Hopeing to change my life!

[SpanksTheMonkey]

Hiya every one I've decided to make a commitment to lose weight I've thought about it before I've never been small even as a child I was the huskey one.

But now later in life I find I'm really starting to feel the extra weight I'm carrying. My feet ake my back akes swolen ankles and I feel like crap most of the time. Socialy I'm kinda left out other then a few friends and lets face it its prob due to the weight.

So I feel I'm finaly ready to do it for the right reasons which are to make me healthey and happy! I want to be able to shop for clothes in any shop I want for once in my life!

So I have the proper motivation but lack the knoweldge on the best way to go about it. Low carbs high carbs no carbs I have no clue. I was thinking about a liquid diet program to start off to get the bulk of the weight off.

Maybe that combined with low impact excersize of course I've already started walking alot I have a bad back and arthridas so I can't go to hard at 1st.

But I do have a significant amount of weight to lose I belive last time I checked my BMI was like 60% and thats just not cutting it for me anymore.

I'm also afraid of daiabeties as I herd that obese people are more likely to develop this and I have seen a larger guy friend get it recently so thats always on my mind as well. Ok well any suggestions or support is greatly aprishiated Thanks.. Spanks. :bunny::bunny:

[lbj123]

Spanks -- congrats on making the decision to improve your health! Exercising regularly and eating well will completely change your life and improve so many aspects of yourself. I would not suggest a liquid diet. It is an unhealthy way of losing weight quickly, but once you start eating again the weight will come back. Its all about reducing your daily calorie intake. The best way to to do is to eat as you normally do for 3 days and keep a diary of everything you eat. EVERYTHING. Do not leave out anything, including all liquids. Then get a calorie counter book and figure out how many calories you consume in an average day. Then reduce it. Also look at WHAT you are eating, and focus on what you can do to substitute the unhealthy foods you consume with healthier choices. Small things such as whole wheat bread instead of white bread, snacking on fruits and vegetable instead of chips and candy, using mustard on your sandwich instead of mayo, drinking water instead of soda of juices, they all add up and go a long way. I can give you a lot more detail if you'd like, but this is a good starting point. Be well!

[reservoirdog1]

STM -- good on your for making that decision. It will change your life.

 

If you want some inspiration, go to http://www.bodybuilding.com, and enter the "Supersite" section. Find the part on "transformations" and you should find a whole bunch of success stories, before-and-after shots, etc. of people who were overweight and turned themselves around.

 

Also, Men's Health magazine has a half-pager in every issue (I think) in which they show a transformation like that.

 

In both cases -- the website and the magazine -- they give pointers on how the subject accomplished their goals. Very good stuff.

[Jordane]

Hey Girl! Since April I've lost 33 lbs by using a website called SparkPeople.com. I HIGHLY recommend it...it's an awesome site with message boards and tons of helpful tools that will help you change your diet so you can keep the weight off forever.

 

If you do decide to register, look me up! My name on there is Jordanee

[StartFresh]

Sounds good. First step, calculate your BMI/maintenance level. Search for "BMI calculator" online.

 

90% of weight loss is diet, 10% is activity. You dont necessarily have to work out to lose weight (but I recommend it). You need to find out what your maintenance level is and eat a defecit from it. If you burn 2500 calories per day (through regular activity and working out), aim to eat 2000. I use www.fitday.com to track my caloric intake. I aim for a 40/40/20 split of proteins/carbs/good fats. Its also eye opening for some foods. It will give you a good idea of what you are actually eating. Salad dressings were a huge eye-opener when I put them in, how fat-dense they really are.

 

I suggest getting to the gym. I find that most people are reluctant to go because they dont know where to start. If you want, get a trainer for a couple sessions, if you dont, here are some links you should find useful:

 

BMR Calculator: http://yianni.users.mcs2.netarray.com/FitnessWebApp/bmr.jsp

Excersize list: http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Decent newbie workout program: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

General info: http://www.nutritiondata.com/

Importance of the post workout diet: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/laywindownon.php

 

 

 

That should get you started pretty well. I dont know if you are male or female, but it doesnt matter. Hit the weights. Whether you get bigger/smaller muscular-wise depends solely on your diet and not on weightlifting, if you are not eating a surplus of calories (which you are not when you diet, obviously) you will not gain muscle. Time and time again I hear my female friends shun away weightlifting saying they don't want to get big. If it was that easy, every person in the world would be huge. Weightlifting doesnt get you big, your diet does. Weightlifting just redirects those extra calories to your muscles instead of your gut.

