Can I do it? How do I start? Need to lose 100lbs
 

I've read heaps of motivating replies on here and would love to get some on my own thread, I'm a mother of four and since I've stopped having babies I need to shed this weight. For me, my kids and hubby. We all deserve a healthier me. I'm a stay at home mother so food is what I turn to when I'm bored,tired, stressed or happy. I wake up every morning saying today, but today hasn't come yet so I'm hoping all u lovely people can help me find "today"
Thanks you all for taking the time to read my concerns

You can absolutely do it! The thing that helped me the most was realizing that time flies. All of the todays that you put off starting, add up. I'm sure you look at your kids and can't believe how fast they're growing up. Losing weight is the same. The total amount may seem daunting but if you start today, the time will fly and you'll look up and be well on your way.

Just make the commitment and stick to it. It gets easier over time.

Great point ChickieBoom. My fiance asked me last night how much weight total I have lost, and I said 25. He said WOW. That was quick!

I am one of those people that has tried everything. But the one thing I didn't try all those times was not stopping. So in addition to following the Weight Watchers plan, I tell people I am on the "don't stop ever" plan.

Best of luck to you!

Eat less, move more. It's that simple...and that hard.

Decide how you'll modify your eating. Develop an exercise routine. Build a support system. Be mentally and emotionally prepared for a long bumpy journey. Be patient and always have a Plan B in case things aren't working. Believe that you are worth it and that you totally can do this! :D

Good luck!

One of my favorite quotes.

I'd recommend MyFitnessPal.com to get you on track. It'll tell you how many calories you should be eating each day to lose a certain amount of weight, and you can plug in all your food/exercise. It's working pretty well for me, I've lost almost 12 kg in just over 4 months.

As far as trying to control your incontrollable eating, I would try chewing gum and drinking tea. I used to eat when I was bored all the time just because I didn't know what else to do. If I have gum in my mouth or am sipping on tea I'm much less likely to go for food. Also try and keep your hands busy. I like to paint my nails because I know I can't eat until they're dry and by then the urge has passed!

Today is the day!

You can do this. Make a list of reasons why you want to lose weight. Look at this list multiple times a day. Most likely this will include things you will be "running away from" and "running towards."** A mixture of these sort of motivations will keep you motivated even when you want to give up. You don't have to buy special diet food. You don't have to do anything special. Maybe this week you want to focus on writing everything you eat in myfitnesspal, loseit, etc. Maybe next week you can stop drinking pop. Maybe the week after that you can replace your chips for carrots. Keep on like that. Maybe start a hobby that you can use to replace your mindless eating? Before eating you can walk 100 steps in place. When you feel a craving coming, walk around your house/apartment/whatever. Start taking the kiddos on walks even if it's only down the block.

Even if you have a day that is not optimal, every bite is a chance to restart. Every meal is a new start and every day is a new day. One meal won't "blow" it all. But if you don't start today, you may never start. And most definitely don't give up!

YOU CAN DO THIS

(I'm sorry but I think of this whenever I say you can do it!)
http://rugbyea.com/wp-content/upload...-can-do-it.jpg




**Example: "(Running away from:) So I will stop having heart burn after every meal." (Running towards:) Walking a 5k.

First off, you can totally do it! As to the question of how to start, that depends on you and what you're willing to do and what you're willing to put up with and how you're willing to live. Because the truth is this is a lifetime thing. My mantra when I started was that I won't do anything I can't live with. So for me for example, low-carb or low-fat wasn't something I could live with. For me, that was calorie-counting, because it taught me portion control whilst allowing me to eat the same things as before, more or less.

For me, the first thing I did was set a calorie limit. And then I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted within that limit. From that I learned that I needed to reduce my portions otherwise my calorie allowance was finished by lunch. Then I learned I could eat a huge portion of veggies for the same number of calories and wayyyy more nutrients and fullness as the same amount of simple carbs and that the leaner my meat, the fewer calories it had for the same amount. It was little changes like this that helped me tweak the way I ate.

For you, it might be different. There are so many paths to get to where you want to be on this journey. How to start? Just start. Even if it's dinner time and there's already a day of bad eating behind you, you can start now. It depends on what YOU struggle with personally. Say no, to that extra pre-dinner snack. Or if it was going to be chips, make it carrots or an apple or celery. If you had planned to have seconds, say no to that. Or reduce your meal by a fraction, don't eat every thing on your plate. Little steps like that, and before you know it you're on your way! You don't have to have a huge D-Day if it's intimidating you from getting started.

Whatever it is, know that you can do this and you will do it when you're ready and committed. Have that knowledge within you, and you'll see, you'll succeed.

