Anyone else with 60+ kilo's to lose?

[pjmaussie]

Hi. I've been searching for some forums out there for people who are like me and have 60+ kilo's to lose. I have to lose almost half my body weight. I've tried pretty much every product out there and have failed. I used to get frustrated at places like weight watchers when the leader would stand up and say "I've lost 10 kilos and kept it off for 10 years". I've tried other companies and the weightloss consultants are are so slim that they can hardly relate to my problems. So I'm keen to connect with people who have the same every day struggle that I do to lose a large amount of weight.

I've recently started Optislim. It's tough but low calories should hopefully kickstart a more healthier eating regime. I hate exercise and this is one of my biggest problems. I don't move. I'd prefer to stay home and sleep. My motivation is at an all time low.

So if you are like me, have a lot to lose, struggle with motivation and love food let's connect and try and find a way to get through this horrid journey with a bit of humour, empathy and common sense.

[lmffph]

Hi there!

I've also got 60+kgs to lose.

I've been on both optifast and optislim. Sorry to report that I found them both completely unsustainable - I just couldn't hack it. I'd feel so wretched and depressed that I'd give up after a couple of months. Each time I've tried them I've put back on the same weight... and then more.

So this time I'm simply counting the calories I'm eating and going to the gym a few times a week. Last Monday I was 131.5kg, this morning I was 128.5kg.

I've been eating breads, meats, cheese - all in small portions and all balanced with salad things. For the gym I'm doing about 15 minutes brisk walking, 20-25 minutes of weights, then a 5 minute moderate walk, followed by a 3 minute cooldown.

Been doing this since Tuesday morning and I've lost 3kgs already without feel totally miserable.

As for motivation for the gym - the first couple of days were a real struggle. I was very lucky that my partner was willing to go with me. I've found that the more I go, the more I want to go. It's only early days yet, but I'm hoping as they weight drops off I'll maintain this motivation.

There's a few of us on here with more the 50kgs to lose so you're definitely not alone!

good luck!!!!
Fiona

[miss_viva]

Hi Pjmaussie and welcome

Congratulations on deciding to tackle your weight issue. It's a really tough process and I'm sure most of us out there can understand how you feel. You say that you have 60+ kilos to lose, but I think you'll find the process easier if you break that number into more manageable chunks. 60kgs is a daunting process, but it can be done!

As a final goal, I'm aiming to get down to about 60-65kgs. I started off at 115kgs, and when I reach goal, that will be a good 50-55kgs gone. I don't focus on the overall number, instead I break my weightloss down into more attainable targets. For example, when I first started, my BMI (Body Mass Index) was 42.24! One of my first goals was to reduce my BMI to under 40. Another goal was to get under 110kgs. Another was to get down to 105kgs. Then to get back into double digits. You get the idea!

If you haven't already, you should jump onto a site like My Fitness Pal (www.myfitnesspal.com) or Calorie King (www.calorieking.com.au) and work out how many calories you should be eating, based on your height and weight. Both of these sites are free to use and are really good! Once you know how many calories you should be consuming, you should aim to stay just below this mark every day. If you're too restrictive or consume too few calories, your body will be shocked by this and enter "starvation" mode. Initially you'll see a reduction in weight, but then your body will attempt to cling onto your current fat stores, which will ultimately make weightloss more difficult.

In theory, weightloss is simple. You need to eat less and move more. You will lose weight if you consume less calories than you expend. However, actually doing this is much harder, and I do know how you feel! It's a constant battle for me, but it does get easier.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of meal replacement programs. I believe that they are good to initially kickstart your weightloss, but I don't think they're sustainable in the long run. However, if you just do it for a few weeks, you might see some good results which will encourage you to continue your weightloss journey. This is the only benefit I see from these products. They are also quite expensive for what they are!

Before you started Optislim, what was your diet like? Do you enjoy healthy foods or is that something you struggle with? I think it's possible to lose weight just by eliminating as much "crap" as you can from your diet and by focusing on eating as healthily as possible. Replace processed foods, chips, biscuits, cakes, lollies, chocolate, take aways etc with fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meats, low fat dairy products, nuts etc and you'll start to see a difference on the scales.

In relation to not being motivated to exercise, the most beneficial thing you can do is just to get up and force yourself to do it. I have days (like today) where I simply do not feel like doing any exercise at all. Today I just wanted to have a lazy Sunday and sleep in, but I forced myself to get up and go to the pool and swim my usual laps. And you know what? I felt so great after I'd done it! I felt like I'd won a little battle with myself!

