The Over 300 Club

Heym, gang, how is everyone? I have had a crappy eating week, gaining about 4 lbs back. URG!:grumble: :grumble:


So, I finally decided enough all ready! Not beating myself up, just getting back on track. msarro, Good to have you, I look forward to your your experience - you're a real inspiration to me! Thanks for coming along!

Hey, FITFORLIFE welcome, and thanks! What an inspiration! I sometimes think about what it will be like to have lost a significant amount of weight, like so many of you have. It gets a little discouraging to think about how much I have to lose. So, I know your advise is so important. Can't be thinking about that. I've gotta just think about the steady progress that translates into less pain, more freedom of movement, etc. Thanks!

Topaz, I am so glad you found us! Good luck in your journey! Stay in touch and lets compare notes! You are right about there being a ton of great information on this website. I hope it helps! Take care, I am going off to bed now, too! :yawn:

HI gang, here is another very motivational story - this newbie has lost 109 lbs and hopes to lose 28 more.

Hello Everyone,

I was introduced to this site by a friend and I love it. What a wonderful tool.

I first started dieting because we hired a new team member who just shined... she was everything I wanted to be...I prayed and asked God for the power to overcome my issues with my weight and at 335 lbs I felt like I was going to die.

My mental state was not that great... I felt depressed and I was lacking lifeskills. I heard about a program through work called lifeskills 411 and it basically taught me that I don't have to stay fat all my life. I can change. I learned that the brain will do anything you tell it to. The classes helped me make up my mind.

Then I used Oprah's Commitment where she challenged 1 million people to lose weight. I signed my contract with her and kept it up on my wall at work. I saw it every day and was reminded of the promises I had made.

Then my co workers were my fan club at Stellar Enterprise. They cheered my every pound. I can honestly say the lifeskills program and my co workers...are the biggest reason I have lost 109 lbs.

A person I go to church with had lost a substantial amount of weight and she came over during the Christmas Holiday and brought her own food. She then told me about the FA program (Food Addicts Anonymous) which is a free 12 step program that deals with the mental obsession of food addiction.\

Its kinda funny but some people do use food as a drug and they just cant stop eating.

The program along with lifeskills 411, my co workers and my friends helped me get the moral support I needed to deal with the biggest challenge of my life... what was really eating me so that I refused to give up the comfort of my food?

The root issues I dealt with took me back to my childhood which was full of abuse and trauma. This is where I learned my unhealthy coping skills of using food to deal with how I was feeling and to avoid life... I just made something to eat and vegged out in front of the TV.

I lived in a fantasy world because mine was not a nice place.

The 12 step program is kinda like AA but is taylored for FA to help people with Food Addictions.

I am so much happier but now that I have dealt with my emotional eating issues I still have to learn how to live.

I am thankful to God and am really ready for sharing my story and using this new tool for my next adventure on My Fitness Pal. I still have substantial weight to lose at 227 but at least I am not 335 anymore.

This site looks great and I will enjoy the new journey .

Starteam 144

HI everyone! I just found this thread and I'm in there!!! As much as I LOVE this site, it can be daunting at times for us heavyweights - 1200 calores/jogging and crunches/last 20 lbs - all seem overwhelming! I wonder if we can get Mike to tack this thread or even create our own forum so that our 300 - ish newbies can see right off the top that we are here. There are so many topics even in this thread alone that are SO helpful!!!

Hello All...

I am soooo glad i found you guys, and AmyNVegas! GREAT IDEA!!! Thanks so much for starting this. I was ignored for a few days on another thread, but I guess it is because I was a newbie and the others pretty much knew each other and were so much further in their weight loss than I was. So thank you again. Now I can really relate! :happy:

Before I continue, can someone please tell me how to add my ticker to my signature? and what signature? I have looked all over the site and cannot find the place to add it!!! HELLLLLLP, please! :flowerforyou:

I was never one to join forums, or post personal info online, let alone INFO ON MY WEIGHT, but I feel quite comfortable doing it with you all, because YOU DO GET IT.
This time I guess I am so serious about it, all of my reservations have gone right out the window.

Congrats to all of you, and I am looking forward to sharing with you until and even after I reach my goal.

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Online Calorie Counter

Ok, disregard my call for help! :flowerforyou: Guess I had not searched hard enough! Found it!!! I now have a signature!

