Hello everyone! I have done a lot of "lurking" and reading all throughout this site and there is so much here that I am not sure where to even begin.

To start, I am 47, over 300 lbs and getting ready to start a new lifestyle. I know I need to start somewhere, so here I am! I don't even know what eating plan I am going to start with. I have read so many "ME" stories throughout all these posts....whether it's from someone with only 40 pounds to lose or 100 + pounds to lose. I think we all have the same backbone story, having tried several diets, several health plans, only to fail. Thing is, this time I CANNOT fail. I am at my highest weight ever and I have to admit I am MISERABLE. I am at the point where this overload is constantly on my mind: when I get up, when I get out of the shower, when I tie my shoes or climb some stairs. IT'S TIME! It's like a slow death, or that's how it feels anyway.

SOoooooo please, anyone out there that is willing to jump on board with me and motivate, encourage, keep it real with me, please please do so. Help me through this site, maybe give me some pointers on what to do for starters would be eternally grateful.

Email, PM's, instant messages, anything.......

I am wanting to take control of my life again and get past this valley. I understand it didn't get here over night and that rome was not built in a day, but I need to start somewhere.

Waiting to hear!

Thanks in advance to all who reads and responds.

Jen

Welcome to 3FC! The 300 club and the 40 somethings would be good places to start, and then depending on your plan (calorie counting, low carb, etc.) you can go from there! You can do this!!

Hi Jen,

Welcome! You might start by keeping track of everything that you eat a day and the calories (I use Myplate on Livestrong.com for this) and adding an amount of exercise that feels comfortable to you into your routine. Maybe taking a 30 minute walk 4x a week?

Once you know how many calories you are consuming you can figure out how many you will need to eat to create a deficit which will lead to weightloss.

Good luck!

Welcome and good luck !

Welcome Jen!!

Please don't be dismayed if you get what you feel is a light response. We have many people away due to the holiday. You are taking a big step by posting. I hope to get to know you better on the monthly threads or on the lifeboat accountability thread!

Hugs,
Ratkity

Thank you everyone for responding, it is encouraging. I know myself, I NEED accountability and help! So much help that one step closer to helping would be doing it yourself. (LOL)

I'll keep checking in and posting more. Looking forward to getting to know some people.

I have found the goal pictures motivating, I keep hearing myself, that could be me...and it WILL be me!

Looking forward to 2012~

Jen

I have to also say that myplate on livestrong is a wonderful tool for counting your calories or carbs or whatever else it is that you are tracking.

Good luck!!

Hi and Welcome! I joined the boards a few years ago but really only have been posting since early November. I have found the support amazing. I have found the most important thing for me is to post even if I don't likke how I am doing or what the scale says.

On the challenge board we are staring a challenge for weight loss from Dec. 26th till Valentine's Day. You set your own goal and we all support each other. Come and join. Glad you are here.

Jen,

Here's what motivates me. At our weight, even a loss that no one else can see can mean a big difference in quality of life.

My highest weight was 330, though I started my current stint at 3FC about a year and a half ago at around 320. I've been losing slowly--like, really slowly. I'm hovering around 290 right now. Still really heavy, right? But here's what has changed:

* I definitely, truly, have more energy.
* My blood sugar is under better control.
* My blood pressure is lower.
* I can walk faster and longer without getting too out of breath.
* When I was at my highest weight, I could only walk up stairs leading with my left foot (in other words, I couldn't go foot-over-foot, had to go one step at a time). I haven't done any formal rehab, but stairs are getting easier and I don't have to use my arms to pull and support so much.
* After about 30 pounds, people have finally started to notice.
* I'm down between 2 and 3 clothing sizes.

When I see these changes, I know I have to keep going in order to see what improvements in my life the next 30 pounds will bring.

I've done this with really slow, incremental, manageable changes--nothing dramatic, nothing that required a ton of time or even that much thought. So far, I haven't consistently gotten myself below 1850 calories per day. That's pretty mild as far as restricting intake goes. And exercise has been sporadic; I was up to 30 minutes a day for a while, but that went by the boards in the fall, and I've been at more like 20 minutes 2 or 3 times a week.

Not to say that putting in more time and thought, making more dramatic changes, wouldn't have gotten me further faster. But the fact is, even with minimal changes, it CAN be done, with patience and persistence.

That said, I think that in fact we don't all have identical stories, and one thing that's really important is to figure out whether you have medical concerns that are preventing you from losing. For me, getting off of a statin was important: it was giving me muscle aches that kept me from moving around as much as I wanted to. So, in my book, talking with a good and supportive doctor to think through the medical factors in your particular situation is important.

That said, you only get results from taking each step along the way. Each meal, each snack, each added element of movement or intentional exercise, each glass of water is a brick in the wall: in my mind, it's not a wall we're building, but one we're taking down. Brick by brick, we bring it down, and when we've gotten to the last brick, the barrier of extra weight will no longer be separating us from the healthy, active lives we want to live.

How's the start of your journey going?

Angela

Again, I want to thank everyone who has added to this post. It makes me feel “part” of something and that is important to me. I am one of those who like to feel like they “fit” in. If that makes sense.

Angela, what a great post and I thank you for it. I am preparing the way to begin my new lifestyle as soon as these holidays are over. It’s not an excuse, simply I know it’s pointless to start now, with the kids home from college. They want MOMMA HOME FOOD, know what I mean! HAHA

I applaud you for your loss, slow is good, from what I understand it stays off longer, the slower you take it off. Your words of experience encourage me to reach even the smallest goals. Because I definitely can relate to the stairs example. I use to just skip right up them, at 280 – 290. NOT now…it’s one foot at a time and definitely a banister to pull me up.

