I Need Help and Encouragement! <3

I think the best bit of advice I ever got was take it ONE day at a time. That way, you'll never get too overwhelmed and if you mess up, it's just one day--tomorrow will be better. Just got to keep your goal in your mind always!

Feel free to add me for more support, I'm always happy to help. :flowerforyou:

Send me a friend request and I will send you some tips I have learned from my mistakes so you do not make them.

Welcome by the way.

Claire

My big problem is boredom. Even if I'm not hungry, I'll eat when I'm bored. I'm also trying to quit smoking (day 3 no cigarettes!) so this is especially difficult right now. So far I've been playing with my dog, going for walks, and trying to not sit around at all. I also recently bought the kinect and I play dance central every time I have nothing else to do. It's helped me so far.

Another big thing for me is figuring out when I am actually hungry. I know It sounds weird. I almost always think I'm hungry. When I stopped to think about it I realized I'm not always hungry I just feel "empty". I don't know how to explain it but I think it's boredom and not hunger. Anyways, I've tried to slow down and think about whether I need to eat.

Sometimes just drinking some water will help. I read some article a long time ago that said 80% of the time you think you're hungry you're actually thirsty. I don't know if that's true but drinking more water has helped me.

The main thing is to find something to keep your mind off eating, which is ALWAYS easier said then done.

I found this site in December, 2010.....obviously didn't commit. My co-worker and I are now changing our lives together. Aug. 25, 2011 is my start date. Thx to this site I "see" what I eat because I log every....thing I eat! You have found the perfect site for help and encouragement!! I read success stories everyday....look at others who have posted their before and after pics...and I have set a few short term goals for myself. Feel free to contact me. :flowerforyou:

Alright, so it’s Day 2 with my weight loss plan. 200 pounds to lose!


I always considered myself as a tough girl that can fight through any kind of temptation. I’m determined and have strong will power. But why is losing weight and being devoted to a healthier life style such a struggle and so complicated??! I mean, becoming healthier and in better shape is all I want.


Every time I failed, I kept promising myself that it won't happen again, and it would be the very last time I would ever eat like this. However, when I become really hungry and crave unhealthy foods I would choose comfort over health. :ohwell: I guess I should force myself to like the feeling of being hungry..? (But not in an unhealthy way.)


I’d been promising everyone for the past 2 years that I would lose this weight and that I would make a huge, healthier lifestyle difference. Over time I would have my ups and down differences. I would go a few weeks or even months with working out every day along with eating healthy. But after I would feel alone, depressed, and discouraged I’d usually fail. Or when I got too comfortable with anything, I would let go of myself.


I weighed my very heaviest when my boyfriend (now fiancé) and I started dating. Unlike me, my fiancé is thin and is in great shape. I’m so lucky because he loves me for who I am which is really hard to find. He would tell me like every 5 seconds how beautiful I am (even though I weigh 340 pounds!).


Although he never asked me to lose weight for him, I want him to be proud of me. More importantly, I want to be proud of myself and be healthy again.


This MFP site has been wonderful to me. I very much appreciate all the love, support, and encouragement I receive from everyone on here! I want to put my whole heart and mind into my dramatic weight loss.


After everything being said, does anybody have some tips or motivation?? Anything will help. Thank you!!!


-Kristen

First of all, don't promise anyone but yourself that you are going to get healthy. You have to do it for yourself and nobody and nothing else. It's kind of like you hit the bottom and there is only one way up and that is to make some goals for YOURSELF and focus on them. Put yourself first, without you, there is nothing. You have to take care of yourself and become a healthier version of YOU.

Secondly, after you have eaten the calories you need, think of those hunger pains that you may get as a sign of your body eating up the fat that you have in your body already. Once you start working out and eating right those pains will subside.

And third, remember you are not alone here on MFP. You have people that are going through the same as you. Even if they want to lose 200 lbs or 20 lbs or 2 lbs, some may even need to gain some weight. We are all here to be healthy.

Good luck with your journey to becoming a healthier version of YOU.

Welcome to MFP! I love this place!!! Feel free to friend me!!!!

Changing our lifestyle will be a challenge but, I know we can do it!!! Maybe if you focus on a few changes at first so, you DON"T GET OVERWHELMED. I am focusing on calories, portion sizes, and exercise. I am trying not to focus on my weight so much because, once I have these things down I know my weight will fallow. I would like to work on my water, fiber, carbohydrate, and sodium intake too. I would also like to start some strength training. I know I will get to all of it at some point.

