[Martina]

In 2001 I weighed 109 or less pounds. By 2004 I was 220. Topped out at 242 pounds in 2005 when 9 months pregnant.

Then lost 75 pounds - 25 of the baby weight that melted off quickly, 10 of holiday weight, and then 40 pounds on Weight Watchers back in 2007. Got down to 169 pounds - 'overweight' instead of 'obese' for my height.

But then something happened. And I crashed. Fell into a deep spiral that landed me back in therapy (I had not been in treatment before).

So I quickly gained 30 pounds back on my own. Then enter the LOVELY medication Zyprexa, and I gained nearly 50 pounds the first 6 months on Zyprexa.

I topped out at 244 pounds a few weeks ago, back to 2 pounds heavier than my heaviest ever. She took me off the Zyprexa and voila, I lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks without really trying. I'm now at 236.

But I can't blame all the weight gain on the Zyprexa. It's me. I eat crappy and I don't exercise and I am generally lazy.

So anyway....long story just to ask - HOW DO I SNAP OUT OF IT AND START EXERCISING AND QUIT EATING AND CHANGE MY LIFE FOR GOOD NOT JUST A LITTLE DIET????

You would think a health scare would do it - I had a brush with possibly being pre-diabetic, turns out I'm not, but I am at high risk. But that doesn't stop me from eating an entire chocolate cake.

You would think the rejection from my husband would be motivation enough. He loves me but it's clear he's not physically attracted to me anymore. But that's not enough for me to pick up the weights or go for a walk.

So what can I do to kick myself in the *** and get things going?

Anyone ever lost over 100 pounds? How did you do it? What motivated you?

[snow77]

Originally Posted by Martina

In 2001 I weighed 109 or less pounds. By 2004 I was 220. Topped out at 242 pounds in 2005 when 9 months pregnant.

Then lost 75 pounds - 25 of the baby weight that melted off quickly, 10 of holiday weight, and then 40 pounds on Weight Watchers back in 2007. Got down to 169 pounds - 'overweight' instead of 'obese' for my height.

But then something happened. And I crashed. Fell into a deep spiral that landed me back in therapy (I had not been in treatment before).

So I quickly gained 30 pounds back on my own. Then enter the LOVELY medication Zyprexa, and I gained nearly 50 pounds the first 6 months on Zyprexa.

I topped out at 244 pounds a few weeks ago, back to 2 pounds heavier than my heaviest ever. She took me off the Zyprexa and voila, I lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks without really trying. I'm now at 236.

But I can't blame all the weight gain on the Zyprexa. It's me. I eat crappy and I don't exercise and I am generally lazy.

So anyway....long story just to ask - HOW DO I SNAP OUT OF IT AND START EXERCISING AND QUIT EATING AND CHANGE MY LIFE FOR GOOD NOT JUST A LITTLE DIET????

You would think a health scare would do it - I had a brush with possibly being pre-diabetic, turns out I'm not, but I am at high risk. But that doesn't stop me from eating an entire chocolate cake.

You would think the rejection from my husband would be motivation enough. He loves me but it's clear he's not physically attracted to me anymore. But that's not enough for me to pick up the weights or go for a walk.

So what can I do to kick myself in the *** and get things going?

Anyone ever lost over 100 pounds? How did you do it? What motivated you?

Sorry you sound like you are really fed up! Dont really know how much help I can be. But I have allways struggled with my weight, got married about a year ago and did not get down to the weight I wanted so hate the photos!
Ok back to loosing weight for me its changing whole lifestyle and never diet as they have never worked. I have had success trying to make sure I particpate in lots of different activities and have given up drinking as well so that should help! So see if you can find different activites which you can paticpate in which you find enjoyable thats the key really as you are then much more likley to continue with them. I have started to play Netball again and as I am finding I am a bit slow and getting tired to quickly that has given me motivation to go cycling again!
Hope you find somthing you enjoy
good luck
Snow

[Naturefreak]

Hello Martina , I weighed 230 about a year ago and I am currently
staying around the 200 mark. I had my blood pressure checked
last year and it was 170/95 . I am now taking medication for it
and it has improved alot , around 125/85. I tested my blood sugar
and it was a little high, could be pre-diabetes. I stopped smoking,
eat a balanced diet and walk about 30 mins. a day. I've never
lost 100 lbs., that is pretty amazing. I would like to get down to
about 180 but don't have the energy to exercise other than
walking. It's all up to you . I really don't have the answer to that
question . But I wish you good luck and take care of yourself

[wanttoheal]

Hi there, I'm sorry you are struggling and feeling bad. It's so hard sometimes to get motivated to do healthy things if I am feeling like I'm not worth it.

