Not Sure Where to Begin - Lost
 

The title pretty much sums it up - I am lost when it comes to weight loss. I've done all the programs and read all the books. I've counted calories, carbs, fats, points - you name it, I've done it. I know that any diet can work if it's one you can stick with but my biggest issue is sticking with it.

I've been overweight my entire life (weighing 100lbs at age 6) as well as my entire family. It's ALL I know. I don't know how to make the life choices that a skinny, healthier person would make. I do, however, know every fast food place in a 10 mile radius :)

My biggest issues are not liking "healthy" foods such as whole grains and vegetables, obsessing constantly over over, and hating exercise. I absolutely hate the hamster feeling I get on a treadmill and end up counting down every minute as if I were in high school calculus all over again.

My issue currently is finding a place to begin. With so many diets/plans out there, I find myself getting overwhelmed. I'm not sure if I should ease my way into a plan or go cold turkey.

I'm starting to ramble now and am sure I'm not making sense so to sum it up in one word : HELP!

That sounds tough- but I'll suggest small steps. 1- no more fast food, then 2- start cooking healthier, start trying different foods, get an easy cookbook with lower fat/cal recipes, then from there once you have the diet down then start exercising. There is a lot more to exercise than running on a treadmill- do you like bike riding? Get a bike then :) do you like swimming? Some gyms have pools. Do you like workout videos? You can do those at home, if you have cox cable I hear the freezone has workout videos on it. And so on.

If you look hard enough you'll find something that works for you :)

I am not sure what would work for you, but for me was small changes, day by day. One day I gave up this, the other day that, next day started exercise, etc...
I think pretty much all of us have the same felling about doing cardio, as you do... the only different is that we stick with it... I also count down every minute I am in a treadmill waiting to get off... I try distract myself with TV or even with a good reading, but still hard to keep my *** there.
But I love myself better now, so I don’t give myself a choice, besides staying until I am done with my time.
One thing that help me a lot is to get inspiration in this forum and in books.
You have to set your mind to a start and remember:
You need to love yourself more than the food. That is the only way you will succeed...
Hope it helped.
Good luck to you!!! :hug:
Bele

Comcast has exercise TV On Demand, too. I hated exercise, and started out with some short videos to work my way into it. I also cut out the majority of the fast food, too. I've actually come to like a lot of foods I didn't like before - salads, vegetables, healthier options. I just had to learn to cook them in a way that I liked.

There are forums here for pretty much every plan, and for age groups. Explore, see what feels right and go from there. Ask all the questions you want!

Me, I counted calories. It seemed the easiest to me - didn't cost me anything, and didn't tell me that there were some foods I couldn't have. What plan you pick is totally up to you, but you are right that it has to be something you can stick with for life.

Good luck!

[QUOTE=AtlGirl;2761200]
You have got to stop going there, unless you are in the habit of making healthier choices and can control the occasional splurge or got to places that have better options

Sorry if this is harsh, but you are just going to have to get over this part. I used to be the same way so I know how you feel but you are going to have to make the changes to healthier choices if you want to change your body

Yet another thing you just have to get over. You have to find something you like, something you can do. Even if it is walk to the mail box and back to start. On a treadmill, can you listen to your favorite music, watch a favorite TV show, read? Also, use a towel to cover the display so you can't see the time.


You have already made a good choice by coming to 3FC, the support here is AWESOME. Start small, 1 meal choice at a time. Try no to go 'all or nothing' Slow and steady wins the race.

Hello:sunny: and :welcome3:

Glad you're here. I think that, in itself, is a great start! I think the suggestions to make some simple changes are really good.

What I have done regarding fast food, is get on the net and look at the nutrition guides. Even my skinny hubby quit once he found out how many calories and saturated fat is in these foods. Look up a blooming onion or chicken fried steak at Chilis. I have started to make much wiser choices about eating out because I am TIRED of hiding every time the camera comes out.

I hate the treadmill. I have a really nice one, and I also count down the minutes. I do water aerobics and ride my bike. It was hard getting started on the bike because of my weight. I started just riding to the corner and back. Now I can get to the pool and back. For me, I have to exercise doing something I like.

Another thing I do is park the car at the end of the lot when I shop, and I grab a stray cart and push it in. Not a big deal, but it adds up.

I have been posting for about 3-1/2 weeks and am following South Beach. I am feeling good right now and don't crave the junk I was eating, physically, just in my head.

Good luck finding what works for you.

Thank you all for the replies :).

I think I need to clarify a bit. I realize my post seemed a bit, well, whinny. I do realize weight loss is hard work but am being brutally honest when I say I hate exercise and most things healthy. I just need to find the motivation to get past the unpleasant qualities of weight loss.

After a bit of research on the site, I believe I'm going to try counting calories again. It gives me the freedom of having a wide variety of food choices while also providing portion control (which I desperately need).

