Hello everyone. I'm new to 3FC's and this is my 1st post other than introducing myself in introductions. I'm in my mid thirties and I weigh 331.5 lbs., which is less than the 339 I weighed about a week and a half ago. A far cry from the 170 I weighed fifteen years ago.

I've been managing my meals pretty well I think. In the morning I eat breakfast: a bowl of cereal, light&lively yogurt, and 2 Special K waffles.

Usually for lunch I eat one plain sandwich on wheat w/the 98% fat free turkey and eat a piece of fruit which has been either an orange, a banana, an apple, or more yogurt.

Dinner is a repeat of the turkey sandwich with a vegetable, lastnight I had lentils and a large spoon of vanilla ice cream.

I drink water all the time.

I'm so overweight that I can't hardly do anything because either my ankles swell, my heart feels like it's gonna beat out of my chest, or I just can't catch my breath. If I do too much sometimes all 3 happen.

I guess my question really is what can I do other than eat sparingly to get some of this weight off until I can exercise? Any tips? I've read so many contradicting things all around the internet until I'm just really confused.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

At first glance, the first thing I'd suggest is try to get more protein in. This can be in any form of lean meats or nuts, etc. Also, along with that would be 'good' fats like EVOO.

Depending on the cereal you have, and which fruits, yogurt, ice cream, etc, it looks like you may not be getting enough calories, and it looks like most of your calories are coming from carbs. If you up the protein and cut down on the carbs a bit (not saying go carb-free by any means, unless that is something you want to try), it may help you jump start your loss. The biggest part of all of that is that you feel satisfied and aren't starving yourself.

I have found that even a little bit of intended movement each day will help. Can you manage 5 minutes walking around the house? Start small, build it up as your body lets you, and hopefully it will progressively get easier and you will be able to do more. Another option is to try resistance bands or low-weight hand weights (3-5lbs) to start.

Hope these help! Good luck, and remember.. the only time you fail is if you quit.

Hi! Looking at yours meals I would also suggest that you may not be getting enough calories. Starting off if I were you i would aim for 1800-2000 a day. I eat about 1600 a day and I am steadily losing. That being said why not have a hand full of nuts for a snack? Maybe some string cheese for added protein. Also you may need to add in more veggies. Maybe for dinner instead of a sandwich you could make a big yummy salad w/grilled chicken on it? i would also suggest snacking between meals if you feel you are hungry its okay to eat and not starve yourself you just need healthy snacks like cheese/frozen grapes. Just remember not to go overboard. As far as exercising goes if you watch tv instead of using the remote getting up to change the channel. Or just fidget a little in your chair. Start off with little things and you will make progress. Good Luck

ShakiLisa!!!

How about you try logging what you eat at Fitday.com or TheDailyPlate.com? It's free, you set up an account and you can keep track of your food and exercise. I think it will give you a better handle on how many calories you are taking in as well as your carb/protein/fat percentages. If your protein is below 10% of your calories as I suspect it might be...you probably need to get more protein in. Easy ways to get low cal protein? Chicken breasts, egg beaters, lean fish....

You might even be able to do 1800-2000 calories a day and still lose weight at this point. That will give you room to decrease calories as you get closer to goal. If you go to low early on, you might start feeling deprived and then it's harder to keep up. This is something you want to be able to do for the rest of your life. This is the new, healthy YOU that you are becoming.

As for exercise - like the others said, start small and build on it. If 5 minutes is all you can do...just do it. Maybe 2-3 times a day? You will get stronger and be able to do more. Building the habit is the key. I never thought I would enjoy exercise...but I'm addicted.

Welcome! I encourage you to also join us in the 300+ club -- lots of people who start at 300 pounds or more! http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=124

One of our members was practically bedridden when she started and she began by doing flutter kicks in bed. You can start anywhere with the exercise and build from there.

I agree with the notion that you can probably eat 2000 calories/day and lose. I started counting calories when I weighed 280+ and lost steadily on 2k a day for a while!

The last thing I want to add is that the best plan is the one you can stick to! (with tweaking as you progress/change). There is a lot of conflicting advice about what works, and that's in part because we are all different and what works for one person doesn't work for everyone. My plan involves calorie counting, finding healthier options for the foods I like and moving more! How I accomplish those goals shifts over time but the basics stay the same!

welcome. and I agree with heather... you could start at 2000 calories a day... along with tracking everything you eat in food journal or online. I understand where you're coming from... I was there a year ago!

Finding something you can do for life is best. journalling your food... and mild/moderate exercise that you enjoy. For me, that means doing pilates and walking and keeping track of everything at fitday.com. I dont run.. jog.. do high impact anything. You can do this!

Hello and welcome! I am also pretty new here, and am finding lots of great posts and support here at 3fc.

My mother has a friend that lost 40lbs. by just drinking 3 - 8oz. glasses of vinegar water a day. I myself have have been doing the same, and find that it does seem to work at controlling my hunger. I mix 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1-2 tbl. lemon juice with 2 liters water.

I wanna thank you all for your comments, the links, and the advice. I REALLY appreciate it. I'm going to check out all the links (especially 300+) as soon as I reply to everyone.

I've tried to lose weight before and found it so hard that I just gave up. I'm really determined this time because I am worried about my health. I'm really glad that I've found this site so if I ask a lot of questions, let me apologize now, but it's because I really wanna know.

This week I'm going to try the upper cardiac and maybe some leg exercises to see how I can build. Thanks for all the support! I really appreciate it.

are you doing any kind of program? like WW or are you just counting calories? I'm doing WW and have found that it works in keeping me in line about what i'm eating plus I love the points system. Also even if you can't do exercise in the beginning, you can still lose weight. My leader lost all of her weight, i think about 70 lbs or so without exercise. She just counted her points, kept within her range and she lost.