33, 5'6", 271, 44BMI, 48% Body Fat in the Beginning of her Journey

I work fulltime as a legal assistant, I go to school fulltime with 2 in class classes and 3 online classes. I have a daughter who is 8 years old, a cheerleader and only comes home everyother week. I come from a family of four (being the youngest). My mother never cooked, we always ate out. I was so lazy in high school I faked out my asthma condition level just to be part of a special physical education class where we didnt do a whole lot. I was never very active. Since High School, the only activity I was ever really into was dancin at the club. My eating habits just continued from my parents. There are days where I would eat 3 meals, but there were days I only ate one. But they were always out. I have no idea how to cook. Its easy for me to make all these excuses to just go through the drive thru.

The following is a list of reasons I need to do this for myself.
1. EMBARRASMENT - I am embarrased to walk into these restaurants and get the same thing everytime. I am embarrased to be seen eating, so I eat in my car at lunch. I am embarrased to be seen in a bathing suit on the beach. I am embarrased to be seen in the gym, as I feel that everyone is staring at me thinking that I am going to just give up or that they will laugh at me thinking I can't do this. I am embarrased to go into a group fitness class as I know I would be the biggest one in there and just the thought of staring at myself while I attempt these moves, I look more like a whale then I thought I did. I am embarrased to be at my daughters cheerleading games as even if I had the thought to go to the concession stand just to get a drink, I feel as if people are laughing at me thinking that I am there to get food.

2. CLOTHES - I have always been a jeans n sneaker girl. I have bought heels and sandals for work, but my feet are so big and I am so big, I can't stand in them very long as my feet will start to hurt where I can't walk. Shirts. My arms are so horrible I can't wear sleeveless tops without looking like I have two big ass hams for arms, one for each arm. Plus I have these puffy fat pockets where my arms meet my torso. My Bras get all stuck in a flap of fat just making my flaps more visible and less easy to conceal. Pants. I wear a size 22. maybe getting to size 24. My top belly flap folds over while my bottom flap is squeezed into my pants. In order for me to dress nice, I have to order things online, which doesnt allow me to try things on. But then again I hate trying things on because I never think I look decent in anything.

3. LOVE - My love life has turned into me having sex with anyone I feel attracted to that gives me attention, just to have that small token feeling that someone wants me. But it always ends there. NO ONE ever stays to want more. No one ever calls to see if I am ok, its always because they want something from me. In fact I had been hookin up with this guy on and off for a year. I bought him a PS3 for christmas thinking he would see that I care for him and call me more. He hasnt called me since christmas. I could have used that $500 to pay for 5 sessions with a personal trainer. But thats the fat girl trying to buy her way to a man that will stick around.

I have an eating disorder. Food all these years have NEVER let me down. Sad right? I watched one night as my friend Becca was on the dance floor and EVERY GUY had their eye on her. Not saying that I want every guy's eye on me but I just felt like the token FAT girl. The SAME feeling I get whenever I am near her or any girl for that matter. BUT more for the fact that this past week everyother driver called me fat. So I was in the drivethru of the McDonalds and this guy is beeping behind me as if I am going too slow in the drive thru. He was screaming "OK Fatty, you will get your food soon" funny I was ordering a salad. I wanna be able to take GOOD pics, not ones where I wanna kill myself after lookin at them.

I tried a Zumba class yesterday. I figured I can rock out the club why not, why? because I am a fat disgusting whale slob. I could not keep up, nor keep my eyes off the ridiculous whale attempting to make the moves with her belly flapping around. I could hear the people's voices calling me a fat bitch, saying I could never get through it, saying I was just a new years resolutioner, and thinking to themselves WHAT THE CHUCK is she doing. I tried to stay, stick it out, I lasted for 30 minutes of an hour long class. but with as many times as I stopped, tried to get the moves down to catch up, I worked out a total of 20 minutes. I felt like a fat whale lozer. I cried so so so hard. Sure I will show up to the gym again, but I wont be stepping into that class again anytime soon. Not until I start to love myself even just a tiny bit.

Time to stop lying to myself about how its gonna start tomorrow.
 
Loving and accepting yourself won't come at any weight- just with time and perseverance and treating yourself like a friend. Would you call a friend a Whale or a Slob if he/she had a weight problem? How about your daughter? Be nice to yourself and count all of the ways you are special and wonderful!

