what to say for people to read that i dont really like thinking about myself........ Well my current weight is 425lbs the best that i can figure with out going to the feed store and getting on the cattle scale. I have done it and it works but the looks of pitty and shame that cut through you from anyone that happens to be looking. Any way..... I was always a big guy ever since high school when i was using steriods and started having kidney trouble. I don't recomend that to anyone but i was a dumb kid looking to be top of the food chain. I guess since then it has always been one diet after another. This was always close to being in check and for me thats about 230-250lbs. After three back surgeries i just cant seem to exercise enough to burn off the weight. Today I took my old weight set out of mothballs and man I dont remember them being this heavy. I have strong sugar cravings and that has been always but a friend of mine told me about something called leptopril and its supposed to cut that plus give you energy which i have none by the way. Diet pills arent the safest route but im so far out of good health that im risking it. My doctor says she didnt want me on any special diet, she figures im probably taking in about 5000-6000 calories a day. I dont see that much going in but maybe with a few cokes and snacks its possible. So the main plan is just to watch what i eat, cut back the sugars and starches as much as possible. I dont think its going to be easy because im the chef of the family and itll be impossible to come up with seperate meals just for me. Ill substitute beer for whiskey when i want a pick me up and with the weights just start as slow as i can and work up. One of my problems is i cant eat breakfast. I can its just im not hungry when i wake up. well its 4:30 am here and im still awake. Might as well just start everything right now. They say the hardest day is the first one.............

I believe you came to the right place! I know it seems like the road ahead is a long one, but take each day one at a time! I am trying to do that myself! And if your the family chef and everyone else is eating unhealthy stuff...sounds like you could all use a change. Make it gradual. Read Troutman's journal. I think he cut out one bad thing at a time and just took off! This group is really supportive...and I have only been here just under a week. I will keep checking in on you and giving lots of encouragement and support. Keep track of those calories ...I will try to dig out the equation for finding out how many calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight. And start moving...even if it is just walking...go as far as you can and add afew more steps everyday! You CAN do this!!!!! We are here to help!!!! (I feel like Superwoman saying that !)

spelin01 is right just make it gradual. It is harder to do anything extreme but cutting one thing out a week is easy (or easier). Everyone here is treally encouraging and will keep you motivated and i know you will reach your goal!

Here are links to a couple of calculators that tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. Not sure why, but they give a little bit different results.

http://www.horizonmedctr.com/HC_CalNeeded.asp

http://www.healthonecares.com/HC_CalNeeded.asp


They say if you cut an average of 500 calories a day from the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight (which will change as you shrink), you will lose 1 pound each week, or 52 pounds per year.

Of course, if you are like me, you are probably starting out not having a CLUE about what kind of calories you are actually eating. I was in such denial about my intake, it was not even funny! But as I started to pay more attention to what I was easting, I started to realize I was putting away a LOT of calories! I think the first step is just to get real about that. You have a lot of support here, and we know that facing the truth of what you are eating will be hard, but you can do it!

I did not get real until I started writing my foods down. I keep my log on paper. Some people do it on here. But that's my best advice. Even if you didn't make any changes at all, if you wrote down all your food intake for 30 days, it would probably really help you and your doctor come up with a good plan of where best to focus on cutting back.

Good luck!

Writing down what you eat is such a good idea. When i first started doing it it was weird to realise how much i was actually eating. It also helps to stop you from cheating, it may be something you want to try. Good luck!!

thanks guys/ladies... so this is what sugar withdrawl feels like. The pills i started taking arent bad. no shakes or jitters i just feel like i can eat or not. My doctor wants me just to cut back to about 3000 calories for now. The way she explaned it to me is that since im taking in 5000-6000 just cutting it in half will have good results. now as my weight begins to stall then ill drop it down alil more. with taking in about 3000 i can still feel satisfied. Man i would kill for a tall glass of southern iced tea extra sweet. picked up some splenda today. its not the same as sugar but its not bitter like equal or sweet -n- low. anyway ill prob still be getting some sugar from fruit and veggies but im staying away from anything refined. what im feeling now is kinda like when i was was on atkins before. nothing seems to satisfy you. well this too shal pass.

3000 calories is a lot of food if you spend it wisely. Just start writing down what you are having, and then watch out for those really high calorie items.

