For a while I've had weight issues - Rant / help

[WickedTrombone]

I'm 24 years old. I have felt overweight since 7th grade, and it has progressively gotten worse. Currently, I'm 5'7" and weigh about 240 lbs. This is the most I have ever weighted. I know my problem, fast food. It's so easy to obtain, and it tastes delicious to me. It's not uncommon for me to grab fastfood twice a week. I used to have soda cut out completely from my diet, but the past 6 months it's been reintroduced.

I feel terrible after I eat fastfood. I feel like shit, like a slob. When I look at myself in the mirror, I am disgusted. I look like a whale. I am disgusted that I don't fit into pants that I could 6 months ago. My portions are out of control. You get the idea.

I WANT to do something and I know I am the only one who can do something about it, but obviously I need some sort of help. Sometimes I eat when I'm bored. I typically wake up around 12pm and go to bed around 3-4am. I have my last meal before 9pm, but it's not uncommon for me to grab a greek yogurt or two around midnight.

I DO drink water. Probably more than the average person.

The lowest weight I can remember was when I was down to 190 about 4 years ago. I still felt chubby then. I remember a girl I had a crush on told me I was cute, but chubby. I read that as, I'd date you, but you're too fat for me right now. That really ****ing bothered me. It motivated me. I wanted to lose weight, and I did and dropped to 190. Then I slowly got content with being 190 and just gained the weight back over the next year or so.

Anyways, sorry about the rant. I want to lose weight, I NEED to lose weight. I have dumbbells in my room. I have some exercise DVD bullshit that has tension cords. I have a treadmill that works fine in my basement. I don't really feel comfortable going to a gym in my current state. My self confidence is extremely low at the moment.

I want to at least get back to 200 before school begins again in September for me. Is that a realistic goal? Any tips / advice to get motivated would really be appreciated because I always have these moments where 'enough is enough' and then a day or two later it's like whatever.

[KingZ]

Hey man! It's totally possible to lose at least 20 lbs. by September, but that only gives you 11 weeks and you're gonna have to hustle.

Losing fat is conceptually really easy. The hard part is applying yourself and working toward your goal. To lose fat:

1. Calculate your TDEE using some simple calculator.
2. Consume 20% less calories per day than your TDEE.

Or, another way of putting it:

1. Eat less.
2. Exercise more.

It's simple input vs. output. There's all kinds of literature about low carb diets and whatever else—it's all bullshit. You can eat zero carbs, but if you go over your TDEE, you're still going to be a fatty.

So for more practical advice, here's what you need to do now.

1. Eliminate all (ALL, motherfu​cker) processed foods. That means no more fast food. No more going out to restaurants. You're gonna get really familiar with the produce section at your local grocery store.
2. Cut out really high calorie meals to avoid cheating. Things like peanut butter, honey, jam, jelly, sweets. You need to stick to really filling, low calorie items. Lentils. Rice. Chicken. Vegetables.
3. Caffeine. Your options are either green tea or coffee. Pick one. Love it. You do not get to drink diet soda. Hey—HEY, LOOK AT ME. NO DIET SODA.
4. Walk at least an hour a day. Not a pussy ass stroll, either. I mean a real walk. Get an app like RunKeeper to track your progress so that it'll count the number of calories you burned, and put it into another app like...
5. Sign up on LoseIt.com and track everything. You do not get to put anything into your body unless you have exact caloric measurements.
6. Get on Reddit every morning and browse subreddits like /r/fitness, /r/loseit, /r/progresspics.

That's all I got.

[basilandthyme]

WickedTrombone, glad to hear you're wanting to be proactive about this.

It's interesting that you mention portion sizes because this is what I was going to suggest regarding food. If you love fast food, then you'll probably go apeshit if you cut it out of your diet completely. So, how about eating it once per week and choosing the smallest serve?

If having time to cook is a problem for you, what about cooking healthy food and freezing it in appropriate portions? For example, a small serve of Spaghetti Bolognaise from the freezer and a Greek salad on the side is a really simple, easy and healthy meal. Get yourself some recipe books of healthy food for busy people.

Oh, and cook from scratch when you can. As soon as you add a jar of Italian tomato sauce to that bolognaise you're making, you're adding a heap of unnecessary calories.

