Hi! My name is Sherrie and I am 21 years old. Currently my weight sits at 303 pounds, and I am 5'11. After having my daughter two years ago I basically haven't tried anything to shed weight. My husband is active duty army completing his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. I am ready to loose this weight, to be healthier and stronger. I want to be able to run with him when he gets home, and not be self conscious of the way that my body jiggles. I have no idea where to even start however. I know that I eat like crap, and that I don't really have an exercise plan or anything. How do I motivate myself to get up and walk around the block though? I don't know how to start this process, even though I want to. Please help with ideas, thoughts, and support!

Welcome, Sherrie!

I started with getting the food part under control and I lost pretty well with just that for a long time. I exercise more now - basically walking several miles a day, but it's not anywhere near as daunting as it was when I was over 300lbs. Focusing on the food was about all the mental energy I had for the first several months.

You need to find out what works for you and what you think you can stick with for the long term. Personally, I just cut way back on what I used to eat and now aim for around 1500 calories a day. I don't do any organized plan because I need more flexibility or I get really complusive and have a tendency to give up if I'm not "perfect". Other people like more structure in their plan. You may need to experiment a little to find what's good for you. You're so young! I wish I had taken care of my weight problem when I was your age!

Hey there Sherrie. I also began with my food choices. I actually began eating Lean Cuisines or other diet frozen entrees two times a day with dry salads. After I lost about 20 pounds I focused on calorie counting with a vast emphasis on whole foods. At that time I started walking and then eventually running.

As for the motivation--don't wait. The motivation will never come. It is a decision. Make the decision.

Think about WHEN you are overeating and find a way to change that behavior. Log your foods. Set some boundaries for yourself. Don't fall for any hairbrain fast loss methods. Decide you are in this for the long haul. Give yourself over to your goal.

I just wanted to say welcome to 3FC! You have already made a great step in deciding to change your life around. Take it one day at a time, and you will get there. There is some great advice above me, and I think you will find 3FC to be a welcoming, supporting and encouraging environment. You can totally do this!

Hi Sherrie!
Joining here is a great first step.
I agree with the above posters. The first thing you need to do is get the food under control. I had no idea how much I was really eating until I started measuring out my cereal, weighing out my portions and counting the calories. Just doing that for one short week made me lose some weight.
Do you read the nutrition labels on the food package? Are you having one serving or is it more like two and half servings? Educate yourself on food labels. knowledge is power.

For things to work with me, I had to cut the bad stuff cold turkey. It's all or nothing for me. No red meat, no processed food, no dairy (unless it was fat-free) No butter (real OR fake) no bread unless it was whole wheat (Real whole wheat) No egg yoke and no table sugar or salt.

Obviously this is for me...don't follow this LOL
You have to find what works for you...what makes you comfortable so that you can keep going with your lifestyle change as long as you can. That's why crash diets don't work...because no real person can eat that way for the rest of their life. My diet is basically training me to lean on Veggies and fruit for the main of my diet. Before I was a meat and potatoes kind of girl...and i always will be.(With a large amount of butter and sour cream and salt on those potatoes) But from now on...meat and potatoes will be the side dish...not the main entrée.

I have a pretty active job so I can get moving pretty well, but the downside is that I'm way too tired to do any other kind of exercise. But I find little ways...I play on the Wii (Wii fit is awesome) and light work-out/yoga videos. I try a little harder on my days off to make up for the fact that I'm not at my active job.
Even something as simple as walking will help.

Motivation is a fickle thing...it's like the Muse for us writers. You can't wait for it to pop up do get things done....you just do it...even if it's crap. Get up and walk that block...even if you take it slow...or only make it part way...at least you did it and you'll do it again tomorrow.

I always recommend newcomers to read the boards and old posts and ask a lot of questions. We're all here for you Good luck and don't get overwhelmed.

Hi Sherrie, welcome! I agree with the others who suggested starting with the food. I still only exercise sporadically. But I have a notebook and pen I keep on the coffee table in the living room, where I usually eat, and I write down everything I eat in it, including the number of calories, and the number of fat grams. Makes it alot harder to mindlessly overeat when I know that's going to be right there staring me in the face! There are lots of calorie calculators online (I like the one at freedieting.com) that will give you a suggested number of calories to consume each day for weight loss. Then you just have to figure out how to have the foods you like while sticking to your alloted calories - having smaller portions, using low-fat or fat free foods, etc. Just take it one step at a time!

