Hi everyone,

This is the first time that I have ever posted a "thread"! Its very exciting. I'm a newbie here, definitely along the lines of "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore". I'm from New Zealand, and am having a huge difficulty in actually getting the motivation to kick start my weight loss. I don't have a huge amount of money to throw around to try all the latest fads (no offence to those who do), and I just can't seem to get the formula right.

If anyone can offer me any pointers, I would be very grateful. Its the motivation factor for me at the moment. I'm a stress eater, and its been pretty stressful around here lately. A lot of it is probably just plain old laziness as well. I thought of starting a food diary - has anyone had any lucky with that?

As it is winter here, the weather is absolutely appalling, so I can't get out to go for walks. I do have an exercise bike which I should make more use of - maybe if I make up a routine sheet?

Hope you guys have a nice day - I'll be sleeping whilst most of you are awake I suspect! (being in NZ)

Hi KFG!

You start by putting down whatever food is in your hand right at this moment and asking yourself, "is this food helping me? or harming me? You start today, right now. You don't wait until tomorrow or Monday or the first of the Month or when you have your routine sheets in order. Start this moment, before you blink again!

There! You started! A job begun is one half done! Now you need to commit to learning how much food you need each day to get to your goal. You need to learn how to break that total into manageable meals.

You need to exercise, the bike is fine, take it slow and very gradually add intensity as you become more fit. Schedule your workouts like Dr's appointments and don't miss them.

You need to be sure you get enough rest, drink plenty of water and not too much else. Eat whole foods- If theres more than three ingredients in it, don't eat it. (this does not count foods you make yourself, just ready to eat stuff).

You need to do the things you've always known you need to do to be healthy. Start doing it today and keep doing it until you draw your final breath.

Welcome!

David C
Who's happy you are along!

My name is Kevin, and this is my first post EVER on this forum. I've been perusing it and I like what I see.

Here is a brief account of my journey. Last September I hit a personal low point at 265 lbs. I've been fat all my life, and I was lying to myself for a long time about whether or not I had a problem.
It was my grade 12 year, and I really wanted to look better for Graduation, maybe even get confident enough to ask a girl to the dance.
Well, I really am just a kid, so I can't do the "fad" thing either, and if there's one piece of advice I can give to you, it's that losing weight ain't easy, there ain't no fad that's gonna get it done for you. It's all you.

You already know what you have to do-so do it!! There's some good advice here already, start today!! And if you have one bad day, don't let that be the end of your change, just let it serve as a reminder.

For the record, at graduation I weighed in at 210 lbs and I went to the dance with my dream girl.

Right now I weigh 196, and I'm still goin... Good luck with your journey!!

Kevin

I just wanted to drop in and say, "Welcome to the Forum."

I've found this website helpful: http://fitday.com/ You can watch your caloric intake, monitor your exercise level and get reports. I think the routine sheet would be a good way to start.

Feel free to send us some of your colder weather...It's 95 degrees here in Ohio, USA.

Have a nice day.

--Kris

This is good advice for your weight-loss plan. For emotional eating, I like using my diary. There is always someone who will respond and give you support.

Welcome to the forum!

Best Wishes,

Carrie

New Zealand is my dream country! I'll be studying abroad there in about a year, maybe even moving out of the states and settling there... though it seems the immigration policy is a bit strict. Oh well, I'll do anything to get in

Welcome to the forum. It's such a great place... like a utopia where everybody is nice and wants to help everyone else. And I completely agree with Carrie about starting up a diary on this site. It's a great way to get encouragement and motivation when you just want to crash.

I do understand that the immigration policy has become more stiff. I suspect that it to do with political huffery puffery - America does this, so NZ will do that kind of thing. I hope that you enjoy yourself while you are over here.

Thanks to everyone for the fantastic feedback, it really has helped with giving me some motivation to just get started. I have started planning my meals and ensuring that I eat a little and frequently, as this seems to have worked in the past. I actually woke up feeling good this morning. I haven't done that in a long time. I think that it helps that the sun is shining for once!

