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The Official Unisex 100+ Pounds to Lose Thread

Old 12-11-2010, 03:24 PM
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Originally Posted by teguqueen
Hello, all!

I'm at 285 lbs.

I've been on and off diets for most of my life. Highest weight was 309, never normal weight or thin unless you count "at birth."

Nice to find this site and I hope I can pick up some inspiration and tips from y'all.
Welcome! Glad to have you on board. I, too, have been overweight all my life, with two brief exceptions when I "lost all that weight". Now, I'm on serious weight loss trip number three.

285 is a great place to start--I'll rejoice when I'm down that small. I bet you'll find the weight just fall off if you work your plan.

Regards,
Michael
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Old 12-12-2010, 01:13 AM
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Originally Posted by mecompco
Welcome! Glad to have you on board. I, too, have been overweight all my life, with two brief exceptions when I "lost all that weight". Now, I'm on serious weight loss trip number three.

285 is a great place to start--I'll rejoice when I'm down that small. I bet you'll find the weight just fall off if you work your plan.

Regards,
Michael
Michael I just noticed how close you are to getting under the 300 mark! How fantastic is that? A big well done to you!
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Old 12-12-2010, 01:44 AM
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Originally Posted by gallusgal
Michael I just noticed how close you are to getting under the 300 mark! How fantastic is that? A big well done to you!
Thank you very much--yes, I'm excited. Those "Century" milestones are the best. Have a great day!

Regards,
Michael
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Old 12-12-2010, 01:57 AM
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Welcom, teguqueen. I can absolutely relate to what you're saying. I too have been heavy as long as I can remember. I've seen pictures of a skinny me at 3 years old, but that's it. I also had a brief period in my early twenties when I was in better shape, but apart from that it's always been like this.

If anyone wants some advice from a noob, I can say, try not to think of losing weight as a diet, but a lifestyle change. It has to be something you really want to do, and something you want to do for you. You have to find your reasons and think in terms of the rewards of your success rather than scolding yourself into "doing what you should." Try to think in terms of making healthier food choices and getting some exercise. Start as slowly as feels right to you, but try to make goals and keep commitments to yourself.

Find a calorie goal that you're comfortable with and use the resources here to log your food and activity. It will engage you in a way that for me has been miraculous. Also, rely on this great community of people who have been and are in your shoes when you have questions. They will come through with the information you need.

For me, eating five times a day instead of one or two huge binge meals has made a real difference for me. I never miss breakfast, have a mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. I'm over 340lbs, and am never hungry on 2,000 calories a day.

I can also say that I have greatly benefited from hugely increased water intake. I shoot for about 160oz a day, and I know it has a lot to do with how good I feel.

In the month I've been at this, and having lost only 12lbs in a 190lb journey, I can say that the benefits and rewards have been endless. Yes, it will be a long road, but it has already been full of rewards, from fitting into clothes that were too small just last month, to improved health markers at the doctor's, to my absolutely favorite part, energy that lasts all day. It's important to know there are rewards for doing this.

Best of luck to you and all new members. You deserve to feel better and will feel better if you stick with it.

Last edited by DetroitBreakdown; 12-12-2010 at 01:59 AM.
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Old 12-12-2010, 02:32 AM
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That is great advice! There is no reason to starve to lose weight (and yes, in the past I have starved--30 day zero calorie fasts on two occasions, so I know about starving and many months on 1,000 cals).

The absolute key is to get a grasp on how many calories your body burns a day and how many calories you consume. If calories burned is greater than calories consumed, you must lose weight--period (and vice versa). Then, with this knowledge in mind, pick a calorie intake level that allows you (with good food choices) maintain a daily (again, on average) calorie deficeit w/o feeling hungry all the time (I think a little "hunger" between meals is "normal").

I truly think that a slower weight loss pace is a good thing--there is nothing wrong with 3 lbs a week (which is also my average). Having lost weight MUCH faster in the past, I now realize that that course of action has it's disadvantages.

Regards,
Michael

PS Only 3 lbs. to go for your mini goal, Detroit--awesome!
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Old 12-12-2010, 03:29 AM
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Thanks Michael. I can't believe that first goal is so close. I'm a little concerned about the holidays, but I was able to stay in control over Thanksgiving and going to try to do the same for Christmas.

You're absolutely right about simply maintaining a calorie deficit. We get so used to always gaining, or maintaining at our high weights that we don't realize what even a small deficit can do over time. We have a sick little advantage in the beginning that we burn significantly more calories just walking around than someone who is fit does. Maybe this is nature's way of allowing us to adjust into healthier behaviors while allowing us significant results along the way.
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Old 12-12-2010, 04:29 AM
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Hi people ~ I'm looking for inspiration this morning, and found this thread. Thank you. It's just what I needed. I hope it's okay to join you here. I really need to be around people who are succeeding in battling back the beast of obesity (BBBOO?) Whatev

This is me: 365 pounds this morning. I can't tell you how stunned I am. I knew I'd edged up there. Friday, at the heart clinic (yes), I estimated 350. When I first weighed this morning, my scale kept saying 318. I looked at the face in the mirror, catalogued my aches and pains, and thought "can't be."

Nope, can't be. I have now officially gained back every pound I lost in 2005, plus maybe 2 or 3. My relapse is complete. So where to go now?

