I have no idea where to start...

  • I'm new to the online community thing, normally I just read and never post. So here goes.

    I'm 36 and trying to lose weight. I have lost weight before but always seem to go back up again. This time I want it gone forever.

    I have a loving partner and he is trying to lose with me as well. However his idea's for exercise and eating healthy are different than mine.

    I am doing the atkins thing, no carbs as they are my downfall I can't just have a little bit, I eat them till they are gone. So I am cutting them out. I will reintroduce them once I've lost some weight and have my diet under control.

    My problem is all my friends have that ability to get up and go for a run, where I don't really care to. It takes honest effort to exercise, I will do it but I hate it. I've tried all sorts of classes and I hated them all lol.

    Anyways here's hoping to getting to know you all a little better and you to know me a little better as well.

    Is there anyone here in Ottawa Ontario?

    Amanda
  • Hello from another Amanda, that is also sitting at about 320 pounds!

    I've found that using a calorie tracking site like MyFitnessPal tends to help me a great deal. It gives me a calorie goal to shoot for, instead of just guessing. (mine is about 1800, and I've seen consistent loss eating about that every day, sometimes a little over, sometimes a little under). You can edit it to reflect more protein and fat, and less carbs to make up your calories as well. Sitting down and putting all my food in for the day also makes it easier. I know what I can have, and when I can have it. It really helps to keep me from going off-plan. Even when out and about, there's a mobile app so you can see if it'll fit in your calories!
  • Carbs were (are) my downfall too. I started with Atkins many yrs ago. then stopped & gained again. A few years ago I found out that I am hypoglycemic. The Dr gave me pamplets & helped explain how to read lables & how I should be eating. It was hard making the adjustments but eating the way she had explained really helped. Its not just the carbs but the type of foods (carbs sugars) you eat along with smaller portions but eating more times a day. I couldnt & still cant eat as often as she had told me to. I am not active at all & the life change changed everything for me. I found that for me the more protien I eat the better I feel & the weight came off. GoodWill became my favorite place to shop.
  • Hi and welcome.

    First thing i'd say is if you hate exercise don't worry about it. Really you can lose most of the weight you want to lose without formal exercise at all. And it is quite easy too. So do your thing without guilt and let your hubby go for his run and whatever he wants. Don't get into debates with him about it. Soon you will start seeing the loss and then you can just say to him, stop worrying about me and i'll stop worrying about you and what you are doing.

    We are both doing what we think if right for us.

    So where am i coming from on this. Well i quite like exercise but i go for long periods of not doing it and in the past i have done lots of it on my weight loss programs. But of course the weight always came back when i stopped exercising. And i always did either because i ran out of steam or a life circumstance change.

    So this time i didn't even start out with any exercise except what i would do at home which was sometimes some gardening and sometimes walking on the beach with the dog but according to no program, just when i felt like which wasn't so terribly often. Of course on the days i did some heavy duty gardening, i noticed a bigger loss.

    Anyway, just so long as your food intake is tailored to your lower calorie intake you should be fine.

    Of course over the long haul, it is better to do some sort of exercise but you will find it much easier and more enjoyable when you are thinner. The thing is with more muscle mass your body will function better and lose weight better. But you don't need to worry too much about that now i think.

    But be aware of your movements and try to take the options that are bit more physical than what you'd normally do. Don't take the lift, take the stairs. etc.

    Another thing that people say is really helpful is getting something to count your steps. I can't remember how many steps a day its good to work up to but they say that when people wear these things, they find that gradually they start increasing the number of steps they do and that's how they benefit you.

    Another point about exercise, it is hard and often unpleasant when you start from a very low fitness base. That's why if you are going to exercise, its better to increase what you do quite gradually so that you aren't putting unnecessary strain on your body. But when you start to feel fit, exercise can become intensely enjoyable.

    one other idea that you might want to think about, try to let go the message you send yourself about how you hate exercise. This message as its often repeated sets you up to never ever get started. It becomes some sort of a pressure and a cause of stress when you think you hate doing something or don't want to do it but feel you must. so just try to shelve you feelings about exercise. You don't need to do it right now. Later on you may feel like trying the odd thing or two. The main thing is to get weight off and you can do most of that with diet alone.

    So yes i only took up regular exercise recently, after more than three months of dieting and weight loss. I was at the top of healthy weight range when i started my running program. And by this time, i weigh less so running is a lot easier on the body.
  • Thanks for the warm welcome, I know weight loss is 80% diet. The way I lost the weight before was with exercise and diet. I will go that route again I just find it hard to get myself motivated to do it.

    And right now since I am not working its hard because I cannot afford a gym membership or classes.

    The weather is finally getting nice here so I can go for walks etc....that is where I will start.

    Amanda
  • I don't have the funds for a gym membership either. I walk in place at home, or use the wii fit board that doesn't really work anymore as a 'step' for step aerobics.