Hi I am Shellee...i have been reading some KatMarie's posts about her weight loss...I am struggling so much, I weigh over 334 now down from 352, but I can't seem to really get good momentum is weight loss. I have struggled for years and just want my life back and to be healthy. I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how I can get going and stay going. I just turned 49 and feel like I have given my 20's. 30's and 40's to obesity and being miserable...I want life to be enjoyable and not full of pain Thank you for any advice you can share.

Thank you...

Shellee

I know exactly how you are feeling...I was there when I turned 40. I can tell you how I did it, but most don't like to hear it lol. I didn't go on a diet. I completely changed the way I eat and after I lost the weight, I continue to eat this way. Fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats, a little complex carbs. I do not eat simple carbs...no bread, sugar, white rice, white potatoes, ice cream, candy, chips...you get the idea. I didn't have cheat days, because it wasn't a diet to cheat on, this was the way I was going to eat to live a healthy life. I want something sweet, I eat fruit. Sugar was the reason I got so heavy...I lived on it. It was very hard at first, but it got easier. I can truthfully say that now I don't even think of sweets or junk food...doesn't even tempt me anymore. Because my taste buds have changed and that kind of food tastes too sweet or greasy, salty, slimy and nasty. People I've talked to don't believe me when I say that, but I swear to you, once you start eating fresh foods without all the additives and sugars and extra fat added in, you can actually taste food again!
So, the advice I'd give to you would be to eat healthy, fresh food. Dump the crap food for good. I know if I would have continued to eat that stuff, even just on a 'cheat day', I would have never lost all the weight. But, that's just me and what worked for me. Oh, and it's amazing how much clearer your mind is off of all the sugar lol. And how you'll feel like getting up and doing more.
You can do this...you're worth it...you can be happy and healthy.

I just read my post and I make it sound like I didn't have any setbacks or slip ups. I did. One that comes to mind was a candy bar that I found in husband's lunchbox. He ended up chasing me thru the house to wrestle it away from me...oh my, I can laugh about it now. No more junk food in the house since that day. Just don't let one slip up turn into a slip up day. My slip ups were mainly in the first month or so, until I figured out I just couldn't have junk food in my life at all.

KatMarie....Thank you for your post. I needed to read this today. You are a true inspiration.

KatMarie,

Your story is almost exactly like mine, I lost 75 pounds back in 01-02 by doing exactly what you say, just started eating well, no pasta, rice, potatoes, white bready stuff, very little sugar. No logging, no calorie counting, no worry about carbs/fats/etc. But I also just absolutely, 100%, turned my mind away from food--no more cookbooks, no paleo fake cupcakes, no days spent planning out menus for elaborate dinner parties, no food channel…I had to completely change not only what I ate but also an internal life that resolved around food, food, and more food. And the weight came off, but slowly, over the course of two years. And I never had trouble maintaining because I never was on or off a diet, I just kept going.

However…after a decade (!) of maintaining, I let my focus go during a major illness, and damn it, I gained some weight back, almost 20 pounds, and since then I've been unable to get that same 100% commitment and determination to just put food away and to eat sensibly day after day. I'm back to that very frustrating pattern of being in my right mind for anywhere from a month to an hour, then losing it again.

So…cautionary tale, do not let yourself get too complacent or think that you are not still a food addict (even after a decade!), or that you can go back to old patterns for a couple months and then recover again.

Sheesh. This weight loss stuff is sooooo frustrating and humbling! It sure is helpful, though, to see so many people here hanging in there and making progress.

Jean, I find it is still easy to overeat on healthy food…I still have to watch my calories. I don't calorie count anymore, more like a guesstimate, but while I was losing, I did actually count calories. Some don't believe in food addiction, but I definitely do. A decade of maintaining…good job! You'll get your mind straight, I'm sure. When my granny, who lived with me for 13 years and was my best friend, died last year, it was so tempting to just turn to food for comfort. I decided to spruce up my outdoor spaces instead, to keep my mind and body busy.

Thank you so much for the advice, it makes alot of sense...although giving up my sugar foods makes me nervous...But life is more important than sugar and I want life

Welcome to 3fc's! I found it very helpful when I was losing to break it down into smaller amounts. I was always very overwhelmed by how much I needed to lose prior to that. For every ten pounds I lost I bought myself a small reward like a new paperback book.

I wish you all the best with your goals!

Kat Marie,

What did you set your calories at as you got closer to the bottom of your weight range? I'm wondering how it changed over the course of your weight loss.

And, so good for you to not have fallen into poor eating when you were grief stricken. That, maybe more than anything else, shows that you've really "got it." For me, I seem to still have two "me's" inside my mind and soul, the one who knows how to do this, how to focus and be calm about eating, and the other one who sometimes wants to be eating and eating and eating more than anything else. It is a puzzle to me at times how strong each of these drives can be and how it can switch on a dime.

Jean

I started out with 2000 calories, ended up at 1200 calories when I was around 140 pounds, to lose the last of the stubborn pounds.
Oh I know, I still have times where I feel like I just want to sit and mindlessly eat and eat! Even knowing that you'll feel horrible (physically and mentally) after stuffing yourself, at times you still get the urge to do it...and it has nothing to do with physical hunger. I just get up and keep busy instead.

This is the part I really can't wrap my head around. No pasta, rice, potatoes, bread. I eat this every day especially at dinner time.

I'm not being mean but I'm use to a vegetable, carb, meat dinner. As is my husband.

Please tell me what a basic breakfast and dinner is for you. I really would appreciate it.

I actually know my biggest problem, junk food I find myself grazing on snacks all day. Mind you I'm at the gym 3 -4 times a week but it doesn't matter because of my bad eating habits. I still look the same which is why I don't tell many people I actually go to the gym. I'm too embarassed. I love working out. I have bad knees and I'm limited in my mobility but I spend alot of time doing water workout and I work out HARD .

I actually told my daughter something funny the other day. I told her I'm tired of eating.