Welcome to the new over 100 to lose club!

Howdy guys and gals!  I'm taking over this club, not because i think i have all the answers (i so know i don't) but because i'm super pumped up right now and motivated to help those people out there who have a lot of weight to lose.  we need a place that's more than a "can i join" place.. we need a place to talk about issues related to being this overweight.. 

Who here needs to lose over 100 pounds? Who needs to lose over 150 pounds? Or more?

I did! I did! And yes.. i did!

A small amount of background on me for those of you who don't know: i am a binge eater. I have had a problem with emotional eating, hidden eating, over eating, eating with a hang nail, eating because i have split ends.. you name it i stuffed my emotions down with the greasiest, nastiest food i could find!

Why did i do that (you might ask)? Because of many many different reasons.. frankly i think it was because this is how i was taught from a young age, this is how we handle stress and emotions. I learned that it's not proper to talk about your feelings.. or god forbid, express your emotions! You have to shove them down with a piece of cake and a smile!

Anyway.. onto the reason for this post.

If you are out there and need to lose a lot of weight.. just like i've got to.. i think we need to have a place where we can discuss these issues with each other and try and work through them together. Because, let's face it, people who are morbidly obese (yes.. i hate that word too) have uniquely different issues to work through and deal with than the average person.

Losing weight, for people who have this much to lose, have to deal with so much more than the formulas to figure out how much to eat.. and exercising. It's more complex than that. We have to deal with years and years of poor eating habits that have to be unlearned, we have to deal with the emotional torment of just being this size, we have to deal with the harsh looks and comments from strangers or from loved ones, we have to deal with our emotions for the first time in our life because we aren't shoving them down our throats anymore..

this is the hardest thing ANYONE has to deal with.. but, from my experience, things are different for us bigguns. :)

also, for those of you who don't know me very well.. (because i've kinda been in hiding and not posting much and there are so many new people out there) i started out in january weighing 324 pounds. I now weigh 232.5.. i have lost 91.5 pounds so far. I am not telling you guys this to get kudos.. i got those yesterday. I'm telling you guys this because i want anyone out there who is struggling with knowing they have, what seems to be, an insurmountable amount of weight to lose, that there is hope.. it IS possible.. you CAN do it.. but it's hard.. and you will hurt.. i know this because i've been there.. i've done it.. and i'm still dealing with it.

so.. come on in and share your stories.. i want to hear them and i want us to support each other until we are all at our goal weight!

hey pamt!  the only thing i have given up is fried food.. because when i started here i was taking xenical.. which blocks fat and it has to go somewhere.. with nasty side effects.. SO i quit eating high fat food.. i took that for like 4 months.. and then went off it.. and now fried foods make me sick, litteraly.. but i still allow myself treats now and then.. in fact right now i'm having a snack of baked doritos and 2 tablespoons of queso dip.. :) 

i also have dark chocolate about 1 piece a day (about 30 calories)  don't deny yourself.. you have it right.. everything in moderation!  ;) 

When deciding whether or not to give something up, I looked at my reasons for eating it.  I will never totally give up ice cream or chocolate because I genuinely enjoy them - I just cut down and work them into my calories healthily now and then.

I gave up fast food, because I wasn't actually eating it because it's good tasting or because I like it.  I was eating it because of cravings and conditioning and destructive behaviour patterns.  That's not something I want to keep in my life so I decided to axe it.  I don't feel deprived for giving it up because it was never something enjoyable in the first place - it was something that made me feel bad (physically and emotionally) whenever I had it. 

Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but that's my approach.

I agree with you Narnia. I haven't necessarily given up anything but I think more about what I'm eating and why. I find it alot easier to say "no, not today" to things I know aren't necessarily beneficial to me and I don't end up with a craving.

Thats exactly what I need to work on.  I really like the "no, not today" idea.  Great advice!

united2gether said: If I think a *food* is off limit or I try to say I can't have something or desserts at a potluck or something... it kind of has a bad effect on my brain and I feel deprived and angry and rebellious and have a pity party and usually go home and eat later... like throw down the towel and start eating with glee ~ until my head finally pops up days later when i finally get a grip and the rational part of my brain kicks in and makes me feel guilty 10 times over...!!!