Welcome 4suredistime and paddlemom! Good to have you both. Paddlemom, that was a good idea. Now that you are here, this thread is of course one of your topics, so you can bump it for yourself and keep it current. But, I like the idea of having it be more conspicious for those like us that are just starting here and need to lose a lot of weight. Lets pm MIke! Also, please everyone, invite those you see that seem discouraged and have a lot to lose. Give them the link to this thread!

Hey, 4sure distime, is it possible you have your ticker listed on your signature twice? I know when I first put mine on, that is what I did!

Falcon, thanks so much for that information! One of the things I have learned here is the importance of eatinng enough calories to be to have enough energy to get moving. Anything you see by shboss or songbyrdsweetie is worth reading. Both seem to be gathering a lot of information, and are willing to share. Especially shboss. He really looks at the science behind the issues of weight, nutrition and exercise. Check out this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition
It has a bunch of threads that are helpful in understanding what works.

YankeesGIrl, how you doin!? Good to see ya!

Well everyone, see you soon! Hey, msarro - we need to hear more from you my friend! How have you lost 93 lbs? Lets hear about it! :bigsmile:

Living With Obesity At 700 Calories Per Day!
By: David Greenwalt

I want you to consider a common female client. She's a woman about 5'5" and 185 pounds. A combination of a mostly sedentary lifestyle, quick-fix, processed foods and consistent excessively low calories has resulted in an incredibly stubborn fat loss scenario. Not only has it created a stubborn fat loss scenario but her ability to add body fat is remarkably strong.

Most would believe there is simply no possible way she could be 185 pounds eating mostly low calories. While it's true the average obese American created their own obesity by being a huge over consumer, a sedentary glutton if you will, many are able to maintain their level of obesity with the following formula in very precise ratios: starvation + binges + sedentary lifestyle.

An initial review of this woman's calories indicates she is just above starvation level in the 400-700 per day range. The food choices are mostly protein in this case (low-carb is all the rage you know) and there are virtually no vegetables or fruits to speak of.

Five or six days per week the calories remain low in this range, however, there are nighttime binges from time to time and weekend binges where carbs loaded with fat (doughnuts, rolls, cookies, pizza etc.) are consumed.

So while the calories are very low the majority of the time, there are one to two days per week where this isn't always the case. Even so, the nighttime binges and weekend slack offs don't amount to what you might presume would be thousands of extra calories, thus explaining the 185-pound body weight.

Very few foods are prepared from home. There are lots of fast foods being consumed. Convenience and taste rule.

I must say. Early on in my coaching and teaching career this woman was a real head scratcher for me. Isn't it calories in and calories out? Even if she's not active she's starving!

How in the heck does she stay at 185 eating an average, including all binges, of maybe 750 calories per day? She's frustrated beyond belief. She sees her friends and coworkers eating more and weighing less. Is she simply unlucky? Is everyone else blessed? And what in the world is she supposed to do to fix this, if it can be fixed?


Why Is She Not Losing Weight?

First, let me tell you why she's not losing weight. Then I'll tell you what she has to do to fix the situation. With a chronic (months and months) intake of less than 1000 calories per day and a 185-pound body weight her metabolism is suffering greatly. It's running cool, not hot. It's basically running at a snail's pace.

Think of it this way. Her metabolism has matched itself to her intake. She could, indeed, lose body fat but she's in that gray area where she is eating too few calories but not quite at the concentration-camp level yet.

If she were to consume 100-300 calories per day her body would have virtually no choice but to begin liberating stored body fat. This is NOT the solution. It's unhealthy and, in fact, quite stupid.


The Practical Way To Lose Fat!
Today's society is about speed. We no longer have to wait for the oven to warm our food because we have microwaves ready to do the work in less time. The same is not true when it comes to fat loss.

Not only has her metabolism matched her intake, her body has maximized production of enzymes that are designed to help store any additional calories as fat. Anytime additional, immediately-unnecessary calories are consumed the enzymes are there and waiting to store the additional calories as fat. Her body is starved nutritionally and it has one thing on its mind - survival.

Being mostly sedentary, her metabolism (hormones play a large role here) can do a pretty good job of keeping things slow enough so that the pathetically low calories she's consuming are just enough to maintain.

But since certain enzymes are elevated, waiting for more calories so more bodyfat can be stored, every nighttime binge or weekend mini-feast will contribute to fat stores.

