Hi, I am going to lose weight in 2013.

[OliviaDCUM]

And I am going to update this thread with my progress.

I weigh 260 pounds. I have been overweight my whole life - 142 in sixth grade, 170 by 9th grade, then it just kept creeping up. Now I am in my 20s and have weighed over 250 for some time. I hate it. Ive never really lost weight - only steadily gained since fourth grade.

I joined a gym a while back and enjoy going occasionally, but had trouble going regularly. My main problem is a tendency to eat exactly whatever I want, whenever I want. Cookies, candy, chips, fries, whatever damn thing I want. I know I have to stop.

I am going to track my progress here. My general plan is to focus on a few healthy habits each week. I hate the notion of dieting and want to make a lifestyle change. Changes I want to ultimately make:

-Decrease junk food (particularly fried food, chips and sweets)
-Decrease carbs and dairy
-Increase fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains
-Replace diet coke habit with water habit
-Exercise at least six days a week
-Run a 5k by the end of the year

Any support welcomed!

[Anonymous]

Good luck! I recommend c25k- it is awesome for new runners.

[Anonymous]

Kudos to you! I am truly inspired by your determination!

Have you considered weight watchers? It was the only thing that truly helped me deal with portion size and eat sensibly.

Look forward to reading your posts!

[Anonymous]

Good luck Olivia.

You will find tons of advice online. Here are some things I would like to add:

- Take it EASY on yourself. You want to lose 25 pounds this year? That's 1 pound per two weeks -- no need to starve yourself (you won't keep that up for 52 weeks).
- MEASURE your progress. I recommend to track your weight every day -- but only worry about the 10-day moving average. This works for people who like data -- ymmv.
- EXERCISE but do not expect that to make you lose weight. Typically, you won't burn that many calories and that's okay. Your FOOD intake needs to change for that. But exercise does make you live longer, happier and healthier.

I personally couldn't exercise 6 days a week -- and I'm a pretty good long distance runner. You might want to strive for 3 or 4 days a week.

Anyway, good luck.

[Anonymous]

Good luck Olivia!! I am also making 2013 my weight loss year, I am determined. I will keep up with your thread!

From my past experiences with weight loss, I will recommend three things - vinegars, mustards, and lots of broth based soups. Flavorful and filling but low calorie counts.

[Anonymous]

Good luck.

But also be realistic. You have been very overweight for a very long time and very sedentary for a very long time.

Each of your goals above is good by itself by trying to do them all together will most very likely be overwhelming and result in a quick fail.

Do yourself a favor and concentrate on just changing one habit at a time. And when you have stuck with a new habit for 60 days, then add change another one.

Another thing I highly recommend is to wait until you have lost at least 10 lbs by diet changes first before exercising. If you start exercising like crazy and diet at first, the scale will not move as quickly and it will be easy to get discouraged.

I previously weighed close to 300 pounds but now am in the normal weight range for my height.

[Anonymous]

Rooting for you! I agree with PPs suggestion to take things one at a time. I focused on losing weight first, now I will add exercise. I realized that exercising made me hungry and it was easier to lose initially without it.

[Anonymous]

You can do it OP!! My cousin and aunt have been overweight their whole lives, and after doing weight watchers last year they lost a TON of weight and look awesome!!

Please keep us updated!!!

[OliviaDCUM]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck! I recommend c25k- it is awesome for new runners.

Thanks! I have tried C25K before but have had trouble sticking with it. I did actually finish a 5k but was one of the last people to finish This time I am hoping to do it a bit quicker.

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to you! I am truly inspired by your determination!

Have you considered weight watchers? It was the only thing that truly helped me deal with portion size and eat sensibly.

Look forward to reading your posts!

I have considered weight watchers but don't really know much about it. I hear that lots of people have good luck with it though so perhaps I will try it out.

Anonymous wrote:Good luck Olivia.

You will find tons of advice online. Here are some things I would like to add:

- Take it EASY on yourself. You want to lose 25 pounds this year? That's 1 pound per two weeks -- no need to starve yourself (you won't keep that up for 52 weeks).
- MEASURE your progress. I recommend to track your weight every day -- but only worry about the 10-day moving average. This works for people who like data -- ymmv.
- EXERCISE but do not expect that to make you lose weight. Typically, you won't burn that many calories and that's okay. Your FOOD intake needs to change for that. But exercise does make you live longer, happier and healthier.

I personally couldn't exercise 6 days a week -- and I'm a pretty good long distance runner. You might want to strive for 3 or 4 days a week.

Anyway, good luck.

Thanks for the pointers. I definitely plan to take it slowly - I hate the idea of dieting so want to make lifestyle changes.

I do plan on setting up a spreadsheet but may do like bi-weekly weigh-ins, as I get annoyed with the scale not moving fast enough when weighing daily.

I actually dropped about 20 pounds in 2012 from work-related stress and some due to the gym but I definitely learned my lesson about the gym not yielding fast weight loss - I was very frustrated at first! I do want to exercise for a lot of reasons though, many unrelated to weight loss.

Thanks for the support

Anonymous wrote:Good luck Olivia!! I am also making 2013 my weight loss year, I am determined. I will keep up with your thread!

From my past experiences with weight loss, I will recommend three things - vinegars, mustards, and lots of broth based soups. Flavorful and filling but low calorie counts.

