Morbidly Obese- where to start?

[Anonymous]

For first steps - cut out sugar and gluten cold turkey, for the rest of your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you drink any kind of soda or juice, replace that with water. That's a great place to start. I was 255 at 5'4", and I don't drink soda, juice or alcohol, so I started with snacks - I only had fruits or veg for snacks, with the exception of one bag of popcorn per week.

After a month of getting used to that, I cut all my carbs in half or less than half. Like, I looked at the serving size of pasta and used a measuring cup - turned out I was eating four servings at a time.

Then, I realized I kept interpreting "hunger pangs" as "pain." So every time I felt them, I reminded myself "You're not in pain - you're fine; you're just losing weight."

I stopped going back for seconds or thirds. Even at Thanksgiving, I had a plate with about 4-6 ounces of turkey (hard to eyeball it), a scoop of potatoes, a small bit of cranberry sauce and some greenbeans. I tasted a bit of my nephews pie and otherwise didn't have dessert. And it was ... totally fine!

I am at 205 now.

This is key and so hard to do.

[Anonymous]

Are you in this area? GW has an excellent weight loss clinic. https://gwdocs.com/specialties/weight-loss-clinic

[Anonymous]

OP, I was in a similar situation and didn’t take WL seriously until 2 years ago. I had good labs with slightly elevated cholesterol but no signs of diabetes. However, my body ached so bad.

I started on Mounjaro and have dropped 70lbs. I exercise regularly now and am on a 23 week streak with Peloton. I aim for 1600 calories a day and believe me, I was able to do that in single meal 2 years ago.

WL shots get ridiculed and shamed on these boards but they are a tool to combat obesity with lifestyle modifications.

Don’t let shame or worry about others’ judgment stop you from moving forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you drink any kind of soda or juice, replace that with water. That's a great place to start. I was 255 at 5'4", and I don't drink soda, juice or alcohol, so I started with snacks - I only had fruits or veg for snacks, with the exception of one bag of popcorn per week.

After a month of getting used to that, I cut all my carbs in half or less than half. Like, I looked at the serving size of pasta and used a measuring cup - turned out I was eating four servings at a time.

Then, I realized I kept interpreting "hunger pangs" as "pain." So every time I felt them, I reminded myself "You're not in pain - you're fine; you're just losing weight."

I stopped going back for seconds or thirds. Even at Thanksgiving, I had a plate with about 4-6 ounces of turkey (hard to eyeball it), a scoop of potatoes, a small bit of cranberry sauce and some greenbeans. I tasted a bit of my nephews pie and otherwise didn't have dessert. And it was ... totally fine!

I am at 205 now.

This is key and so hard to do.

.

Good suggestions. One that is helping me is to cut my meals in half and save half for the next day or share with DH. I add vegetables to the plate and some fruit afterwards if I still feel hungry. I also fill a tall glass with 1/4 juice and add cold water to the rest. It's amazing what you get used to and regular juice is much too sweet for me now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Join some group activity if possible.

I'm guessing you've never been fat, right? It's incredibly hard to join groups when you are. I did yoga for six months. The yoga instructor wouldn't correct my form, claiming she'd touched a different fat woman who got upset. I literally stared at her as I said, "We're not all the same." Everyone else in the class keeps glancing at you - partially to make sure they're at least doing better than the fat person, but also because it's amusing to see - like a hippo doing ballet would be. I used to cry before I headed out, and know of at least two times I called a friend and asked her to firmly tell me to go. Oh, and let's not forget people complimenting you for being fat yet being at a workout class.

There are weight loss groups in every city, you can find your tribe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you drink any kind of soda or juice, replace that with water. That's a great place to start. I was 255 at 5'4", and I don't drink soda, juice or alcohol, so I started with snacks - I only had fruits or veg for snacks, with the exception of one bag of popcorn per week.

After a month of getting used to that, I cut all my carbs in half or less than half. Like, I looked at the serving size of pasta and used a measuring cup - turned out I was eating four servings at a time.

Then, I realized I kept interpreting "hunger pangs" as "pain." So every time I felt them, I reminded myself "You're not in pain - you're fine; you're just losing weight."

I stopped going back for seconds or thirds. Even at Thanksgiving, I had a plate with about 4-6 ounces of turkey (hard to eyeball it), a scoop of potatoes, a small bit of cranberry sauce and some greenbeans. I tasted a bit of my nephews pie and otherwise didn't have dessert. And it was ... totally fine!

I am at 205 now.

This is key and so hard to do.

Yeah it really is. It's a lot of mental work to lose weight. It's not just putting down the candy bars or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you in this area? GW has an excellent weight loss clinic. https://gwdocs.com/specialties/weight-loss-clinic

Fwiw, I did not have a good experience there, although it's been a few years. The nutritionist did not even look at the food journal I'd meticulously kept and then when I asked her to look at it she made an unpleasant face. Not helpful. The doctor was very nice but suggested I might not be in the right phase of life to lose weight, and, indeed, I did not lose any weight during my time going to the clinic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5’9, 45 years old, 322lbs. I’ve been heavy my whole life, but crossed over into 300s over the pandemic with a 40lb weight gain.