So on the days she's not bingeing her body does not lose fat, or if it does, it's very little. And on the few days or times she does binge a bit her body is quite efficient at storing fat. So, while she may lose a smidge of fat from starving it is quickly replaced with every binge.

Remember, these binges aren't a gluttonous 4000-calorie feast. Oh no, a binge might be 4-5 cookies worth about 500-700 calories. Nevertheless, since the binge foods are mostly carbs and fat it's very easy for the enzymes to shuttle the dietary fat into stored body fat. It's what they were designed to do.


So, What's The Solution?

Well then, now that we presumably know some valid reasons why she's not seeing a scale change and definitely no body fat change how do we fix her? We have to do something she's going to freak out over.

We have to get her eating more. Not only do we have to get her eating more but more of the right, whole foods need to be eaten. Foods lower in fat that aren't as easily STORED as body fat have to be consumed. And we have to warn her.


A Discouraging Start

We have to warn her that since she's been sedentarily living on protein with binges of carbs and fats she is likely to see a weight gain right away. It's true.
Once we begin really feeding her body with nutritious carbohydrates so she can become more active, her glycogen-depleted body will hang on to some of those carbohydrates (in skeletal muscle and liver) so she has stored energy for activity.

When her body hangs on to those carbohydrates it has no choice but to hang on to more water too. For every gram of glycogen (stored carbs) she stores she'll hang on to three grams of water.

This is not a negative response by the body but it will be interpreted by her as quite negative when she steps on the scale.

It's quite likely she'll see a five to seven pound weight gain when she really starts eating properly again. This weight gain will remain for one to three weeks before it starts moving in the other direction.

For argument's sake let's assume my Calorie Calculator and Goal Setter at Club Lifestyle suggests a 1500-calorie per day average in week one for a one-pound loss per week. First, she is going to freak out about this many calories.

For months she's been eating less than 1000 and usually around 400-700 in one to three feedings total per day. To her 1500 calories is a ton of food. And if she even begins to eat less fast and packaged-foods it will be a ton of food.

There is no doubt whatsoever that she will resist the increase. This resistance may take one to three weeks to overcome. During this period no weight loss will occur. She is too fat already in her mind and believes it will only hurt her to increase her food intake.

I mean, after all, isn't that how she got fat to begin with? In her early stages of fat gain this was probably true. She overconsumed. But as I've said already, that's not why she's staying heavy.

In addition to a freaked-out mindset about adding more food to her already overfat body she will simply find that it's all but impossible to eat four or more times per day.

She's just not hungry at first. Makes sense when you think about it. Why would she be hungry three hours after eating a 300-calorie, balanced breakfast? Her body is used to 400-700 calories per day!

So, even though she gets a plan and begins using my nutrition analyzer to log foods and meals she finds after having a balanced breakfast of 250 calories she couldn't force herself to eat meal number two on time.

It'll take several more days of realizing what is going on and being one-hundred percent honest and diligent with her logging and planning before she begins to eat her meals as planned no matter what - even if she's not hungry.

By now two to four weeks have passed and the only thing she's seen on the scale is it going up--not very encouraging if I say so myself.


Raising The Grade

After the first two to four weeks have passed she's probably beginning to consume her meals as planned although not quite like an "A" student yet. That is coming. She feels better because she's working out and is more active.
And she feels like she has more energy throughout the day because she's feeding her body more calories and the right kinds of calories.

She has finally begun eating the right kinds of fast foods (low in fat, moderate in protein) and less packaged food overall. She is making more meals from home and taking them to work for lunch rather than always grabbing something quick from a vending machine or the break room that always has some treat another employee brought in.

After another two weeks or so she's moved from a "B" grade to more consistent "A"s. She's planning her days one day ahead in the Nutrition Analyzer; she's consuming fresh veggies and fruits on a daily basis.

Her calories are almost ALWAYS in line with what is recommended by my Lean Account and she has seen her first signs of the scale moving in the right direction.

She is now dropping from 190 pounds (her high after reintroducing food and carbohydrates again) to 189.3! "Progress at last!" she says. In actuality, the entire process was progress. But that's not how she saw it in the beginning.

With a total of two to four weeks of increased caloric intake behind her and eating more consistently the right kinds of foods her metabolism has truly begun to rebound.

