[Breaking Out]

Oh my goodness.... I am 30 years old 5 feet 5 1/2 inches (and yes the half inch is very important, the next shortest person in my family is 5 feet 11 inches, I have a permanent crick in my neck, ) and weigh 310. I'm generally the first one to crack a joke at my own expense. I am probably the biggest procrastinator in the universe. I spend alot of time taking care of the folk in my life and very little time on myself. I'm the first to give out weight loss advice but usually the last one to follow it. I'm really beginning to think I'm hopeless. About two months ago I dropped 20 lbs and then had a rough patch and it came back and brought friends. I'm at a point in my life where I really need to take off the weight. I don't much care about how I look but I have health issues and potential health issues that are haunting me. My ankles are killing me and I wear braces all the time to help with the pain. My mother is a diabetic with a heart condition, high blood pressure and cholesterol issues. My father has had 7 heart attacks and 2 procedures to prevent since 1993, he has high cholesterol. I guess what I really need is advice on how to take that first baby step to get started and then how the heck to stay on track. I have all kinds of diet info crammed into my little pea brain I just can't seem to get myself going with a program I can stick to. Here are my main problems (any advice on one or all would be wonderful):

1: I'm an emotional eater. Mad, sad, or thrilled to death, doesn't matter, the answer is always food.

2: Lack of time. After work and making sure everyone else is taken care of, there's not much time left for me.

3: When I start a diet or a program I'm always tired. The lack of energy generally shoots the rest of the program in the foot.

4: Probablly the most important... I LOVE FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom's a great cook and I know my way around the kitchen too. Mom's got a russian background and Dad's southern. Oh my gosh the food. But it's mostly carbs and swimming in butter or fatback.

Any way after all my rambling, I'd appreciate any advice you could offer.

I'm hoping to get down to around 125 to 135.

[KTna]

Congratulations on taking the first step. This site is great for inspiration and accountability.
I think you are on the right track thinking about baby steps. That is how I started, and it really makes the next step so much easier to take, rather than a full on plunge.
I LOVE to eat also. I still do after being on a "diet" for over 2 years. I do not deprive myself of anything that I like.
The key for me was not fighting the fact that I like to eat. I make a big deal about eating. I eat around 1300-1500 calories a day. Each meal is an event so that the calories seem to go further. When I started I followed a program called ChangeOne, there is a book and website about the program. It is all about baby-steps. The first week on the program all you do is focus on breakfast, and if you don't eat breakfast now, all you have to do is start eating 300 calorie breakfast (balanced of course). The next week it works on lunch, then snacks, then dinner...eating out, entertaining...eventually it tackles exercise as well, but it takes it one item at a time, one week at a time. If you need 2 weeks to focus on a meal, you can take 2 weeks.
I really recommend this book, it was a really great program to refine my eating style. I'm at the point today where I really don't even have to think about what I'm eating. It is more or less just a natural thing for me now, which is such a relief!
Right now I am struggling with exercise, I really think that will be the key to my success in the future - so I'm taking some more baby steps in the right direction.
The first thing I did, the first day on program was simply write down everything I ate that day, I did not restrict at all - so I had a baseline of how many calories I was eating. It truely was an eye-opener.
I wish you the best of luck, and don't forget to check in here whenever you need a little support or a little push!

[Breaking Out]

Thanks KTna!!

I guess it's that whole "How do you eat a whale, One bite at a time" thing. The best thing I can keep telling myself is the weight didn't come on overnight, It's not coming off overnight.Exercise is a bit of a challenge at the moment because of my ankles, so I'm concentrating on portion control for right now and doing small stretching and strength exercises to bring the ankles back.

Thanks again,
Breaking Out

P.S. Started watching Monday and have so far dropped 4 lbs. Baby Steps!!

[dragonwoman64]

I've struggled with emotional eating too.

I know from experience that weight loss works on a bunch of different levels.

It took me a while to deal with the emotional side, then to work on the habits.

You might want to take a look at Dr. Phil's book. He takes a comprehensive approach. And you can post lots of questions at the different forums here.

[2frustrated]

Well done Breaking out! 4lbs is terrific, just by checking your portion control!