Start thinking of all the wonderful things that being a healthy weight could bring to you. A great example to your daughter, inspiration to others, feeling energetic and great because you overcame an obstacle. Great health, more mobility, removing yourself from the recieptent list of all sorts of obesity related diseases.
Focusing on the negatives isn't going to get you far. Being healthy and learning healthy habits takes time and study. You did the best you could with what you knew up until now, now you are ready to do differently and take a new direction. Good for you!

Before you think " what would she know about being fat?! " I have lost over 100 lbs with exercise and diet alone and kept it off. It is a marathon and not a sprint. I gain a bit here and there at times and have to reel myself in but I also have gotten comfortable enough to know feel in control of my weight where I didn't before.

No one in that class is worried about you because they are too bsy worrying abot their own weight and appearance. If someone is judging you they have other issues and deserve pity. They have bigger problems than weight loss. Make yourself the resolution-er that stuck with it! Lots of people here will cheer you on.

Thanks for posting because it was a reality check for me to be nice to myself too. We all spend too much time concentrating on the failures and ignoring the successes. Try different things and this wieght loss will be much easier and more fun. I don't like taking classes myself but I have found many challenging and fun things I do enjoy doing that make me fit. Find yours. Good luck! Don't be in a hurry just take your time and get there at your own pace.
 
I can't pretend to know exactly how you feel, but I've been through a few things in the past that made me feel every much the same as it sounds like you do now. The only thing I can say is that once you've made that change and you're thinner, the looks of envy and admiration you'll get are the best feeling ever. It's worth keeping dedicated for, you'll get a lot of satisfaction at the end of the journey (if anyone ever really gets there) so it's worth keeping that in your mind as a focus point.

Do you have a plan of action for losing the weight?
 
mel def said it all!! you need to start loving yourself before you expect a man to love and complete you. I'm a big girl as well I've started my journey last month. its hard but the thing is you have to keep going! it takes 21 days to form a habit. What I'm doing is i made a vision board of every thing i want to be and lots of positive quotes! :) you just have to be positive w yourself if i didn't have a good day with eating i will workout 15 mins longer. i just tell myself yes i over did it with eating...... BUT i did workout for 45 mins you just have to stay POSITIVE yes you will have your off days but you will have your good days as well. I started writing everything that i eat down at first it was overwhelming to count calories. so i made the effort to just write what i ate down (i went to Barnes and noble and bought DIETMINDER its a journal that's AMAZING). now i also found this app (if you have an iPhone) that helps me find the calories in what i eat. i use fatsecret is my fav and livestrong works and foodscanner is great as well! you just need to keep going and find what works for you! now i also went to zumba and i felt the same way as you did but i looked around and saw people who were WAY OFF BEAT and i knew i wasn't the only one looking like a dork. once the class was over i talked to the instructor and found there was a beginners class called "gold" so give that a shot. i go to zumba 4xs a week i love it!! oh and something i found if i workout 3xs a week I'm less likely to stay with that routine that gives room for failure because i will say oh not today i will tomorrow but tomorrow will never happen. so i go Monday-Friday at 7:00 everyday you need to keep the same time and day
things that Ive found help me
i bought a bodybugg **love**
write down what i eat in my dietminder. get it from barnes and noble
my iPhone apps fatsecret and livestrong
made a vision board
if you need any help just send me a message :)
 
Plan of action

Thank you both for the replies. World Fitness made me realize that I am being negative on myself. Something else that I need to work on or change gears as to my focus on myself.

Plan of Action?: Well I need to eat right and get to the gym actively at least 40 minutes a day. I know I can do this, but I have to get into the will power to not accept any excuses I make for myself. Everytime I feel like bunkin out and feel like lying to myself that I need the day off and will just go in tomorrow, I need to push myself to get in there and add 10 more minutes of punishment for even thinking that way.

1. A definite detox from fast food is major step one.
2. Get my behind to the gym daily without fail or lame excusesor lies to myself.
3. come up with a sensible food plan that might not require me "cooking" but is better than eating out all the time.
4. (Thanks to WorldFitness) Finding ways I love myself again.

No matter what It is my own fault I am obese, it will only be my fault if I dont get up and get er dun. NO ONE ELSE TO BLAME BUT ME.
 
