Hello All

(I first posted this message on the state of nj's weight loss surgery forum, and then I was referenced here because I am looking for non-surgical ways.  sorry if people have read this already)

My name is Daniel and i am looking for information on dieting, excercise and weight loss surgery.

I am upwards of 400 pounds, have never really eaten healthy my whole life and I am finally deciding to do something about it.

I am 22, live in Hudson County, in college for writing and feel it is time to change a part of my life that has been a problem ever since I could remember.

I currently do not have medical insurance so I dont really have an interest for surgery at the time.  I also believe I am not right for surgery yet.  Like I said, i have never really eaten healthy nor have I ever been a person to excercise and stick with it.  As a kid I was active of course, and I even hold a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and I have been obese my whole life.  I think weight loss surgery could help, but at this point I just want to shed this overly big excess of weight I have and see if excercise and dieting can do the trick.

I want to start eating healthy and excercising ASAP.  I started this past friday, taking 45 minute walks once a day.  Its not much, but its a big difference from sitting on the couch playing video games and watching tv all day.

My big question which I hope people can help with is how does one eat healthy?  This may sound very stupid and I am embarassed to ask, but I have no idea how to go about this.  My regular diet consists of no breakfast, and maybe 2 large meals a day that consist of burgers and pastas.  I am aware that is not good, but I don't know what is correct to eat, how to tell if it is healthy and how I can go about starting a healthy diet.  Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I am an alright cook so any healthy recipes that are good tasting would also be appreciated.

Finally, I know walking helps but I feel that I could be doing more.  Any tips for small excercises to do?  I cant go out running or go to a gym, but I am looking for excercises that a person my size can handle. 

Again, thank you for reading this and any responses will be read and I will be most grateful. 

Hello Daniel - I too am on a healthy eating plan.  I just can't go the diet routine anymore, have done Weigh****cher's to death, along with some other diet plans and this time I have made my own plan.  Basically I try to stay at about 1400-1500 calories a day.  This gives me about a one and a half pound weight loss per week average.  (I am 54 and have severe degenerative arthritis in my hip so I get very little exercise, unlike you).  I eat meats, lots of veggies and try to eat only small amounts of breads, pasta, etc.  I eat a small amount of fruit and a non fat yogurt every day.  I don't eat chips, crackers, etc and very rarely will have a bite of a sweet.   I make sure I eat enough to feel satisfied so that I do not feel the need to snack between meals.  One of my favorite things is to make "wraps" out of Boston Bibb lettuce leaves.  I will stuff my wraps with tuna fish, or cheese and meat.  I guess what I am trying to say is that I eat a wide variety of foods but much smaller portions than I used to.  I think it's more like eating how thin people do than being on a diet.  I don't eat "diet" foods except that I will eat Lean Cuisine entrees for lunch a few times a week - mainly for convenience at work and portion control. 

They say that protein will keep you from getting hungry too quickly and you can really load up on vegetables that will fill you but don't have too many calories.  I love sugar snap peas, spinach, fresh green beans and yellow or zucchini squash especially with a dab of light margarine.  What always amazes me is how delicious good food tastes when you aren't stuffing yourself with junk.

Well this turned out to be long - but I hope it helps you.  Best wishes for success!!!

Hi Daniel!
Welcome to the forum!

So proud of you for taking the first step.....making the decision to make a change.  Sounds like you've already taken a great step by starting to walk.  BTW..walking 45 mins a day as a starting point is FANTASTIC!  That's better than I could do at first.....when I started I could only do 10 mins on the treadmill!

I've lost almost 165 lbs by eating healthy and exercising.....here's my story....

My weight loss journey........ 

I struggled for years..........MANY years!  I would start a diet, do well for a few days/weeks even months but in the end would give up and gain the weight back and then some.  I did this yo-yo dieting for about 20 years and then just totally gave up and stayed at the same place for about 5 years.

I was rather unhappy from the time I was about 14 and then down right miserable starting in my mid 20’s! I NEVER felt pretty, never felt real joy (other than the 30 seconds it took to eat an snickers bar), never felt I deserved anything good, I was never my own priority and I never felt proud of myself.

Finally after being divorced for about 5 or 6 years I decided I wanted to live.  I have no children of my own but I wanted to live not only to see my young nieces and nephews go up, but to finally enjoy my own life.  I did not really "live" life from about 1991-2007; I merely existed.  I worked like crazy to avoid the real issues in my life.
When I decided I wanted to make me my number one priority I got serious about losing weight.  I even told my friends and family that for the next few months or year (whatever it would take) I was going to be selfish and make me my priority. 