Here is another idea... Don't eat out of the bag. If you are going to eat chips, look to see how many servings are in a bag. Then, get some baggies and divide the chips up into that many servings. That way, you know exactly how many calories you are getting in your chips, and you are not tempted to eat 2 or 3 servings at a time. I have started doing this myself. It helps to be able to actually see a stopping point at the bottom of your baggie!

i was thinking about getting a scale. but think ill be tempted to get on it all the time, so ill wait abit. besides a home scale that will weigh me is going to be 100.00 or better. think i wont worry about the weight for now and just try and eat better. The lack of cokes alone should help. Im not going to even drink diet sodas because they just make me want the real thing. I think one of the hardest things is going to be the lack of bread. It a utensil around here. you have a knife,fork,spoon, three slices of bread. Most of what we eat around here comes from my german heritage. That type of food isnt known for its low calorie count lol. So instead of changing it to low cal think ill just work on portion control. If you have never had german food its alot of sausages,pickled vegtables,dumplings. So i guess the comfort food is going to be the hardest to adapt around. My kids dont have a problem with weight so i hate to change their eating style but i would like them to be aware of what can happen............

HA I found you lol, so you’re going to hang around that’s terrific.
When I first started and had to cut out the junk food and sugar I got headaches and had low energy, but the more fruit and veggies I ate the better it got. It took about a month to start feeling better. I still had sugar in my tea and coffee for about 6 months then I cut down to 1 teaspoon then about 2 months later I started having none. It all takes time but we get to were we want to go eventually, we just can’t give up. To start you off on eating breakfast have a small piece of fruit for a few weeks then a slice of wholegrain toast and a small piece of fruit. Just take it one day at a time. Good to see you here have a good week.

yup. Its not the first time i have tired to lose weight. Its just the first time since abunch of back surgeries. I have a weird metabolism if im not working out like a marine i just cant lose. so the first day is almost done and im about to go outside and chew on the metal fence and see how much sugar is in there lol. Its going well i think. lets see i had a bowl of chili for lunch. its some i made so no extra stuff in there that should be too bad. then a salad and prob a salad later. hey this chai stuff aint bad oh yea a had alil splash of milk in that. Of coarse i am gonna miss the quart of ice cold milk at night but hey we all have our little monsters to deal with

well its 6 pm and im just now getting around to eating breakfast. I really need to stop that. Im more of a late eater i just dont do mornings. the diet pills im taking are working i just dont want to eat though i know i have to. picked up a tuna fish salad from subway. The tuna prob has mayo or somehting in it but since i havent eaten all day im not overly concered. Started weight training lastnight and i feel like i was in a bar room brawl with a really big oh boy lol. anyway my hurts hurt. Tonight for dinner everyone wants roast. not sure of the calories in that but between that the potatoes its gonna be kinda high. Im not really watching every calorie so it shouldnt be too bad. Itll still be way less than the 6000 i was taking in....

well the portions are getting smaller. found out today just because salad dressing says lite its not. made a salad last night with all kinda vegtables in it. bought some light rasberry walnut vinegret and just for half the bottle its like 500 calories. but i didnt eat it all anyhow. if i was counting every calorie i would have been upset. The late night sweet tooth hasnt gone away. But i got some orange juice this morning and it seemed extra sweet so i may reserve any juices for night time. think since its so early and im up ill try and have breakfast. thinking some eggs poached maybe or might scramble them and maybe some turkey bacon. eating better isnt that huge of an adjustment for me. i have never been a picky eater. Ill be as good as i can today to make room for the beef roast i have to cook later(sorry to the vegitarians and vegans but i come from a long line of carnivores lol)

I just LOVE that you said what you did about the salad dressing. That you found out last night it is not actually light. WOW! I had the same eureka moment a couple of weeks ago with an Oreo cookie. (Yeah, I knew they weren't light, but i had no idea just how many calories they had.) That one moment, when the blinders come off, is just so incredible to me. I really think so much of the problem of obesity is the deep denail that so many of us share. Your salad dressing moment might not have seemed like much, but it was a sign of your new awareness, that will make losing weight that much easier! I'm happy for you!

You have to start eating breakfast or im gonna have to come kick your butt.

kicking my butt wouldnt take much. I found that after being on my back for so long i have no muscle left lol. tried to start weights the other day and now this is the second day of ouch lol.... had the turkey bacon this morning which was awsome. wasnt expecting it to be that good. invented a water fryer for an egg. It was an improvised poached and it was good. so its all going well. im gonna weigh tomorrow to see if im below the 400 mark yet. the first 50 lbs norm comes off quick so well see............