970
    Megan_smartiepants1970 Posts: 38,511 Member
    Welcome to MFP ..... I too have 100+ to lose.... I have lost 25...you are welcome to add me ...would love to support/cheer you on while you are on your journey ...best of luck to you ...we got this :)
  • AshleyBK0620
    AshleyBK0620 Posts: 14 Member
    Hey y'all. I also am wanting to lose 100 pounds. I am 175 now and even if I hit 200 I would be satisfied for a while, but overall 170-175 is my goal. Please add me. Lets do this together !!
  • cesse47
    cesse47 Posts: 947 Member
    Hi! I'm 72 and, like most of you, have stopped and started weight loss dozens of times. I restarted MFP in March at 308 lbs; morbidly obese.

    I know what it feels like to quit ... this time, I want to learn what it feels like to succeed!! I thought a great deal about WHY I kept quitting when a roadblock or two came my way. When I rejoined this time, I decided to do things very differently.

    PHASE 1 -- BECOME A REGULAR MEMBER OF AT LEAST ONE MOTIVATIONAL THREAD AND ONE GROUP --
    My first step was to get involved with a group or two and one or two individual threads that I thought would help me stay on track. I was looking for people to connect with who also had a significant amount of weight to lose in hopes of developing and maintaining motivational relationships. I did not do so in my previous MFP experiences and felt this was one way to make this commitment a more sustainable one. To this end, I decided to join one specific thread and two Groups.

    I joined one thread in the Motivation & Support Forum. Great bunch of women; very supportive.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10801985/women-200lb-lets-jump-for-joy-this-july#latest

    I joined this group because of being a "larger" loser. It has 8+ ongoing threads; I participate in two in particular tho I check out the others occasionally.

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

    From Fat 2 Fit -- I joined this group because it has a team concept you support as an individual on the team. The beginning of each month is a new challenge. And, there are usually weekly challenges as well. It keeps things fun, fresh, and provides motivation for you to succeed. I'm a member of the DownSizers team. There are six teams and there is a friendly competition between teams. You can join at any time; no need to wait. You can check out the teams. When you sign up, you'll be assigned to a team and given a link to their team chat thread. You can also request to be added to a particular team if you especially like the "look" of one team in particular

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10801389/july-2020-f2f-registration-for-new-members/p1

    PHASE 2 -- INCORPORATE EXERCISE!! --
    I did not exercise in my previous attempts at MFP. I was not motivated to do so. I did not enjoy it. YaDa YaDa YaDa!!! I decided my best chance of success was to incorporate exercise into my daily life. I am morbidly obese, 72 years old, and have led a very sedentary lifestyle. I also have compromised lung issues which pretty much rules out aerobic type activity. So, I know I need to build strength and stamina (S&S) as a first step ... and that it will be slow going. To this end, I've begun 3 routines on YouTube as a start. I hope that as my S&S increases, I can increase the time to increase my endurance. I do the stretches every morning just to warm up my muscles and to help me stay as limber as I can at my age.

    Stretchin' to the Classics with Richard Simmons
    ..... I particularly like this because the sound track is lovely and Richard does not say a word so it's a lovely quiet way to start my morning routines.

    Chair Yoga to Loosen up your Back! Stretching the Diamond
    ..... I've always been curious about Yoga and didn't feel a morbidly obese woman could accomplish much -- boy, was I wrong! While this program exercises the whole body, a larger focus is on strengthening the back muscles. Believe me, as we age, this becomes more and more important! I am really enjoying this one.

    1.0 Mile Happy Walk | Walk at Home | Walking Workout
    ..... This is a Leslie Sansone walking video. I can only do aerobic stuff for about 5 minutes so this works perfectly for me. She has A LOT of walking videos so finding one that best suites your needs may be a matter of trial and error. But, believe me, she gives you a great workout!

    SEATED/ CHAIR BARRE ARMS WORKOUT
    Fast ARM TONING workout for Women | 5-Minute Friday FIX
    ..... These are two of the "light weight" dumbbell videos I'm currently trying. I'll try each for the next week or two to see if I like them. I'll probably keep looking for a more fully rounded routine with dumbells but do want at least one to focus on arms and upper body.

    SO --- That's my story. Feel free to friend me if you'd like. Wishing you every success!! 🌞
  • gewel321
    gewel321 Posts: 718 Member
    If you are looking for a great group of people who are super supportive join Larger Losers group.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    I, too, have more than 100 pounds to lose. I've been here and gone many times but this time I'm back for the long haul because I lose weight best when I'm doing daily logging and check-in. I've lost 32 pounds since I first joined, 17.5 of those since I came back May 8. No great secret for how to do it. Eat well but fewer calories than you burn. Exercise more for health than for weight loss. Presto. The pounds fall off, not every day but over the weeks and months they drop off and you slowly adapt to eating an amount that keeps your weight at an appropriate number.
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,268 Member
    Hello, I have more than 100 lbs to lose. I lost 40 lbs on here about 10 years ago during the economic recession then went back to work full time/commute and gained it back. I slowly stopped the gain, turned it around and started to lose. Did I mention slowly. What helped me was going to Aquafit classes 3 times a week. I found the monthly thread Cesse mentioned women 200 lbs. It helped me lose more. Now I am on a temporary furlough but exercise isn't as easy when the gym is closed. I have struggled to begin doing land based exercise for 5-6 days a week. I have knee issues. I have lost 16 lbs instead of putting on the Pandemic 16 lbs. So that is 32 pounds right? ;)

    Here are the things that have helped:
    • Getting enough sleep and water is the base. 8/8 at least
    • I weigh, log my food daily and stay under my calorie goal. I do not eat back all of my exercise calories.
    • I am concentrating on listening to my hunger cues. Am I hungry if not don't eat and when I am satisfied stop eating. I do not worry if I have more calories. I try not to eat when I am not hungry. I also will eat back exercise calories if I am hungry but not if I am not.
    • I check in with the group thread every day or 2 and when I lose I post my progress. Others post weekly. The inspiration and support is key. I used to moderate a group of over 50 in age and pounds to lose but when it finally petered out I found this one. In our check ins we list our goals or habits. You are right support is important.

    I am going to discuss exercise separately. Do not let exercise get in the way of weight loss. It is somewhat of a separate issue. Do exercise because it, like weight loss will help you be healthy or you have other reasons for it. Will it help? For me it does but it makes weight loss a little more complicated. Since I am older it helps me eventually increase my metabolism. However it periodically will mess with the scale. When I lost the 1st 20 lbs on here I started exercising alot. Eventually I hit a stubborn plateau not because of too many calories or not enough exercise but because I wasn't eating enough with the amount of exercise I was getting. So you have to be patient. In the end it helps. I recommend it.

    You need to find a sustainable way to lose. That means not giving up - commitment. You need to find a way to make adjustments in a way that is kind to yourself. Evaluate what is working and what isn't without self judgement. It also means not giving up all the foods you love. Realize these changes are for the rest of your life. Find a way to live with food that is healthy for the rest of your life. On our thread one person is starting on maintenance. It doesn't look that much different than losing. For example we all have had a bad habit with food. Mine was going by Starbuck's on the way to work. With staying at home I don't do that but I still have a latte for a treat once in a while.