I so agree with you on this one. I know that everyone's different, some ppl can cut things out completely. But for me, I've tried it and it just didn't work. So I've found success with this formula. It's like that saying, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." And I'm thinking... well why the hell would you have cake if you couldn't eat it? I mean come on...... just don't eat the entire thing. LOL. Anything in moderation is NOT a bad thing, you just have to learn control. And control, imo, is better than just ignoring it and pretending it doesn't exist.

First time posting to this thread, but I'm new here anyway. My name is Julie, I'm from SC. When I started losing weight I was at 367, got down to 309.5, then went on vacation and a few other things led to me letting the ball drop.... so now I'm back up in the 345 area. Starting over again. So yep, well over 150 lbs to lose for me. I get weighed tomorrow morning, so we'll see *officially* what the weight is then. I'm hoping to meet some friends here, get some motivation, share some motivation (if I can), and help my BFF (womanofscorn) on her way as much as she's helping me. :)

I started off with 102 pounds to lose, but I weighed myself for the first time since starting this diet/ life change (almost a month ago) and I have lost 10 pounds so far!  I am so excited!  I feel like my goals are really starting to take shape.  I hope everyone else is doing well so far in their goals to.  Good luck to all!  Keep up the good work, I know we can all do it! =D

whoo hoo!  more new people! :D

Welcome to the club!  I look forward to getting to know you and seeing your progress towards better health! :)

*waves*

Hey, united2gether!

In my experience, you're doing the best thing you can do for yourself at a potluck social eating event like you described.

Learning moderation is really the key to success!  You can give yourself permission to enjoy the foods you love without guilt once you learn how to moderate.  I think diets fail so much simply because we set outselves up for failure if we deny ourselves the things we love the most!

By choosing largely healthy foods throughout the day and allowing the occasional treat (in moderation, of course), it doesn't feel so bad after all, eh?

Good job!!  =)

Hi there!

I am susieq and I have 150 pounds to lose. I can relate to everything you said in this post. I ate because of everything you ate for. I also had the smae issues. Nothing was discussed in my house. So I stuffed my face.

I am working very hard to lose the weight now. I have lost 53 pounds and yes I still have 150 to go..

I believe I can do it and I fully intend to do it. I will admit that every once in a while I mess up. But instead of giving up I just get back on that horse and go again. My problem is I am trying to lose too fast. People tell me that isn't good.

Why do you think that is?? Will I regain it? How do i know if I am in starvation mode?

Oh and excuse any typo's my diabetes has affected my eyes and I have a hard time making out the keys on the computer, since I am a hunting and pecking kind of girl I do my best.

Thanks and Hugs, Sue

susieq-  i don't know how fast you are losing but the person you should listen to more than anyone is your doctor.. mine told me (when i weighed in at 324 pounds in january) that losing fast is a heck of a lot healthier than holding on to all this extra weight.  and when i went back for my 6 month check up 2 months ago.. i got the green light to keep on doing what i have been doing.  if you don't go to a doctor then try and lose 1-2 pounds a week.. :)  

welcome to everyone new.. :)  ((hugs))

I'm so disappointed that the summer is gone.  I was enjoying swimming (when it was warm enough here in the Northeast) and walking.  It's so much harder for me to stay motivated to keep walking when it gets cold.  I AM going to keep going though.  I'm really seeing some great results--35.6 lbs so far.  I can now walk at about 3 mph instead of the 1.5 mph I started out at.  And, my stamina has improved tremendously.

The other things that are so cool with my weight loss:  I can fit in an airplane seat without completely squishing the passenger next to me AND without a seatbelt extender, my clothes are starting to get too big, and I can walk without becoming winded in 2 minutes.  I'm actually starting to be able to get ahead of my kids instead of not being able to keep up with them.  I need to get them more motivated to get up and move though before they start having real issues.

Happy September!!!

