I wish to lose 100+ pounds... where do i begin?

G

geno2k3

New member
Hi my name is Neil, recently my health has been in a bad state. Every visit i make to the doctors office for some illness or pain, the doctors always blame it on my weight. Im 5'8 and 275 pounds. My family has a history of heart problems and diabetes (parents and grandparents). My mom, sister, brother and even my little sister are all health freaks. Watching everything they eat and exercise in these things that look like space suits. (They even got me one of those for Christmas.) Ive been big all my life, when i was 5 years old i think i weighed 80 pounds. My family and doctors have been trying to convince me to start losing weight, the problem is convincing myself.

My Goals:
Lose 100+ pounds and keep it off. I know this might not be realistic and if it is... it will take years but im willing to make the changes, my life is literally on the line.

My question is where do i go from here? How can i start my journey to losing weight? Please give any suggestion, tips, insight or anything you can help me with.

Thanks alot, Neil.
 
Hi Neil....

Seems to me you are looking for an easy answer. Well, the long and short of it is, there isnt one.

Losing 100+ pounds and keeping it off is not unrealistic or unattainable. There are MANY MANY MANY (etc) schools of thought on how to achieve that goal. However, the fact you are here is a good start.

What has worked for me may well be a complete failure for others, and vice versa. Probably the best thing you can possibly do is some SERIOUS research. The thing that led to my 70 pound (so far) loss has been finding something that not only works for me, but is something I can do forever without feeling deprived. Atkins or the south beach diets for example would be wasted on me, I could never do them and have tried and was so unhappy I simply quit. But by doing ALOT of reading here and other places online, getting input (as you are now) from others and a whole lot of trial and error, I have found a method that is working for me and I actually enjoy it.

What is that method? Essentially all boils down to this:

Eat Better | Move More

And it was %^#$*ing hard, let me tell you. Those first few months of changing my eating habits and getting my body over the hurdles, aches and pains (god awful pains) of a new more active life, was horrific. But now, 1 year later, I have not only gotten used to this new lifestyle, but I enjoy it so much I cant believe I havent been doing it all my life.

My best suggestion to you is to read some of the very helpful Stickies in this group and taking a look at the diaries of people here. You can learn sooooooo much not just from their success stories, but also from their failures. Maybe one of our fellow members will be taking a path you think is not too bad, and having great success, so you try it, and find you like it too.....

Then my friend, you have won.

But if you think someone can just say "Eat This, Do This, Change This" and you will miraculously have the same experience they did, you got another thing coming. All boils down to "Different strokes for different folks" Sometimes it is hard and frustrating to go through the trial and error process, but when you finally find the system or technique that works for you it will all seem worthwhile. In the meantime perhaps you could start a diary too, so others can not only offer advice, but maybe, just maybe, when you find that secret formula which changes your life, you might be able to inspire someone else to do the same.

I hope that helps a little.

sirant
 
Thanks ALOT for the reply sirant.

I really appreciate your help.

As for your suggestions, you are totally right! I really need to see whats good for me as well as apply the knowledge everyone from this forum and across the web. That 100 pound goal may seem unrealistic, but i already see my goal all the time. ITS THE SKINNY PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! A guy can dream, but i wont dream too hard cause like you said peoples hopes can and probably will get stomped on.

Eating right and move more sounds easy written down,
the hard part is going to turn it into reality. Luckily for me i have alot of friends/family that are supporting me. Here i go!

Again thanks a lot,

Neil

BTW: The idea i already got pictured in my head is eating small meals (six?) each day and walking / jogging on the treadmill. Already got one good review from my cousin who lost a lot of weight using that method. Going to research it more.
 
Good to hear!

geno2k3 said:
Thanks ALOT for the reply sirant.

I really appreciate your help.

As for your suggestions, you are totally right! I really need to see whats good for me as well as apply the knowledge everyone from this forum and across the web. That 100 pound goal may seem unrealistic, but i already see my goal all the time. ITS THE SKINNY PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! A guy can dream, but i wont dream too hard cause like you said peoples hopes can and probably will get stomped on.

Eating right and move more sounds easy written down,
the hard part is going to turn it into reality. Luckily for me i have alot of friends/family that are supporting me. Here i go!

Again thanks a lot,

Neil

BTW: The idea i already got pictured in my head is eating small meals (six?) each day and walking / jogging on the treadmill. Already got one good review from my cousin who lost a lot of weight using that method. Going to research it more.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan. I know many MANY people in here vouch for the 6 small meals a day philosophy, and rightly so, as it helped many people tremendously. Me on the other hand, I could never do the 6 meals a day thing personally. Not sure why exactly, but it just didnt (and still doesnt work for me anyways) go figure. However the walking and jogging, in my case, that was the key. For me it ALL started with walking. First 3 blocks a day, which left me aching and sore, with lower back pain and shin splints.... But it got better. Then it was 5 blocks, then 10, then 1km, then 10km...etc, until today I do 3-4 5km RUNS a week, something I would have told you exactly 1 year ago I could NEVER EVER EVER EVER in my life do... EVER!!