I've fought this all my life and have lost 100+ pounds probably 8-10 times, 80 or so at least a dozen times. As I'm getting older, it's really taking a toll on my health. I hurt everywhere. My heart skips around. High blood pressure. High fasting glucose.

Lately, I've been asking my sister and my husband this question: What is it about me that makes me unable or unwilling to take care of myself? What is missing in my psychological makeup or whatever, that convinces me I can start tomorrow, that one more day of eating really doesn't make a difference?

I'm baffled, truly. Over and over and over again I've tried this experiment. I honestly don't understand what it is that I don't have that allows people to keep the weight off.

Anyway, that's me, where I'm at today. I am encouraged by your success here, and I know FitDay will work for me, because nothing happens without accountability, and there's no accountability like staring at those calories right on the screen.

My plan today is to cook and eat at home, and to go to the gym. Instead of running an hour on the elliptical as I was able to do four years ago, I'll be puffing along on the recumbent stepper thing used to rehab cardiac patients. Baby steps. It all starts with one step, one commitment, right?

Hasta luego ~ thanks for listing.
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Old 12-12-2010, 05:03 AM
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Welcome Lynette. Baby steps are the best way to start. Four weeks ago I was huffing and puffing after 15min on a slow treadmill and I can't even imagine that now.

You've lost weight before, so you know that your body will respond quickly if you start moving around. It sounds like you know how to make yourself do what you have to do, and maybe what you should consider is how to make yourself want to do it for you.

Forgive the psychological interlude, but I'll share a personal story that may or may not sound familiar...

It was pointed out to me the day before I embarked on my new healthy lifestyle that I wasn't used to being taken care of, and I was very uncomfortable whenever people probed into how I was really doing beyond they "yeah, great, how are you?" On the other hand, I was very good at taking care of other people at the expense of taking care of myself. My unwillingness to allow people in cost me relationships over the years. I just never wanted to reveal how desperately unhappy I was.

I was reminded of what I've known intellectually forever, but could not internalize, which is that we can't begin to take care of others if our needs aren't met. Sometimes that means meeting our own needs. Sometimes it means letting someone help you meet your needs.

Today, and I hope forever, my motivation is coming from what I want for me, and the rewards that come with it, whatever those rewards are. Maybe it's being healthy enough to take adventure vacations, maybe it's being able to play with kids without your heart coming through your chest, maybe it's wanting to feel strong. Whatever it is, if it's a positive in your mind it will be motivation. What I know doesn't work is guilt and shame. Whether it's coming from others or ourselves.

You know you can do it because you've done it before. Find your reasons to do it for you and you will be a force!

Matt
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Old 12-12-2010, 06:36 AM
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Originally Posted by DetroitBreakdown
...that I wasn't used to being taken care of, and I was very uncomfortable whenever people probed into how I was really doing beyond they "yeah, great, how are you?" On the other hand, I was very good at taking care of other people at the expense of taking care of myself. My unwillingness to allow people in cost me relationships over the years. I just never wanted to reveal how desperately unhappy I was.

I was reminded of what I've known intellectually forever, but could not internalize, which is that we can't begin to take care of others if our needs aren't met. Sometimes that means meeting our own needs. Sometimes it means letting someone help you meet your needs.
Matt
Thanks Matt. That was pretty brilliant. No forgiveness needed for the wholly accurate long distance psychological diagnosis of me, which you somehow accomplished through the screen. Oh wait. You were talking about you. Isn't that weird. I think a lot of people share those same patterns of behavior. I certainly do, and appreciate your insight.

I love the way I feel when I'm eating healthy, working out, feeling strong, fit, and sassy. I just don't get why I'd throw that away for the temporary, too fleeting comfort of another hit off my personal sugary crack pipe. Even after fighting this food thing for most of my life, I don't understand it.

But not today. One day. Thanks for listening.
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Old 12-12-2010, 06:59 AM
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Lynette, welcome.

Kinda weird that we have identicle weight issues and history. I don't know what's up mentally with folks like us, but obviously there is something that's not quite right upstairs. Personally, I can be obsessive/compulsive and I am very much a creature of habit (be they good or bad). Why can we be otherwise "normal" but have this self-destructive streak?

I have a pretty good book about eating disorders that has helped me a bit. Especially the part about "all or nothing thinking". In the past, I had to be "perfect" in my diet--one slip and that was the end of it. I think I've finally adjusted to the fact that I need not be "perfect" to succeed in this.

My last big weight loss was in '01/'02--went from 400 or so down to 184 in less than a year by starting with a 30 day water fast, then 1,000 cals a day and daily exercise. Sadly, after reaching my "goal", whatever switch in my brain that flipped to the "weight loss" setting flipped back and every single pound came back and brought friends with them.

I think you may be like me in that I realize, like a recovering alcoholic, that I just can't be trusted to eat normally. I'm pretty sure I'll need to record my food intake indefinetly. I guess that's a small price to pay for a reprieve from living in the "fat body prison" and an early death.

Anyway, welcome--the help and support here is great and to one degree or another we understand the mental and physical pain of being very overweight.

Regards,
Michael

PS Upon re-reading this I sound like a bit of a Debbie Downer--I don't mean to--I'm really very optomistic for myself and everyone in this thread.
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