I even have a little weight monitor that I spied on someone elses reply and pinched (hope you don't mind). Its depressing at the moment because there is so far to go, but I know that with the help of the people on this forum I will get there.

Thanks!

I have been looking around this website and I see a lot of people have a huge amount of success by the support that is garnered from this website. So, I've decided to give it a go as well.

I'm not very good at talking through my problems. I acknowledge to myself (and maybe my husband) that I am an emotional eater. I just can't seem to stop myself. Yesterday I had such an awesome day. I had followed my meal plan to the letter. But, then, just after dinner, a little gremlin got into my head and said "what about a choc chip cookie? go on...you have had a brilliant day, reward yourself". I said to the gremlin no I wouldn't and went out of the kitchen pleased that I had pushed that nasty little voice to one side.

Then when I looked down next I had the stupid cookies in my hand with crumbs all down my front! Is there such a thing as a food blackout???

That is totally what I'm fighting against....its old ingrained habits - so deep that I'm almost doing it unconciously. I know that it is me and not a gremlin...if that were only the case - life would be so easy.

I've started rating my days...first "diet" day was only a 2/10...terrible, yesterday was marginally better at 5/10...I'm hoping for at least a 8/10 today!!

Hi KFG,

It took you a long time to develop those bad habits, right? Even if you were thin(ner) when you were young, as we get older, our activity level often drops and the way we have learned to eat now gives us a calorie surplus so we gain weight. If like me you were heavy even as a child, the same thing happens, except you start fat and become obese or worse.

You've had a long time to develop these habits, so don't beat yourself up for falling short of perfection. The trouble with trying to achieve perfection is that more than likely you will fall short and feel bad about yourself. Instead focus on making progress. This is why I think counting calories is a good idea. It takes some of the bad associations away from some foods.

Two chocolate chip cookies are about 150 calories, it is not the best food you could eat, but if factored into your daily caloric totals you can have things like that occasionally without derailing your progress. Make it an occasion though, don't eat them mindlessly! If you are going to have a treat, why not focus on it and enjoy it?

Do not use this concept to regularly indulge in junk food, you might get thin but at the expense of your health. If at the beginning you find it hard to stop at two cookies (or whatever), then you might want to rid the household of them until you've established some control over your impulse eating.

It's probably a good idea at times when you feel like eating improperly to make a mental inventory of your feelings and emotions, if you can identify triggers that lead to poor eating, they can be addressed and dealt with. If there are emotional problems lurking, these may need tending to along with the weight loss.

Good luck with your progress!

David C

Hi and welcome, what great posts there are on here and to Kevin, great job! I know you are proud of yourself. I too am struggling with weight loss. I maintained 145 up until I was 29 and through 3 pregnancies and then my doctor changed my thyroid meds and I gained 40 pounds and then more from there from being so depressed about being overweight. I remember going to the doctor and the scale said 250. OMG I was mortified. How had I let that happen and then to top it off, my husband was in the room with me that day and he got to hear the lovely number too. Yikes, I wanted to crawl under the table and cry. You have to start with little goals. For example, I was to have knee surgery and my goal was not to gain weight during my recovery. I knew I would be sitting around a lot so I made good food choices and when I was recovered I had gained no weight. That really showed me that I could do it. It has taken some time and a lot of willpower but it is so worth it because the weight is coming off. I walk a lot and do exercises at home every morning. I eat healthy foods in moderation and I quit eating after 7pm. The not eating late thing has helped a bunch. I lost probably 15 pounds and then I didn't lose any thing for almost 4-5 months. No matter how hard I exercised or how good i ate, it refused to come off then in two months I lost 20 pounds. Now I am losing about 1-3 pounds a week. My changes I incorporate into my daily life so I know they will be lifelong. I feel better about myself and I am finally starting to like looking at myself in the mirror again. 57 pounds left to go and I am determined to make that goal. I wish you luck and I hope you reach your goals too. Read lots of posts to get inspiration and respond to posts because it is a good way to remind yourself of your goals and your ups and downs.

Hello kiwifarmgirl,

welcome to the forum!

Regards,
Mel