I recently read a book by Michelle Bridges (trainer on the Biggest Loser) and she says that everyone lacks motivation to exercise at times, even herself. She said that she makes a deal with herself on days like that: she must get up, get changed and do 10 minutes of exercise. If after 10 minutes, she still feels awful/unmotivated, she'll allow herself to go back to bed and sleep in. However, she's never had to actually do that, because once you've gone to the effort of getting dressed and doing 10 minutes, you might as well finish it off!

So just get out there and have a go! You don't have to do a lot - just set yourself a small goal and gradually increase it as you build your fitness up. Pick a form of exercise that feels the least "awful" to you, that way the time you spend doing it will go faster. Swimming and walking are my favourites. I used to have a gym membership and I hated going there with a passion. I was just not cut out for working out in a gym and I dreaded going. The only thing I lost in 5 years there was about $2000! Walking is good because you can do it at your own pace and listen to an ipod or something to distract yourself. Swimming is great because to me, it doesn't feel like exercise when I'm not getting all hot and sweaty!

Anyways, I've ranted on for long enough here so I'd best be off! Good luck with everything and keep us posted. You can do this!

[SugarandSpice]

Hi pjmaussie,

I have 60kg's to lose too!! or more... I currently weigh 128kg's and am supposed to weigh 58kg - so it's actually 70kg I need to lose - but would be happy to lose 60kg, lol.

I totally know where you are at with staying home and sleeping!! I am always tired and would prefer to have a nap to exercise... is there anyone you can get to go for a walk with you? I am walking with my son.

Look forward to hearing how you are going.

Vicki

[pjmaussie]

It was really nice to hear from all of you and it's good to see some different perspective out there on the program I am using. I'm a bit dubious about Optislim and whether I can sustain it. It's not too expensive at $55 for a two weeks supply. I've made a modified version of the program for myself. I eat some fruit and diet jelly and fat free yoghurt and I also eat some lean meat with my daily vegetable intake. The Optislim plan says I'm only meant to consume 800 calories a day. Calorieking says I should have 2000 calories a day. It's hard to know what's right and what's wrong.

I don't want to use Optislim forever. Rather I want to learn more about nutrition and how to eat properly and still lose. The exercise is my biggest problem. Every time I exercise and play sport all I want to do is lay down and sleep. Doesn't matter if it's the first day I've exercised or every day for six weeks. I still feel tired and exhausted. It certainly doesn't do anything for my endorphins (like I've heard it will). This is my dilemma. I hear people talk about how great they feel after exercise. I feel worse than before I started. Hard to stay motivated when you feel like that.

I think that people will a lot of weight to lose have different challenges to those with smaller amounts so I'm keen to hear everyone's progress. I'd like to have lost 15 kilos by 31 March. That is my really big target. Let's see how I go ...

[BubbleButt]

Hi pjmaussie,

I too have over 60kgs to lose. The biggest I have ever weighed in at "officially" is 149.9kgs and I could swear that my heart stopped. I was devastated to think I had allowed it to happen.

Setting yourself small targets is the only way to lose the weight. I have tried Optifast, Tony Ferguson, Kate Morgan, Weight Watchers, Sureslim, the list goes on and although I had success to start with, I couldn't maintain it. I kicked myself in the butt last year when I found that I didn't have the energy to play with my daughter even for 5 minutes in the park, while the other mums and dads were able to chase their kids, lift them up, run with them, ride their bikes with them and go on the play equipment with them. It was tearing me up inside because my daughter wanted me to come play too.

My husband is also overweight and has about the same amount of weight to lose as me. For me, my motivation is my daughter and that I want to feel good about myself for once. This weight loss is ultimately for me and nobody else.

I started with a goal to lose exactly 10kgs or more to get me under that 140kg mark. Once I reached that, I bought myself a dvd. Then I set my next goal which was a bit bigger and once I reached that I bought myself a movie ticket. I rewarded my reaching of goals with non-food items. I fell off the wagon for a little bit with my depression and a few family issues but am back on board again after my wake up call at the park. I've reset my challenges for myself and the final reward will be a trip to the US with my family. That's my target!

In regards to exercise, I catch a bus to and from work every day, so this week I started a challenge of my own and that's to get off the bus a stop earlier for a week, then two stops earlier for a week, and so on and so on. I also purchased a fitness "game" for our kinect that I can do when everyone else is out. So far I am enjoying that and I certainly work up a sweat doing it. A dear friend of mine was too embarrassed to go out in public to exercise so did her own version of the backyard diet where she did laps of her back yard while listening to her ipod. She now walks her new dog for kms at a time. Best thing she ever did.

Good luck with your weight loss. We will all achieve our goals, we just have to have some faith in our abilities to do so and if we fall off the wagon, we dust ourselves off and get back up and start again.

