Freaking Out a LOT Overwhelmed. Am i ALONE?

I was you, once upon a time.

I found reading the boards, asking questions, and getting involved was the fastest, most efficient way to get up to speed. No question I asked was ever too dumb, with the exception of one about some antistatic health “device” that got some deservedly mirthful but snarky answers. They were right, btw.

I started at 56, reached goal (three times as a matter of fact-I never dreamed I’d reach the first one, so kept pushing myself to reach new ones) and have been in maintenance for two or three years now.

I’d ask, first up, how did you arrive at 1200? Are you short? Sedentary? Did you enter the numbers and give serious consideration to the speed you wanted to lose at? Or is that a number you‘ve vaguely seen somewhere and so it just sounded like a good starting point?

At 5’7” and starting as only low or moderately active, I never at less than 1470, and that for only a couple of months, til my dietician convinced me it wasn’t enough.

So many people come here fixated on 1200 as some kind of societal “magic number” and panting to lose a couple of pounds a week.

In my experience, reading these boards every day now, those are the ones who will fail. It’s those who take the time to learn and incorporate new habits, have patience and accept that loss will be slower but more considered, those are the ones who will be successful.

BTW my husband started here at 65, after watching me for a couple of years. He’s also been successful losing 45 or 50 pounds. He’s still in “obese” category but is much healthier and off his diabetes meds now. More energetic, too. He exercises at least once a day. Doc is also encouraging him to come off the Ranitidine now, too. Weight loss made my GERD vanish, and his indigestion is much less, too. Saying all this as anecdotal “proof” that losing as an older person was very very achievable for us both, and has substantial benefits besides bein’ skinny. 😆

Hi J! I started at 265lbs a year ago and went down to 229 six months in using 1,750 calories completely sedentary. Summer vacation and then “The Holidays” had me off my path. “The Holidays” were supposed to be Holi-DAYS (Anne told me) but it was my first year after a lifetime of high calorie holidays every month that became Holi-weeks, and for Thanksgiving to Christmas Holi-month.
I am now hovering around 235 but that is STILL 30 pounds less than my unhealthy start weight. It gets me down a lot that I stopped losing and gained some back but this is a marathon, not a race. I KNOW it takes time to gain new habits and THAT is my focus.

After a year, do I remember to drink close to the amount of water I should every day? Nope. Not there yet, but still working on it and being accountable.
Have I changed to healthy new recipes and healthy snacks? No. But I’ve added some new and better choices to my arsenal.

The best advice I’ve ever had for weight loss is to add a vegetable every meal. Do I do that without fail? No. Unless you count tomato sauce as a vegetable (no fiber =no vegetable in the context of me “adding a vegetable” but I HAVE incorporated a vegetable into lunch and dinner probably 80% of the time now, when it used to be 10-20% of the time).
Have I stopped eating candy or chocolate or cake etc? No. But I have charted every day except during camping where I have no reception. And when I chart I SEE the calorie differences and I’ve learned to (most of the time) eat 100 calorie oatmeal (I still use the sugary packets) on days when I plan to have pizza at night. And I almost always eat less than I think I want, and most of the time keep it fitted into my 1,750 calories.
And when I measured every tiny morsel I put in my belly and kept to the 1750, I lost one -two pounds every week. I’ve been focused on maintaining since I gained the 5-7 vacation/holiday pounds back, but in the last week have kept to 1,580 which is the new calculated amount for my 5’6 235lb body.

After bloating time of the month is over, I expect to see 234. And I will continue on this positive road of change for the rest of my life. I hope you stick with it (maybe a few more
calories and losing a bit slower would be a more reasonable goal you can stick to, it really feels good each day to succeed in coming in a few calories under your goal) and please add me as a Friend if you continue to come here and chart every day. The most important thing (everyone here for a long time says so) is to weigh and chart all of your food accurately. If you go over calories, you see where you have places to work on new healthier choices.
That is called Accountability, and it is the key (to the door of a new life and a new you that YOU can be proud of) and it allows for our imperfections. “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, KEEP MOVING FORWARD.” ~MLK Jr
You can do this!!!!
💖