Bit of a struggle.

[beckie]

Hey,
I'm not exactly new here, I've been lurking around for a while. I suppose it's has come to the stage when I need some motivation to actually lose weight.

I weigh 200lbs and ideally I'd like to get down to about 150lbs.

I really don't know how to go about it.

I don't eat much junk, hardly any at all. I think my biggest downfall is lack of exercise, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to do any. Even if I do some I know it's not intense enough or often enough.

I always think to myself right I'll start today, then a few days later the drive has gone. I suffer from depression so some times I find it easier just to sit in my room and think "it's not worth it".

The silly thing is I want to lose weight and I know I'd be happier if I did but that still doesn't seem to be enough. I just feel like I'm wasting my time being unhappy with my body.

I just don't know what to do anymore.

 

[BigBob]

You're not alone

You're not alone.

I suspect many of the people on this forum have been exactly where you are. I know I have. Right down to the depression and the "it's not worth it" thoughts.

It just felt such a huge mountain to climb.

But I was amazed how quickly I began to get a huge sense of achievement from, well, from what I'd achieved. Once the numbers began to drop, and I knew they were dropping because of the actions I was taking - it felt great. It didn't matter anymore that I had such a long way to go - it still felt great. it felt so different from when the numbers only ever went up.

Beginning some exercise is a great place to start. In my experience simply walking every day began to have an impact upon my numbers.

Why don't you give that a go, try it for a few weeks and see what a difference it makes. Don't just go by the numbers initially, but notice how much easier the walking becomes, how much further you get before muscles start to complain etc etc.

Once you start, you won't regret it.

Let us know how you get on.
All the best.

 

[mpod]

You can do it!

Hi Beckie,

I am sorry you are feeling this way.

Losing weight is indeed tough and requires a lot of discipline and motivation.

You said you suffer from depression – is it because of how you feel about yourself?
If the answer is yes, then you CAN fix it and become happy.

I have been through this before: I weighted 245 pounds, and I hated myself. And it was so hard to exercise!

Right now (1 year later) I weight 150 and I am only 12 pounds away from my goal. After losing almost 100 pounds I can tell you one thing: although exercising is important, it is not the main part of losing weight.

My advice to you, if you find it difficult exercising at the gym: do not do it. At least not yet. When you carry so much weight on yourself it is better if start with some light physical activity such as walking. You don’t have to run, just walk. Can you do that? Going for a walk outdoors for about an hour everyday is not that hard, but it will be enough for you to become more self-confident.

I suggest that you focus on your diet instead. You wrote that you don’t eat junk food – hardly any. I suggest you don’t eat any junk food AT ALL. And no sugar. Forget about anything that has hidden sugar, such as yogurts, bread etc. If you need something sweet, eat honey or fruits. And try to eat small early dinners. Also you meal should fit in your palms – do not eat more than that at one meal.

If you do that – you will lose weight. Just be consistent. You have to eat healthy day, after day, after day.

After some time you may try signing up for yoga classes. Yoga is not that hard, and girls love it. Besides it is so much easier to exercise in a group!

LINK REMOVED

 

[beckie]

Thank you so much for the replies guys.
I guess I always use the excuse of not having time to do exercise with uni work and socialising with friends and that, but I think making time for it and actually doing it will be better in the long run.

I don't think my depression is to do with my weight (although that can get me down) but I've been in and out of depressive states since I was 15 so I think it's more a biological issue than a psychological one.

Looking at the amount of weight you have both lost is such an inspiration.

 

[clever_plant]

Hey,
I don't eat much junk, hardly any at all. I think my biggest downfall is lack of exercise, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to do any. Even if I do some I know it's not intense enough or often enough.

I always think to myself right I'll start today, then a few days later the drive has gone. I suffer from depression so some times I find it easier just to sit in my room and think "it's not worth it".

The silly thing is I want to lose weight and I know I'd be happier if I did but that still doesn't seem to be enough. I just feel like I'm wasting my time being unhappy with my body.

I just don't know what to do anymore.

So, The part about suffering from depression struck a chord since I most definitely know how that feels. Where I was and am probably going to be maaany times more in my life it wasn't just exercise, it was opening the mail, doing the dishes, calling my friends.. whatever

And.. while I can certainly empathize with having a friggin hard time motivating yourself and keeping going once the body starts to go "screw you, why you hatin' on me with all this exercise" I can promise you that it'll help with your depression immensely. It is like.. I remember after just a week of doing exercise regularly I started feeling much better about myself, besides making all the things depression (and a host of other wonderful mental deficiencies) makes hard easier, it also just.. improved my self esteem and sense of self value.. so much And hey.. the first 4-5 pounds have come off and its getting better all the time

 

[WineDeer]

I don't eat much junk, hardly any at all. I think my biggest downfall is lack of exercise, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to do any. Even if I do some I know it's not intense enough or often enough.

Hey beckie,

I would actually argue with you about your assumption that just because you don't eat a lot of junk you're not eating a lot of food (period).

This is important because what really affects your weight loss is eating less calories than what your body burns on a consistent basis.

So, sure, maybe you're not eating fries or sodas, but if you weigh 200 lbs and you're not over 6' 5" and you're don't have a medical reason for being that weight, then you're eating too much.

Instead of exercise, I would suggest the first thing you do is start tracking what you're eating.

Don't go on a diet -- just track what you eat now. Write it in a little notebook or use an online food journal.

And then, after a couple of weeks, take a look at what you're eating -- how many calories are you consuming? when are you eating the majority of your calories (for example, are you drinking a lot of alcohol? a lot of chocolate?).

This will help you figure out where you need to make adjustments.

Then use the stickies on the forum to figure out how many calories you should be consuming for a woman your height/activity level in order to lose weight.

Eventually, you can add in the exercise. But your food has to come first, as I think that's the key component to your weight loss. Exercise helps, but you won't lose a whole lot of weight if you don't address your food too.

 

[BigBob]

Me too

It is like.. I remember after just a week of doing exercise regularly I started feeling much better about myself, besides making all the things depression (and a host of other wonderful mental deficiencies) makes hard easier, it also just.. improved my self esteem and sense of self value.. so much And hey.. the first 4-5 pounds have come off and its getting better all the time

This has been my experience too. I'm sure it will be for you as well.

 

[AlexandraWinton]

Thank you so much for the replies guys.
I guess I always use the excuse of not having time to do exercise with uni work and socialising with friends and that, but I think making time for it and actually doing it will be better in the long run.

I don't think my depression is to do with my weight (although that can get me down) but I've been in and out of depressive states since I was 15 so I think it's more a biological issue than a psychological one.

Looking at the amount of weight you have both lost is such an inspiration.

Hi beckie, don't be down, sheer up.
If you think that depression isn't due to you weight then find out due to what? It is important to work out your depression the same as weight goals. May be is the best if you have some counseling and worked out your depression together.

However, you had plenty of good advises from this forum so take them on board and stick to them. Try this, when ever you're again in depression say to yourself "I am the happiest person in the world, I am happy, I am happy" This basic affirmation should work if you do this continuously; you need to change your subconscious perception. Look at what "MPOD" achieved in 1 year time, you can do the same. Just do it.
Take care and smile more.

Alexandra