Lifetime of struggle

[WhiteDeath21]

Hello.
My name is Kristian. I'm 21 years old and i'm struggling with weight as long as i can remember. I'm tall about 194 cm(~6'4) and i weigh more than 150kg(~330 pounds). I have tried many, many diets, none of them worked, lack of motivation is the biggest problem, food is the second, lack of exercise is the third. Can't force myself to eat healthy food, there is no way, maybe for day or two, maybe, and then relapse. I have a big problem with sweets and unhealthy food, sort of addiction it became. Exercise, i was, as long as i can remember, very unactive person, never exercised in my life and i find really hard to push myself to exercise, few minutes and that's it. I've came here to share my experience with your here, and try to lose weight, any tips would be helpful.

 

[Llama]

Hey Kristian and welcome! I would agree that it´s almost impossible to force yourself to do unpleasant things long-term. The only way to be successful in the long run is to make sustainable changes. Frank has a great blog post about it here, explaining it in much more detail than I can in a simple comment How Playing Jenga Can Help You Make Smart Food Choices - Lighten Up!
Of course in addition to that you need motivation and for that youve come to the right place here. Have a look around, maybe start a diary, and keep us posted of how you´re doing so when can cheer you on and maybe support you when things are hard.
Best of luck, LaMa

 

[Omega]

Lots of us love sweet things - but you may find it useful to try a few sweet things which don't cause as many problems....

Ideas that spring to mind:

• fruit - there is loads of choice and most of us never even scratch the surface in trying fruit
• sugar free sweets
• low calorie sweetener
• sugar free jelly
• you can invent flavours of sugar free jelly by using powdered gelatine and low calorie squash.
  • on both the above you can add some fruit to make it more substantial
• if you want something filling then I quite like some porridge with either fruit, honey or sweetener stirred in it.

You do not need to abandon sweet things to eat in a more healthy way. Try replacing sweet things with healthier sweet things.

As for exercise - you do not need to be a gym addict or sporty person to lead a more active life. I found walking to be very effective. Try walking places instead of always driving / using transport. You do not need to start with a 10 mile hike or anything... Walk to the shops or locally...

As you get fitter it probably makes sense to try different kinds of exercise... You only need go a couple of times to try something... You might find something you quite like... The easiest form of exercise to do is something you enjoy... Then it doesn't feel like such a chore... If you can make friends linked to a form of exercise you enjoy then it is all the better... You will find yourself actually looking forward to going...

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Kristian welcome!

You are wise to be working on your weight now, while young, it will give you a longer healthier life. I wish I had done it at your age!

I have tried many, many diets, none of them worked, lack of motivation is the biggest problem, food is the second, lack of exercise is the third.

I think you hit the nail on the head with motivation, that was always my problem. In the end most all diets work if you stick to them, and while exercise is great its really the food and calories that will drive most weight loss. I am not the best to advise on motivation, it took me many more years than you have been around to find it. In the end I did find motivation, for a few weeks anyway, after that I found that by posting here and toughing it through sometimes I could stick to the diet even on days I wasn't motivated. That's what's working for me now.

Stay with us and I think you can do this! I am looking forward to following your progress.