Try to MAKE REALISTIC GOALS and obtainable goals. I have set weight lose goals and exercise goals. I haven’t met all of them but, I am close and I am going to keep at it!! I would love to lose 5 pounds a month!! I have an elliptical in my garage so, my first goal was to use it for 10 minutes at least 4 days a week. I am up to 45 minutes 5 days a week now!! I never thought I could do this!! Exercising allows me to eat more so, I am not hungry!!! I feel like I can eat what ever I want but, I all ways have to watch my portion sizes and calories!

We all have good days and bad days! Messing up is part of the journey to our new lifestyle. MISTAKES ARE NOT FAILURES; giving up is. Learning from our mistakes is what it is all about!! Things that have made this process easier for me are; MFP, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a kitchen scale, STAYing POSITIVE, and most of all exercising!

You are beautiful and you are 340!! Not, beautiful even though you are 340!! Your fiancé sees that. You are and will be beautiful at 330, 320, 240, 230, and 200!!!

I know you can do this!!!

Everyone, forgive my typo's. My keyboards keys are always sticking. Either not typing out or double lettering. Always something fun.
Starting a new day here. Hope it goes well.

I will give you a few pieces of advice that may help.

1. Don't try to make all the changes at once, if you do it'll be such a shock and hard to keep up with. Instead choose one or two things to work on week by week. Example: I cut down my diet soda intake 6 months ago, then I cut it out and went to calorie free seltzer water. Now I've totally gone off any artificial sweetener. I couldn't have done it all at once and stuck with it, but by taking baby steps I'm free of that crap!
2. Get a food scale and weigh all your food. You'll find what you think is a portion is out of whack (in my experience)
3. Try and start eating better foods i.e. eat the perimeter of the grocery store, staying away from as much processed foods as possible
4. Don't eat out, if you have to be prepared with ideas of where and what to eat. I know what I can eat at McD's, Wendy's, Jimmy Johns and still stay in my calorie range.
5. Don't beat yourself up if you have a cookie or two or three once in awhile. Realize why you had them and try to make better choices going forward. I now would rather have a nectarine for 60+ calories than a snickers bar for 280!
6. Get moving. Do what you can now even if it's walking for 10-15 minutes. Work yourself up to more time and different exercises in steps
7. Remember you didn't put it all on in a couple of months!

Wishing you much luck in your journey!

Wow what good comments and support your getting. I would agree with most of what has been said here. I want to encourage you to take that one day at a time and take one thing out at a time, but replace it with something better.

I wish I had started before my 30's to start to get health, but in these last 15 years I have gone from 420 to 245 back up to 300. At 46 I discovered I had crippling osteoarthritis and because of my relatively young age (haha) and my super morbid obesity. I was stuck in limbo. I needed both knees replaced and maybe my left shoulder, but because of the a fore mentioned age and weight thing, no one, no one would do any surgery on me. In 5 months of being chair bound I gained another 62 pounds.

At 362 I thought I was going to die and I decided to have weight loss surgery. In 9 months I lost 116 pounds. Now I am not telling you to go have weight loss surgery, in fact after getting this weight off, guess what? I'm back at 248, my free fall has stopped, but I still have to do what I should have been doing all along. Watch what I eat, exercise and stay positive. I still have a few years before I should get my knees replaced, so they don't have to do them again in 10 years. My shoulder's another story, we'll see what happens in the next year,so, I still have a lot of work to do.

I have to say what I have learned from my troubles is this. I am the master of my destiny, weather I sail my ship to the Bahama's or onto an ice burg in Alaska, I'm the one that has to deal with me. I have learned a lot about losing weight and this last 50 to 100 pounds is all on me. I weight 235 in high school, so I have no clue what it's like to be thin and it scares the crap out of me, but I will be below 200 by the first of this year.

Do worry about what other say or do. Some that you thought would be your biggest supporters may not be and some other may just flat out amaze you by the amount of love and encouragement they will give. Most importantly, if you make promises, make them to yourself. Like my 4 year old said, we spend most of our time beating our selves up. It really is mind over matter. You've made your mind up and that's all that matters.