Hello,
When I tell you I've been there... September 2015 I got the bad news from my Doctor. Get in shape, lose weight, or be dead in 10 years. I was 281 lbs. 98 lbs from being in the normal BMI range...
I hated vegetables, loved cheeseburgers and pizza. But I had to change my ways. I've lost 61 lbs so far. 37 lbs from my goal. I started in October, so 7 1/2 months ago...
First thing's first 80% of weight loss is your diet. Start making changes to your diet slowly over time. Start with simple things. If you eat 1/2 burgers, then eat 1/4 burgers. If you eat french fries, only eat half of them and throw the rest away. If you go to subway and get a foot long sub, now it's a six inch sub. Don't get the chips. Get the apple slices. If you go to Wendy's and you used to get the double, now get the single. Get the baked potato instead of the fries...
At home eat more vegetables. You can eat three lbs of veggies, and it will be 300 calories. You can eat 3 lbs of beef, and it will be 4000 calories.
1/4 of your dinner should be protein. IE meat, tofu, etc. 3/4 should be veggies.
Log everything you eat into your fitbit app, and setup a goal, with a deficit. Start with 250, then once you are used to that, change it to 500, then 750 and then 1000.
Always eat 100 to 200 calores under your deficit. Your fitbit will be a little over your caloried burned each day, and chances are the food you log will be a little more than what you log shows.
I eat a diet that is 20% protein, 20-30% fat, and 45-55% carbs. A balanced diet.
I eat three meals, and usually snack in the morning, afternoon and evening. Snacks are a banana, special K chips, peanuts, etc...
Go take a look at Breakfast Biscuits. My nutrionist recommended these for me. I've been eating one pack a day with a glass of milk 1% since September....
Start exercising every other day. Walking is good. Cycling, running, swimming are all good. After you get pretty good at exercising every other day, then start exercising every day. I exercising 90 to 120 minutes every evening after work.
Every week I try to make small changes to my diet, making it more and more healthy. 8 months in, I'm still learning to eat healthy. Today I boiled some chicken. First time for me. With all of the season I put in, it was very good. And now I have my dinner for the next two days.
If you eat out, use the fitbit app to help you make healthy choices for meals. MOST meals at Chili's, Applebee's are double the calories you need to eat in a meal. So when you meal gets there, immediately put half the meal in a to go box. Then eat the other half.
For me there are no cheat days. And I only take 3-4 days off a month from daily exercise... IF I'm not sick or injured.
If you decide to start walking or running, get proper shoes. Both should 1/2 size bigger than what you normally wear. Do not paint your toes. When walking and especially running, people get Runner's toe, or blisters under the nails. You need to be able to see if your toes get hurt, or you will lose your toenails.
Get two pairs of shoes from different makers. New Balance, Nike, etc. Randomly picking one each time you walk, will help you avoid blisters. Get on google and look up lace lock. Lace lock also helps avoid blisters.
$20 shoes at Payless will kill your feet. You will need some $50 or higher shoes. I love my New Balance walking shoes. Shoes generally only last six months at the most. The Tread may look good, but the support inside the sole of the shoe will be gone, and without the support you can easily injure your feet.
There are no diets. You change your diet forever and you can never go back to the way you used to eat. Give up sodas completely. Empty worthless calories. Even diet sodas are bad for you and mess with your bodies ability to control sugar in your blood.
No food is off limits. However you have to choose what you eat, and how much you eat. You can have a whole gallon of ice cream, and nothing else that day. Or you can have a small scope, and eat other normal foods that day. It's all about moderation and control.
Losing weight takes determination, commitment, and will power. If you fall of the wagon one day, forget about it, and try to do better the next day.
Get yourself a clothing tape measure and tape your bodies measurements once a week. So many people at first gain muscle, and lose fat at the same time. And lose 0 weight.
The scale is not your friend. Your weight can flucuate 2 to 3 lbs a day. You could walk 8 miles today, drink a ton of water, and then tomorrow be 2 lbs heavier. It will drive you mad!
Weight yourself daily, but don't pay attention to it. You fitbit app will give you a weekly average. Look at the averages. This and your body measure ments will tell you how you are doing.
Weight loss is not linear. I've had weeks were I lost 3 lbs, I lost 2 lbs, I lost 1 lbs, I lost nothing. **ahem** I gained 1 lbs... Even if you eat the exact same amount of food each week and did the exact same amout of exercise you will not lose the exact same amount of weight.
The closer you get to your goal, the harder it will get. At 40 lbs from goal, you should change your deficit to 750 calories. At 20 lbs from goal, a 500 calorie deficit. At 10 lbs from goal, a 10 lbs deficit.
You cannot run a 1000 calorie deficit at the start, you will be hungry all the time. And you cannot run a 1000 calorie deficit at the end. The closer you get to your goal, and the higher your deficit, you body will burn mostly muscle, and very little fat. You have to have a small deficit the closer you get to your goal.
It took you months, probably years to gain your weight. It's going to take you months and maybe years to lose it.
What ever you do, DON'T GIVE UP! If you hit a point where you are not losing, then you have to increase your exercise, or decrease your calories. 1200-1300 calories is the minimum a woman should eat in a day. Around 1800 is the minimum for most men. Do not eat less than this.
My wife is very active. She gets 10,000-15,000 steps a day just walking in our yard taking care of our animals and the yard. But she gained weight. She used to eat 1 meal a day, 600-800 calories. What she didn't know is when you eat to few calories, your body holds onto the fat, and burns muscle. Now that she's eating 1300-1500 calories a day, she's lost 25 lbs.
There will be a point you will not be able to meet your daily deficit without exercise. You will either have to exercise every day, or lower your defiicit.
You can lose the weight. Just stick with it. I'm down here in Houston. I'll send you a friend request, feel free to ask me advice if you ever need it.
Good luck and keep active!
John | Texas,USA | Surge | Aria | Blaze | Windows | iPhone | Always consult with a doctor regarding all medical issues. Keep active!!!
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