It hasn’t been easy!  I NEVER liked to exercise…not even when I was younger.  The only thing close to exercise I ever liked was swimming and riding the bicycle but that was more fun than exercise…I never broke a sweat and never really swam laps, I played around in the pool.

To be successful I knew I had to get serious about exercising.  I got up a little earlier in the morning so I could do my walk before going to work and at night I didn’t go out much because I was doing my nightly routine (either cardio or weight lifting depending on the day of the week).

It's been slow, sometimes painfully slow, but I have lost just shy of 150 lbs and I am just less than 5 lbs from my goal (I hit my original goal but then decided I wanted to lose another 15). 

It can be done with healthy eating and exercise.  Seriously if I (at 51) could start and be successful, anyone can!

My Diet and Exercise.  There is no way to get around the exercise part!  I've been a life long dieter and it never stuck...........finally about 18 months ago I changed my attitude towards food and started eating healthy and exercising daily (except on Saturdays, my free day every week).  

I started slow with the exercise and built my way up. At first I could only walk 10 mins on the treadmill, then 20....now I walk/run a minimum of 40 in the morning.  Even when I was working I would get up early so I could walk (at that time I did not run so I walked 60 mins every morning).  Weight lifting is VERY important...it builds muscle and muscle burns calories even when you are sitting doing nothing.  I feel best on days I do my 40 min walk/run in the morning and then when I add another 40 min walk in the evening.  I basicly follow the "Body for Life" exercise program....easy to learn and stick with.  Cardio every morning before breakfast, weight lifting 3 nights a week and the other nights another round of cardio.

For my food - at first I weighed my portions till I got used to knowing what a 4oz piece of meat looked like (turns out I used to eat more like 6-8oz at each meal), and measuring pasta/rice/potatoes was an eye opener for me too. 

 At first I ate about 1,700-1,800 cals but as I lost weight I dropped to about 1,500 and now eat around 1,200 (never more).  A body weighing 250+ lbs needs more calories (energy) than the body weighing 200 lbs or 150 lbs so as you lose weight you have to cut back on calories....I used the general rule that I cut calories after every 50 lbs lost.  NOT a drastic cut, just enough to keep losing.  To be successful I had to remember - bottom line….it’s calories in and calories burned that matters.  I have a daily budget of calories and I choose to spend them wisely.   I don't think of this as a "diet" in the traditional sense, for me it's my way of life, it’s my new norm and will never end.

• I eat at least 5 times a day....... protein powder, breakfast (a healthy oatmeal mix I make) , lunch, snack, dinner (on days I'm doing weight lifting I add another protein powder before the workout). I use EAS Whey Protein Powder....it is NOT a meal replacement it is pure protein.  I try to get 80-100 grams of protein every day to lose weight. 

