I think it’s about time I posted here. I need any sort of help getting motivated I can. It looks like there’s a lot of motivated people here and I hope that’ll give me a kick start. But…for those of you who are motivated, how did you do it? I have a LOT of weight to lose. I won’t say how much but I tried on a size 30 pair of pants today and they were too small. That’s pretty telling in itself. I’ve basically been trying to lose weight, on and off, since I was 12. My childhood attempts were mostly forced upon me by my well meaning mother and, as were my later attempts as an adult, were largely unsuccessful. So needless to say, I feel a bit hopeless of ever being successful at losing any real amount of weight. I just don’t seem to have the willpower to not get fast food when it’s easier, or to get up off my ass and do some exercises. Any tips for getting that first step going?
Well, I’ve lost over 50kgs, so maybe I can help?
Firstly, work out how much you eat. Track your calories and be honest with yourself. www.myfitnesspal.com is a good calorie tracker, also Spark People. Spend a couple of weeks just doing that. You’ll be amazed at what you eat and how many calories it is - at least I was.
In terms of motivation, set realistic calorie goals for yourself (1200 is too few - on MyFitnessPal, look around the forums for a spreadsheet called In Place of a Roadmap, it’s stickied.) Set realistic exercise goals for yourself - for me, at first, it was walk for 10 minutes. That’s it, that’s all I could do. Then 11. Then 12.
In terms of willpower, I can’t give that to you but I can suggest that you make a plan. If you have a plan, and you stick to that, then you’ll know when you’re likely to give up and want fast food, so you’ll have something easy handy. Make yourself accountable. Post here. Post at a weightloss site. Take a picture of yourself now - just for you - and take another one in the same clothes every time you lost 10lbs (5kgs). You don’t notice differences unless you do that. Take your measurements once a month, so you can see progress even though your brain will tell you you’re not making any.
Educate yourself. Eat food you love, food you really love, and not food that’s just there. Don’t forbid yourself anything - just stay under your calorie goal. It will work.
The good news is that since you’re bigger, you will see results faster than if you just had 30lbs to lose, and that’s very motivating, too.
It’s like quitting smoking (which I also did). You just keep trying. If you fall off, you get back on. You keep getting back on every time.
Finally, what I had to do - once I understood that my new way of eating and exercising was forever - was give myself permission to kind of mourn my old life, if that makes sense. I had to take the time to get over that no, I can’t just eat a box of cookies if I’m having a bad day, I can’t eat a whole cake, I can’t eat a bag of chips. I can have a little, but not in huge quantities, even if I really want them that way. Once I allowed myself to feel sad about that, to sort of process it and get over it, then I was able to move on.
If you have a setback, a problem, if you give up one night and eat all the cake, that’s ok. Just get up and start over. That’s not really willpower, that’s just living life, you know?
Good luck!
Good luck
My tip is to TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW. I mean everyone. Most people will offer you annoying advice but at least when they offer you that donut and you say no, they’ll get it.
Also, they will keep you on track just because they will ask how it’s going.
Another good step is to clean out the pantry. Junk goes. Things you binge on go. Then go to the grocery store and stock up on good for you things (vegs, fruits, nuts, etc.). Things you like. If you are an office worker, have a stash at your desk. Bring your lunch.
The first few weeks, if you stick to things, a bunch of weight will just fall off. That in itself is motivating.
Also, forgive yourself when you mess up. You will, it’s part of life. If you eat too much, just get back on the horse.
One bad meal, day or week doesn’t mean you should stop trying.
Really, really good advice from perfectparanoia! Do all that and you will amaze yourself.
Join a group like Weight Watchers. They can help get you on the right track and will be supportive along the way.
Incorporate regular activity. Commit to at least 30 minutes per day in a dedicated session. Do it in a single block–not 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. You must develop the habit of regular exercise. Start with walking. Look into classes like Zumba, which is a fun dance class which anyone can do at any ability. There are even water-Zumba and water-aerobics classes which provide excellent support and low impact. And with the water classes, you’ll likely see many similar people going through exactly the same thing as you. You can lose weight without exercising, but it will be much more challenging. Exercise will make it go quicker and you’ll have better long-term success.
Look in the “Strictly Platonic” section of your local craigslist.org. You’ll likely see many ads from similar people looking for diet and exercise partners.
Ignore the haters. Don’t be surprised that people will say you can’t change. They are projecting their own limitations on you. You can change and will succeed.
Understand that this will be difficult. You are trying to break your food addiction. Like any addiction, don’t be surprised when your body fights you. You need to be stronger than the addiction. It will subside over time.
