I'm just starting on my journey. I need to lose 121lbs to get into a healthy BMI range and needless to say that the task is daunting. I've tried to break it down into 10lb mini goals to help take away the feeling that it's all so overwhelming. In order to help me stay on track, I had a big cooking night on Friday where I planned all my meals for the upcoming week, cooked them, and put them in pre-measured containers with calories, carbs, fat and protein notated (threw it all in the freezer). I'm trying to stick to a lower carb diet (not so low that my diet falls too high in protein); and I'm keeping my intake at around 1250 calories a day. Before, after I measured it out, it turned out I was eating 2500 calories--far too much for my activity level.

I've also started incorporating more physical activity into my life, going to the gym four times a week with a friend.

To help motivate myself, I've taken a before pic. It's not pretty, but it gives me a place to move on from.

Has anybody lost this much weight before. Any tips on staying motivated, or workouts, or recipes would help.

Thank you for your support on this new endeavor for my health.

Im just getting started myself and want to lose 120Lbs and i also do my meals at night for the next day so i don't go off track but lately i have!

Hi friends! There are lots of people here on 3FC that have lost just as much weight as you need to lose!

RX, Might you want to change your ticker for a smaller goal that seems a little more bite size? That's always one way to help. Maybe just what you want to achieve this Spring.

I needed to lose nearly 100 pounds to get into a healthy weight range when I first started, as well. I didn't look at that HUGE picture as much as wanting to be healthier everyday...I was motivated to just continue to make healthier choices everyday. This quote really inspires me:


My best piece of advice is to log in and post here daily- even if you are wickedly off plan...just post. Everyday.

Do you want to walk a Disney half marathon? I even signed up for the princess half last year and then lost motivation because my knees were hurting. Or have you already?

Welcome, welcome! It's a pleasure to have you both aboard.

A quick note to say hi and welcome to 3FC!

I have lost a lot of weight in the last 8 months and am only 2/3rds of the way there to my ultimate goal.

This site is amazing and has helped me accomplish all that I have, I'd be lost without the daily support of the women and men on this site.

I hope you post often and can't wait to read about your success along the way!

Welcome and good luck!

Welcome to you both, my best advice "I'm still considering myself a newbie" take it one day at a time, one meal, one moment at a time. Check in here tell us how your doing, even on bad days "we all have them" and most important remember you deserve this and you CAN do it.

One day you'll be 100 pounds lighter than you are today and saying welcome to a new bunch of newly starting chicks!

You can do this!

Thanks for the advice. I did the disney half last year. I also did the Bloomington women's half. I walked most of it, but it was really amazing to do it.

Welcome! Sounds like you're off to a really great start. I've lost a little over 100lbs and have about 45 lbs to go. There's plenty of people around with similar goals! These boards and the people who post are great motivators. I have found that Pinterest is a great way to find lots of fun and healthy recipes and ideas for meals and snacks.

Great start!

The one thing I've learned, that's universally true no matter WHAT kind of a dieter you are....your way works for YOU It's never one size fits all, but here's my 2 cents!

* I started a diet every monday of my adult life -- by "start a diet" i mean I would half-assed go gung ho for about 2 1/2 days and give up

* my job is to counsel people, yet I was blind to my own issues. I 'saw someone" to talk about things. It wasn't scary, just "ohhhh RIGHT!!! I'm a spoiled indulged BRAT and she's running the show" LOL i change my MIND about things 1st

* then i gave up dieting...ack, i know!!! I counted out calories for a few weeks to be sure I knew what range I was in, to re-learn what food was meant for, how much was required etc., and got to a place where I knew I could live like that

* i say 'gave up dieting' because I knew I wasn't going to STOP. This was the way I was eating now. I could eat cheesecake, sure! I had to count it, calorie-wise, and adjust accordingly, but i could eat it. Nothing was forbidden, I just ended up choosing the garbage less and less because i'm greedy by nature and wanted more for my calorie buck

* after a while I started walking, felt a bit better, more energy, so I'd do more and more. Did extreme house cleaning and yard work, kept myself busy during commercial breaks, learned to love the HULA HOOP lol, and didn't weigh myself every 6 seconds...once a week max

* and I knew it was just a matter of time....a year or so later, and boom!

Believe me, if I can do it anyone can LOL I'm a goon who STILL isn't as food savvy as 90% of the gals on here, I don't know how many grams of protein or carb I eat, I just eat a bit of everything, be sure to get lots of veg & fruit and keep away from deep fried crap etc.

Best of luck, find what works for YOU and listen to yourself! and remember to LAUGH!!! find JOY in the process, it helps believe me

Welcome, welcome!

I haven't quite lost 121 pounds - I've lost 105 so far (in 3 years).

My biggest piece of advice is to be kind to yourself during this process. There will be days and weeks when everything will go wrong and you'll want to give up...don't expect perfection. Make the best choices you can and when the inevitable happens and you "slip up" - acknowledge it and move on.

I see posts here (and on other forums) where folks set such impossibly high standards that when they fail to meet them they bludgeon themselves to death about it.

Give yourself the time and space to make this happen.

Finally, IMO the best way to diet is to do what you will continue to do in maintenance. You can't "go back to normal" when you reach goal...you have to stay within the same eating plan that you lose the weight with. It's so cliche, but this has to be a lifestyle change and not something that will be "over with" when you "finish" and get back to "normal".

Set small goals and don't even think about the final goal for a while.

Good luck and post often!

Hello and can I say We are Happy you have joined us here.

You have done the hardest part....Admitting you have a problem...Now all you have to do is figure the best plan of attack. There are a variety of ways to get you where you want to go...It just your preference how to get there.
Tons of information here on this site. Keep an open mind , learn as much as you can and don't sweat the small stuff and you will be fine!

I have found it very helpful to have measurable goals and I like to keep on a bit of a time table so I don't allow myself to sway off course.

Everyone is so different how focused they want to be ...I have to kick it out right away ...that's my personality and what works for me .
I started end of June and hit goal Jan31,2013 then decided to continue on and have Lost 100 lbs in less than a year .
So everything and anything is possible ...it's a matter how Big you're willing to Dream and how Hard you're willing to Work!

I believe in sending myself positive messages ...I think self beating is a waste of time! The World is happy to Beat on you ...So we should never waste our energy in self loathing, it's unproductive and we should Always be the 1st person to be on our side
Good Luck , and I am looking forward to watching your progress here!
Roo2

Wow, you've done an amazing job with meal planning. Planning ahead is half the battle! (Or at least a large portion of it )