Hi All

Well after trying to walk the school run and feeling the pain in my legs, my back, my hips - I need to start making changes for me and in fairness saving my life.

I have bloomed from 14st to 17st in little over a year!
I have a ridiculously sweet tooth and can eat my way through a large chocolate bar in about 10 minutes without thinking about it. This needs to change.
My usual day consists of grazing - chocolate, crisps, bread and butter, sweets, fizzy pop, cups of tea (each cup with two or three sugars in it), cake, muffins, biscuits etc

I'm 34 years old. I live in South Wales and my name is Sam.
I'm married to O and we have two kids - a 15 year old son and an 8 year old daughter. I want to be around for them.
I have 3 dogs as well which you think would get me out walking more!

I've made a start this morning.

• I measured myself - waist, hips, thighs, arms and under bust.....
• I've had tea with no sugar (I usually have 2 sugars and about 8/9 cups a day)
• I have had porridge for breakfast with a small sprinkling (a tsp) of sugar
• I have brought a small step machine and will be using the couch to 5k programme but in steps instead of running to start me off. I tried using it the other day and after 4 minutes was in so much pain and couldn't breathe and Id only managed 166 steps. Now I owned one of these years ago and could easily do 1000 steps without too much effort so this was a major fail
• My puppy can have his first walk today so I will start actually walking with him today too.

I do need to find some weighing scales so I know my start weight.

So if anyone else wants to join in my journey and come along for the ride. I look forward to doing this with you
x

Hello, Sam!

There are some super folks on this board that can help you with advice on how to succeed. My suggestion would be to not do too much exercise too soon. Aside from burning yourself out and getting discouraged there is the possibility that you might injure yourself if you push to do too many steps or walk too much or too far before you are ready for it.

Start slow and the progress will creep up on you and before you know it you will be able to do more and more. It's important that you have fun with your exercise instead of it being a painful chore. You might try spreading your stepping to several short steps a day and add a few steps as you progress. I would think that you shouldn't feel pain while you are doing it. So, if it's only 10 steps at a time with zero pain, that's better than not being able to breathe.

I wish you success!!

If this is your typical daily diet, it's deficient in almost every essential nutrient. If you continue eating like this, it'll probably ruin your health.

My suggestions:
Eat vegetables. Aim for at least 3 servings a day (4 or 5 would be even better). At least some of the vegetables should be leafy green (e.g. spinach) and cruciferous (e.g. broccoli).
Stop drinking soda. Instead, drink water or unsweetened tea.
If you feel like it's impossible to give up sugar, then aim for <25g added sugar per day (but keep in mind, the ideal amount of added sugar is 0g).
To sweeten the porridge, use fruit (e.g. berries or bananas) instead of refined sugar.
When you eat bread, make sure it's whole grain bread. If you see "enriched wheat flour" in the ingredients, it means that it's not whole grain. I suggest replacing the butter with nut butter (my favorite is almond butter).
If you like to bake, you can make your own bread or cake, and sweeten it with bananas or dates.
I think you might not be getting enough protein, so I suggest eating some legumes (e.g. chickpeas, lentils, peas, soybeans, kidney beans), or foods made from beans (e.g. hummus or tempeh). Legumes are also high in fiber, so that's another reason to eat them.

I suggest getting a blood test, if you haven't had one recently, to see if there are any problems.

Keep walking every day, and try to walk more than you did the previous day. I think 10000 steps is a good goal, and I think you'll be able to reach this goal within a couple of months.

Hi Sam!

What a great start!! That first stretch is always the hardest. And seriously, 166 steps on your first day is not a fail. The only fail would have been not starting at all. Now you have a baseline, and every day, you're going to get a little bit better! Take it from someone who did push herself too hard in the beginning, and ended up giving herself pre-stress fractures in her legs. Take it slow, take it steady, and keep doing it. It'll only get better! Keep going, and stay positive!

Measurements are a great way to track your weight! The scale is a big fat liar, in my experience, since it measures bones and organs and water and such instead of just the weight you're trying to lose, but the tape measure is much more honest.

Congratulations for taking the plunge and getting started! I'll give you the same advice that helped me, and which I am a full believer and active proponent in--treat yourself kindly, and stay positive! No negative comments, ever! You are trying to make real changes to your life, and the fact that you have joined these forums for support is a great testament to how motivated you are to change. Stay positive the whole journey, and you'll find that journey much easier--and faster!

Let's do this together, huh? We got this!!