Am a tad shocked at your last few paragraphs. The McDs incident was totally out of order- would this guy have said that to you if you were another man? nope! why? cos he was bullying and intimidating you. If you were a man he'd have been to scared- what he said was very out of order and had you been of any threat to him he'd have kept himself in check and given you the respect you deserve. That guy probably has a weight problem- cannot put on weight/too skinny or knows someone close to him who has an overeating problem- or infact he struggles to stop eating once he starts. Either which way, its obvious he had the problem and not you.

The Zumba class- people really called you a fat B****?! thats again shocking! I do a lot of gym work, used to do several classes a day (till I had to change to a gym where the classes were terrible and dull, now I just use machines instead). I see daily many people who have overweight problems on machines, they never fail to wow me- how hard must it be to step into a gym when you feel so self concious- I feel overweight (I am) but I know there are others who have further to go then I do. Any self conciousness I have cannot be anything compared to others. I take my hat off to them- to you, and any effort you put in. And I know I am far from alone in thinking like that. I've never heard anyone take on the school-kid attitude you seem to have experience. I hope you learn to pluck up the courage to tell them to just grow up!

And you can be "fat" and fit, and "skinny" and very un fit.

I used to have anorexia. I had a BMI of around 16 when I first stepped into the gym and onto a treadmill. At a pace I now walk at, I began to run (7km/h) and had to stop after 3 minutes. Why? I was too out of breath! I didn't get out of breath again for the rest of the 45 minutes I was there.
Instead I had to call it a day and go home.

I am now overweight. I run at 12km/h, walk on a 15% gradient at 7km/h and can do either for upwards of an hour and then go do a few classes and workout on other machines. I am fat yes, but fit. You can be fat and fit.
Obviously I'd love to get my weight right back down again (still battling that one!) but its safe to say if your placing all your body weight on being unfit, your tricking yourself into believeing thin can get you anything, infact thin is just a body state, it will not gain you fitness. Only lots of hard work can gain you fitness.
 
Did you go to the gym today? Did you get physical activity? I'm asking because you said you were going to get to the gym or do physical activity for X amount of minutes each day and not let excuses get in your way. If you want to make changes, you have to make this a lifestyle change.

Go to and read all of Lyle's articles on nutrition. Read EVERYTHING. You will have a far greater understanding of eating.
 
Agree that Lyle McDonald's forum has some really great info on nutrition. I wouldn't post anything on there unless you have very thick skin though... they can be brutal. However, the advice is superb and the information's scientific soundness inarguable.

It is truly one step at a time and building as you go. The reason people fail is only because they give up and figure they have lost the war. You can lose battles and still win the war! Keep fighting and do atleast one thing that scares you and gets you out of your comfort zone each day. You on'y get to live this life once. Embrace it and make it worth every tear, drop of sweat and grunt of pain and frustration. Those moments we get to laugh and feel powerful and free are completely worth it. You never find those moments in a carton of ice cream or plate of greasy fried cheese sticks.

Hang in there!
 
Agree that Lyle McDonald's forum has some really great info on nutrition. I wouldn't post anything on there unless you have very thick skin though... they can be brutal. However, the advice is superb and the information's scientific soundness inarguable.

Yup. That's why I definately didn't recommend her posting there. But she/anyone can gain a great deal of info from reading his articles. When I teach nutrition to my students, I almost always go with a summarized version of his articles. He makes the information understandable compared to some nutritional researchers.

It is truly one step at a time and building as you go. The reason people fail is only because they give up and figure they have lost the war. You can lose battles and still win the war! Keep fighting and do atleast one thing that scares you and gets you out of your comfort zone each day. You on'y get to live this life once. Embrace it and make it worth every tear, drop of sweat and grunt of pain and frustration. Those moments we get to laugh and feel powerful and free are completely worth it. You never find those moments in a carton of ice cream or plate of greasy fried cheese sticks.

Hang in there!

Good advice. It's really easy to give into the temptation to eat really bad for you but good tasting food. And the good feeling is there while you're eating it. But then you finish and you suddenly feel disappointed and wished you hadn't eaten what you just ate.
 
thickdancer,
I hope you pick yourself one more time and stick with the things that will keep you healthy. God loves you and does not want you to keep hurting like this.
 
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