[Green]

Eat less calories. Try to take brisk walks each day for a good distance and atleast 30 minutes probably no more then 45 though. You can start with 20 -15 minute walks if 30-45 is to much for you to handle. Try to keep your calories around 2000. put a good amount of high fiber foods into your diet such as daily fruit and vegatables. Try to make the only thing you drink water, other then maybe a glass of zero fat milk. Eat foods that arnt procecessed with chemicals Such as High Fructose corn syrup. Avoid things like processed breads and High Fructose Corn syrup which appears in to many things. Eat natural and keep the calories down, avoid foods with processed chemicals and high salt contents at all costs. Dont go on any type of diet you dont plan to sustain the rest of your life. Jump starting with some liquid diet only sets you up to fail.

[InferiorityComplex]

It's great to see that you posted your thread...I haven't gotten around to mine yet. Well you said you'd like to talk to me more so I figured I'd respond.

 

The first thing I'd do is set a goal...realistic...you can always lose more. And never shoot for more than 2lbs a week.

 

A great website to check out is Nutrition.gov . It has so much information from what you caloric intake should be to maintain your current weight, to showing you how deceiving today's portion sizes are.

 

I saw that you said you have arthritis and a bad back. I to have obstacles, an irregular heartbeat, both elbows are limited to 20lbs maximum from an athletic injury, and I have hyper mobility in all of my joints, so I have to be very careful for fear of dislocation of my hips, ankles, etc.

 

Walking is a great start...or the elliptical on a slower pace. I find that it is much easier on the back, knees, and ankles. Try doing this 3 times a week for about 30 minutes, then eventually just go a little longer, 45minutes, an hour....increase the pace.

 

The trick I have found is to not go gun-ho about it. Too many people start dieting and working out like crazy. They join a gym or something only to find themselves without the time or energy to go anymore and stuck in a contract they can't get out of.

 

Weight loss is a gradual change, and should not be dramatic. Losing weight slowly gives your skin a chance to tighten back up with the loss. Whereas if you lose too much too quickly you looking like you are wearing some elephant skin coat (the image of Fat Bastard from the 3rd Austin Powers comes to mind) Also make sure that you are getting adequate nutrients and minerals, and lots and lots of water. Do your best to achieve the vitamins from healthy food sources, and not from any supplements (as most of the time vitamins end up canceling each other out and become totally ineffective.)

 

I would love to talk to you once I get PMing activated...not sure how long you have to be a member to get it. If you want my email or something else though...feel free to ask in a response post or something.

 

Hope it helps... Good luck and Good for you!!!

[Enema]

I'm not a fan of your liquid diet idea... imo, the best way to ensure weight stays off is to modify your diet and lifestyle to something sustainable indefinitely.

 

So much information and even conflicting ideas out there, but these are some of my most important rules:

 

1) Cut right down on sugar.

2) Stay away from white bread. Grains = good.

3) Eat nothing heavy, including bread within a few hours of bed.

4) Exercise min 3 times a week.

5) Cut down on booze if you're a drinker. No beer, switch to white spirits and non-sugary drinks.

6) Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day instead of 3 big ones.

[AriaIncognito]

Hey Girl! Since April I've lost 33 lbs by using a website called SparkPeople.com. I HIGHLY recommend it...it's an awesome site with message boards and tons of helpful tools that will help you change your diet so you can keep the weight off forever.

 

If you do decide to register, look me up! My name on there is Jordanee

 

I use that site as well and also highly recommend it. :-) My name ont here is the same as on here.

 

Kudos to you for deciding your life is worth more than you always feeling overweight and having your body ache. I understand how you feel. I'd love to know what it's like to be under the "plus" size level (meaning 14 or under here in the US). I've been shopping at plus size stores for at least 7-9 years now,a nd I'm sick of it. I mean, we get like 3 stores to choose from, if that. With the average woman in america being a size 14/16, you'd think they'd come out with more stores.

 

But I digress.

 

I wouldn't recommend the liquid diet thing. Think about it, if you dont want to incorporate that sort of diet into your lifestyle FOR GOOD then I'd say it's not worth doing. I realize it could "jump start" you, but you are looking for a long term change, not something from a fad diet.