So I decided my first post would be here instead of the intro page - I figure I might as well dig right in!

I guess my biggest issue is that I don't even know where to start.

A bit about me and the ole so fun journey of getting to the size I am at now...

Turned 30 this year, that's when I decided I didn't want to be this big when I turned 31. Told myself 2013 was going to be 'my year' of seeing some change. I really don't know how much I weigh, about a year and a half ago was the last time I even stepped on a scale, it was still going north from 265 before I just didn't want to see the result and got off. For me it's not so much losing 'x' amount of weight but feeling better about myself.

I do walk - I have two labs who are in excellent shape (but I also take them swimming and let them RUN) and at my job I am constantly lifting 60-75lb with no issue. Heck just last week my car broke down, couldn't find a ride one morning and there is zero public transit in my area so I walked 8 miles from my house to work - took about 2.5 hours though.

I don't eat that badly (always have fresh veggies with dinner), I think the issue is portion control. I'm not a fan of sweets and don't really eat junk food but I do drink regular soda. Also part of the issue is that I never have breakfast and rarely eat lunch so I'm starving by the time I make dinner - again portion control. Also as it gets warmer I don't really get hungry until 8ish PM at night.

I have also thought part of my weight issue is a medical condition as my mother has a slew of thyroid problems (as did her mother) and is currently on medication. I just haven't had insurance for over a decade so seeing a doctor isn't an option. I am by no means using this as an excuse, just something that has crossed my mind.

So yeah, I know this is rather long and I apologize for that. Where do I start? Extending my walks and cutting what I normally eat for dinner in half and get on diet soda?

In the past when I have tried to lose weight I did too much too fast and then just stopped. I want this time to stick to losing weight but I don't know if I'm doing too little.

Wow. Really great post and intro. It sounds like you have a lot of the answers already! That is great.

Follow your instincts. Read and research. I have done every diet and pill and it seems that I am insulin resistant...and it turns out Atkins (high fat/low carb) is the best option for me.

I feel satisfied and not starved. I am a night eater too...and have found that with this way of eating...I am combatting that without even trying.

I wish you the best and hope that you find the way of eating that suits you best!

Howdy Aqua,

I think it's a wonderful thing you're setting out on your journey! :-) I wish you the best of luck with it!

I agree with Franciejones- research, research, research. Find out what is going to work best for you. It varies person to person! Which makes things all that much more interesting.

It also comes down to what you are / aren't comfortable with putting in your body (like the soda question). The loss in calories from switching to diet from regular is a good thing but you're also putting the sugar replacement in your system which has other side effects. **again, refer to it coming down to what you're comfortable with putting in your body!!**

I tried to make the switch from regular soda to diet soda but the additives make me feel so ill :-( I eventually weened myself off of soda; I do have an occasional one from time to time. I drink mostly water, juice (rarely) or natural green tea (lots of caffeine!). I feel better when I don't have the sugar coursing through me.. but it took time to get there!

For the most part, it does sound like you're on the right track. It just needs to be refined.. but that's going to take some research for yourself to find out what you need for you.

I will say this though. Don't think of it as a diet and exercise. I think it's harder to stay on target if we're defining change as a restriction on ourselves while pushing ourselves to work harder all at the same time. View it as a life-style change. It may take a little longer to adapt to it that way, but the effects will be more permanent and not feel so negative.

I hope my .2cents helps! :-) Looking forward to seeing you on the forums!

Jessie

Good luck on your journey. One of the very first changes I made was giving up soda. My last drink of soda was May 2010. I still miss my beloved Mountain Dew.

You will have to find your own path, but IMO don't switch to diet - that crap is poison.

I started out walking, walking, walking and eating less.

My biggest piece of advice is to take it one day at a time. Don't worry about how much you have to lose, just focus on doing the right thing every day.

Jen

Thank you all for the responses, I have been thinking about a few things that was posted throughout the night and day and I've come to some realizations.

I know myself better then anyone, I know that I am an extremely stubborn person and I absolutely hate change. So in the past when I made extreme changes in terms of diet and exercise it's really not rocket science why it didn't stick.

As someone pointed out this isn't just a diet, this is a life style change. This really got me thinking especially with the above in mind. This isn't just about losing weight but becoming a healthier person and as a side effect (a good one at that!) is that I will lose the weight.

Also whatever I do I need to be happy/content with it otherwise I'll revert back to my old ways (stubborn person + hating change and all). So while a certain diet or calorie counting may work for some, I really don't think it will work for me.

What I think will work?

Making small changes in my daily life that encourage a healthier life style. Also by taking things slow and not trying to do so much at once, this way the new healthy change becomes my new routine/habit that I won't break.

A few things I am going to start doing right away - while they are small I am going to make them into my daily routine and then keep adding onto it.

#1 Breakfast. A big part of my problem is that most days I eat one meal a day. That in itself isn't very healthy but then I eat too much of it. It will probably start out small with a banana and a granola bar but I can easily see me having a yogurt with fresh fruit and granola as my daily breakfast. Not only do I love the combination it's fast and easy to put together in the morning.

#2 Extending my walks and doing more of them. In my OP I mentioned that I have two labs who are fit and this is due to the fact that I run them and have them swim. Well I was thinking, when I take them to the park to run around and play fetch why not start walking the field. Something simple and easy and it will get me moving around a lot more.

