Motivation

Howdy guys and gals!  I'm taking over this club, not because i think i have all the answers (i so know i don't) but because i'm super pumped up right now and motivated to help those people out there who have a lot of weight to lose.  we need a place that's more than a "can i join" place.. we need a place to talk about issues related to being this overweight.. 

Who here needs to lose over 100 pounds? Who needs to lose over 150 pounds? Or more?

I did! I did! And yes.. i did!

A small amount of background on me for those of you who don't know: i am a binge eater. I have had a problem with emotional eating, hidden eating, over eating, eating with a hang nail, eating because i have split ends.. you name it i stuffed my emotions down with the greasiest, nastiest food i could find!

Why did i do that (you might ask)? Because of many many different reasons.. frankly i think it was because this is how i was taught from a young age, this is how we handle stress and emotions. I learned that it's not proper to talk about your feelings.. or god forbid, express your emotions! You have to shove them down with a piece of cake and a smile!

Anyway.. onto the reason for this post.

If you are out there and need to lose a lot of weight.. just like i've got to.. i think we need to have a place where we can discuss these issues with each other and try and work through them together. Because, let's face it, people who are morbidly obese (yes.. i hate that word too) have uniquely different issues to work through and deal with than the average person.

Losing weight, for people who have this much to lose, have to deal with so much more than the formulas to figure out how much to eat.. and exercising. It's more complex than that. We have to deal with years and years of poor eating habits that have to be unlearned, we have to deal with the emotional torment of just being this size, we have to deal with the harsh looks and comments from strangers or from loved ones, we have to deal with our emotions for the first time in our life because we aren't shoving them down our throats anymore..

this is the hardest thing ANYONE has to deal with.. but, from my experience, things are different for us bigguns. :)

also, for those of you who don't know me very well.. (because i've kinda been in hiding and not posting much and there are so many new people out there) i started out in january weighing 324 pounds. I now weigh 232.5.. i have lost 91.5 pounds so far. I am not telling you guys this to get kudos.. i got those yesterday. I'm telling you guys this because i want anyone out there who is struggling with knowing they have, what seems to be, an insurmountable amount of weight to lose, that there is hope.. it IS possible.. you CAN do it.. but it's hard.. and you will hurt.. i know this because i've been there.. i've done it.. and i'm still dealing with it.

so.. come on in and share your stories.. i want to hear them and i want us to support each other until we are all at our goal weight!

Beanie,

Thanks so much for the reply.  I really appreciate all of the support and advice.  Congratulations on losing the 50lbs!  That is awesome!  You must really be working hard to lose all of that in less than 6 months.  That's inspiring!

I have been trying to drink a lot of water, but it sounds like I really need to kick it up a notch.  Does your body ever get used to that much water, or do you pretty much spend the day in the bathroom? 

I do notice that when I exercise I crave veggies and protein much more than sweet or salties.  I think my hardest thing is not snacking at night.  I like to eat a good dinner and then an hour or two later I start feeling snacky, and that is where I get into trouble.  I am trying to work on that. 

Anyway, I better run, but thanks again for the reply. 

Gail,

I think that is very good advice, thank you.  

I am a very loving and gentle person with most everyone else, but defintely have a hard time not beating up on myself.  It is very true what you said, and kind of helps put it in perspective for me. 

Thanks for the reminder.  Take care-

Hi,

Im relatively new to this site (on day9). From what I see I am loving it!! I weigh 134.6kg (from 138) and need to get down to 68.9 kg

I  guess in lb's thats about 150lb. The support and advice on this site has really helped me be accountable every day.

For me its baby steps. I make sure my calorie intake is less than 1800, and I dont eat after 8pm. I walk home from work each night (30 min) and do a low impact aerobics DVD on the weekends. I come online to enter my log each day and write in my journal each day. So far so good.

 I found this thread today and thought this could be a place where I could fit in.

The first thing I have noticed since changing my eating habits. (NOT DIET) is I dont like so much sugar in my coffee. My partner made me a cup the other day and I couldn't drink it.

Its a start!

