newbie

Hi everybody. I'm a newbie. I've been lurking for a while now. I'm 32yrs old and need to drop a ton of weight. I'm 5'7 and 366lbs. I've been on just about every diet, but have never really stuck to anything. I believe that I now have the mind set to get the weight off.  I've looked into wls surgery but it scares the crap out of me.  So I'm here hoping to get support. I know its going to be a long journay but the reward will be so sweet.

Hi there!  You and I are in the same boat.  I started at 336.1 lbs Aug 1 and have, as of today, lost 30.3 lbs. Here are my suggestions for you... Use an online food journal like www.thedailyplate.com to create the "Just Me" plan.  measure everything you eat - every bite of it.  Once you have an idea of what you are eating now start taking steps to change one meal at a time.  Does your journal indicate that you stop at McD's for a sausage biscuit meal every day?  Buy some low fat no sugar added yogurt and turkey sausage instead.  Once you have changed Breakfast begin working on other meals.  Work toward a healthy, balanced meal plan of 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% good fats.  Use the daily plate's calorie estimator to help you determine how much to eat per day.  I try to stay right around 1500 calories a day, but sometimes find myself closer to 1800 :) Eat every 2 - 3 hours all day long.  This will help re-train your metabolism.  It will also fool your body and keep it from going into starvation mode.  Focus on lean protein sources and vegetables first.  Then add fruits and grains.  Dont avoid all fats - you do need some to keep your diet balanced. DRINK DRINK DRINK - water that is.  64 ounces a day - every day.  I really believe that you cannot lose without drinking water. Begin moving (I am going to get around to this one someday - I swear)  The very best plan is the one that YOU create for YOU.  I could never eat fish and asparagus - I would die gagging.  I had to create a meal plan that was foods I liked and liked eating.

and Welcome to the board!

welcome to the boards. i too am 32-will be 33 nov 1st :) and i started out at 350. at least, that's where i start counting from. i do know that the last time i was weighed at the dr's office before starting this diet, 350 wasn't enough :/ but they didn't have a scale to weigh higher. i started out with keeping track of what i eat in a written food diary about 7 weeks ago. went for my surgeon's consultation on sept 14th and was 344 by then. after my visit there i started using fitday.com to track my food. i'm now down to 335. i also have to loose at least 50lbs so that insurance will cover lap band. i figure, if i can loose 50lbs, then i will at least TRY to continue on with that first before resorting to surgery. i think the biggest difference in me this time is definately my mindset. before i don't think i ever was really committed because i never did both diet and exercise at the same time. i would either watch my diet and not exercise, or i would exercise and continue to eat like a horse and get frustrated because i didn't loose anything. i've never lost more than 30lbs in my life. and when i did that, i was 17 yrs old.  so, when i reach 319 i shall be throwing myself a mini party :) and, again when i get back into the twosies instead of being 300+!  i think mini goals are important so that you don't get bogged down and discouraged by how big the whole picture is. another biggie for me was deciding i didn't have to do this alone. my mom and sisters are supporting me. my husband and kids are supporting me. these boards are a wealth of information and support. and most importantly, God is my strength. i could not do this without all of them.

Hey There :)

  I am a newish board member also. You will find the ladies on here to be very welcoming and their support is the best. Our stories sound similiar. I am 30 and currently weigh in at 326. My starting weight was 411. Just been chipping away a few pounds at a time.     I have decided to celebrate when i hit the "twos" also :) Havent seen that number for 5 years or so. Anyways welcome to the board, hope you hang out for a long while. Even when the roads gets tough we are all here to push eachother along.

I suggest you try Overeaters Anonymous.  It's helped me to stay on my food plan just fine.  I was failing at Weigh****chers, so I started going to OA and once I started praying and working their program, I found I could stick to any food plan.  I'm the one that posts my "abstinence" every day.  I abstain from compulsive overeating.  I (with my Higher Power's help) stick to my food plan faithfully one day at a time.  I've lost 23.5 pounds since February.  It's slow, but it is a significant weight loss.  I never could have done it without the support of my sponsor, the OA group, and my Higher Power. Denise Phares/Kitties4

You might also want to try SparkPeople.com  They will give you a diet plan to follow if you want, tell you a range of calories to stay in and also where those calories should come from: carbohydrates, fats, proteins.  There is a recipe file for recipes and most every food you can imagine has already got the nutritional info posted, if not you can enter it yourself.  There are motivational tips and you  win points by doing certain things (don't win anything but they are a challenge to collect.)   Good luck on your weightloss journey.  We are all in this together and together we can do it!!!!!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm starting Weigh****cher Monday.  I'm also going to start using daily plate to keep a food log. I'll keep everyone posted.

hi justme Glad WLS scares you! It should, by golly, it is sobering. I like to think it turned my thinking on how serious getting fat off me and keeping it off really is.  You, at your age, have so much in your favor to lose it and keep it off. All things you are about to stick to are things anybody needs to lead a quality life - very few get to go through life looking and feeling great just sitting there macking down vast amounts of food.  Welcome!