Seriously overweight newcomer!

missbliss

missbliss

New member
Hey guys :]
I posted once here before but like usual...I lost track of myself and stopped coming.

My name is Chelsey and I am 21 years old. Im almost 400 lbs. The last time i weighed myself I was 375lbs and that was a few months ago. I havent gotten a direct weight because Ive always heard that it is best to judge your weight by your clothes so you do not become obsessed with a number.

My mom was recently diagnosed with diabetes and only had 45% of her heart function. She is seriously overweight as well. She doesnt want to change her lifestyle though. She said she enjoys food too much. I dont want to follow in her footsteps when it comes to diabetes and her health. So its time to make a change.

I live in a house with a family of 6 and it seems like all we have is junk food and unhealthy food. My mom also wants to stop at a fast food place every day before school (we go to college together). It seems like I just cant get away from this food!

I do not work so I cant go a gym. I do own an exercise bike though and I have three dogs who I can walk any time, and now that it is the summer it can be done more often.

My plan so far is to limit my calorie intake to 1500 a day and to exercise for atleast an hour.

Any suggestions?
 
Hi Chelsey and welcome. I'm no expert but 1500 calories per day seems really low considering your starting weight. You may be setting yourself up for failure. I'm lighter than you, I consume about 1800 calories per day and I've lost an average of 6 pounds per month so I think you can definitely eat more than that. Walking your dogs lots and lots sounds like a great start.

How far away is the school you're attending? Any chance you can skip the ride with the fast food mom and just walk to school?

Good luck on your journey....you're young and deserve a healthy, active life!
 
I'd suggest reading the stickied threads...

I agree with Judy that given your starting weight, 1500 is too low to sustain long term.. You don't have to worry about l osing muscle or starvation mode or anything like that at those calories given your current weight... but you want a calorie range that you can live with -and eventually tweak down the road - 1500 doesn't given you much tweaking room.

I'd start much higher -and start lower wiht e xercise.

If you haven't exercised - then setting a goal at an hour a day could be overwhelming and lead you to quit... start with something you can manage... like 25 minutes a day - then work up to an hour (read the exercise threads to get an idea of workouts you can do - you want both cardio and weight training - and cardio doesnt mean run for an hour - walking works)

Remind yourself that you didnt get to where you are overnight -you aren't going to lose it overnight -it's a lifestyle change and a process of a lot of little changes you will make to yourself - including your relationship with food and your attitude about yourself.

it's taken me close to 2 years to lose 200lbs (ok so the last 6 months I've been totally skacking) I'm twice your age... it's possible to do it - just have patience with yourself and take every meal and every day as it comes and do the best you can.
 
As others have said, 1500 is way too low. You don't need a gym to lose the weight. I started my weight loss with dog walking and no gym.

Lastly, Mal hit it right on... if you're not used to exercise, doing it for one hour will be very very difficult. Start low and work your way up as you feel comfortable. If you go for the hour and find you can't do it, it could get you down on yourself and you do not want to start out that way.

Good luck!
 
My more experienced peers have already said what I would have said, anyway, so I'll keep it simple.

WELCOME! :D

GOOD LUCK!! :D

YOU CAN DO IT!!! :D
 
I'm not sure there's anything left for me to say that hasn't already been said... :( But welcome to the forums anyway, and best of luck to you!!
 
Yeah i agree now that i have looked at calorie calculators and stuff like that. The first calorie calculator I looked at said that to maintain my weight I would have to eat 2750 calories a day and to lose weight about 2200.

I guess I didnt do my research before starting my plan, haha

For the exercise..I think ill be able to do the hour, because if I walk my dog in the morning for 15 minutes and at night for 15 minutes and then during the day ride my exercise bike for a half an hour, that already adds up to an hour without even noticing it.

i will definately read the stickied threads, thanks for all your advice!
 
Hi, I'm 21 too although I'll be 22 in 10 days (woo) so I can identify with wanting to lose weight at our age!
It sounds like you've got a few good opportunites to take advantage of in walking your dogs and having a go on your exercise bike. I've only recently started an exercise regime myself and it's taken me a good three weeks to be able to do pretty much anything at all without collpasing in a heap haha! So don't give up! Like others have said you (we!) are too young to deny ourselves the lives we should be living :)
Good luck girl you can do it :) xxxx
 
also writing down everything you eat (and when you eat it) for at least a few days and reviewing it can be very helpful. then you can use that to tweak your diet. sometimes all it takes is some tweaking, changing of portion sizes, and eating at more regular intervals. is there a gym at the college you go to? cause that could be an option.
good luck :)
 
You can do it!

In addition to the above, I'd recommend keeping close track of what you eat each day, perhaps by starting a food diary. Then you can use the internet to find out how many calories are in your food. I find this makes it easier to understand why you should get the small fries or the diet coke with your meal, and how much of a difference this can make.

Also, try focusing on one thing at a time and don't give up when you fail. For example, commit to a certain number of calories per day and make that your most important goal, with exercise being secondary. After you're comfortable with the diet and it's becoming much easier, add a certain amount of exercise into your commitment.

It's a lot of work changing your entire lifestyle and all of the habits you've learned, but the secret is to keep at it and you'll be suprised at how well you do.
 
Your new eating/exercise plan sounds like a good one. At your weight, the lbs should drop off quickly.

I can absolutely relate to you about your mother. Mine also is severely overweight and has diabetes. Until just recently, she had the attitude your mother does. But she has decided to take charge and cut back on her eating. There is hope for your mom, too--especially if she sees you doing so well. :)

I also have tons of junk food in my house--not so bad lately, but it was pretty bad when I first started. Here's how I dealt with it: I saw what it was doing to my parents, how terrible their quality of life was. All they had was eating and TV pretty much. That's not much of a life imo--especially when it can be changed. So I viewed that food as unhealthy and bad for me. It kind of sickened me to watch them stuffing themselves with it--seeing what it was doing to them. So that really helped me stay away from it. Luckily, I do the grocery shopping, so I could buy healthy foods.

I suggest you sit down with your mom and say that if she doesn't want to change her bad eating habits, that's her choice, but you hope she'll be supportive in helping you change yours. That means you give her a grocery list each week of things you want her to buy for you. Tell her you hope that she wants a healthy, happy life for her daughter. As to the fast food stops, get a salad instead of a burger/fries. Nearly all fast food places offer healthier choices these days. :)

I hope this was helpful.
 
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