I'm scared to start losing weight--why would that be?
It's a bit mystifying. I think about it--and then I stop thinking and just sort of start to freak a bit. Is it just a lack of knowledge?
I have no idea what sort of plan I want to follow--indeed, if I want to follow anyone's. (Probably not. I'm putting the whole family on the "diet" as my kids are getting pudgy)
I'm not sure how many calories a day I should aim for--and, mostly, I'm really worried about how I'm going to excercise. I have no car and cannot get to a gym even if I did (no time. Dh works all the time.). Besides, if time and transportation weren't the issue, $$ would be.
So, walking is free, right? Except it's been minus 20 celcius out there this week. I took the kids and the dog out one sunny day for 15 minutes--felt like eternity!
What can I do?
What should I do?
Any suggestions welcome.
I suggest that you pick just one healthy new, small habit and focus on that for a week. You don't have to change everything all at once, and it's possible that trying to do so would actually be counterproductive. Change just one thing, manage your anxiety about the process, and then change another thing when you're ready to.
You might decide to stop drinking soda, or diet soda, or whatever non-water thing you're drinking, and switch to all water.
You might decide to stop eating after dinner, or after 8 pm, or something like that.
You might decide to start always eating breakfast.
You probably know what kinds of small, healthy habits you could incorporate. Pick one, get some success, and you'll feel better.
As for why you'd be scared...it's a BIG change. Not only do you have to deal with shifting what you used to do (your old eating habits, movements, etc), you don't -know- what a "thin you" will mean. For me, the key to getting over that fear was developing another fear...the fear of what would happen if I STAYED as heavy as I was or kept gaining. That second fear was way scarier than the first.
Part 2, exercise. You can do a LOT without a big money investment or a car. I work out exclusively from home, and started with exercise DVDs and a cheap rebounder to bounce on while I watched TV. As I progressed, I went to walking/running outside and added some strength training, but I still do it all at home. I now have an elliptical trainer, but it isn't a requirement. There are plenty of tools already in your house, or that can be found easily for very little money (exercise DVDs, a resistance band, etc)
I recently moved into a new home, and I'm LOVING discovering all the new "fitness equipment" it came with...a deck the perfect height for stepups, a loooong hallway for walking lunges, and a fantastic living room with enough space for yoga. In fact, my elliptical was broken while I was moving in, and I spent 3-4 days using just a stair outside for my cardio. Step up, step down, do some kicks, whatever...it was like getting a step for step aerobics free. I put on my headphones and got going. For cheap, you can get exercise DVDs to get you started. Heck, you can just turn on some music and DANCE fast enough to get your heartrate up...and you can do that with the kids, too.
How many calories you need is an individual question, but you can get lots of guidance in the "Calorie Counters" forum.
I feel fear too. I've felt it whenever I've tried to get healthy. I am afraid that I won't make it. Afraid that I'll be fat forever.
As crazy as it sounds, I'm also afraid that I will make it. I've never been thin (well, i was until I was 12) and don't know how to behave as a thin person. I've had this "fat suit" on for 28 years and I am comfortable with the anonymity that comes with it.
As comfy as I am being fat, comfy doesn't mean healthy and it doesn't mean liking myself or having a long healthy life. I guess getting healthy means confronting that fear.
Good luck with your journey.
Last edited by Michelle98272; 12-18-2008 at 07:15 PM.
War Maiden--I have been making slow and gradual changes for a little while now. I've been trying to start eating breakfast lately--and this morning I actually woke up hungry. I didn't like that one bit!
But I do love my "healthy" breakfast--1/4 cup Red River Cereal (I don't have enough posts to link this) with 1/4 cup dried cranberries and 2 Tablespoons of chopped pecans and sugar. Holds me for a long time.
However, I do have to wash a pot to make it--and I'm not the world's best housekeeper.
Changes --all sorts of them need to be made-- just to have breakfast without feeling like I have to climb Mount Everest first while I'm starving.
Michelle--I hope you get more and more comfortable in your new birthday suit. I just recently quit smoking and I honestly do not know how to talk to people. You know when people pause? Well, I used to puff. Now, I just don't know WHAT to do, where to look, what to do with my hands....I've been hibernating a bit until I figure it out here at home, first. I'm not good with change--and yet I am completely impatient and can only see "results" if they're Big and Dramatic.
Amanda--I love that you got a new gym when you got a new house! That's fabulous--and a terrific way to look at it.
I could start with some stretching (and so could my young'uns) --Iwonder what the library has for work out dvds?
Alana: a friend of mine did stairs. Just think, at the gym they have this big expensive machine. Or we could pay for a machine at home. Or if you have a house with stairs, you can climb them. Then go down, then go up, just keep doing it.
good luck
I'm scared to start losing weight--why would that be?
