Hey everyone! I'm new to the forum world.. andd new to pcos and dieting!
Just found out I was 300 (near) pounds yesterday. 291. As I quiver I can't believe I let myself get to this point. Where do I start to lose the weight? What about exercise? ! Help!!
I had passed the 300 mark and didn't even realize it. I let someone take a full profile photo of me and nearly passed out when I saw it. Personally, I did some research, weighed the pros and cons of different plans and decided to try clean eating as opposed to a more structured plan as I am trying to form habits to last my entire life. I actually didn't know it was called "clean eating" until I saw a snippet on Yahoo about it today.
I basically cut out all processed food...if it has more than five ingredients and if I can't pronounce any of them it doesn't end up in the shopping cart.
I only eat red meat once a week.
I completely cut out pasta (I do still eat carbs sparingly throughout the week - turkey burgers can become tiresome w/out a bun).
I eat tons of fresh veggies, and I try to eat my fruit in the morning as opposed to later in the day.
I don't eat anything after 8 during the week.
I drink a lot of water - about 96 oz a day.
I completely gave up soda (even diet) and I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning.
I choke down some fish once a week for protein even though I don't really care for it.
I exercise for at least a 1/2 hr everyday doing something.
I use a calorie tracker app which I use as a guideline...but I don't beat myself up if I go over a little, especially if I had a very busy day and didn't eat anything "bad" for me.
On Saturday I double my average calorie allowance and treat myself to a delicious mocha from Starbucks and go out to eat with my husband.
I only weigh myself once a week and I've been going more on how my clothes fit me than what the numbers on the scale say.
Wow...I guess that has a lot more structure than I thought it did. I've only really gone up in weight since I hit puberty twenty something years ago and I'm trying to change decades of bad eating habits. I have no idea if this is going to work long term for me or if a month from now I'll have a craving for a Big Mac and go on a week long binge, but I'm trying and I've lost about 18 lbs so far. It's better than not trying at all.
I know it's a few years old but I actually read the 3fc book and it goes over all of the main diets and that might help you pick one that would work for you. Everyone is different, I don't have any kids and my husband and I work opposite shifts so I have a lot more freedom with how I shape my diet. I hope something in here helps.
We're all doing something different, I think. I've had some (but limited) success with calorie counting, and now I'm doing Weight Watchers online.
For me, the right starting point was what my then therapist recommended: Start by not changing anything, but recording it: everything eaten for a week. Then you have an idea how much you're actually consuming, which gives you a baseline for making changes.
Like punkrock, I think the key thing is to make changes that you can stick with for a long time--long enough to lose a large amount of weight AND then to keep that loss gone--which means, well, forever.
For me, exercise is very important. Not so much for the calories burnt, but for the energy and general sense of well-being, which helps me feel less like eating things I shouldn't.
And, while I'm not nearly as strict as punkrock, I find that the more I eat raw, whole, unprocessed food, the better I feel and the easier I find it to eat less and see a loss of a pound or two each week.
Whatever you do, I'd encourage you to set yourself some short-term goals that you believe you can meet, and reward yourself when you get there. I started with a goal of exercising 10 minutes a day--that was all I could do at the time.
You deserve success, so try to set yourself up for it.
It depends on the person really... Sustainability is key so I recommend starting slow so that you don't get fed up with huge changes fast and give up, I've had that problem before.
I'd say start with a calorie counting program, I like Myfitnesspal personally. here you have a couple options, you can track your normal intake for a few days and decide to cut it by X amount for however long and basically work your way down to what the program recommends for weight loss. Or you can jump right into limiting yourself to the recommended amount.
What you eat has similar options as well, you can pick a diet that set certain limitations, like atkins, or eating clean, but if you are afraid that you will get fed up quickly with strict limits you can stick to counting cals. I have always counted calories, I never really did the whole "lifestyle change" on purpose, I just learned what foods would keep me full and what would leave me hungry quickly or would take a huge portion of my calories and therefore wasn't "worth it" to me.
With exercise you can do all sorts of things... really you don't need it at all, it just helps so you end up toned and not "skinny-fat" lol it is supposed to also help with loose skin too. you can start as simple as walking around the block, or dancing to music in your house. or you can buy dvds/fitness games. or join a gym or fitness class. Just find something active YOU enjoy and DO it, y'know?
Honestly weight loss is a huge trial and error game sometimes. Try something for awhile and if it doesnt work, try something else. Everyone's body is different and what may work for one person may not for another. Just remember, the only way to fail is to not try in the first place.
What works for one person may not work for another. SOme people go all out and some go in baby steps. I know for me its all or nothing. I am a perfectionist so for me I have to be totally absorbed in what I am doing.
What works for me is counting calories. I like them to be full of real foods. I limit my carbs to few times a week for bad carbs. I try to avoid bread and stuff like that. You can use up your calories really fast on bread and chips and cakes. I do have a slimfast most week days for lunch. I know alot of people frown on them but they work for me. I run an inhome daycare and find it hard to get lunch.
Its all about what you can do. I drink only water besides my cup of coffee each morning. I try to drink close to a gallon a day. Lots of people think that is to much water but it works for me.
I started out just trying to walk for a few blocks a day. I still dont get near t he exercise I know I need.
Good luck and feel free to join us on the daily threads.
It is definitely a really individual thing. When I started, if you told me I would have to do something as defined as punkrock’s list I would have crumpled into an overwhelmed heap. Now I actually do close to that. Some people work really well on defined plans, others need more flexibility.
When I started my only requirements were eat 2000 calories or under and do some type of movement for a minimum of 10 minutes a day, every day. That was it. I had so much mental baggage about restricting food, being on diets, exercise only being about punishment, etc. that I had to keep it super, super simple. I use an online calorie tracker (Sparkpeople).
Gradually I worked through things and made changes. Some things were really simple. Eat more protein – it makes me feel fuller. Eat things I like. If I am miserable I won’t stay on plan. Realize I love dancing and I actually enjoy exercise. I think the biggest one has been realizing that sugar and I don’t get along – at all. I am totally fine if I don’t eat it. If I do, gremlin time. But again, if you told me at the start I had to give up sugar I don’t know if I could have. I still use lots of Splenda and I have no plan to stop right now. I feel like I need to pick my battles and since it doesn't trigger me I don't want to rock that boat yet. Maybe eventually.
The one other thing that was totally key for me is that I have to do this out of positive motivation. Most of the other times I tried to lose weight were because I hated myself and wanted to change me. When I have succeeded it is because I love myself and want my life to be better because I deserve to feel as good as possible.
Thank you all so much for the postive responses! I've decided I'm going to try to cut white out of my diet and have more browns and greens. The only thing i really know is the calorie counting and low carb. I really have to try to eat early enough in the morning to jump start my day. My calorie limit (set by myfitnesspal) allows me 1600 calories/day. And like punkrock said i'm gonna try to not beat myself up over it(which will be tough!)
And thank you vortex for pointing out about a short term goal. I have a doctors appointment May 23rd so I'm determined to be 10 lbs less on that scary scale!!
need tips and tricks (newbie here!)