#3 Drink water. I don't like water, especially the foul stuff from my tap. But I do understand the need to increase the intake especially if I want to make this life style change. This afternoon I bought a Brita pitcher and when I need to work at home at night instead of grabbing a soda I will get a glass of water. While this won't be the 8 glasses you're suppose to drink in a day it's at least better then what I was before. That and this will gradually slow the consumption of soda.

#4 When I make dinner, before sitting down to eat set aside a portion for lunch the next day. I'll start small because I don't want to finish my meal hungry. And I think after a few weeks of actually having a breakfast and then having something for lunch I won't be as hungry for dinner anyways.

While these things may seem really small and insignificant I came to the realization that this is how I will succeeded, not only in losing the weight but also in becoming healthier. I need the small things to become my daily routine before I try to jump into other things. I guess the best way to put it is that I need a solid foundation before I can start building. And right now I don't have that and I need to make some changes.

Again, I apologize for the long post. As I mentioned I have been thinking about all this since last night and some of these realizations about myself just went off like a light bulb. Total derp moment on my part as I should have realized this a long time ago. Better late then never!

Welcome to 3FC!!

Joining this site literally saved my life and kept me on my new plan of eating. I found so much support and motivation here to keep me accountable to myself and eventually in challenges that I signed up for.

These men and women changed my life and I can't thank each of them enough for what they've done for me. I hope you get the same help from them!

I went from not being able to walk for 10 minutes without feeling like I was going to die to now training for a 5k run. If you told me this time last year that I'd be 132lbs lighter and a runner, I'd have laughed in your face!

You have excellent advice from everyone above so I just stopped in to say a few words and give you hugs.

You can do this and we will be here for you!!

These ideas look great! I am trying to cut back on my pop intake, while it's diet, I still drink way too much. I am not a big water drinker either and has been hard. I've cut back from 4 24oz diet mt. dews to one 24 oz a day. I LOVE the crystal light mixes, the lemonade one's are great with the hot weather. I know it's still not straight water but I know it's better than the pop. I have noticed that I sleep a lot better at night with out the caffeine coursing through my system! I also make my lunch when I'm making dinner. Sometimes its a leftover, or salad or sandwich. Just doing it right away makes it way easier. If I wait until it's time for bed or in the morning, it won't happen! One of my big problems is portion control so making it the night before takes away that issue.

Welcome! You already have a huge part of your battle won which is knowing what your problem areas are. If swapping to diet soda is what works for you for now, then that is what works. Trying to go all or nothing can sometimes backfire and sometimes we need to pick out battles. Get one thing done and then we can come back to work on something else. If you don't have a sweetener allergy, they may not be great for you, but I personally think they are better than the sugar.

One other thing to do with portions is try and load in more veggies and also use smaller plates. A large part of portions is our brains deciding visually what a portion should be and we can "trick" ourselves into eating less by making portions appear larger than they are.

For exercise, walking more is a great place to start. I have an android phone and use an app called Runkeeper to track my distance, mph, etc. which is really motivating.

Totally agree. I started so, so small. My first step was to do a diet called The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet (very few rules, and allowed me to stay in the binging mindset, within certain parameter until I could deal with my binging). My next step was a little bit of exercise. My next step was water. The being aware of my calories, to counting without limiting calories, to limiting calories (starting with a limit of 3,000 per day and worked down from there).

2 1/2 years ago, I wouldn't have been strong enough to do everything I do now. But I took it one step at a time and slowly (a few weeks to several months per step, depending on what step I was on), it now feels second nature.

I promised myself I would not do anything on this journey that I could not maintain for life, if I wanted to. I know I need chocolate/sweets, so I wasn't going to do Atkins, because I would have to go off plan to have it. Being off plan doesn't work with a food addict like myself. But NOW I can have the plan of 1,200-1,400 calories on non-exercise days, 1,500 on exercise days, and MAJOR events, eat reasonable, aware of calories, eat only foods I really want and are special to that event, and ONE meal, not a day of grazing.

What one thing can you promise yourself right now? Even as small as drinking a glass of water before each meal is a start. One day at a time!

Chris

I agree with everyone - take it slow just one day at a time. When I started, I too it step by step. After 2 weeks if I conquored one, I'd add another step on too it. So my changes went something like this:
- stop eating out
- drink xx ounces of water daily
- eat 80% of my daily intake in fruits/veggies

....and so on.

Good luck!

Aqualoon - I think you've got an amazing strategy in place! I whole heatedly approve of the baby steps method! One of my favorite quotes (which is in my sig) is "Don't let perfection stand in the way of progress." If you try to be perfect right off the bat when making a major lifestyle change, you put an overwhelming amount of pressure onto an already stressful process. Not exactly the ideal conditions for success!

When I first started I had 2 main goals my first month. 1- no soda. 2- try to cook most meals at home, and if I ate out, I couldn't eat anywhere that had a drive-thru. I didn't even put a "eat healthy" restriction on number 2. I told myself I could eat burgers and fries, I just had to cook them for myself.

Anyways, clearly I moved on from there and did eventually have to get rid of some of those burgers and fries.. My point is, baby steps worked for me and I think they can do well for you too