She didn't kill it as she thought. She only wounded it. And since our metabolisms are like kids (they are quite resilient) and she doesn't have thyroid issues or diabetes or any known wrench that could be thrown into the spokes of fat loss, she will begin, for the first time in months or years, to see results that make sense and that one would expect of someone who is active (30-60 minutes five or more days per week) and consuming a caloric intake of 1300-1500 calories per day.


Butterfly Effect: The Basics Of The Thyroid - Part 1.
Avoiding Sabotage

This process is in no way easy. I think you can see a plethora of ways it could be screwed up, sabotaged, given up on too early and so forth.
A key to success for this very common woman (men too) is not giving up too soon, having faith in the fix, and moving sooner rather than later to the increased, quality food intake.

It's going to take effort to overcome the mental hurdles of eating more food as well as the increase in scale weight that is going to occur in weeks one to three or so. It's disheartening, however, to charge hard down the weight-loss field only to get to the one-yard line and decide it's time to quit.


Don't Let Your Metabolism Fall.
These are the top ten ways you can boost your metabolism and keep it high - even through Fall.
Many don't realize they only had one more yard to go and they'd have had a touchdown. You gotta hang in there with this plan. It's going to take some time for the glycogen levels to be replenished and level out. It's going to take some time for mental adjustments to occur.
It's going to take some time before hunger signals are restored to anything close to normal. It's going to take time for the metabolism to rebound and not be in its protective mode.


Giving A Stubborn Body The Message

In certain, very stubborn cases, it may be necessary to eat at a eucaloric (maintenance) or hypercaloric (over maintenance) level for a few weeks to ensure the metabolism does get the signal that everything is alright and you aren't going to kill the body.
Remember, your body could care less about your desire for fat loss. It just wants to survive.


Some Take-Home Points

The most common cause of obesity is Americans are sedentary overeaters/drinkers. Nothing in this article should be construed as to say that under eating is the root cause of obesity. It's not.

It IS common for many men and women to be under eating with sporadic binges as I described here. This creates a perfect environment for continued obesity even if total caloric intake is quite low on average.

Low-carb followers or "starvers" WILL see the scale go up when calories are consumed at reasonable levels again and carbohydrates are reintroduced. Live with it. Deal with it. It's going to happen. 98% of the gain will be water.

The time it takes for mental acceptance and other adjustments to occur will vary but one should expect a two to four week window for these things to take place. Being forewarned with an article like this may speed this process up some.

Once the right types of foods are consumed and the right caloric intake is consumed and the right ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats are consumed on a consistent basis, then, and only then, will metabolism begin to be restored and the key to fat loss be inserted into the lock with a noticeable drop in the scale resulting.
This may take an additional two to four weeks to occur. Your metabolism is never dead or broken for good. But it may take several weeks of proper eating and activity for it to be restored.


From day one, until the first, noticeable drop in the scale occurs may be four to six weeks--maybe one to two weeks longer. Those who give up on the one-yard line will never see the scale drop as will occur when intelligent persistence and consistency over time are adhered to.
David Greenwalt

Many Thanks To CM Riverside for posting this

Thanks, msarro, thats an important reminder. I know for me, I get really impatient. How did you maintain your focus as long as you did?

And, I have a question for YankeesGirl: You mentioned diabetic neuropathy. What kind of treatment are you getting for that? Can you describe the effects a little? (Of both the neuropathy and the meds.)

Thanks everyone!

You sound really committed 4sure, which is great, for sure! :laugh:

Ok, bad joke. Anyway, if you start to feel sluggish, tired, irratable, or have head aches during the day, I encourage you to up the calories a little. Also, if you stop losing weight. That article about Living with Obesity at 700 calories a day really explains it well.

Also, I have been reading about Tom Venuto's program for losing fat and not muscle. Anyone else know anything about Tom? I would like to hear your opinions. Here is his website: http://www.tomvenuto.com/

Thanks, msarro, thats an important reminder. I know for me, I get really impatient. How did you maintain your focus as long as you did?

And, I have a question for YankeesGirl: You mentioned diabetic neuropathy. What kind of treatment are you getting for that? Can you describe the effects a little? (Of both the neuropathy and the meds.)

Thanks everyone!