You CAN do this, it's kind of like AA just keep coming back. You could try loseit.com it's a webpage and phone app to help you log calories and exercise. Very easy and awards badges which is pretty motivating and fun. Just don't give up it's a long bumpy road. You may fall just pick yourself up come back to 3fc and we will try to help heal the bumps with you.

I think the first thing is to seriously decide what works for you. Does your lifestyle and income allow for prepackaged plans and meetings? Would you prefer a more loose plan of eating where you CAN have things typically banned on diets? I calorie count, there's nothing off limits, as long as it fits in my calorie range and I really want it. The longer I do this, the less inclined I am to wriggle in an entire serving of cake/ice cream/cookies when I have to give up a portion or all of a meal. "Eat less, move more" is an excellent saying, but I think for many people just starting out, it's a bit...much. We all know eat less, move more, many of us just don't know what that entails or how to get that going.

There's a bunch of web sites out there that will give you your caloric goals for weight loss, there's myfitnesspal, loseit, fitday, all of which can aid you to track your calories if you plug the info in there, and remember it's EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth, that nibble of kiddos snack? Log it, that taste test of dinner? Log it. All of those things add up.

I prefer a fruit/veggie heavy diet with my protien as the side item, instead of the main course. The rest of the family eats what I do, they just do their plates as suits them. I also gave up daily sodas and specialty items like Starbucks. I still have coffee, but instead of a mocha frap with added syrups, sugars, whipped cream etc, I just make coffee at home.

Sure, I have my 'treats', but not as often and I don't keep them in the house. If I want one, I have to go get it. Friday, I made brownies, but instead of oil and eggs, I used a can of plain pumpkin. They were yummy and moist. I had one, the family ate the rest and now they're gone. I also wanted coffee ice cream. I drove myself to the store, grabbed a single serv of haagen daaz, enjoyed it, then it was gone. No more in the house. Is it a pain in the butt sometimes. Absolutely. But so is not fitting into my jeans.

Adding movement, personally, I don't advocate adding in a bunch of excersize right off the bat. thats just me. I think it's hard enough to make a bunch of dietary changes, then add in cardio, strength training and it can be overwhelming. Add in after dinner walks. Or whenever the weather is nicest for your area. Maybe a morning walk with the kiddos, or the ones who aren't in school yet. Baby and I do a mile a day, him in his strolled, me pushing it. It's not as much as some of these ladies, but it's more than the person sitting on their butt on their couch watching the day pass by. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect, very very few people will be 100% on plan, every day for the rest of their lives. Why should you be? As long as 90% of the time your choices are on plan you WILL see improvement in your life and your quality of life.

Someone's signature on here, roughly says, "Being fat is hard. Losing weight is hard. Stay fit is hard. Choose your hard." That's absolutely true. It's hard to sit on the couch, snacking, then need to look nice for an event and go through the emotional trauma of realizing NONE OF YOUR CLOTHES FIT. It's hard to grab the apple when the kids are having cookies. It's hard to preplan your food everyday, to juggle the calories when an event is coming up where you know you'll want to indulge. It's hard to maintain that thought process once you reach goal and not go, "I made it, I'm normal, I can eat whatever I want". Because you'll be right back where you started.

Pick a few things you can do today, be it a quick walk and extra water, do it for a few days, then subtract some proccessed foods and add in extra veggies. In a few more days, cut out some more proccessed foods, and make an entire meal from scratch. Small changes bring huge rewards. Give yourself a goal, "I'll do this for a week, a month, a year". Because either way, this time WILL pass, so why not bring improvements in that week, month, year and see what happens in that time frame.

Don't let the large amount you want to lose get you down. Set small goals and go from there. One day at a time!

Baby steps. I only focus on 5 pounds at a time, much less overwhelming.

Next thing you know the 100 pounds are gone.

Angihas2 - That was incredible advice :)

I agree with what everyone else is saying. Don't worry about losing 100 lbs right now, just think about losing 5 or 10 lbs for right now.

And yes, I would also think about what you like to eat and what kinds of foods you feel most satisfied on. I happen to be a big protein person and hate having to weigh and measure out a skimpy portion of that. And I tend to be more of an "all or nothing" person, so a tiny portion of a sugary treat is harder for me than just skipping it entirely. So I find it very easy to stick to my low carb, low fat plan, because my trade off is no weighing or measuring and no limits on how much I can eat, I just have limits in the specific foods I eat.

I'm not saying that is the "right" way to lose weight because I don't think there is any single right way. But I think each of us can find our own right way to lose weight, based on what fits our food preferences and our lifestyle.

Welcome! You can definitely do this! Make a few changes this week and a few more next month, and slowly but surely the weight will come off. And we'll be here every step of the way to give you encouragement, advice, commiseration, and the odd kick-in-the-pants when you ask!