If it becomes too much of a challenge, never give up exercising. You can always exercise. It’s just X-minutes out of your day and then you’re done. Diet can be hard since it’s a 24 hour battle. So even if you struggle with diet, don’t give up exercise.
PANTRY RAID!
One thing that helped me out considerably was doing yoga when I started my lifestyle change (it’s not a diet–diets suck which is why most people fail at them). I felt better physically and could tie that to the changes I was making with food. Knowing that the yoga along with my new way of eating were working to help me look and feel better made the transition a little easier. Once I saw the number on the scale start going down all my doubts vanished. In five weeks I’ve almost lost 20 pounds. There is no way I’m gaining that back.
I also watched this video a lot. When I wanted to quit, when I wanted to throw everything out the window, I would watch that video and tell myself, “If Arthur can do it, I can do it.”
Set a goal. Strive towards it. Celebrate your accomplishments. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Own your life!
76.5kg. Damn PMS…
Yeah, I hate being a girl.
Anyway, totally blew things off on Saturday since I was throwing a party and wanted some beer, dammit.
2800 calories on the day. Gonna take some effort to get that off.
But yesterday was good. It was way too hot to even think about eating (unless you are my kids, apparently).
Back on the horse.
Okay, there may have been some beer involved in mine too 
I was going to go out running tonight, found my ipod charger, but can I find my damn ipod? No. Grrr.
I guess I’ll post here just to see if anyone has weird habits like me. I can’t follow the regular advice. I always eat a lot sometimes and practically nothing other times and it normally balances out and I’ve always been thin except lately, because lately I forgot to do the “eating nothing” part very often. So now I’m trying to eat very little until I get back down to where I’m supposed to be, and then go back to my regular way. This is by far the most I’ve ever weighed (even at 9 months pregnant!) and I hate it so much.
I’m not exercising either because it will just make me more hungry I think. Exercising is great for general health and for helping to maintain weight, but it’s not going to help me to drop like 40lbs. as quickly as possible (maybe 2ish months). That should put me at about a size 6. 4 is better but I can take 6. Then I’ll start exercising.
Also, I’m not drinking alcohol at all. I already haven’t for a month, and I’m keeping that up until I lose this weight. My psycho (and like 0% body fat, damn him) ex had me going out drinking way too often and that is a lot of calories, plus it makes me lose willpower not to stuff my face.
This just sucks though. There are a few people I want to see that I haven’t seen for a long time, and I’m too embarrassed to see them now! And I have a ton of clothes I want to wear so bad, and like none in this size because I refuse to buy them.
Oh, and one more thing. When I go to bed hungry, even starving, I wake up not hungry. But if I go to bed after eating a bunch of fatty food, I wake up hungry. Are other people like this?
Second this. It may take some doing, but finding the right leader and the right meeting can really make a huge difference in motivation. At the same time, I’d advise staying away from Overeaters Anonymous, though, because of the belief that overeating is a disease. I’ve yet to find a truly supportive group that was willing to accept that behavioral change is possible.
I somewhat disagree with this. Exercise is essential, but if you’re that overweight, you may find it easier on your body to break it into chunks of at least 10 minutes multiple times per day, but at this stage, any activity is good activity. And you’re more likely to stick to it if you can find something that works for you. I’d also advise working with a personal trainer or physical therapist who can show you how to exercise safely.
I have to come in and mention this - dropping 40lbs in 8 weeks is 5 pounds a week and extremely unrealistic for anyone not morbidly obese (I’m talking starting at 350+ lbs). An approximate guideline is 3500 calories = 1 pound. That’s a 17,500 calorie deficit a week. If you’re eating 2000 calories a day, that’s more than you intake in an entire week.
A healthy rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. Please reconsider your goal.
I’m too impatient for 1-2 pounds a week. Once I lose enough weight to not feel horrible, I’ll stop the starvation diet. I know they say you need a 3500 calories deficit to lose 1 pound but at least at the beginning, that hasn’t been my experience. I ate almost nothing for a bit over a month once (not on purpose, just didn’t feel like eating) and lost like 25 lbs and I wasn’t overweight to start with. I went from about 130 to 105. Once I started eating again I wasn’t careful and still stayed at 110ish for a couple years, so it wasn’t like people always say that you just gain it right back.
I just can’t stand being this weight. I can’t BELIEVE I even have 40+ lbs to lose! It makes such a difference in energy levels and ease of movement and everything. I feel like this just isn’t ME. If it was me and I’d always been overweight, then I think I could accept it more, but this is just wrong. Like I said I’m embarrassed to even see people. I don’t want to keep feeling like this for the next like 6 months! I just really really really don’t carry weight well. Some people look great in a size 12. NOT me.
