hello! just registered and found site today

[sunshine83]

Hello everyone, I just found this site today. This is the first time i have joined any site like this.

I have always been overweight my whole life. I now have two children one that is 2 1/2 and the other is just 2 months old. Through both of my pregnancies i ended out weighing less after giving birth than before i got pregnant, however right now all i want to do is eat...I am always hungry. It seems that no matter what i eat Im hungry, I do not want to gain all the weight back and more. I know i have already gained some of it back. I had tried doing weight watchers at home but that didnt cut it...so i figured i would give this a try where i have some support and can get some advice.

So please guys....help me out. I do not have any excersice equipment and dont have much room to do many excersices and I dont normally go out anywheres by myself with the kids because my 2 1/2 year old likes to wonder off.

I am majorly overweight, and really want to loose some. I would love to go into a regular store and buy clothes.

Right now i am about 245-250 lbs and i am 5'8". I currently am wearing a size 22.

 

[no-face]

I am new here too!

I'm not a dietitian, but from personal experience, eating well will help you feel less hungry. When I was in college, living on my own, eating food out of boxes and cans (and sometimes worse - a fast food joint), I was constantly hungry. Not only was I consuming a ton of calories, nothing left me satisfied for a long period of time.

Also, speaking from an emotional standpoint, stress/anxiety/depression/etc can drive your eating habits. Between college and work, I was extremely stressed out, and food/eating was soothing to me, so I would eat even when I wasn't hungry. I don't know if this describes you at all, but I sure know that was me!

If possible, I would look over what type of food you are eating - if you're not eating good food, you're just not going to feel as satisfied and full. Also, if stress/other is driving your eating habits, find another way to de-stress other than by eating. Read a book or start a craft project or take a walk (with or w/o kids in tow)... something that you enjoy doing.

Try listing out the calories of the foods you commonly eat. You would want to probably try limiting your intake to 2000 calories max, and that would probably maintain your current weight. If you keep track of your calories, you'll know how much of something you'll need to limit yourself on. That seeming healthy meal you've been eating might be 1000 calories. Figure out what the calorie count of foods are and then you can decide if that double chocolate caramel latte with extra cream is worth it.

When it comes to exercising, I think you can google home gym exercises, where they use common household items to do weight lifting. There are dvds for step aerobics which don't take up much room but is a good way to get cardio exercise.

I hope something here has helped you! Feel free to contact me for support - I am also trying to lose weight.

Edit: Also, your post doesn't mention you having a partner. If you have one, utilize their support!

 

[tc57]

I don't post to much here but lurk a lot. First off Congrats on coming here and looking for answers and help..that is one major step for you!!!!

This forum here is so full of great information. What you must remember before I give my advice here is, each person is different so what works for one may not work for another. That being said here is some thoughts to help you get started.

My wife and I both did a total lifestyle change. It took us a very long time to get it to work in our favor. We didn't have time to get to the gym, so for exercise she just bought a set of 3 lb hand held weights...we did some research on the internet of different exercises, and found some that fit into what we like and what seemed to work. We both exercise now about 30 minutes a day here at home 4 times a week. A little mixture of cardio and strength. (I use 10 lb hand held weights or dumbells whatever) Start off with about 5 minutes of anything from jumping jacks to running in place, anything to get the heart rate up some. Then switch over to some strength workouts and maybe throw in some abs/crunches. All these exercises we learned from watching vids on the internet..remember it is loaded with information. So a small set of weights won't cost you more than 10 bucks and you can do them right there at home and still keep an eye on the kids We switch back and forth from the cardio, then to strength, then some abs then back again..we do about 30 minutes total a day.

Food was a long hard fought battle that we finally won over. Probably one of the best things we bought was a $20 set of scales..Not only did we get the amount of calories right to keep us in line, it taught us what a 4 oz serving of chicken looked like..we really learned portion sizes from this..not that we could be exact without them, but when away from home we could at least have a good idea of how much we were eating. You don't have to really get scales to start, just use measuring cups. They are a great start. But we learned a very good lesson from our scales!

Now for being hungry. I was the worst. It seemed I would eat and an hour later I would still be hungry and wanting to munch, especially in the late evening.. The two biggest things that stopped my hunger cravings was...I started eating 90% of my carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch. All my whole grain was done then. Dinner was usually a serving of meat a veggie and a big salad. A few carbs in the veg and salad but no rice or bread..things like that. This seemed to help some.

But the thing that finally stopped it was..I quit drinking diet soda!!! I ended up cutting out all aftificial sweetners and for some strange reason my hunger between meals and before bed went away. This was a big turning point for me as this actually got me to where I lost the last 15 or so lbs I thought I was doomed to keep, and basically ended up accepting that I was stuck with because my side if the family was always a bit heavy. I don't know why diet soda and sweetners made me hungry but they did..it wasn't just in my mind either, it stopped them. Something in diet drinks triggered hunger in me. Even stuff like sugar free ice cream is a no no for me! I won't touch the stuff now. But like I said this is what works for me. But it is somethign you might try and see.

Learning your body, good nutrition and how to exercise is a personal thing I believe and it takes time..it is a long journey..but always remember the longest journey starts with the first step. And you have already taken yours by coming here. So don't look back except to learn from your mistakes ;-) and keep moving forward!

Good luck and do your research!