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Hi! 37 and need to lose 200lbs...no motivation :(

Old 05-02-2012, 01:28 AM
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Default Hi! 37 and need to lose 200lbs...no motivation :(

Hi everyone. As mentioned in the title, I'm 37yrs old and I need to lose 200lbs. Not an easy task for anyone but I have such a hard time staying motivated. I mean, everyone would like to lose some weight so yeah I wanna lose weight but hokey petes this just seems impossible. I have really bad anxiety and depression so that definitely doesn't help any either. I'm trying to eat better and drink more water. Cutting down on the caffeine. Thought this might be the way to do it. Not sure how much success I will have at first but at least if I'm tracking what I do and eat then I will have a better chance of adjusting things.

Anyone with a large amount of weight to lose that can offer any suggestions of what is working for you for motivation I would appreciate some tips. Especially if you have always been heavy like me. I was a fat toddler even. Never had a chance... LOL
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Old 05-02-2012, 02:13 AM
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Lizz, welcome!

If I could motivate people to lose weight, I think Bill Gates would have some competition for richest man in the world!

I don't know why my "switch" flipped on May 4th of 2010, but it did and with the help of FitDay and the great folks here on the forum I've done pretty well.

If you want, read through some of the 100 pounds to lose thread over on Diet Tips, you might pick up some insight on how to go about doing what you need to do.

I guess my one piece of advice is to take this one day at a time, one pound at a time. Facing 200 pounds (or more, in my case) to lose is almost impossible to wrap one's head around. Losing just one pound, though, is pretty easy. Once that one pound is gone, go after the next and repeat as necessary.

I hope you stick around and keep us posted as to your success!

Regards,
Michael
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Old 05-02-2012, 02:44 AM
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Hi Lizz!

I have to totally agree with Michael. Lose the first pound and keep it off. Then on to the next one! Set small attainable goals and you will find that you feel better as you reach those goals and move onto more goals. You didn't gain all of your weight overnight and certainly won't lose it overnight either but you can do this.

The 100 lbs to lose thread is amazing with all the stories in it. Grab a bottle of water and start reading. It's a lot of reading but seeing other people's stories & struggles is so worth it.

Then in the women's only section every week we start a new thread for motivation. We post our own goals (no right or wrong) and use each other for accountability and support. That thread is my main weight loss support took besides tracking what I eat and excercise.

I hope that you stick around. This place has helped me to lose 82lbs in the past 14+ months. I know it can do the same for you if you really put it to work!
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Old 05-02-2012, 03:19 AM
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hi lizz! i've got a lot to lose, too. it seemed so overwhelming at first. i made small steps in changes in my lifestyle and eating habits. changing everything at once i think will backfire. i also suffer from depression and also bipolar disorder, so i know how that can affect day to day living, let alone keeping long term goals and staying motivated. what i have found that is working for me is to not focus on the end goal at all. i make mini goals for myself of about 10 lbs in about a month, or even a more mini goal of 5 lbs in 2 weeks. sometimes i hit my mark, and sometimes i miss it by a lb or two, but the point is i'm staying motivated and losing at a healthy and steady rate. i would really suggest focusing on mini goals. tracking everything helps a lot. it keeps you accountable, but it also is a great tool to learn where you can improve. i wish you the best of success. keep us all posted!
~lisa
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Old 05-02-2012, 03:30 AM
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I think it's hard to feel motivated until you've seen some progress. For me, I started because I was having digestive problems and was sick of feeling sick. I decided I would cut out sugary baked goods and make sure to walk every day, and almost immediately started feeling better, and that motivated me to do more with my diet, and more exercise. I also set really small goals for myself (7 pounds at a time) so that about once a month, I have a milestone I can be proud of. It's important to celebrate everything that is working towards being healthier and not even think about the end goal (as much as possible).

My hubby needs to lose almost 200 pounds, and he'll go walking for a week and get on the scale and it hasn't moved much, so he gives up. He feels like he needs to see a big change fast to stay motivated, but I keep trying to explain to him that he needs to take it one pound at a time, like the people above have said.

It's going to be a slow process and take a long time, but every pound is a success, and something to be proud of.
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Old 05-05-2012, 06:13 AM
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You'll be surprised how fast weight comes off when you need to lose alot though. When you're really overweight at the beginning... just eating less everyday can have your fat melt off. When you see some of the early results hopefully that will motivate you to try even more... I know it did for me (I've lost 20 pounds in about 1.5 months so far!)