One thing I've found that has helped me stay healthy is to try hard to eat breakfast. I also try to make it high protein. And I eat every 3-4 hours- small meals (an apple and a handful of nuts can be a small meal). It takes about 3-4 weeks to get into a routine but if you can stick to it for that time, it gets much easier.

For exercise, I find that the more fun I am having, the more likely I am to continue it. Playing basketball with my kids works for me because it doesn't feel like exercise. I also love to hike and swim or ride my bike. I even play freeze tag and jump rope to silly kids songs. Going to the gym is very difficult for me a lot of times because I just feel like it's too boring. Is there anything you enjoy doing that would count for exercise? My advice is to get creative and think back to a time in your life when you were maybe more active or look around you and observe other people.

Best of luck to you. Please keep us posted.

[Catherine2]

Martina,
I'm so sorry you feel so badly...
but please don't beat yourself up. It's wasted emotion, drains motivation, and does nothing to help us, in fact it makes things harder for us.

One thing that helped me lose over 100 lbs was not thinking of it being for a life time...just like I did when I quit drugs and alcohol.
One day at a time, I could do anything for 24 hours that I couldn't do for a life time.
So it was cut down for me, and it was a relief.
We know in our hearts that it is going to be for life, but there is something encouraging about taking things a day at a time. Jme/jmo

A friend of mine lost well over 200 lbs and has kept it off for years. She was my inspiration to start losing mine.
Her exercise was limited at first to walking. Small things like parking further away from the store, things like that and it did add up.
There were many "tricks" she used to jump start her healthier eating , and to keep her on track.
One of the best things she did for herself was not belittling herself whenever she had that donut/candy bar/ etc..
No, she did not double up on walking or lower her food intake to "make up for it."

Please cut it down to size so it does not feel overwhelming.
Keep posting and let us know how you are.
We sincerely care...
I care--those feelings are known to me.

Catherine

[BiscuitTin]

Hi.

I understand what you are going through, my weight goes up and down quite a bit.

At the moment I just came back from an endoscopy where I wasn't allowed to eat for a couple of days, and when I got out, I went a little nuts with food.

I have lost over 100 pounds at one stage. How did I do it? Well, it was an eating disorder, or disordered eating, to tell you the truth.

I wouldn't recommend going on little diets and such. Losing weight is about changing your eating habits.

The most important tip I could give you is to only eat at certain times.

One good way I lost 15 pounds was to only eat every 3 hours.

Limiting yourself to eating every 3 hours is very good, because if you're having cravings . . . you don't have to wait too long until the next feed . . . and this helps you maintain the motivation.

[Martina]

I've tried the small meals more often thing, and I just couldn't get into it. I don't know why.

I do try to force myself to eat breakfast every day. Since stopping the Zyprexa, I basically have ZERO appetite in the morning and afternoon, but then I'm ravenously hungry after about 5:00 PM, especially after 10:00 PM.

It doesn't help that my husband with the metabolism we all envy sits and eats tons and tons and tons of JUNK all night after our daughter is in bed. It drives me insane. But he sees no reason to stop because he is actually UNDER weight. He works hard and burns it all off. He goes through cases of soda quickly. It's so not fair!

But on the bright side...I've been keeping a calendar, tracking my diet, exercise, and binging. I put a smiley face or a red X or a squiggly for in-between. I haven't had a binge in 12 DAYS!!! Yippee!! I've had some weak food moments, but not a full-blown binge.

I bought a belt today. Hoping I will need it.

[Catherine2]

Martina,
Good for you!
Every step we take towards our goal is important. I appreciate your honesty when you are sharing in your posts.

My own experience re breakfast was I could do a protein shake. It stopped the ravenous and disastrous binging that nearly destroyed my other efforts.
Yeah, it tasted like I was taking some nasty kind of medicine at first...so I got creative and it helped me.

Best wishes for continuing progress and for your self love to double every day.

Catherine

[Rhapsody]

Have you talked to your primary doctor about your weight? - maybe your doctor can refer you to weight loss doctor.

[Maven]

I don't have a lot to offer, because I'm struggling with my weight, too. I once lost about 70 lbs., and kept it off for four years. But that was long ago. I just got weighed at my last gyno visit, and I was 214 lbs., much to my dismay. I worry about getting diabetes, but I can't seem to get control of my eating, especially sugar.

I only eat twice a day, but it's what I eat, and I don't exercise. For example, I bought a cake at the Super Wal-mart, and cut it into four pieces, and I eat one each day. It's ridiculous!