Exercise (in the conventional sense) isn't going to be my main concern right now but I am going to add in little things (taking the stairs/parking farther away/etc).

I calorie count, and HIGHLY recommend a digital food scale weighs oz and grams.

HI AtlGirl

I think the thing you've got to do first and foremost is change how you look at what you're doing. It's NOT a punishment. This is something you have to want to do. And you can change the way you feel about the things you have to do to get there. Remember, this is for you, and you are the only one who can do it. Be a superhero! :D

You're in the right place then. There is nothing but instruction on this site, just browse through, you're bound to find something that suits you (:

These are not issues, they are excuses. You can beat the wheat. You can learn to like vegetables. Be a superhero! Forget the fast food. Cooking at home is much more healthy and inexpensive and if you plan it right, less work than getting into a car and driving 10 miles to get a burger. Buy in bulk, cook with things that can be thrown together 20 different ways.

As for the 'healthy' foods, that's really something that you're going to have to and can get over. Being averted to 'healthy' is really more psychological than anything. Grease, butter, and gravy are not the only things that can give food an appealing flavor. Experiment! Substitute! Get out of your comfort zone, one meal at a time. I have never figured out how whole wheat tastes that much different from white bread. Especially when it's wrapped around a really great sandwich. The slight nuttiness in brown rice is really good. But there are also some amazing white rices that are just as nutritious. And vegetables are even more versatile. If you're eating them from a can, try frozen. If you're eating frozen, try fresh. Use light salad dressings for marinades instead of trying to make it work with just butter or oil. Toss it bread it, cover it with spices. There's so much you can do. Consult some vegetarian cook books and websites, if you don't want to exist on vegetables alone, throw in some diced chicken breast, or beef slices. The natural juices from the meat will add a lot of flavor.

You can do this, you can train your tongue to love this stuff. Before I started I thought I hated tomatoes, carrots, hominy, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, and anything spicy at all. (I still hate steamed broccolli and hot sauce). But just try the foods you think you hate cooked differently. You may realize you love something you never liked before.

As for exercise, just find something you think is fun, even if it's just a little fun. Then force yourself to do it, like sports practice, every day or every other day. Practice as often as little kids when you can. That's 3 times a week for 30 minutes, and as that gets easier, up the ante to middle schoolers, which is 4-5 times a week for an hour. At the top you should try for highschool or college, which is 5-6 times a week for an hour or hour and a half. (Remember at least 15-30 minutes of this is spent stretching or hydrating) And for those days when you are just SO busy, implement those little things, like taking the stairs, parking far away, stretching in your seat, carrying your groceries in a hand basket instead of a cart, doing water bottle lifts.

:cheer2:YOU CAN DO IT! :cheer2:
:dust:
I believe in you :hug:

What works for me is not trying to tackle everything at once. You could simply start by counting calories. You could even pick a higher number. When you are at a higher weight there is no need to start eating 1200 calories off the bat or something. I would suggest eating a minimum of 2000 but you could probably still eat more than that, and then exercising. If your weight loss slows later on then you could try reducing calories more, but there is no need to reduce to the absolute minimum in the very beginning. Not only will you be miserable, but you may slow your metabolism far more than necessary.
If you do calorie counting alone for a few weeks with no regards to nutrition, then I'd try adding in simple exercise. I'd do just calorie counting and exercise for a few weeks, then you can try something simply like trying to eat a certain amount of vegetables everyday. Just keep adding small things all the time, but just not all at once. If you introduce habits more gradually you will find it a lot easier to adopt them than if you try to introduce them all at once. That just ends up overwhelming you and in the end you don't really accomplish anything.
Best of luck to you in your weight loss!

Hi and welcome! We're glad you're here.

I'm just going to elaborate a little on what Megwini said. You don't even have to chose a calorie total right now. Try counting the calories in what you ate yesterday and the day before or on a typical day ... then just work away at eating some less.

Hi,

You've made a great start by simply asking for help. We are all here for much the same reason, we want or need to change our lives and our bodies.

I count calories (it seems boring) but when you know how many calories foods and which are the good guys and which ones to stay away from then you can make more informed choices, and for goodness sake stay away from Fast Food Alley.

Exercise can be boring but you can vary it. I live in the West of NSW (in the Wheat belt) Winter is great for walking etc but Summer is just too hot for most things. The pool comes into its own then. Do you have a dog or a bike. The little girl in your picture, is she yours? Play with her in the park, go walking with her. There are lots of things you can do out doors which are good for you, and you're getting fresh air and Vitamin D.

Anyway, let us know how you are getting on. Once you have some success, it will motivate you towards further success.

If in doubt, make a list of all the benefits which can come from you losing weight - health, fitness, buying new clothes and shoes, to live longer and better, to be happy. The list is endless.

