New here but long overdue!

[cherrydiamond]

I am a 33 year old woman from Perth. Over the years, due to poor lifestyle and the side effects of some medication, my weight had skyrocketed to 112kg.

I'm embarking on my weight loss journey and hoping to get down to my goal weight of 50kg, which seems a very long way away!

But my first week has gone well so far with a 4kg weight loss

[Blitz]

Hi Cherry...welcome to the Forum from a fellow Perthite (north of the river).

Your first week has indeed gone very well. Enjoy it while it lasts, unfortunately as you get towards the pointier end of the journey it does get harder to shift the weight but by then you will be more fit, knowledgeable and skilled and those things will see you through!

What are you doing to achieve your weight loss goals? What's your plan of action?

Don't worry about how far that 50 kilos seems to you now. If you keep chipping away at it you will reach it before you know it. Work on reaching smaller mini goals instead and that will provide you with the momentum to see it through to the end. There was a story in Monday's West Australian (page 15) of a guy who lost 65kg (his heaviest weight was 161kg). He states that he lost a third of his body weight in 9 months (I did that in 6 months...I'm 20 years older and had a belly hernia the size of my fist hampering what type of exercise I could do - maybe he wasn't in such a hurry as I was ) which suggests to me that he was using all sorts of goal targets along the way to motivate himself.

That is the sort of thing that I did. In a book I recorded all sorts of mini target goals - and put the date that I achieved those goals. Some of my mini goal targets were:

Each 10% of starting body weight lost (in the end 56% of me disappeared - that's over half my body weight)
Each 10 kgs that I lost (I ended up reaching my goal target of losing 87kg)
Each fraction of weight loss goal (ie one third loss was 29kg loss/weighing at 124.7kg; half was 43.5kg loss/weighing at 110.2kg etc)
My weight converted into Imperial measure (ie losing 125lbs meant I had to weigh in at 97kg)
Any type of number that ended with a zero or a five - whether it was a current weight or a "how much I have lost" weight

By doing this type of thing...before you know it you have reached your main goal. I too gulped hard when I started - but exactly 60 weeks later I reached it!

If I can do it...so can you!
Kim

[DD Diva]

Hi Cherry,

Welcome aboard!

Truer words have never been spoken....

Don't worry about how far that 50 kilos seems to you now. If you keep chipping away at it you will reach it before you know it. Work on reaching smaller mini goals instead and that will provide you with the momentum to see it through to the end.

Focus on your achievements which it seems you're off to a great start, and you'll get there before long.

I know when I started I thought it would take FOREVER to lose 66kg, but like Kim, I set myself "mini goals" and before I knew it I was over half way to goal. To date I'm down 40kgs with around 25-26kg to go (still quite a hill to climb but a whole lot better than the 60kg+ mountain I had to battle crossing before!!!)

Believe in yourself, you can do it, and remember you're not alone....we're all here to support you (and each other) through the journey!

[Blitz]

To date I'm down 40kgs with around 25-26kg to go (still quite a hill to climb but a whole lot better than the 60kg+ mountain I had to battle crossing before!!!)

...And Diva you are doing something else that I did all the time as well - enjoying what has already been achieved but in the same breath reminding all in hearing (specially yourself) what the end goal is! You build on your successes but at the same time keep the mission before you clear.

Kim

[cherrydiamond]

Thanks guys, some great advice there which I'll definitely take on board.

I'm starting out with a little bit of cardio before work every morning and planning on increasing it as I get fitter. Foodwise - I have a meal replacement shake for breakfast, muesli bar and fruit for lunch and a liteneasy meal for dinner. I was a bit wary of prepackaged stuff etc but have so far found it simple to manage and good to not have to think too much about what I'm eating. It feels like a good way to start at least. Oh, and I drink lots of water and diet coke during the day. There was no way I could completely give up soda!

[Tams]

Hi Cherrydiamond - good on you!

As part of the journey, you'll be learning about food and nutrition. Two tips for your present plan; protein makes you fuller for longer, so you probably want to look at that at lunch time. A salad sandwich with some sort of meat, egg, tuna, or cheese is a winner, or a salad with the protein component. And if you need a snack, grab 4-5 nuts, or a glass of milk (both high in protein). Next tip, be aware that diet soda stimulates your body to take in MORE calories, often making you crave sweet stuff. They think it is because the fake sugar is so sweet, it makes the body believe it has a huge calorie load coming in...but it doesn't, so it then goes into 'give it to me!!' mode. (In layman's speak!) The lots of water part is excellent...do think about weaning off the diet soda.

Best wishes!

[Blitz]

This journey is about learning all sorts of things. Some of the essentials is learning to eat normal food in controlled portions. There is a real world out there - and the quicker you learn how to live in it like a normal person the better. Introduce healthy options into lifestyle as soon as you can manage it. Not only will it be better for you long term...but it will save you a small fortune besides!

Protein shakes are useful if you are training for the Olympics weight lifting team and you don't have three hours to eat their enormous breakfasts that they need (read Dean Lukan's book for the skinny on that!). The problem with shakes is that they are concentrated protein without "gut satisfaction". There is no long term taste satisfaction (ie great variety and texture) and your gut will feel empty again very quickly because liquid doesn't sit in the gut too long. Most people who are overweight have something in common - many of them don't eat breakfast. Eating a good full healthy breakfast is the key to set yourself up successfully nutritionally.

Fizzy drinks are as Tam describes them. Also you want it get out of the habit of grabbing a can that is fizzy even if it is "dietary". It is only a short skip and a jump back on to the hard stuff! Drink plenty of water...flavour it with lemon or orange juice - like you would use a cordial for flavour.

Don't get too over whelmed by all this...introduce these changes as you can cope with...they will pay off. I have a friend who when I started to lose weigh would advice me constantly about what exercise I should do and when. I resisted him all the way...but each time I hit a dead end I reluctantly took up his advice. Darn...he was always right!

Kim

[ganymede]

Good on you Cherry for embarking on this journey with us! Here you will find many other people going through the same challenges, achievements and set backs so be assured, we are all here to help! You've started off great, now make that second week even stronger than the first!