Finally sick of being overweight...

missionalman · May 7

Hello,

I'm a 34-year-old trans man from Manitoba, Canada, and I took a selfie today after getting a haircut and realized that it wasn't the hair, the acne, or the lack of a shower that was causing me distress. It was the shape of my face.

I am 325 lbs and I'm tired of having a double chin. I'm tired of puffy cheeks. I'm tired of never being able to find underwear in my size at Walmart and I'm tired of being embarrassed about my bare chest.

To date, I have lost about 40 lbs already. I'm moving better, can do more, and I'm quite strong. I am, however, not where I want to be. I want to be able to walk without having to lean on something. I want to dance with my niece until she grows tired, and I want to be able to keep up in Muay Thai classes. I want to be able to hike into a campground with nothing but my backpack on my back and know that I won't be waking up stiff and sore because I'm too fat to sleep on a sleeping pad.

At one point in time, I wanted to be in the army. That ship sailed when I was diagnosed with a mental health disorder. I would love to get into the physical shape required to enlist, even if I don't.

I want to reclaim my life from my weight. My Aunt keeps trying to push weight loss drugs on me and I've thought about weight loss surgery. I don't want medical interventions, though. I want to break the generational curse on my family of living in unhealthy patterns. I want to learn to treat my body and mind respectfully, and part of that is getting healthy and losing weight. My back, knees and hips would love me for it. My mind would also love it because I could exercise and get the happy brain chemicals from my workouts.

Today I weigh 325 lbs, and today I am making a change. If you feel like adding me to help keep me accountable and cheer me on, I'm more than willing to make new friends!

MargaretYakoda · May 7

Well. You have made the second most important step. You’ve begun!

The very most important step is to not quit.
Sure. There will be rough patches. But hang on and keep going.

I’m gonna send you a friend request. I’ve been at this for a while. I’m not perfect. But I do try to log in most days and log everything.
With a bit of chat here on the forums too.

springlering62 · May 7

Hi @missionalman Welcome to MFP!

It’s totally possible to do this without drugs or surgery- if you’re willing to invest in the process.

I would start by logging in a “typical” day or two. When I did this, I was gobsmacked. I was scarfing down well over 10,000 calories a day.

Get a fitness tracker. It doesn have to be the most expensive one but it’s super helpful if it’s one of the ones that will sync with MFP. Apple Watch, Garmin, I vaguely remember hearing Fitbit got bought out. Google them before you get a Fitbit product. I don’t keep up with anything besides Apple, personally.

The fitness tracker woke me wide up. Walking three miles? Burns off about three Oreo cookies. That was an eye opener. I learned pretty quick how much activity it takes to burn off how much food. Ay yi yi.

Invest in a good scale, and particularly spend some time learning to weight in grams. It’s pretty simple. A tsp is usuall 3gr. A tbsp typically 14-15gr. An ounce is 28. Most American labels are in ounces. Once you know the 28gr, it’s pretty easy to calculate and record to your diary. 7 grams of cheese? Record it as .25 ounces.

Weight and log honestly and as accurately as possible.

Drop the “bad” food or “bad bad me cheated” mentality. You’re gonna screw up. So what? Go back to plan and carry on.

Worry about calories in/calories out, and once that’s under control, then worry about macros.

Its sublimely easy once you get the hang of it, but most people buy in to “social media says I should get instant results”, I can’t tell you how many people come to these boards in hysterics because they didn’t lose any weight the first couple days.

Lose those expectations. Expect your weight to go up and down a couple pounds on a daily basis. Disassociate yourself from that graph and treat yourself as a science experiment.

Much success to you. We are here if you have questions, frustrations. 😘

springlering62 · May 7

And btw, that double chin of yours? I went from 22W to size 4, and was there over three years before my triple chin disappeared. Changed are not going to occur where or when you expect them.

Just roll with it and appreciate yourself for the change you do see, rather than beating yourself up for the ones you don’t.

missionalman · May 7

Thanks friends. I have been converting fat to muscle I think because I have noticed my waist size go down and I have a 2x sweater that hangs on me when I used to be a 4x. I don't expect overnight results; What I want is worth the effort. I want to live longer than my mom. She passed at 52 because of health reasons. She had undergone weight loss surgery to try to get her health back under control but it was too late. It was a real wake-up call and I don't want to end up in the same boat as her. I have a 6-year-old niece and I want to be around to play with her children.

springlering62 · May 8

missionalman wrote: »

Thanks friends. I have been converting fat to muscle I think because I have noticed my waist size go down and I have a 2x sweater that hangs on me when I used to be a 4x. I don't expect overnight results; What I want is worth the effort. I want to live longer than my mom. She passed at 52 because of health reasons. She had undergone weight loss surgery to try to get her health back under control but it was too late. It was a real wake-up call and I don't want to end up in the same boat as her. I have a 6-year-old niece and I want to be around to play with her children.

Similar situation my mom also made me sit up and take note.

Your decision and subsequent success is utterly awesome. Stick with us. These boards were instrumental in my success. The people here are genuinely helpful. I’ve never experienced a “hater” here of any kind. We’re all rowing the same boat, in unison.

Finally sick of being overweight...

Replies

Categories