Welcome all you new ones. I'm pretty new myself.  So far this forum has been so helpful for me.  The posts have been very encouraging.
If we just stick with it, we will all succeed! :)

Hello to all, I am a noobie (joined today actually) long story short 6'6' 421 as of Nov 15th 2006, decided I don't like this weight anymore and it isn't doing me any good in life love or health so started riding my bike as much as I can and slowly have phased out some of the worst foods in the fridge and cabinets.

Found this place and joined and it looks like it is FULL of info help and support, hopefully I can provide some support to others too as my journey takes me further down the road.

As of today Dec 8th I weighed in at 405.5 so I am not complaining, I know I have a long road to go down but I also know it took years go gain this all so I will just pace myself and set mini goals.

My First mini goal is to get under 400 by Jan 1st 2007, I want to start 2007 out UNDER 400 and never look back. Once I reach that goal I will set another one within reason in mini steps, rewarding myself with new walking shoes in spring if I reach this or that goal etc etc...

Anyways I have 23 pages to read here so each night I will catch up on a few and be upto speed within a week or so.

Hope everyone has a fun safe active weekend,

Bill :)

Welcome Billa!

16 pounds! WOW! congrats! :)

Hi All,

I started on Dec 3rd I weighed 300 and yesterday I checked I am at 293.5 . I am not starving myself I am keeping my calories count below 1200 Cal. But, what is bothering me is I lost 7 Lbs in a week. now I am not sure If I really lost these 7 pounds or my weighing scale is showing wrong measurments. As I heard normally people loose 2 to 3 lbs a week. So, please let me know if any one has seen this kind of a behaviour.

But, Initally I used to hate to eat greens. But some how now I started like eating greens... -:)

Please advice me...  Thanks! for all your support.

Sasianu,

Your scale is right.  Its possible for "larger" people to loose that kind of weight when they first start eating right & exercising.  I lost 12 lbs in one week when I started.  But after a few weeks it will start leveling off to about 1-2 lbs a week.

I was doing good for about 5 weeks then I went back to my old ways and gained some of my weight back.  I don't know why.  I really can not pin point the reason.  But I am happy to say that I am back on track and have lost the weight again.  I keep reminding myself how bad it is for my heart to keep loosing & gaining the weight.  I would still come here and read the post and I think that is what helped me get myself straight.

I hope everyone is having a great day.

Kimne

Sasianu,

Congrats on the great start - and for choosing to get healthy!  Woohoo!

However, please note that 1200 is the absolute minimum for a woman - 1500 for a guy - to eat in a day.  Otherwise, your body will go into "starvation mode", that is, your metabolism will slow to nill to conserve because it's afraid you won't get enough to eat to keep it going.

Eat at least 1200 if you're a woman, 1500 if you're a man, of healthy calories per day.  (See site too calculators to help you figure out what calorie level you should strive for in order to lose 1-2 pounds per week based on your activity level because that's a healthy loss plan that will have a greater chance of staying off.  1200 may be way too low at first to lose only 1-2 pounds per week.  I started at 2000 and then reduced to 1800 and then 1700s.)

I am a new here and would like to join the 100 to lose club. I have just over 100 to lose. It is truly inspiring to read how well all of you have done and continue to do. I love this website because everyone really seems to want everyone else to succeed too! A fraction of this excess weight slowly crept up on me - 40 pounds in one year! I tried (briefly) to lose the weight but failed. And now 6 years later I still have that weight plus another 60 packed on! Enough is enough. I just turned 30 and I really want to have a baby. But I want to be at a healthy weight before conceiving. This is really important to me. I have a 12 year old daughter and I feel like I have missed out on so much because of my low energy level and lack of comfort. I am tired of wearing pants in the summer becuase I am embarrassed to put on shorts. I have high cholesterol - not too bad, but I am trying to correct it with diet and exercise as I do not want to take medication for it. Since joining Calorie Count about two weeks ago I have lost 11 pounds. I feel really good about that!! I know I can keep it up. I need to add some daily exercise. I created a posting today asking for any suggestions for exercise for the disabled. I had some operations and nerve damage to my right foot and am having difficulties finding the right routine. So that's a little about me! 11 pounds in a little over two weeks is a good start...it's all uphill from here!! YAY!! Maybe this time next year I will have a little bun in the oven?!?!