Your ideas are counterproductive. The key to weight loss is increasing your basal metabolic rate. Increase your lean mass and you can eat more food to reach a stasis. You’re suggesting the opposite - you want to lose lean body mass, which then means that eating the same amount of food will create a greater calorie surplus. Starving your way to a 40 pound loss is ultimately counterproductive and will generally result in you gaining more than you lost in the first place.
You’re not going to be feeling great and strong and energetic if you lose 40 pounds that way.
I already said I’ve done it before and it worked. But you’re right, I didn’t feel well at all at the time. I felt really sick (but I was eating less then than I am now. Today I had a piece of pizza and a glass of orange juice and that’s plenty. Back then a lot of days I just ate a few crackers or something). But once I started eating again I felt fine physically and great mentally. I was really depressed at the time and that’s why I wasn’t eating and then once I was all skinny I felt good about that and it helped me get out of the depression.
I’m not saying that gradual weight loss and focusing on developing healthy eating habits isn’t ideal, I’m just being realistic that I won’t do it. I’ll lose motivation because after doing it for months I’ll still be fat! If I can just get skinny I know I can maintain it.
Well if that’s the weight loss strategy you want may I recommend pneumonia? I actually came to the thread looking advice to mitigate the exact situation you’re looking for.
I’ve been sick for almost 4 weeks now and last week they finally diagnosed viral pneumonia. I’ve been told that this could go on for a couple more weeks as they’re just medicating symptoms and it’s a matter of when my body decides to heal itself.
The problem is nothing tastes good and after 3-4 bites I’m full anyway. I’ve lost 17 lbs and only recently have been able to slow that rate to 1/2lb/day.
I started on a scheduled eating plan to increase the amount of food I was getting a few berries for breakfast, a protein shake for lunch (made mostly with water, if I make it with milk I’m unable to drink the whole thing), 1-2 oz of chicken or beef for dinner.
So now I’m starting to feel a little better. Fever is not 24/7 anymore and I’ve increased my morning berries to almost 1/2 cup and can handle a 50/50 milk/water mix in the protein shake and I’ve added a 4th meal, usually some vegetable or 1/2 sandwich. I’m still exhausted all the time though, I put the recycling out this morning (3 trips to the curb, about 50’ round trip) and had to lay down for 30 mins before I could start work.
While this wasn’t the way I would choose to lose weight I’d kind of like to not gain it back as I start feeling better. I’ve got a set of handweights at my desk and I’ve been doing some arm exercises but one set of 2 or 3 reps is usually all I can manage before I have to put them down again. I’ve been picking them up at the top of every hour figuring if I do what I can regularly that my stamina will eventually improve. I’m also trying to make sure that what I do eat is healthy. It helps that EVERYTHING tastes terrible still so there is no desire for anything sweet as it all tastes bitter anyway.
Is there anything else I can do to minimize the amount of weight I’m going to regain? I was stable at my presickness weight for almost a year including a vacation to Italy where I ate everything in sight but also walked my feet off every day.
Weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. You’ve probably heard ‘you need to walk the length of a football field to burn off one M&M candy’. Concentrate on what you eat, any calories you burn through exercise are just a bonus, unless you’re willing to commit to running 1+ hours every day.
Well can I come visit you? 
Actually I was taking strong antibiotics until a few days ago and they were making me feel sick and not want to eat, but that was only for 10 days. I know I lost a few pounds but I don’t know how much because I was avoiding the scale before that.
For me, weighing myself every day helps because then it can’t creep up on you. If you gain a few pounds it’s easy to just cut back for a few days. That’s how I am anyway, I prefer to stuff my face for a few days and then eat nothing for a few days than to try to do stupid boring moderation every single day.
And think of this new weight as your normal weight now. Try not to have the mindset that this weight loss was just a freebie so it’s okay if you gain some of it back. Buy some new clothes in your new size.
So far I have managed to avoid sharing this particular virus although my husband has spent the last 3 weeks sleeping in the spare room. He kind of pats me on the back occasionally and delivers food and drink but I’m pretty sure she showers and purells right afterwards 
My husband bought a Withings scale to help him (life is a video game to him, if there is an electronic connection it works better) so not only am I weighing in every day the entire history is carried around on my phone for anytime reminding.
That’s a good point about the clothes but I haven’t left the house except for doctors visits for a few weeks so I don’t think I’m going shopping. I will try on some old jeans though, that should be good motivation.