Hi, trying to figure out how to start

Akeath

New member
Well, I'm determined to lose some weight and get my body a bit healthier, but I have no idea how to start.

I'm a 22 year old girl. I'm 5 feet 8 inches, and 280 pounds. Until about a year ago, I never had problems with my weight. Then I ended up needing some medications, and almost every single one I've been on has caused significant weight gain. The worst was Depakote, which had me gaining 40 pounds in less than a month. I'm off of that now, and am currently on Seroquel, which is causing a bit of weight gain as well. All together, I've gained 130 pounds in the last year to year and a half, with no changes to my diet (except for cutting out soda and sweets). I have had issues with exercise, when I was on the Depakote I was too weak to get out of bed by myself for example so obviously I wasn't exercising then, but since I've been on other things my activity level has been pretty much the same as usual as well.

I want to eventually get to a healthy body weight. No matter how well I eat or exercise, the medication I am taking will be making the results harder to get, I understand that. So, taking that into account, I don't care how long it takes to lose the weight, so long as I am consistently making some progress. I'm not looking for a miracle diet or exercise.

Basically, I'm looking for advice on formulating a diet that is sustainable for years to come and takes into account what my body needs and doesn't need to function long term as well as short term (I don't want anything that cuts out something important to my body, like no-carb diets do), and an exercise routine that does the same. I know that's a big order, any help would be great.
:bigear:
 
Hey,

Sorry to hear about the weight gain, but it is good that your willing to lose weight the right way. Most of the people here will be very supportive, and its a good idea to start a diary in the diaries section so you can keep us updated/people can help you! :D
The next thing I would suggest is to log your food with a site like fitday.com to help you monitor your nutrients and calories :)
Other than diet, maybe try to go for a walk or other exercise for 30mins-1hr a day and see how that goes (or higher if you want!)
Other people may correct me here, but you could aim to have around 1800-2000 cals a day and still lost 2.2lbs a week. Might be worth checking with other peoples opinion though :) Good luck!
 
At 280lbs. you could really eat about 2300 calories a day and have a nice rate of loss.

Fitday.com is an EXCELLENT tool (has totally changed the way I eat) and has been really helpful in where I've gotten as far as progress goes so far.

You seem to have a very sensible attitude about the weight loss and that is a tremendous blessing! If you expect too much too fast, it's like setting yourself up for failure, so having the right mentality is a huge advantage for you.

As far as simple changes to diet, the biggest things that I've done so far is to cut out soda and sugary drinks, and also incorporate more fruits, vegetables and proteins (I had a very carb-heavy diet when I wasn't "paying attention"). If I make sure I'm getting my fruits and veggies, it leaves little room for unhealthy choices, and I'm usually too full to even crave them.

Good luck to you, this is a great place with lots of helpful and supportive people ... I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.
 
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