Eating healthy is hard for me, because my OCD dictates what I eat. I can't use the oven and stove, because they're "dirty" to me. I hate cooking, anyway.

I want to be in great shape and eat right and be healthy, too. I'm so jealous of thin (not skinny) girls, especially those with a little muscle and good tone.

[0ldsoul]

Ok, I wrote a half novel and accidentally deleted it, so here we go again more point form.

Good luck with your goals!

Paper work and math is your best friend when it comes to this stuff. All our body's are different, so finding out the formulas will help you. Its simple math. There are great calculators out there (on the net I would assume) You simply need to get the numbers, calories a day, carbs, proteins etc... then look at output, cals burned during daily routines. Even sitting down burns calories, so understanding the numbers is huge. You would be surprised at how much progress you can make by simply "knowing". If you intake say 2500, and burn 2000, you need to simply throw in an exercise to make up for it or curve/change diet. Now that makes it sound really simple, but it really can be. If you have trouble getting your body mapped out, try going to a personal trainer, they can help set up a formula that works for you. Just a quick meeting, they will try to talk you into meeting often and such, as its their job, but even once a month would be a great start to track results.

Second, in my opinion, you should throw the scale out the window, or at least understand that a scale will not tell you how much body fat you have lost. If your doing cardio that also builds nice new lean and defined muscle, it will appear as though your progress is slower than you think according to the scale. As we all know, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you loose 10 pounds of body fat and gain 4 in muscle, it will appear discouraging. The most accurate way to track these things in through body fat caliper tests and pictures. Whether your trying to build muscle or loose wight, pictures are your best tool to really see the changes and to see the areas you have altered or need to focus more on. I suggest a picture taken each month, preferably in something tight to show shape, same posture, same background same outfit. Its a great way to see if your routine is changing areas while missing others. Perhaps your jogging and you see a great results in your legs yet are seeing slow change in the shoulders, pictures will allow you to notice these things.

I am very passionate about this stuff, sorry for the long post. I love physical fitness, body building and the joy results bring people. I am NOT a professional but have been around allot of them and sat through countless hours of training sessions and seminars.

I would be more than willing to help anyone (non profesional) if they want to message me.

Good luck to anyone who is trying to reach their goals

0ldsoul

[Maven]

Right now, sweating is a problem for my OCD, so that deters me from exercising. And I can't afford a personal trainer. I want to have a great body, and I need to exercise, but I hate exercising. Once I lose this weight, it won't matter how much I exercise...I'll still need plastic surgery to get rid of the extra, flabby skin.

[0ldsoul]

Hmmm, not sure how to tackle the sweat thing, are you talking about yourself sweating or others at say the gym. I gave up going out, I set up a private gym at home for that reason.

As for not being able to afford a trainer, there are lots of online resources, not to mention message boards full of people who know what works and can help.

As for your "hate" of exercising, I think that just comes down to figuring out what you dislike more, exercise or where you currently are health wise. If exercising is way more of an issue than the other and it stresses you out more than the other.... understand that your making a rational decision to not exercise and be OK with that you then need to accept that and be comfortable with yourself. There is nothing wrong with just being happy doing nothing, if that makes sense.

When my life got hectic for a few years I lost time to train, I lost allot muscle and such. I got down on myself and depressed at my state. I snapped myself out of it, because the option of training NEVER disappeared, I just DECIDED not to make time, I had more important things to do and deal with. So after realizing I chose to do nothing, and it was a decision, I felt ok with it and knew that when the time came and it was right, I would resume my training.

So just weigh the two, and do what is most practical. You can start today, or at a better date when your ready.

I also think your being a little hard on yourself in terms of surgery, the body is an incredible thing, you can do more than you think with out surgery

0ldsoul

Originally Posted by Maven

Right now, sweating is a problem for my OCD, so that deters me from exercising. And I can't afford a personal trainer. I want to have a great body, and I need to exercise, but I hate exercising. Once I lose this weight, it won't matter how much I exercise...I'll still need plastic surgery to get rid of the extra, flabby skin.

[January]

A friend of mine developed diabetes and had to lose weight. He has adopted a mainly high protein, low carb diet. He has lost all his extra weight, but he does exercise a lot.

I have had great success with a low carb diet but unfortunately, I fell off the bandwagon with Pepsi and Mt. Dew.

I, too, have problems exercising because I am sensitive to heat. If I get hot, I develop swelling and blisters. I have found that exercising with an elastic band works well. Also, I have a recumbent exercise bike that has a fan built in. I can direct the cool air to hit my face.

Another thing that helps is to exercise so that I'm near the ac vent or under the over head fan.

I hope this helps at least a little bit.