Is there any hope?

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2004
Is there any hope?
9
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 11:17am
Hi, I am new to all of this but I am lost. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. Currently I am over 100lbs overweight. I keep trying to lose weight but fail and beat myself up for it. I feel that I don't know that I'll ever lose the weight I need to to be happy and healthy. I have little energy and hurt all over. Is there any hope?
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 11:43am
Hello and welcome to the boards!
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 12:04pm
Hi. Thank you for responding. As far as loosing weight I have tried exercising, cutting down on junk food, eating healthy. About 7yrs ago I lost about 50lbs by doing this stuff and I felt good about myself. Then I started gaining more and more weight until now where I am at my highest ever. Every night I go to bed convinced that I will wake up and be able to eat healthy and exercise and every day somewhere along the way I mess up and end up eating because of what I've done. I can't seem to do what I want so badly to do and control my eating.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 12:39pm

Wecome to the board, Stacey! There is hope, I assure you. Losing over 100 pounds is overwhelming, I can tell you that! But my approach is to not look at the big picture. Take 5 or 10 pounds at a time. Also, don't try and change all your eating and exercise habits all at once. That just sets you up for failure. Try making one or two small changes a week. Then build on that and make a few more changes as you find the first ones becoming habit. Pretty soon, you'll be dropping the pounds and feeling a lot better about yourself. The weight will come of more slowly this way, but your more likely to keep it off. So far I've lost 40 pounds since January with this approach. And I feel like I will never go back to the way I was. Good luck, and come back often. It definitely helps!

~~Linda
246/206/199(for now)

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 12:46pm

If you lost 50 pounds in the past then you can definitely lose it again :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 12:52pm
Hi, Thank you for responding. I've been reading some of the messages and it seems like everyone is very positive and supportive. If I do it with a few changes at a time what do you suggest would be the best changes to start with. It just seems all so overwhelming.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 1:02pm
Hello again. What is a time post and how do I use it? Thanks for the motivation. Just hearing someone else say I can do it changes my outlook. I know it will be hard and it's when I'm in that moment that I want to eat and can't take my mind off food that I really have a hard time getting through. I guess I need to take those times and replace them with my exercising times. Just reading the other messages of people who are succeding encourages me to try again.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2003
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 4:02pm
There is always hope. If you read the board there are many ladies here who have reached or are very close to their goal. Then there are others who are just getting started but are having success. One thing that I bet almost every one of them will say is that they have failed so many times in the past, but once they make up their mind they find success. I know their are times that I also feel that I will never meet my goal, but I keep on at it. One day I know I will get there. Just remember it takes time. Weight loss is not a quick fix. If you want the weight to stay off expect it to go slowly(1-2 pounds a week is normal.). There are going to be times you don't lose, but if you hang in there it will start again. Good luck. sharla
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 7:27pm

Of course, there is always hope!! I had lost 50 lbs, but that lasted like a day. Now I'm somewhere between 40-45 lbs lost and I've been kinda stuck for a few months now. In the past I would have just given up and said to heck with it, I can't do anything right, especially losing weight, so why bother.. But not anymore, I've learned it doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. No matter how many times I fall the only real failure is to not get back up. Even if I have to get back up 10 times in one day sometimes... As long as you keep trying then it will happen in time.

Take baby steps and set small goals at first. You didn't gain all that weight right away, you're gonna have to lose it slowly as well. And in the mean time think about how wonderful you are despite your size (and YES you are, somewhere in there is an amazing woman!), having even a few good feelings about yourself will go a long way in the self esteem department. And it can even give you a boost with motivation to keep on working on losing the weight!

Good luck!!

Amanda
285/240(ish)/150

Amanda

mom to Ethan (7), Ryen (6), and Katelyn (2)

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 8:36pm

Well, for me I started by drinking more water, eating more fruits and veggies and going for a walk around the building at work at lunchtime. I took a look at what foods I could cut back on (I have a terrible sweet tooth and it's disgusting to think of all the sugar I used to eat). I didn't cut anything out completely, I just learned to have a smaller portion or not have it as often. I tried new recipes (you should check out the recipe section below for some great ideas) and increased my exercise so that now I walk between 30-45 minutes instead of just 10-15 minutes. I've lost 40 pounds since January. I've hit a stall recently, but that's because I started to let things slide. Fortunately, I didn't gain any back (well maybe a couple of pounds, but that's it) and I'm now working on getting myself back on track. I know you can do it! Just look at what you're eating now, what kind of activity you're getting and think of a couple of things you can do to improve what you're doing. If you want, you can research some plans such as Weight Watchers or Atkins. Personally, I've never been able to stick to any structured plan, but I know that both WW and Atkins have helped a lot of people here on this board. It takes time to find what will work for you. Please don't get discouraged if something you've tried doesn't work. What works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else. Just keep trying until you get it right. It will happen, I know it!!

I hope this helps :)

~~Linda

~~Linda