Good luck ^.^!
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Old 05-07-2012, 04:41 AM
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Thanks y'all! Well today is day 4 of working out with a friend that just finished a full marathon. The first two days... I thought I was going to die! Not at the end of the walk but two hours later when my legs hurt so bad I wanted to cry and did at times. Yesterday I only made it a little over a mile and was a little let down but then I though... holy crap! I went from nothing to this! There is NOT one reason to feel let down! Now I'm good with it but definitely glad I upped it this morning.

Todays workout: stretching, a few pushups, a few crunches, 2.5 miles on the sit down bike, and 2.5 miles on the treadmill. All of this in about 1.5 hours.

I've been told this is too much for a beginner. However, my friend is really on point with his fitness. He watches me to make sure I am breathing correctly and not sounding out of breath, makes sure I check my heart rate, and makes me do a proper cool down. It's those things that make me know that he will not let me do anything I am not ready for. (That and he harps on me through out the day to make sure I take a couple minutes to stretch my poor confused muscles! LOL)

Four days and I'm feeling fantastic. I need to eat more, unlike a lot of people. My m.o. is that I don't eat enough. EVER! Unless, of course, I've hit the point that I'm starving then I just eat everything. Again, my motivator harps on me about that to and when reminding me to stretch reminds me to eat something healthy!

I may be 365lbs right now, and I'm realizing I'm not so worried about the number as I am what I am able to do. The more I can accomplish and increase my fitness level the weight will go with it. Not necessarily working out harder as much as maintaining my pace and being able to do it longer. Someday this fatchick will be a runner!
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Old 05-08-2012, 01:47 AM
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Do you ever watch The Biggest Loser? It is pretty amazing how hard they push themselves so I wouldn't worry about your level of activity. It seems very doable.

Keep exercising but my BIL is a personal trainer and even he says that 80% of weight loss is diet. Don't make any excuses like, "I worked out today, so I can eat a little more."

I don't have much to lose but it is seeming more difficult than I thought, so I can sympathize. I have had much better success the weeks that I stick to the food journal and mid-afternoon make sure to count up and adjust for the evening meal. The journal doesn't do much good if you don't use it to plan ahead.
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Old 05-08-2012, 02:19 AM
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Hi! Glad to see that you have a "motivator"! That can be extremely helpful. I am training for a marathon right now and your starting mileage does sound fairly high, but if it works for you than great!

As a NEXT step in exercise I would suggest looking into Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method. I have used it in my training and it is FANTASTIC! Some "real" distance runners (like ultra marathoners) use it in races for the first few miles of a race as well. Basically you run for very short time spans (start at 10-20 seconds) and then walk. It will help you to log more miles than just running. I understand that you are just starting out with walking so I would continue that for a few more weeks before adding a few jogging sessions into your mileage.

As for motivation to lose, here is a trick that I like to do every once in a while. First, definitely make small goals. Start with 5 pounds or even smaller. When you get to that goal, put a backpack on a scale and add small items to it to reach 5 pounds (or whatever amount you lost). Wear the backpack around the house for an hour or two, doing everyday activities. When you take it off, take a deep breath, smile and realize your accomplishment. After your next mini goal, do the same thing with the total weight lost. (So if you lost another 2 pounds, put 7 pounds total in the bag). It makes me feel like I just lost all that weight that second when I take off the backpack. Plus it is fun to look at the items I put in the bag and say, "I lost 2 gnomes, a small camera, a clock radio, and 3 candles so far!"

Good luck on your adventure!
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Old 05-08-2012, 02:55 AM
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Originally Posted by liberatedmist
Hi! Glad to see that you have a "motivator"! That can be extremely helpful. I am training for a marathon right now and your starting mileage does sound fairly high, but if it works for you than great!

As a NEXT step in exercise I would suggest looking into Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method. I have used it in my training and it is FANTASTIC! Some "real" distance runners (like ultra marathoners) use it in races for the first few miles of a race as well. Basically you run for very short time spans (start at 10-20 seconds) and then walk. It will help you to log more miles than just running. I understand that you are just starting out with walking so I would continue that for a few more weeks before adding a few jogging sessions into your mileage.

As for motivation to lose, here is a trick that I like to do every once in a while. First, definitely make small goals. Start with 5 pounds or even smaller. When you get to that goal, put a backpack on a scale and add small items to it to reach 5 pounds (or whatever amount you lost). Wear the backpack around the house for an hour or two, doing everyday activities. When you take it off, take a deep breath, smile and realize your accomplishment. After your next mini goal, do the same thing with the total weight lost. (So if you lost another 2 pounds, put 7 pounds total in the bag). It makes me feel like I just lost all that weight that second when I take off the backpack. Plus it is fun to look at the items I put in the bag and say, "I lost 2 gnomes, a small camera, a clock radio, and 3 candles so far!"

Good luck on your adventure!
I like your backpack idea. That is a fun way to look at it.
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