And yes, you need to get exercising. If you don't like to be in the gym, can you afford a personal trainer outside the gym? I've just been trying to get back into shape and am surprised at just how much a P/T will push outside my comfort level. I had no idea just how hard one has to workout to make a difference.

As an aside, I have found Weight Watchers to be a good way to figure out healthy meals. But it's only sustainable if you do it WITH exercise. And I just have to throw in that there's a lot of current research showing that low-cal foods aren't helping our weight, so have a look into this before deciding what way to go with your food.

- - - Updated - - -

3. Caffeine. Your options are either green tea or coffee. Pick one. Love it. Y

What's the theory behind either green tea or coffee? As someone who's very fond of black teas, I'm curious

[HeartIsAching]

What worked for me:

Cut out all sugar. Period.
Eliminate most if not all carbohydrates.
Eat a little meat, a lot of veggies fruits.

Stop driving anywhere less than 5 miles away, and ride your bicycle instead.

- - - Updated - - -

I currently am hovering at 178/179 lbs., my peak was 220.

[KingZ]

What's the theory behind either green tea or coffee? As someone who's very fond of black teas, I'm curious

Any kind of high-caffeine tea works, really. I'm used to saying green tea because you can vaporize the tea leaves and get the caffeine that way.

As to why it helps you lose weight, caffeine is a stimulant.

[WickedTrombone]

When using my treadmill, starting off anyways, I try to keep a steady 4-4.5mph for 30 minutes or so. My calves really start to cramp and hurt about halfway through and I end up walking for another 5-10 minutes before I feel I can jog again.

Is this something you just get used to?

[chinagirl]

You need to stretch and warm up first. If your not used to running, just walk on a steady pace. Once you can talk and walk at a faster pace without shortness of breath, then try running. But don't forget to stretch before and after.

[HeartIsAching]

Sorry, actually that's wrong. Warming up first is fine, and good for you... but stretching cold muscles can tear muscle tissue and tendons - stretch after.

[IndiReloaded]

Why do you eat? Are your parents overweight?

[WickedTrombone]

Why do you eat? Are your parents overweight?

My dad is. My moms a toothpick.

I eat for a few reasons. It tastes good. Easy access. Bored. Hungry. Stress.

[KingZ]

Sorry, actually that's wrong. Warming up first is fine, and good for you... but stretching cold muscles can tear muscle tissue and tendons - stretch after.

There are studies that support stretching before, and studies that support stretching after. Do whatever feels right.

[somehelp4me]

My dad is. My moms a toothpick.

I eat for a few reasons. It tastes good. Easy access. Bored. Hungry. Stress.

NEVER! eat when bored, get active when bored, that will help you out immediately changing that mindset of gnawing down on something and junk when bored, got a dog, go walk or run it instead, got a bike, get on it and visit a friend.

[michelle23]

You should try detoxing. detoxing helps the body get rid of toxins-all the bad crap that causes bloating in the first place. Then you can start a healthy eating plan and exercise. Detoxing is hard. I did one once and it was very difficult. I was tired, extremely hungry and moody as hell but after the 9days I felt amazing, my skin looked better and I defo lost a few lbs. The more you need to lose, the more you will lose throughout a detox. Some have been known to lose 14lbs.. The one I did was called clean 9. It tasted like shit and was really difficult but defo got my moneys worth. You could try a different one though

[IndiReloaded]

I agree with Michelle. I like to do a juice cleanse 1-2 a year. I do it for health, not weight loss, but it will definitely help with that also. If you have a very stressful job, its a great way to get off the caffeine, reset your sleeping, etc.

Start walking while doing the cleanse. Nothing more, you won't have the energy. I suggest a full week.

[KingZ]

I agree with Michelle. I like to do a juice cleanse 1-2 a year. I do it for health, not weight loss, but it will definitely help with that also. If you have a very stressful job, its a great way to get off the caffeine, reset your sleeping, etc.

Start walking while doing the cleanse. Nothing more, you won't have the energy. I suggest a full week.

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detoxification_(alternative_medicine)[/url]

The British organisation Sense About Science has described body cleansing as "a waste of time and money"; many researchers agree that there is no clinical evidence that such diets are effective. The "toxins" usually remain undefined, with little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in the patient.

But hey, if it makes you feel better...