Good luck to you too!

Thanks for the pointers. I like food (obviously!) so I do like to think of ways to find strongly flavored lower cal foods.

Anonymous wrote:Good luck.

But also be realistic. You have been very overweight for a very long time and very sedentary for a very long time.

Each of your goals above is good by itself by trying to do them all together will most very likely be overwhelming and result in a quick fail.

Do yourself a favor and concentrate on just changing one habit at a time. And when you have stuck with a new habit for 60 days, then add change another one.

Another thing I highly recommend is to wait until you have lost at least 10 lbs by diet changes first before exercising. If you start exercising like crazy and diet at first, the scale will not move as quickly and it will be easy to get discouraged.

I previously weighed close to 300 pounds but now am in the normal weight range for my height.

I have been very overweight for a long time but actually am not very sedentary - I have always done a lot of hiking and outdoorsy things and have made some headway at the gym for the past six months (seeing a personal trainer occasionally and taking some cardio classes). I do have tons of room to go though to be truly in good physical shape.

I definitely don't plan on tackling everything at once. Like I said, I plan to focus on a goal or so a week. Your advice about trying each goal for a longer period is good - I will think about it.

Congrats on your own positive changes

Anonymous wrote:Rooting for you! I agree with PPs suggestion to take things one at a time. I focused on losing weight first, now I will add exercise. I realized that exercising made me hungry and it was easier to lose initially without it.

I got a sporadic exercise regime going so now I am going to focus on the food and then also pushing my exercise harder. Good luck to you too!

Anonymous wrote:You can do it OP!! My cousin and aunt have been overweight their whole lives, and after doing weight watchers last year they lost a TON of weight and look awesome!!

Please keep us updated!!!

Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

If you start lifting you won't necessarily see the scale move but you will increase the amount of muscle you have. Since its denser than fat, you will look better sooner. Take pictures once every two weeks and you will see the changes that you would otherwise miss.

Try nerdfitness.com.

[Anonymous]

I would highly recommend joining myfitnesspal.com. It's free and you will find a lot of people in your same situation and the various forums can be very helpful for those just starting out.

[Anonymous]

You can do it! Protein and vegetables are key for keeping appetite at bay. Keep us posted!

[Anonymous]

Second the recommendation for myfitnesspal. Using it to log what you eat helps you to see the number of calories you are eating and you can use the info to make better food choices. Don't try to be perfect, just do the best you can.

Also, try to move more during your regular day. Walk as much as you can. Take the stairs when you can. Walk around while you're waiting for something or on the phone. I find this is a pretty painless way to burn more calories.

[Anonymous]

Hi Olivia!

About 3 years ago, I went from 193.5 lbs to 120. It took me about 7 months (I started in Mid April, hit my goal towards the end of January--I had a slight lapse over the holidays that year)

That was January 2010 that I hit my goal of 120. I've *mostly* kept it off...I gained a little bit over this past holiday season, but can still fit in my clothes and am confident i'll be taking it off within the next 2 months!

The #1 piece of advice I can give you is to MEASURE everything you eat--use measuring cups, measuring spoons, kitchen scale, etc. I just ate a salad for dinner. I measured how much dressing, I weighed 1 oz. of goat cheese to put in it. I weighed 3.5 ounces of chicken breast, etc. Then RECORD it. I see PPs have recommended myfitnesspal--I use Sparkpeople.com--but check out both sites (and others!) and see what works best for you.

I find that I don't need to deny myself treats if I have been careful the rest of the day, and measuring and recording allows me to see if I've been "careful enough."
It's tough (ok, it SUCKS) to do this for everything, but it WORKS!

Exercise is important, but its the eating habits that will make or break you. FWIW, during the holidays this year, I kept my fitness routine up impeccably, but over-indulged in the eating, and that's why my weight went up.

You can do this!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Olivia!

About 3 years ago, I went from 193.5 lbs to 120. It took me about 7 months (I started in Mid April, hit my goal towards the end of January--I had a slight lapse over the holidays that year)

That was January 2010 that I hit my goal of 120. I've *mostly* kept it off...I gained a little bit over this past holiday season, but can still fit in my clothes and am confident i'll be taking it off within the next 2 months!

The #1 piece of advice I can give you is to MEASURE everything you eat--use measuring cups, measuring spoons, kitchen scale, etc. I just ate a salad for dinner. I measured how much dressing, I weighed 1 oz. of goat cheese to put in it. I weighed 3.5 ounces of chicken breast, etc. Then RECORD it. I see PPs have recommended myfitnesspal--I use Sparkpeople.com--but check out both sites (and others!) and see what works best for you.

I find that I don't need to deny myself treats if I have been careful the rest of the day, and measuring and recording allows me to see if I've been "careful enough."
It's tough (ok, it SUCKS) to do this for everything, but it WORKS!

Exercise is important, but its the eating habits that will make or break you. FWIW, during the holidays this year, I kept my fitness routine up impeccably, but over-indulged in the eating, and that's why my weight went up.

You can do this!!!!

This is fabulous advice - most people have no idea how much they are eating; that's what is good about a program like Weight Watchers or South Beach, it gives you a guide to how much you should be eating and also builds in a support system. Good luck! It sounds like you are determined and will do it. It's truly a life change but once you start and get in the habit you can do it and keep it off.