• I eat LOTS AND LOTS of fresh veg (at least 3 full servings a day).  Most of the veg I eat is raw or a quick sauté/stir-fry (crisp), with a little olive oil.
• I eat fresh fruit.....1 apple every day and either an orange, or 1/4 cantaloupe or 20 grapes, maybe a banana…depends what is in season and what is in the house
• I tend to eat more "whole and organic" foods, very little processed foods.  I make my own yogurt (yummy), eat lots of raw veg or flash cooked (keeping lots of crunch and color).  We squeeze our own orange juice (I recently moved to Florida so I feel obligated to squeeze OJ...lol). 
• I broil, bake, or grill most of my meats and fish....occasionally I will brown chicken or fish in a little olive oil but not too much and not very often.
• When eating lunch or dinner I eat the protein and veg first and then if I still have room I eat the carbs......it helps me to not over eat.
• I eat a high amount of protein (80-100 gr a day)
• I eat from EVERY food group....do not eliminate any group.
• I eat healthy carbs......oatmeal for breakfast every morning (except my free day), bulgur wheat once or twice a week, pasta once a week.  I don't eat much bread which was very difficult for me for the first 9 months.  I do have bread once in a while just not everyday and it's usually a whole wheat bread (on my free day it's Italian bread toasted along with my eggs).  I had a bagel for the first time last month.
• Snacks are healthy ones.......1 tbls peanut butter (Smuckers natural creamy) w/ a little strawberry jam on a rice cake or Wasa cracker or slice of low cal whole wheat bread.  OR - 1 plain granola bar (they come 2 in pack, I eat only 1), or 1 tbls peanut butter spread on a banana.  Lately I’ve had 1 hard boiled egg for snack a couple days during the week….great source of protein!
• No cookies, cakes, pies.......okay, I think I had 4 small pieces of baklava (my favorite), 1 slice of pecan pie, and maybe 3 or 4 cookies during the past year.  Seriously, this was not easy but after a while I stopped looking for them.
• No chips......I love potato chips and cheese doodles but have done all I can to avoid them..........recently I had a small bag with my lunch sandwich from Quiznos or Subway but it was the first time in about a year and it was on my Free Day.
• If I know a food is a dangerous one for me (like chips or butter) I do not bring it in the house.  The only time I did was when I was entertaining and I knew others would want them….BUT, I made them take all the leftovers home with them.  My friends’ kid loved that.
• I recently cut out sugar and artificial sweeteners.  Since Feb 1, 2009 I have not had any sweetener in my tea or coffee.....I am amazed I was able to do this.  It's taken a good 2 months to get somewhat used to it and only the other day I added a pkg of Splender to a cup of tea and hated it...it was way too sweet!!!
• Portion control.  It took me a looooooong time to figure out that even too much salad is not a good thing!  Every food has calories.
• I make sure I incorporate some good fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil) into my diet every day!  
• I eat more fish and chicken/turkey during the week and try to limit red meat to about twice a week. 
• The other thing I really changed was I eliminated butter (which I used to love) and I only eat cheese once a week (I used to eat it just about every day).
• I only weigh myself once a week (every Saturday morning)...okay sometimes I cheat and hop on the scale in the middle of the week but it's pretty rare that I do that.
• I write down EVERYTHING I eat/drink....I mean EVERYTHING...if I add 6 raisins to my oatmeal I write it down.  I actually build a small excel file that I use to track my food, cals, protein, fat, fiber, carbs every day.
• Drinking PLENTY of water is a must!  At my heaviest I drank about 15 cups a day....now I drink about 9 most days and sometimes 12.  Again the heavier the body the more water it needs so since I'm so close to my final goal I've cut back to a more normal amount of water.

 

I allow myself 1 free day (Saturday), I can eat/drink anything I want BUT I still do so within reason.....I don’t really watch the calories that day but I don’t go crazy either….it seems to work out that I normally take in an extra 250 cals that day but like I said I do not go crazy……..like I don't eat butter on my free day,  but I will have 1 or 2 small piece of chocolate at night, or 2 slices of pizza for lunch or maybe a nice piece of lasagna for dinner, sometimes I have margarita night and make spicy shrimp tacos and drink a couple margaritas…....something different but not out of control.

Alcohol slows downs the metabolism.  When I first started I would have a drink or two on my free day but after a while I decided it wasn't worth the calories so I hardly had anything during the last 6 months or so.......trust me there have been days that I have had a few drinks but it's not a weekly thing.  Maybe when I'm at goal and maintaining successfully for a while I'll add in a glass of red wine a couple nights a week....it's healthy

The reward for doing this……I’m healthier today at 52 than I was in my 30’s.  I’m happier and for the first time in my life I feel truly proud of myself!

I know I just posted a bunch of information....please PM me if you have questions...I'd be happy to answer any questions and help you out.

Ruth

Wow Ruthie, that was impressive! 

Mary

Hi Daniel, welcome aboard!  It looks like you have gotten some great advice so far, these gals really know their stuff, huh?

My journey is a little different.  I lost 129 pounds on the Atkins program and have maintained it for three years now.  I chose it mainly because I am insulin resistant and I'm guessing that at your age and weight, you are probably insulin resistant, too.  It's called Syndrome X.  If you would be interested in Atkins, the site is free and includes a nutritionist, the support on the forum is exceptional and there is always someone there to help with your questions.  The whole diet is on the site plus you can register for free classes that are very imformative.   
http://community.atkins.com/  If you know very little about diet and exercise, this site is very educational and fun.  They teach you important things like breakfast is NEVER to be skipped!  It jump starts your metabolism for the day.  The hardest part of the diet for me is the amount of vegetables you have to eat! 

Best wishes on your jouney,

Mary