Pam

i love fall and winter though!!!  not as much sweatting when working out!  :)  i hate heat. heh.. but last year, the first year my thyroid was regulated, i wasn't able to tollerate the cold as much as i used to.. most people with hypo can't tollerate the cold.. i was the opposite.. i hated the heat.. hah.. that's one of the main reasons i was shocked when i found out i was hypo! haha.. but we'll see.... :)

here's to fall!  :)

I would like to join as well.  I am currently at 229 and at my highest weight I was almost 300lbs.  My goal weight is between 130 and 135 for my height of 5'5".  I have struggled with my weight the majority of my life due to being on prednisone which is a steroid for my asthma.  I have severe asthma and have been hospitalized and on the ventilator within the past year.  I am wanting to lose the weight to feel better and to help my health.  This past year has been difficult for me because I lost my father to cancer in March of this year and then have undergone several biopsy's myself.  I am scheduled for another biopsy on Sept. 14th.  Therefore, motivation has been down lately.  I am trying to get back on track and change things in my life to feel better about myself and have a better outlook on life.  My dad was only 60 years old so that definetly put a scare into me and gave me enough motivation to change my life and start living healthier for my health.  I am new to this site and welcome any ideas, suggestions, or friends :).  I enjoy walking and usually walk between 30 minutes to an hour a day.  I can't tolerate jogging or running due to my asthma.

Welcome 't' -  You're among friends here and we'll all try our best to help and keep you motivated :)

Hi, I started in March, 2004 at around 295; I lost 50 pounds that year but gained half back.  Started in again in March of this year at 277.4, and today I weighed in at 255.2 pounds, a loss of 22 pounds this year.  My goal is 145, so I have just over 100 to go. 

When I started tracking my foods, I realized I was eating about 40-50% fat calories in my diet.  Also I had to have been eating 3,000+ calories a day.  I didn't have very many fruits or veggies in my diet - some, and not balanced with bread, fat and protein by any stretch of the imagination.  And I had lapsed on drinking a good amount of water.   I was sedentary all day as well.

So I set those five goals for myself:

1.  Calories under 2,000/day

2.  Fat calories no more than 30% of total calories/day

3.  At least five fruits and veggies a day

4.  Drink half a gallon of water (8 - 8-oz. glasses) a day

5.  Walk for 20 minutes three times a week during lunch.

I met all of the above goals except the walking.  But the weight wasn't coming off very well.  So I reduced the calorie amount to 1,800; I started to see my fat percentage averaging around 27.5% without really *trying* to make it lower.  I found myself choosing to eat more like 8-9 portions of fruit/veggies.  I also saw 1-2 pound losses every week or two.

I went in to the tools and found that if I wanted to lose my weight by January 1, 2008, I needed to eat only 1,430 calories a day.  That seemed too drastic to me, but it told me I could eat 1,730 a day if I increased my activity level by one level.  Now, I aim for 1,700 calories, with 25-27% fat.  And I'm looking for a rowing machine I can afford to buy for exercise.  (I have bone spur issues, and the doctor doesn't want me to walk much for exercise.  I'm also not much of a swimmer, though I could be walking in the pool.)

January 1, 2008 was kind of an arbitrary date, and I know it may (probably will) take longer than that.  I think 2 years from now - September 1, 2008 is probably a more attainable goal.  I do want to set some intermediate goals.  I would like to lose another 20 pounds by Christmas.  If I get moving and lose 25 pounds every three months for the next 6 months, I'll be down under 200 by about Easter (April 8)!  I haven't seen the underside of 200 for a long time.

Hey, Auntiejill!

Welcome and congrats on choosing C.c as the place to be (wow, I'm a poet and didn't know it!) The tracking tools here have been a boon to me - it really helps to plan out what I want/need to eat to get those blasted percentages to a reasonable ratio.

And I agree with your choice of a rowing machine as exercise equipment, although I still walk alot - I love using the rower at the local YMCA (perhaps instead of purchasing one you might consider joining a Y or some other gym in your area??). Well, good-luck at C.c. and Keep on keepin' on :)