New beginnings can start any day.

Do WW - use the plan with a coach - a bargain! Lots of great success stories on the WW connect platform.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:Optavia. It's an expensive MLM but my sister convinced me to try it and I've gone from 199 to 187 in 15 days.

The food takes some getting used to, and it's VLC diet, but after the first few days, I am never hungry and honestly have to set alarms to eat every 3 hours. It's like in the last two weeks food has just become .. fuel.

But, it's an MLM, my "coach" has already asked me to "coach" and their videos are hokey. But, not being hungry and dropping weight very quickly makes it worth it for me.

I dropped 40 lbs on Optavia in early 2019. Then gained it all back during the pandemic in the early months of 2020. I tried to restart it but haven't been able to have the same luck, and it's expensive to continue with it without losing. Although they talk a lot about transition, the plan doesn't do a good job of transitioning to real food.

I think everyone's bodies are different and what works for one person doesn't work at all for another.

But I had a similar moment (seeing myself in my brother's wedding photos) at 210ish pounds. I started intermittent fasting and dropped about 10 pounds in 4 months. Then I added exercise (at first a treadmill and then a peloton) and now 18 months after I started I'm down 45 pounds. Still working on it, but feeling better than I have in more than a decade.

WW and you really need to keep tabs on your weight. Weigh yourself at least every few days. Yes, the number on the scale matters. 40 lens shouldn't be able to just creep up you in you are weighing yourself frequently. You will know when you are gaining and can change the tide.

The things that have helped me the couple times I gained significant weight are:

1. Think first about what you want to add to your diet. Try to add a significant amount of vegetables to every meal, and eat them first. I find that there is a lot about the “volumetrics” type diets that make sense. Eat big fluffy salads, lots of cabbage, and vegetable soups along with some good proteins and smaller portions of foods you consider more fun, and you are off to a good start.
2. Make sure your food is flavorful. Add more herbs and your favorite spices and try to slow down while eating whatever you are eating and really savor it.
3. Definitely drink more water during the day if you don’t already. There is little to support the claims that anyone who is not an athlete needs 8 glasses a day, but water and tea really do help fill you up and make your body feel better.
4. Try to move every day. For the first few weeks your goals should be modest in terms of intensity. Even thinking of going for a “brisk” walk is a turnoff for me when I’m in a hard place with weight. The goal should literally be to do any movement without stopping or distractions every day for at least 10-15 minutes to start, even if it’s strolling or dancing to a few songs. You will feel better immediately if you start thinking of this as “me time” and feeling better will make you actually want to step it up some of the time with brisk walks, hills, or more. Not feeling ambitious on a particular day? No worries. Just take a stroll that day. The important thing is that you commit to doing it and follow through.

Good luck, Op and others in this boat.

Optavia. It's an expensive MLM but my sister convinced me to try it and I've gone from 199 to 187 in 15 days.

The food takes some getting used to, and it's VLC diet, but after the first few days, I am never hungry and honestly have to set alarms to eat every 3 hours. It's like in the last two weeks food has just become .. fuel.

But, it's an MLM, my "coach" has already asked me to "coach" and their videos are hokey. But, not being hungry and dropping weight very quickly makes it worth it for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put on covid 15. I used to never eat breakfast, and never eat before bed. And I rarely drank. Now I eat at both those times and have probably 4 drinks a week. It all adds up. I need to start skipping breakfast and late snacking again.

Skipping breakfast makes me hungrier and more likely to indulge.

NP. Notice the PP shared what works for *her,* and didn’t even tell anyone to try it. She was relating to the OP and stated what was going on with her.

Anonymous wrote:To lose weight, you need to have a caloric deficit. Burn more calories than you put in. So eat less, eat better (protein helps us feel fuller longer...reduce carbs and eliminate as much sugar as possible). In addition, burn more calories. Get up and walk around as much as possible. Go for a 30-45 minute brisk walk everyday. You should see pounds come off after a week. Once feeling better or possibly now if you can, strength train. Maybe for now, it's walking hills and/or steps until you can get to body weight exercises like squats, push ups, etc. But for now, be as active as possible. Good luck.

Np. I had to start calorie counting and measuring things to really see my intake.
Also, I never “subtract” my activity (I work out hard about 3x per week) from those calories.

It’s kinda working but I still blow it once in awhile. If anyone has tips on not blowing it and staying truly disciplined I would love that.

To lose weight, you need to have a caloric deficit. Burn more calories than you put in. So eat less, eat better (protein helps us feel fuller longer...reduce carbs and eliminate as much sugar as possible). In addition, burn more calories. Get up and walk around as much as possible. Go for a 30-45 minute brisk walk everyday. You should see pounds come off after a week. Once feeling better or possibly now if you can, strength train. Maybe for now, it's walking hills and/or steps until you can get to body weight exercises like squats, push ups, etc. But for now, be as active as possible. Good luck.

I'd recommend two things.

1) Change your thought processes and embrace radical self love. Love yourself at the weight you are at, and learn a little bit about how diet culture sets you up to fail. I'd recommend the podcast Maintenance Phase for that.

2) Take actions that make you feel good, as part of your radical self love. Does drinking make you feel bad? Ditch the habit. Does taking a walk make you feel good? Do it.

Be comfortable in the skin you are wearing AND take actions to care for yourself. You'll probably lose weight, but you will also care less because you will feel better.

Anonymous wrote:I put on covid 15. I used to never eat breakfast, and never eat before bed. And I rarely drank. Now I eat at both those times and have probably 4 drinks a week. It all adds up. I need to start skipping breakfast and late snacking again.

Skipping breakfast makes me hungrier and more likely to indulge.

Anonymous wrote:Would you consider weight watchers? I’m doing it and it’s not difficult at all.

+1

Once you get the hang of it, it definitely works

I put on covid 15. I used to never eat breakfast, and never eat before bed. And I rarely drank. Now I eat at both those times and have probably 4 drinks a week. It all adds up. I need to start skipping breakfast and late snacking again.

There’s no need to be sickened and in fact, your lack of self love will virtually ensure your diet will fail since you will be in a cycle of restriction, slip ups and shame.

Good news, at 230 pounds you can lose 1 lb a week while still eating 2000 calories per day. Start there and see if you can approach it in a gradual and sustainable way. I am similar size (a little less) and losing 1 lb/week eating 2000 cals. I have 700 calorie lunches and dinners with room for snacks and dessert too.

So my words of wisdom are, don’t fall for the rhetoric people will give you that you need to punish yourself and starve because you’re fat. You can lose weight and enjoy food at the same time.

Would you consider weight watchers? I’m doing it and it’s not difficult at all.