[miss_viva]

The Optislim plan says I'm only meant to consume 800 calories a day. Calorieking says I should have 2000 calories a day. It's hard to know what's right and what's wrong.

800 calories is INSANE and not healthy, that's being far too restrictive! If you survive on such a low intake of calories, your body will enter "starvation mode", which I talked about in my previous post.

When I first started out, I never really focued too much on the actual number of calories I was consuming. I simply tried to eat as well and healthily as I possibly could. Weightloss is all about consistency - you have to decide to make a change and stick with it. One week of eating well won't make too much of a difference in the long run, just as one bad meal here and there won't completely undo everything that you've been working towards.

Personally if I was you, I would be aiming more at the 2000 calorie mark, depending on what your original starting weight is. That seems a lot more realistic and healthy than the 800 calories recommended on your Optislim plan. You should focus on eating regular healthy meals, and make sure you have a few snacks a long the way so you're not making it too hard on yourself. Don't get too hung up on the calories at this point, just focus on making better choices. E.g. grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, salad instead of fries, low fat dairy products instead of full fat ones. There are so many swaps and alternatives you can do!

I don't proclaim to be an expert by any measure, but if you'd like to post what you normally eat on an average day, I can make some suggestions for you that might help?

The exercise is my biggest problem. Every time I exercise and play sport all I want to do is lay down and sleep. Doesn't matter if it's the first day I've exercised or every day for six weeks. I still feel tired and exhausted.

In relation to exercise, maybe you're doing too much too soon? You should start off quite lightly and gradually increase what you're doing as your fitness increases. I know personally that if I force myself to do something I hate and go too hard at it, it makes me dread going back and repeating the process all over again. This is why working out in gyms never worked out for me, I hated it with a passion and could not motivate myself to return again. If you feel tired and exhausted after a workout, in a way that can be a good thing! It means that your body is working Of course, if you're feeling excessively tired or exhausted, you're probably overdoing things. Slow and steady wins the race! You don't have to even exercise every day, maybe you can commit to exercising 2 times a week. Then the next week, add an extra 5-10 minutes onto each session. If that goes well, add another 5 minutes. Then consider doing your exercise 3 times a week. You really just need to get out there and give it a go, no matter how much you hate it! It'll pay off in the long run If you haven't already, it might not hurt to get a general checkup from your doctor before commencing any kind of exercise program. They can also assist you with nutritional advice or maybe give you a plan.

All the best, you CAN do this!

[magikalcrab]

I'm in the same boat - when I started losing weight I had 66kgs to lose to get me right on the cusp of the "healthy/normal" BMI.

I've lost weight successfully in the past and the best information/support I can give you is to NOT use Optifast/Optislim any of those diet products. I've tried them and while you do lose weight quickly and seemingly without effort, you also don't learn how and what to eat when you're using these products as a crutch. They're a great KICK START - a week or so as a replacement for 2 meals a day along with lean, low calorie, nutritious food in appropriate portion sizes for the third meal, and healthy, nutritious snacks - fruit, fruit, fruit, fruit and on occasion, when you want something different, maybe a vegetable or two.

OP you seem concerned (rightly so) about finding the best/most appropriate type of eating plan and that's commendable.

From my own experience (in the past and what I'm doing again at the moment) - the following should be your first ports of call:

1. See a nutritionist. They can help by writing an eating plan - what/when and how you should eat. This advice was invaluable to me and should be updated along the way - every few months.

2. Get yourself a support network - the other users here, friends, family, workmates - whoever it is that you feel you can trust to help you and support you with whatever you need - be it someone to call in a moment of weakness, someone to give you a pep talk, someone to go shopping with as you're shrinking - anything YOU need!

3. Exercise - If you've got 60+ kgs to lose, then you might feel self conscious or even have pain when you're exercising - I certainly do!! This shouldn't stop you from doing simple things, light movement - even if you're just walking up and down your hallway at home, following along on a beginners Yoga DVD, even just some light (1kg, especially if you haven't exercised in a while) exercises with hand weights. You'll find that as you lose weight, you'll feel more motivated to keep exercising.

4. Goal Setting - As someone else has said - this is CRUCIAL. If you keep thinking "Oh, I've got 60kgs to lose!" it'll be a nightmare and you'll feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is too far away. If you break it down into increments of 5kgs though, you'll find that it's not only easier but also will make you feel more accomplished as you go. I reward myself at my mini-goals - a massage, a facial, mani/pedi, clothes shopping - anything that you feel would work for you and that you'll enjoy.

A great tool I've got is an app called "WeightBot" on my iPhone - it tracks your weight for you, shows your progress in graphs and gives you daily and weekly totals - great little thing if you've got an iPhone too.

And good luck!!