No preexisting conditions that I’m aware of, but I also haven’t seen my doctor or gotten blood work in the last two years.

My life is somewhat active with 3 kids, two dogs, a job and a household to maintain, but not as active as I’d like it to be. My legs are swollen at the end of the day and I’m just tired and not able to do the things I want to do with my kids like tubing, hikes, etc.

I’m ready to make a lifestyle change but frozen in action. I don’t want to deal with medical professionals who make me feel terrible for the size of my body or super restrictive diets.

Tell me where to start. Better yet, tell me the name of a medical professional who can help me. Thanks

Start with a primary care doctor who will order blood work and maybe refer to a nutritionist and therapist in that order. Follow up with blood results might get you a referral to a specialist like an endocrinologist if you are diabetic or a weight loss doctor if not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you in this area? GW has an excellent weight loss clinic. https://gwdocs.com/specialties/weight-loss-clinic

Fwiw, I did not have a good experience there, although it's been a few years. The nutritionist did not even look at the food journal I'd meticulously kept and then when I asked her to look at it she made an unpleasant face. Not helpful. The doctor was very nice but suggested I might not be in the right phase of life to lose weight, and, indeed, I did not lose any weight during my time going to the clinic.

I have been having a very good experience with the GW weight loss clinic. I filled out a fairly long questionnaire before my first appointment. The doctor told me most people don’t bother filling it out. My first appt was like a long interview. I got the impression that they do consider whether patients are emotionally in the right mindset to be successful with weightloss.

[Anonymous]

Month 1: start with achievable goals

1. Cut all soda, including diet soda.
2. Cut all desserts, unless it is just bowl of fruit (no whipped cream or syrups)
3. Cut all snacks except you can have as many carrots or celery sticks as you’d like when you’re hungry and reaching for a snack. Otherwise, feel free to have three meals a day. It’s ok to eat what you have normally been eating for this first month during the meals, but would not go back for seconds for any given meal.
4. Walk 30 minutes a day. You can split this up into two 15 minute sessions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start with a primary care doctor and ask them for a referral for an obesity specialist. Ask them to do all required testing and prescribe a suitable weight loss medication.

Throw away white flour, white rice, sugar, read meat, alcohol, soda, chips, jam, jelly, cake, cookies bread etc.

In addition to whatever exercise you do, walk around the house for 10 minutes after every two sitting hours. Walk instead of driving for short distances, take stairs instead of elevator. Stay in gym clothes and sneakers as much as possible so you have one less excuse for going to gym or for walks. Make home fitness friendly with a trademill, some free weights, a soccer net and ball, a basket ball hoop etc. Get a bicycle, etc.

Hire a fitness coach if possible, even if its a high school or college athlete on minimum wage/hr as all you need is some structure and accountability.

Why? She doesn’t need to go to a weight loss specialist. Her primary can prescribe Wegovy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you drink any kind of soda or juice, replace that with water. That's a great place to start. I was 255 at 5'4", and I don't drink soda, juice or alcohol, so I started with snacks - I only had fruits or veg for snacks, with the exception of one bag of popcorn per week.

After a month of getting used to that, I cut all my carbs in half or less than half. Like, I looked at the serving size of pasta and used a measuring cup - turned out I was eating four servings at a time.

Then, I realized I kept interpreting "hunger pangs" as "pain." So every time I felt them, I reminded myself "You're not in pain - you're fine; you're just losing weight."

I stopped going back for seconds or thirds. Even at Thanksgiving, I had a plate with about 4-6 ounces of turkey (hard to eyeball it), a scoop of potatoes, a small bit of cranberry sauce and some greenbeans. I tasted a bit of my nephews pie and otherwise didn't have dessert. And it was ... totally fine!

I am at 205 now.

Well done.

[Anonymous]

It would be best if you got your labs done. Some weight gain is due to insulin resistance, thyroid issues, etc. It's not just overeating. If you put weight on easily, it may be medically related.

Simultaneously, you do need to cut out carbs and gluten as other pp's have said.

Try an intermittent fasting app. It's working wonders for my DH.

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar position. I'm 45, 5'4 and weigh 270 (started at 275 2 weeks ago).

I know myself. If I try to make drastic changes, I get frustrated and quit after a few weeks. I'm trying to set realistic goals for myself. Right now I am focusing on not eating fast food or ice cream. Those are my weaknesses. I started 2 weeks ago and I have stuck with it. I have been cooking dinner (I'm single and live alone) and packing my lunch every day. I do not buy any unhealthy snacks when grocery shopping.

Once I stop losing weight with these goals, I'll start counting calories. I also need to start adding exercise to my daily routine.

I'm certainly not an expert, but I can relate. Start slow and stick with it.