Massively obese and clueless

cut up carrots and celery and leave them in ziplock bags in the fridge - that way you have a go-to snack that requires no fuss time at all...

Sit down once a week and plan out your meals... I'm sure your mom does that when she's doing grocery shopping -so figure out what you're going to be eating everyday and it takes a lot of guesswork out of it... and makes your healthy future easier
 
Matt, I'm 18 and I used to weigh 350. When I first started out, you wouldn't catch me dead walking around outside my neighborhood, so I would play Dance Dance Revolution indoors to exercise, as well as ride a recumbent bike. Now that I've lost a good chunk of it, I know go to the gym and work on the bike, the elliptical and the treadmill for a hour three days a week. Oh, and by the way- I'm a college freshman living in the dorms and I've continued to lose weight since being here as well as achieve Dean's List status.

Take little steps. Do what you can and slowly work up, like how I did. You said you had steps in your apartment; you could go up and down the stairs. As an incentive to do it, you could tell yourself that if you can go up and down the stairs x amount of times, you can do something that you love for y amount of minutes. To get me to work out, I've gotten a calendar, and every day I do everything I need to do to lose weight, I get a sticker. At the end of week, I get to get something I want that's cheap.
 
I am seeing a lot of people suggest a rewards program. I don't know if that would work the best for me. I am a very logical person. I will logically think about something I am going to commit a lot of my time into. If it makes sense and looks like it will be plausible, I do it, if not, I don't. When I switched over from drinking caffeinated drinks to drinking water, it wasn't hard at all. To me, water was the better thirst quencher, it was better for you, and it just tasted better. Even though I love coke and mountain dew, if I never got to drink those beverages again, I wouldn't be sad. So because it made sense logically, and it was within my ability, I committed myself 100% to just drinking water. And I've been doing that for years.

I was committed in the beginning to lose weight, but as my body got more and more tired, and as the weight I was losing was decreasing and decreasing, it became evident that exercising was not helping me as much as it could. I think my fatal problem in this commitment was the results not pleasing me. I was walking on the treadmill everyday for an hour, sometimes more, and not losing much at all. My foot (the one I had surgery on) would hurt, but by the time I would start walking, I wouldn't feel any pain anyways (thanks to the adrenaline). I think it was just a combination of all those issues. Being more tired led to a non-constant workout, not seeing the results I wanted to see led to a lower value of exercising, and all of the above led to me not doing it at all sooner or later.

I always feel that in the right environment, I could lose the weight without a lot of trouble. That is why I've always wanted to go to weight loss camps, and such. But I understand that you can't rely on being in the "right" environment to lose weight because many times in life your environment will change and you have to be able to evolve with your surroundings and keep that weight loss going.
 
you have to make the right environment for yourself...

You have to work with what you've got...

take it one day at at time .... that's all you can do.. and 28 days from kjnow look where you've been and keep going forward.
 
Here's a little experiment for you Matt...

Answer the following questions...

These are the five reasons why I want to stay fat.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Now
These are the five reasons why I want to lose weight
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Which list has better reasons...

When you have a lot of weight to lose being ready to do it and ready to commit to it is crucial... If you aren't ready - then it's all the harder... What will it take for you to be ready - to get rid of the excuses and the justifications as to why you can't do something and turn those into why why you can do something... is something you have to find within yourself.. but starting with your reasons why you want to -and why it's easier to stay where you are... is a good first step
 
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maleficent said:
you have to make the right environment for yourself...

You have to work with what you've got...

take it one day at at time .... that's all you can do.. and 28 days from kjnow look where you've been and keep going forward.
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Exactly. I had to do this, and although my environment wasn't perfect and still isn't perfect, it's good enough that I can stay on track as much as possible. You have to do that, too. Everybody who's ever tried to lose weight and got worthwhile, long lasting results has had to do this. Life gives you lemons, so make some lemonade.

Does your school have a gym that is opened to students? If so you might want to check out...if you can't do cardio for a long time you can atleast do strength training.
 
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My school does have a gym open (during certain hours) for students. But it closes at 4pm and I am in classes till 4pm everyday. I think it opens at 9am, but I have classes that start at 8am, so that wouldn't work either.
 
are you in classes from 8 - 4 every day?

Workout between classes and just give yourself some time to shower at the gym...
 
Hey Matt, im 22 years old. And I weight about 10 pounds more than you. Im not sure why everyone is avoiding, or not pointing at another of your problems.. your mother. Now, she is just doing what she thinks is best for you, and trying to keep you happy. She will never see anything wrong with you. And with that in mind, you need to make sure she knows how serious you are about losing this weight, and how unhappy you are. Sit down with her if you have to, and talk to her about it.