Remember to go in small steps. Only aim for 5 or 10kg in a mini goal but keep going in the right direction. 10kg five times is easier to do than 50kg. The latter, seems too demanding and scary. Reward your successes. Lost 10kg buy something nice or go the hairdressers or something. Something calorie free!:hug:

I think calorie counting is a Great way to go. Be sure to start at a good high daily budget, when we have a long way to go we usually need far more calories than we might think.

Of the weight I've lost since my 225lbs restart on 01/27, I've lost 39 of the 42lbs by doing just what you're proposing - counting calories and being more active, taking the stairs, walking to the shops, even using the upstairs not the downstairs bathroom! I've only just started they gym.

I recommend as an absolute necessity logging everything you eat in a programme like sparkpeople or fitday or dailyplate. I can only speak for the first one but it tells you how low NOT to go, which is very refreshing, as well as tracking your calories and minerals and vits. - the first time I had a serious attempt at weightloss, I couldn't understand why I felt so bad, until I discovered with one of these programmes that I was way low on just about every nutrient.

Good luck!

Hello and welcome! One small idea if you're not loving the hamster/treadmill feeling is to socialize while you're exercising. Maybe meet friends after work or school for a walk in the park or around the neighborhood or to Starbucks for a skinny latte. Good luck!

There's a long list of healthy food I don't like and I always think that's a big reason why I can't lose weight, but think about what healthy food you do like. I like a lot of fruit, a few veg, don't like much fish but do like prawns and mackeral, like chicken, like salad and soup and so I base my main eating around those kind of things at the moment. I'm calorie counting so can have the less healthy things too as long as I have less of them. Since bread is something I love and binge eat on and a trigger food for more binging I've cut down on how much I have.

Think about what you like that's healthy, think of what you like that's less healthy and healthier ways to cook those foods. Look at what foods you can change to low fat. I've just based my plan around what I do like.

Another issue I had was even though I could count carbs or calories it would always fail as I was a binge eater and I didn't realise I was even doing it so it is worth writing down everything you eat so you can see where you can make changes. Even small changes can make a difference.

As for exercise I hate it too - I do like walking though so do that, and I find an exercise dvd tolerable so I'm, doing that. I don't think about it while I'm doing it then it's less like torture. Hoping to find chance to swim in the next few months too. There must be something you like that's active - doesn't have to be any kind of traditional exercise just something that works for you.- I found at your weight just making diet changes made a difference but it is worth exercising too - it's well worth it for the results.

I don't think any of us really like to count calories and run on a treadmill. :) I'd love to chuck it all out the window and eat every meal at an Indian buffet, going back for thirds! :D I'd love to go to a baseball game and spend the entire 3 hours working my way through the concession stands. I'd love to bake brownies and cookies at home, and eat 3/4 of them while they're still cooling. Really, I would, and I have done all of that stuff many times before.

You've heard every pithy weight loss saying before, I'm sure, but when it comes down to it... only you can decide that you want to be thin more than you want that other stuff. Fast food and sitting on the couch all day? Yeah, it's great, it really is. I love it. But you can't have that AND be healthy, you really can't. Only you can decide which one is more important.

jajabee - love the indian buffet comment : )

Many many great ideas! Just pick a couple and try them gradually though so you don't get overwhelmed!!
I am not that fond of exercise myself but a couple of things that have helped me are 1. trying to work it into my life so i don't even think about it- walking or biking to work/school if this is possible...I always listen to podcasts on my ipod (but only when walking not biking, don't want to get hit by a car!) and it is some nice quiet time to think or decompress from the day. Get off the bus a stop or two earlier, stop riding the escalator and take the stairs, park far away from the entrance at the mall etc- if you make it a habit soon you won't even notice but it still counts as exercise!
2. Join a class! Take a yoga class or something you pay for ahead of time that meets at a particular scheduled time- it's much harder to skip if you know you've already paid and that's the only time it's on. Also I have no idea what to do at the gym so i like some qualified person to tell me what to do! Even better if you can find a friend to sign up with you- quality time and you can go for tea (not a frappuccino :-) ) afterwards to reward yourself. Going with a friend makes it less of a chore and more of a fun thing.

Good luck, as everyone here will tell you you can do it!!!!! Go look at the goal pictures if you are feeling like it is impossible, many people have done some really inspiring things to get control of their health and it is definitely possible!!

Hi there! You may also want to look into TOPS or WW. I personally do WW because I am "math challenged" and prefer to count points vs calories. Hey, as long as I'm counting, right? And I get to have a wide range of food because I'm STILL waiting for the day that brussel sprouts are more appealing to me than an Aero 100 Calorie Thin Bar...

Start with the diet. Then work in the exercise. And for GOD'S sake focus on those activities that you enjoy. I have realized, after 22 YEARS, that no matter how much I try, I am NOT a gym person. Maybe I will be, but right now, I'm not. I've found a different activity that I LOVE and look forward to doing every day. Once you find that "sweet spot", it isn't exercise anymore, it's FUN!

You can do it!

Kira