Lost 55 lbs this year

mandy4620 wrote: »

Congratulations! Do you have any tips you can pass along? I'm just getting started ... bleh.

I'm down 47 pounds as of today; I only just got to where I can start working out, due to arthritis. Also, I eat almost no fruits or vegetables due to food intolerances and allergies. (sigh) If I can do it eating burgers and chips, so can you. (grin)

Tomorrow is always another day. Sometimes I go over. It's not a reason to eat everything; just be good to yourself and do better tomorrow.

This is a thing I will do for the rest of my life, so it needs to be something I can live with in decent comfort. Decent comfort to me means chips with my sandwich, mini candy bars now and then, and cookies and tea with my partners before bed. But if I shouldn't eat it, it doesn't come in the house. Period. I know my partners miss banana bread and homemade cookies and cake. But they support me and understand I'm not baking til I'm doing maintenance and I can have a rational portion of it.

Find ways to move more as you feel more able to. You don't have to start running and train for a marathon from day 1. I have arthritis in my feet, and I will probably never be able to run. I'd settle for being able to spend a day walking around museums and parks without too much soreness, and without being disabled the following day. Right now I go to the gym and get on a bike and ride for a little bit, and I've gradually increased the time. I like the feeling of shoving weights around, so I do that with some of the machines, and then I come home, and all is well.

Be aware that sometimes there are emotions and issues that you don't even know are there around making the change in eating habits or around losing weight or being a "normal" size. Therapy sometimes helps with that so all that doesn't get in the way of what you want to do.