As for dreaming, dream hard brother!!! Nothing is impossible, and with the support system you seem to have and the winning attitude, don't worry about getting those dreams stomped on, instead worry about stomping on everything and anything holding you back!

I hope you keep us informed on how its going! I look forward to hearing what works for you!!

sirant
 
read around the forum a bit - there's no real evidence that 6 small meals is more effective than 3 meals or 3 meals plus snacks -it's total calories consumed for the day that matter - doesn't matter when they are consumed.

b. That 100 pound goal may seem unrealistic, but i already see my goal all the time.
Click to expand...

it's really not that difficult to drop 100 lbs and it's very realistic- especially since you aren't in a rush... Buy yourself a good set of measuring tools and a digital kitchen scale and weigh and measure and record everything you put iny our mouth. AWARENESS is essential... most people eat muchmore than they realize they are and awareness is the key to success.

With exercise -read thestickied threads on the exercise forum - weight training is key element to long term success - and it will give you a good baseline on where to start... and what to do... and it's do-able stuff -not everyone can run right out of the box and that can be frustrating - start by walking and progress at your own pace.
 
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Thank you both for helping me start my weight loss.

Im going to start looking at the labels and watching everything that goes into my mouth. Ive read that you should stay under 2000 calories. Im going to try to stay under that and see how i do. Hopefully i can make it through this very dramatic change from my lifestyle right now. If i cant make it under 2000 every day ill change it to something higher so i can ease into it.

As for exercise im going to start walking in the sweatsuit for about 30 min every day. Then i will see how it goes from there.

If i have any questions ill be sure to ask you guys. Ill keep you updated on how im doing.

Again your help is much appreciated.

Neil.
 
geno2k3 said:
Ive read that you should stay under 2000 calories.
Click to expand...

There's no magic right number for everyone. suggests more like 2,200 as a bare minimum, given your height and weight.

I lost the first about 25 pounds without counting calories, just by making an effort to eat less than I had been eating, and then gradually incorporated calorie counting and protein goals and exercise when I stopped getting the results I wanted with what I was doing. So I'm a fan of incremental change as a method of losing significant amounts.

Oh, and walking is great, but don't mess with the sweatsuit. You want to burn calories, not sweat yourself into dehydration.
 
allyphoe said:
There's no magic right number for everyone. suggests more like 2,200 as a bare minimum, given your height and weight.

I lost the first about 25 pounds without counting calories, just by making an effort to eat less than I had been eating, and then gradually incorporated calorie counting and protein goals and exercise when I stopped getting the results I wanted with what I was doing. So I'm a fan of incremental change as a method of losing significant amounts.

Oh, and walking is great, but don't mess with the sweatsuit. You want to burn calories, not sweat yourself into dehydration.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

The article about sweatsuits is kinda troubling, considering more than half of my immediate family uses it.

Ive changed my calorie goal from 2000 a day to 2200-2800 a day... i think somewhere around there will be good for me. So far ive had a snack (banana) and two small meals (for me atleast hehe), and the calories already stack up to 1235 and its only 10:30 am! I guess for me to do the small meals plan im trying out, i have to eat smaller portions.

Again always appreciated.

Neil.
 
LOL. Yeah, if you're going to eat 6 meals a day (and you're on track for more like 12, if you've had two meals and a snack by mid-morning), they need to be small(er) ones. But you've got a 400-calorie per meal "budget," and that's a pretty decent-sized meal if you're eating mostly unprocessed food.

6 meals a day doesn't work for me, because of my work schedule. Eating breakfast doesn't work for me, because I always end up starving and out of budgeted calories at the end of the day. No food after a certain hour doesn't work for me, because I really enjoy evening snacking and am miserable being hungry at the end of the day.

Aiming for 1/3 of my calories from each of proteins, fats and carbs works really well for me - although it took me about a week before I liked it. Saving enough calories (and macronutrient ratio) for an evening treat works really well for me. Not eating until and unless I'm hungry in the morning (even if I don't feel hungry until lunchtime) works well for me.

This is a long-term deal, so if it takes you a week or two to figure out if something really works for you, it still won't matter in the long run. After a week or two, you'll likely know whether you can make 6 small meals a day work for you. If it works, great! If not, try something else.
 
These first few days have been hard. I can imagine myself getting used to this. I have stayed under 2800 calories for a few days... then yesterday i went up to 3300! I've been taking gambles like eating first then counting calories later... i guess i gotta quit that habit. I also started to exercise. I walk and bike at my home for about 30 minutes and then 30 minutes of light exercise (crunches and some type of boxing routine) All while in the sauna suit. When i took that suit off i was so soaked, water started to flow out of the suit. Although it was only water weight, i felt healthier just sweating.

Im going to go out and buy a scale and take some before pictures. Hopefully i can keep this routine up.

Appreciate the help.

Neil
 
losing 100lbs is realistic and it is maintainable.....

But rushing into it and thinking 100lbs at first would be the wrong idea to get at.. I would say market yourself at a good 25-30lbs and see how it goes from there...
 
Hi Neil

Good Luck

I am new at this game too. I want to lose about 40 pounds.

Good luck to us both..

Kare
 
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