Its one thing for her to buy her own foods, but if she serves it to you as well and guilts you into eating it, thats no good! Its not going to help you at all, and its just another thing you can "blame" being overweight on. The first thing you need to do is take charge of your diet. If you do not have a job, and the money to do that yourself, you need to talk to your mother and have her start buying things like salads. Fresh fruits and unprocessed meats for you. Those microwave meals are EXPENSIVE. Trust me, I lived on my own for a year and thats all I ate. I started cooking, and 5-10 dollars worth of chicken lasted me a lot longer than 5-10 dollars worth of boxed dinners. It also tasted better, was healthier, and I got enjoyment out of making the meals. Heck, you can even count cooking as exercise. I know that being on my feet, cutting everything up and running back and forth around the kitchen wipes me out after cooking a dinner. Anything to get you up and away from the computer is great.

I work full time at home in internet sales and marketing, so 10+ hours is spent on my ass all day. I know what its like! You just gotta get out there and do things. Heck, get your mom to give YOU the shopping responsibility for a week. Let her give you the amount of money she spends, and leave it up to you to provide the food for the week. You need to solve that problem before anything else in my opinion man!
 
Hello Matt!
Every one's given you some great suggestions, I think the most important thing is to be aware of what you're eating and what you're doing. So do your best to keep track of things on fit day, if you feel you can't keep track of that try keeping a food journal/health log. Losing a large amount of weight is daunting...so set small short term goals.

Another thing no one really addressed is the food that is in your house. There's two things you need to do: 1. Talk to your mother. Be frank, and let her realize that this is important to you. Make her a grocery list of things you'd like in the house or go shopping with her. 2. Watch portion sizes.

My mom is much like your mom, and I know how hard it is to eat healthy when you are surrounded by unhealthy options. Since I've been out of the house I've found it much easier to manage my own food (though not always for the best...bad habits tend to stick). Unfortunately my mom is at very high risk for diabetes, and she's 180lbs and 5'2"...that was a wake up call for me, I could be headed down the same road.

I know it can seem really overwhelming, but if you commit to making changes and take everything slow it is possible. If you ever need support this forum is here, and everyone would be willing to answer any questions and give you some moral support.

ALSO!!! If indeed you do not eat very much and your diet is no explanation for your weight the first thing I would do is see a doctor and check for any hormonal imbalances or anything like that. Disorders like thyroid abnormalities can cause weight gain.
 
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Hi Matt,
coming here was the first step.Good for you you did it. But coming here to complain is not going to help you much. I'm sorry if this seems harsh to you, but I think you should start doing something instead of just complaining about your situation.
Excuses won't take you anywhere.
Plus, do you really want to lose weight? 'cause to me it sounds like right now you're not ready. Maybe you should work on other things first, like your relationship with your mother, the psicological reasons that keep you from losing weight (and don't tell me there aren't, or you would be doing something about it by now), self-confidence, etc.
Try and solve these issues first and then you can focus on weight loss.
I say this because I experienced it. I had some issues in my life and wasn't able to lose weight until I worked them out.

I hope you'll find happiness.
A hug
India
 
Don't worry about my complaining. I complain about everything. It pretty much means I care for it in some way or I wouldn't voice my opinion on it.

Am I ready to lose weight? Will I ever be? I don't see the perfect situation coming around anytime soon. If I am not ready to lose weight, I need to get ready, you know?

Talk trash all you want towards me. I know I am lazy. I am SO lazy, it's not even funny. And I make excuses, and I try to make it sound like it isn't all my fault when I know that I do deserve a large part of the blame. Don't worry about harsh statements. I've grown up on the internet and can take anything.

Nothing said to me can be as powerful as seeing myself in the mirror everyday. That's why you really can't run away from your weight problem. As much as you want to keep it in the back of you mind, you just can't. Well, I guess you can run away from it, but where you end up running to is worse than where you started from.

I just got over being really sick, and I feel pretty darn good. I have a little better appreciation for my health thanks to this sickness. As much as i feel I couldn't walk on the treadmill, I know I could if I wanted to. For the first time in many months, I am contemplating walking for a hour tonight. I'm thinking about it. I might just do it.

Enough with my :spam:
 
MattRiddle said:
For the first time in many months, I am contemplating walking for a hour tonight. I'm thinking about it. I might just do it.
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Did you just write that? Jesus man. Seriously, nothing screams for attention more. It's also a slap in the face to people who are trying so hard. You are not "obese and clueless". You're "lonely and immature".

Man, just reread that and it sounds really harsh. Didn't mean for it to come off like that - but this message board is full of people really struggling. Not people who are "contemplating" walking for the first time in many months and telling a message board about it for sympathy. If you aren't willing to simply WALK, then you will be hard pressed to find the sympathy you need.

Sorry man.
 
If you want people to sit around and feel sorry for you and tell you that by not doing anything or simply think about losing weight, you'll drop the weight, you're not going to find that here. If just thinking about it caused losing weight to happen, I'd be an Abercrombie and Fitch model by now instead of a Lane Bryant reject. The people here are honest and aren't going to baby you and have your best interest at heart. We're by no means talking trash- if I was talking trash, I'd be saying a lot worse things like that.