Hi Bfly, and Welcome! Your situation sounds very much like mine. I am also 30... (31 actally) and have more than 100lb to loose. I have found writing in my journal every day helps me stay on track. And there are some great people out there who are more than willing to help with any sugestions.  I have PCOS, and have been trying to conceive for over 4yrs, and recently looked into IVF. They told me I needed to loose weight first. So for that, and other reasons, I found myself here about 2 weeks ago. So far I have lost 9lb. Im really happy I found this place.

Hi Logette,

Thanks for the welcome. I would like to add you to my friends list if you wouldn't mind.(?) I think we might be able to help each other since we are the same age and are in a similar boat. We even seemed to make a decision to do the right thing and join around the same time. On another note, what breed of dog is that in your profile picture with you? I ask because we have a Miniature Bulldog that looked very similar to yours when he was very small.

I'm so glad this 100 To Lose Club is here.  That's me.  I'm 26 years old, 222 lbs, and 5 ft.  I have about 90 to lose.  I'm going to keep motivated! 

How do we reply to an individual on this forum?

 Bfly your more that welcome to add me as a friend. I will do the same. Missy (my dog) is a cross Alaskan Malamute with Rottie. She is a big girl, weighs 110lb or 45kg. Her Pup, the one in the picture now wieghs 60kg or 132lb! His dad was ridgeback / rottie.

Welcome "road to victory" To reply to a specific person, you can see if they have a journal and add a comment, or they may have entered their email address on their profile.

I need to add some daily exercise. I created a posting today asking for any suggestions for exercise for the disabled.

You might want to try some chair exercises, or exercises that allow you to sit on the floor.  Even using small hand weights will help.  Here are some links that can help you - some are addressed to those with injuries, some are for those who are elderly, however you can see what there is among them that you could do, based on your circumstances:

link 1
link 2
link 3
link 4
link 5  (listing of different exercises - can check to see what fits your particular situation)

Hope that helps.

BTW, welcome and greetings to all the newest members of the 100+ lbs to lose!!  We're glad to see you here!  Feel free to add me as your friend!  I usually am on at some point each day.

zeppelin,

One thing I tell friends when they say something negative is, "Please don't talk about my friend that way!"  I have to remind myself of that sometimes. 

I think it's wonderful (and healthy) to find humor in things, but I wonder how helpful it really is to you to demean oneself.  If it works for you, okay, but if you're at all like me, the "I'm going to say it myself before someone else does" thing applies.  I have so much negative self-talk going on inside of me, that I have to work at being positive.

In fact, while people noticing me losing weight is very encouraging, part of me cringes at all the attention and the negative self-talk of "How bad did I look before?" creeps in.  It's fun (and sometimes hard, too) to be getting smaller and challenging to find things to wear.  It's a positive direction in my life, but it's not without its challenges, too.

I'm finding old habits creeping back into my life - the holiday indulgences and the "too busy to eat healthy" problem.  I found a quote in a FlyLady post yesterday that I've put on a post-it on my computer monitor at work.  I'm hoping it will help me with food choices (at least somewhat) in the days to come:

I AM WORTH MORE THAN NUTRITIONALLY NEGATIVE FOOD!

Hello everyone:)

This is my first posting on here and I think I should totally be in this club. I was 303 as of December 16, 2006. The Doctor has always told me that I'm way too big for my height and I've alwayed ignored him and thought nothing was ever wrong. I don't have high blood, high cholestrol, or diabetes. So why go on a diet? Well, since being so big.... I had to get my tonsils removed for sleep apnea... that's when your soo fat, you can't breathe while sleeping, I had kindey stones removed and that was not fun as they have to come out of your hoo ha... if ya know what I mean. Now I have a cyst on my chest that smells of rancid milk that I have to remove... All because of being a fat butt! Today is December 24th and Ive offically losted 9 pounds. Crazy huh? Yeah bigger folks lose alot on the first week of anykind of lifestyle change. I know next week I'll probably lose like 2-3 pound but I'm gonna keep with it. It's hard so any help from anyone would be appreciated. Thanks

Welcome bobby!  Great to see you here, and that you've taken the first steps to losing weight.  It's not an easy road to walk, but the end results will be well worth it.  We at CC are here to help and support in any way that we can.  Hang in there.  You're not alone.