Funny enough I was like the lady in the one article who ate 700 calories a day, except a bit worse. I'd sometimes go a day or more without eating because at the time I worked 3 jobs, and simply didn't have time or money to eat. So when I did eat, it was a huge pig out thing. When I started using MFP, I was shocked that I actually couldn't eat all of the calories they wanted me to eat. But eventually I got adjusted, and my metabolism started speeding up some. Throw in some exercise, and it worked out for me.

After I graduated college and had one real full time job, it let me start cooking, which is a lifesaver. I think if you are afraid to spend time in the kitchen it could be hard. I cook almost every night, which lets me eat the same foods I've always enjoyed, but made with healthier ingredients and made in a healthier way. Plus I started reading food labels and sticking with actual serving sizes.

Also, I started setting myself lots of little goals, things that were so minor that they seemed pointless, and then I rewarded myself liberally for meeting them. Stupid stuff - wake up and eat breakfast for an entire week was a goal. I made it, and I let myself buy some video games.

Another big thing... the word diet should be removed from your vocabulary. When we say diet, we think, "ok, I'll go on a diet and lose this weight." Then what? What about after the diet? See, diets by definition are a temporary thing. You "go on a diet" like you "go on a cruise" or "go for a ride." You don't intend to do any of them forever. Words are powerful things, and the message you send yourself every time you say it tells you, "What I was doing before was perfectly ok! I'll do this diet thing and get it over with, then go back to my same habits and everything will be perfect."

But the thing is, a diet gets rid of the weight if you can stick with it. But, the weight is just a symptom, not the real issue. The real issue is bad habits, and the only way to change bad habits is to work on them for a long period of time, making small incremental changes. So, if you dump the pounds and get off your diet, then go back to old habits... well, there's a reason people always balloon back up after a diet. SO DON'T SAY DIET!

So I guess that's what helped me stay focused... it was never something I could be done with because its not a diet, its not any sort of temporary thing. Its my life.

Just stay positive and keep getting back up on your horse. You will get there

Thanks for that info msarro! Good idea about the word "Diet". I refer to my program as my "new way of life".

Great advice Paddlemom! Feelings and the emotional aspect are very important. I have been reading about that. And like msarro, my issue was that I could go days without eating, then bam! I could have an entire Med pizza (with toppings, :blushing: ), and I led a very sedantary life. I am ashamed to say that I literally stopped going food shopping because it became too strenuous to go down the aisles :sick: Sad, sad, sad... is how I felt, and let's not forget depressed.
These days, I am keeping very active, with daily exercise, at work I even send my print jobs to the farthest printer (which I used to avoid at all cost), not the one right at my desk; I sleep better at night (no more back pain and tossing and turning); I look forward to waking up every morning, and find myself singing all the way through my hour commute to work. :drinker:
Odd that I feel this way only after 16lbs off, but I know I also made a mental note that this time I would not fail, and my attitude is different. If I can feel this good now, I look forward to how happy I will be in a year or so!

:glasses: Hello ! every body. Ive doing OK.I had a case of the blah's for a while. Now i am feeling better.Sometime it takes all the strength Ive got to get through the week.My weight hasn't gone anywhere for a week or two.Ive stayed with the same program i just think that my body is playing cat and mouse with me.Ive actually been thinking about changing up things.Like lowering caloric intake and adding a new routine to my work out.I am going tae kwan doe class tonight and that will hopefully set me up for a good weekend.

It looks like quite a few of you have had some great success good job.I need to take sometime maybe this weekend and do some reading so maybe i could use some of your encouragement and ideas. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice and encouragement.I definitely look forward to the down hill side.So moving forward is the best thing.Talk to you later.

:bigsmile: Thanks Stillkristi.That article makes since.As for Cardio and strength training, this karate class i am in really covers all that and to boot the instructor is a registered nurse and Ive been asking him for advice and stuff.Its funny that we all know what to do but like this article states that you need initiative and getting out of your comfort zone just enough to keep your body guessing.On the days that i don't do karate and keep in mind this form of training is not for everybody i did this back in high school and so i kind of know what i am up against but i digress.On the off days i practice karate and do a elliptical workout but i think that's were i need to make the change its become mundane.My wife has some cardio videos i might try for a change of pace.The karate will change as i advance in the class plus me and my nine year old go together so we have something in common as a hobby.He's a skinny ninny. Well ill see ya later.Thanks a again it sure has cheered me up.