I am definitely a pear shaped woman, carry MOST of my weight in my hips and thighs, after I hit 300, I started getting rounder in the middle section. I have to admit, I am miserable!! It has to come off as you put it, one brick at a time.

One of the things I have started to do is drink more water. Have to start somewhere and what I have learned from previous diet plans…...the more water you drink the more bad cells you get rid of. Water attaches itself to fat and other bad cells in order to become waste. By the end of this week, I will have all the junk food out of my house, as I am sending it with my kids to go back to college with.

I have been reading a lot about South Beach diet, not sure if I want to go that strict, but reality, it sounds easy, just not sure. I am terrible at calorie counting, but from what I have been reading on this site, the people with the biggest success are doing exactly that, counting calories.

Again, thank you for your post. LOVE LOVE it!

Jen

Hi Jen! Welcome to 3FC! This place is a great resource for losing weight. One important thing is, if you just go to the front page (before the forums) - http://www.3fatchicks.com/ - and look at the articles on health conditions, diet reviews, fitness tips, etc, it's very helpful. There's even great tools like a BMI calculator and all that.

The next thing I would recommend, if it's feasible for you, is to see a doctor and/or a nutritionist, just to get you started on your journey. They might be able to help you formulate a good plan, like how many calories you should be aiming for, how much exercise you can handle, etc. I mean, it helped me, is what I'm saying.

Just real quick, let me tell you some of my story: I've been struggling with my weight all my life. In 2007-08, I did manage to lose a substantial amount of weight (72 lbs) but I quickly regained it. See, I hadn't really changed my habits or lifestyle. Ever since then, I've been struggling - gaining and losing and regaining the same weight over and over again.

Finally, in October of this year I got to my highest weight yet - 366 lbs. That was the final straw. I knew I HAD to lose this weight - NOW. At this point I have high cholesterol, PCOS, severe knee pain, and I'm pre-diabetic. This stuff is going to kill me.

What I've done is make changes in phases. First I stopped buying bags of candy after getting off work every night. Then I stopped bringing home the extra pastries from work every night. I started walking way more. A month and a half ago I began tracking all my calories at MyFitnessPal. (There's a ton of free sites that let you track your food intake and exercise minutes each day.) I started eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning instead of 3 granola bars. You see where I'm going.

So far I've lost 22 pounds in 2 months. That's not too bad, right? I know I have a long, LONG way to go, but I'm working on it.

Gah, sorry, didn't mean for this to be all about me.

The other thing I would really recommend to you would be to read, read, read. Google "healthy weight loss" and look for reputable sites like WebMD, LiveStrong, SparkPeople, ChooseMyPlate (run by the government) etc and get as much sensible nutrition info as possible. Remember, this is about changing our lives, not getting a quick fix.

Good luck!

Welcome to 3FC!!! I started out where you're at and boy did I try a zillion different plans over the years.

First I would second (third?) the suggestion to log all your food intake. I use fatsecret but have also used the daily plate - both are good tools. Tracking using a site like that gives you a sense of not only how many calories you're consuming but the breakdown of nutrients so you can tweak your diet to best achieve your goals.

Second, don't be afraid to change things up if something isn't working. I spent YEARS doing low fat/low calorie because that's what is "supposed" to work - it took being willing to step outside the accepted "normal" dietary advice to find something that works for my body/metabolism (I'm doing low-carb).

Also, you're starting about where I did and I know that it seemed like such a huge mountain to climb in the beginning so I set myself smaller goals. Losing nearly 200 pounds was just too big for me to imagine but I could look at losing 5 pounds. So I just focus on the smaller increments to keep it from becoming too overwhelming.

Good luck to you!

Welcome!! I am a newbie as well. I found this site as an accident, but now I know that it was no accident. I am approaching my 30 lbs. lost and have been struggling. I have so much more to go and I know that this positive support site will push me forward. You are right there are so many routes to take. Just take your lifestyle into perspective and choose what is best for YOU. My best advice is JOURNALing...your food & thoughts. I am a firm believer that the best success comes when you can be honest on paper (or online..your choice). Also, get ACTIVE... you just gotta get moving more. Everyone starts somewhere. Start small, set fitness goals, maybe steps?! I wish you all the best. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

I truly appreciate the kind words of welcome! I have been trying to absorb a lot of information and still haven't found a plan just yet, so for now am cutting way back and keeping food journal of everything I put in my mouth, including gum.

Since I have been here, I am down 10 pounds......and am thankful for that. My mini goals to get my started are to drink more water, move more, and to cut out all pop. (None so far)....I really wasn't a big pop drinker anyway.

So, yeah me!!! One pound at a time.

Jen

You might want to try calorie counting. I do that now and I like it a lot better then some of the other plans I have been on because I can have whatever I want as long as everything fits into my calorie allowance. Good idea to cut out pop when you are fist starting out. I did that and now I only have a can of gingerale once or twice a month now. I did have one last night but it was my first one in 2 months plus I was not hungry and I had enough calories left over from the day to have it so it was a nice treat.
I'm actually going to go have a nice breakfast of eggs and baked beans soon. I try to keep my carbs low too. Not as low as Atkins but lower then 100 a day if I can.
BTW, I am 50 and over 350 pounds and losing slowly. Downward progress is better then upward I say.