Hi Sherri,

I'm a newbie and today was my first day of watching what I ate, I've done this before and am doing it again. Today I went through the fridge and cupboards and got rid of anything I can't control myself with, if it's not in the house I can't eat it! Then I went to the grocery store, parked at the back of the lot so I had a wee walk, and stocked up on healthy foods. I wish you the best of luck with this! Hannah

Hi Sherrie!
All the previous posters have given some wonderful advice and suggestions - it sounds like you're ready to get started - the support you need is here - we'll all be cheering you on!

Glad to have you join us! There are lots & lots of different groups and forums - I'm sure you'll find some that will keep you motivated, inspired and entertained! There's also info and first hand advice on different eating plans and exercise to help choose the right ones for you and get through the ups and downs.

There are bunches of people here with more to lose and some with less - the bottom line is that we all have to do it a day at a time. The good thing is that we'll have lots of company along the way.

I've only been here a few months myself, having NEVER been part of an online forum. What has been so eye-opening is how much it has helped me. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or defeated, I just log on and read some of the success stories, complete with their before & after photos - or read about others still dealing day to day with their challenges - and before I know it, the time has flown by and so have all the thoughts of cheating or giving up.

So welcome - you 've found the right place - join in by inspiring us and being inspired!

All the best - good luck with your goals,
Lee

WOW what great advice! I am new here new, and I'm really uplifted by the replies to your post. Thanks

Welcome Sherrie!

Yes I agree with the others with food control first. When I first started Weight Watchers still did the Core Plan (gave you a list of what was ok to eat) and when I started I cleaned out my pantry then filled it with everything on the list (lean meats, veggies, fresh fruit, whole wheat grains). Going from one extreme to the other did it for me....some people can't do it and find it overwhelming but it's what I needed

I couldn't agree more with Thighs Be Gone...the rest she said is pretty much what I was going to say!

Good luck girlie!!

I started my current journey almost 8 weeks ago. My motto this time has been "One day at a time". A good friend used to always say "The journey IS the destination". I have been keeping that in my mind since.

It's true! While most of us have numbered goals, or use those numbers to measure success, the real goal (destination) is to live healthier, happier lives free from the control of food.

By remembering that, I live each day feeling successful, because it's not who I am going to be, it's who I have decided I *am* --- and that is somebody who is making healthier choices on a daily basis.

Personally, I have been using the "eat less, move more" motto, and invested in a bodybugg in order to help balance my calories in and out. It's helped me find what activites make the most difference and what foods I need to avoid. It's also helped me realize small daily goals add up to noticable differences.

Good luck on your own journey. This forum is great for encouragement, motivation, and education.

One day at a time!

From one Sherry to another (wow, our name was popular for a while there, wasn't it?):

Everyone's right. It's all about the food, to start with. For myself, it was a three-step process:

1) Awareness of my current state. I started noticing exactly what I ate. Instead of the day being a blur, where I'd have to scratch my head & think of what I'd had for breakfast & what I'd snacked on, I started being generally aware. Writing it down helped. I finally saw just what & how much I was eating.

Also, I finally took the plunge & weighed myself. I had not done that for a while. I didn't want to think about it. I was in complete denial. I didn't weigh obsessively, but I started connecting what I ate with what I weighed a day or two later. The cause & effect thing became clear to me. I know this sounds really dumb & elementary, but I had felt so hopeless about my weight, for so long (like dieting & exercise worked for everyone BUT ME) that it was good to see that I could have an effect on something by doing something.

2) Exercising some control of my current state. I began watching portion sizes and attempting to make healthier choices. I was playing with the "cause & effect" thing I've just described.

3) Educating myself about food. I thought I knew a lot about food, what is healthy & what isn't, what calories & vitamins things contained, what additives were in other things. I really did not. Food was this vast area of knowledge that I had never explored adequately. I read things online. I grabbed books about weight loss & nutrition & tried to separate dieting myths from dieting truths. I read lots of diet books & compared them to each other. I read recipes. I was always trying to learn more. This included trying new foods. Along the way, I became a much, much better cook than I'd ever been.

All that work continues, but anyway, that was how I started to deal with the food issues.

The emotional & exercise issues are something else again. But anyway, the simple mathematics of calories in & out & the complexities of nutrition are a good place to start.

Welcome to 3FC and good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Thanks a lot! I will try to keep all those in mind. I need to find a way to learn to eat healthier, since I haven't eaten real vegetables in a very long time. Thanks for everyone that has replied, and I hope I can make many friends to help support and keep one another motivated!

Welcome, and wishing you the best of luck