Sitting around and complaining about it and just thinking about it is not going to help your cause. Sitting around waiting for the perfect situation is not going to help your cause, either. Anybody who does that is going to be sitting around for a long time until they get placed on the Biggest Loser or another weight loss show. Anybody here who has ever read my diary on this site can tell you that I have such a pretty shitty weight loss situation that it's shocking that I've made this far- my father does not support me much, my mother picks and choose when she wants to support and fixes foods that I shouldn't be eating and leaves me no choice, and I'm a college student who's living in the dorms so therefore HAS to eat in the dining halls, where healthy food is a scarce thing. As of today, I've lost 63 pounds by making the best of my situation. You've got to do that. Your mother, although she does need to look over the way she cooks, has her heart in the right place.
 
Talk trash all you want towards me. I know I am lazy. I am SO lazy, it's not even funny. And I make excuses, and I try to make it sound like it isn't all my fault when I know that I do deserve a large part of the blame. Don't worry about harsh statements. I've grown up on the internet and can take anything.
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There've been few harsh statements -and why should you have to "take it" - this isn't prison where you become our "bitch" until some fresh meat comes along... Fight back... with some goals towards fitness and weight loss and health.

So you've been sick - you're not know - everyone has a past... today and tomorrow are the only things that matter -yesterday is done and you can't change it - you can learn from it and keep going forward.

You need a serious reality check...

you ignored this the first time I asked it -I'll ask again...

Why do you want to lose weight?

and more importantly -

Why do you want to stay fat?

You need to ask yourself those questions and answer them honestly in your own head... until you havethose Whys answered - you aren't going to be ready...
 
Adam4tvs said:
Did you just write that? Jesus man. Seriously, nothing screams for attention more. It's also a slap in the face to people who are trying so hard. You are not "obese and clueless". You're "lonely and immature".
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I never meant it to be a slap in the face of anyone. I was genuinely excited that I might actually be interested in exercising. I'm sorry if you read it another way and it touched the wrong part of you.

lindseybot3k said:
If you want people to sit around and feel sorry for you and tell you that by not doing anything or simply think about losing weight, you'll drop the weight, you're not going to find that here. If just thinking about it caused losing weight to happen, I'd be an Abercrombie and Fitch model by now instead of a Lane Bryant reject. The people here are honest and aren't going to baby you and have your best interest at heart. We're by no means talking trash- if I was talking trash, I'd be saying a lot worse things like that.
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I don't want to be babied. I never said people were talking trash either. I just said for people to feel free with their comments. Again, sorry if you took my comments the wrong way.

maleficent said:
Why do you want to lose weight?
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Why do I want to lose weight. The number one reason why I want to lose weight is because I want to live. I might breathe, I might bleed when poked, but I am not living. I do not live. I just survive. Look around yourself. See all those people that have lives, that go out and have fun with friends, who go out and ride bikes around the trails and those that have love lives and encounter new people to add to those groups everyday. THOSE people live. What I do is nothing close to the living they do, and I can't do those things until I love weight. I can't ride a bike. I can't even approach a love life. I can't LIVE as long as I am overweight. I want to live. I want to experience these things. I want to see the world and live it.

Why do I want to lose the weight? Why wouldn't I want to lose the weight. Obesity is close the worst thing that can happen to someone. You see people feeling bad for the kids that get sick when they are young, but do you ever see people feeling bad for the kids that have been obese their whole life? Heck no. What these people don't realize is that the second these kids become obese, their life stops. Sure, they can still go to school, and act normal, but all the great things in life that normal people can experience, these kids cannot.

I haven't experienced cancer, or any bad disease before, but I've experienced obesity, and I wouldn't want my worst enemy to live as an obese person their whole life. It's awful, and nobody other than the people that are obese really understand.

I want to live. That is my reason to lose the weight. Is that good enough?
 
It's your reason.. and if that's really why you want to lose weight - then why aren't you?

Where do you think you should start?

you've given us a lot of excuses/reasons why your diet couldn't possibly be the problem - though I think many of us who have been where you are know better.

You have to start turning your reasons into why you can't do something into why you want to do them -and do it...

DId you go for that walk?

can't LIVE as long as I am overweight.
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that is such a crock of bull it's not even funny - you're hiding behind your weight if that's the case... so you're going to wait until you get to a desired weight before you start living and doing the things you want to do?

The only thing holding you back from doing anything -is you...
 
maleficent said:
The only thing holding you back from doing anything -is you...
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So true. Many here have lost 100+ lbs already. Make up your mind and get in it for the long haul. 1 or 2 years later in life you'll have a body to be proud and many years to live and enjoy health.

"Yesterday is gone, tomorrow's just a thought...today will be my best day"
 
Matt, living does not start with losing weight. If you don't have friends or a love life it doesn't depend on your weight. Have you noticed how many married people are on this forum? If love was something entirely dependable on weight than it wouldn't be love. This kind of problems aren't going to melt away with your fat.
I know this attitude, I used to have it too. But you've got to realise that using fat as an excuse not to face your real problems is a very harmful thing to do. Fat does not stop you from meeting people. There sure will be some stupid people who will avoid you because you're obese but it's no big deal. Let them go, there's plenty of nice people around.
Fat does not stop you from being loved.
 
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