Need to lose 100+ pounds

[coopersmydog]

My current weight is 335lbs and I'd like to get it to around 200. I've lost ~ 30lbs over the last 5 months by eating better, but I'm not following a strict diet or anything. I'm trying to consume ~ 2000 calories/day.

Typical day for me unfortunately usually starts with NO breakfast and somehow I always seem to miss lunch because I'm busy at work. I know this isn't ideal.

I'm hoping the experts here can give me some advice on how many calories I should be eating, how much fat, protein, carbs, etc. And if possible point me in the direction of some good information on how what we eat affects our body.

I'm focusing on the diet right now, and will eventually add in working out. But for now I want to learn more about nutrition, etc.

If anyone can give me a hand, I'd appreciate it.

[Assani Fisher]

Small steps, man. Make one change at a time, and wait until that change is a complete habit before adding anything else. I'd suggest the first one being having a heathly breakfast everyday...just make it an apple or something easy. If you have 10 extra minutes before work, have some oatmeal(non flavored or sweetened) with blueberries or strawberries in it....thats a great start to your day.

Next step may be eliminating your beverages and just drinking water. Buy a water bottle and fill it up throughout the day.

Another step may be to change all of your breads from whatever you're eating now to whole grain or wheat breads.

Don't be too afraid to reward yourself and enjoy an unhealthy meal once a week or so at first. For me, its usually Chipotle, as I simply love that stuff.

It sounds as if you're really motivated right now, and thats great. But trying to do too much too quickly will cause you to burnout imo. Diets never work, you need to make lifestyle changes. Make them slowly and go one step at a time.

You don't really need to learn any advanced concepts about nutrition just yet. I gather that you havn't been eating very healthy in the past. Well I'm sure you already know that a salad is better than fast food and a chicken breast is better than ice cream...simply start eating what you know to be healthy foods. Once you get down in weight a bit and it becomes harder to lose weight, then start studying nutrition more in depth and changing your diet.

Oh and theres no reason to not start some working out ASAP. It really can't hurt, and I've found that working out only motivates you even more to eat healthy.

[XXXNoahXXX]

I see that you say you are never having breakfast and usually missing lunch. I know you included this because you knew it was wrong, but this is definitely something you need to change ASAP. There is no such thing as no time for breakfast. Period. Piece of toast with peanut butter and a yogurt. Banana and a cliff bar. Protein shake. You can find breakfast options that literally take <1 minute prep time and <5 minutes to eat.

[avfletch]

[ QUOTE ]
Next step may be eliminating your beverages and just drinking water. Buy a water bottle and fill it up throughout the day.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with everything Assani said but I'd make this my first change. Being properly hydrated and not adding all the extra sugar/caffeine etc will make it much easier to tackle the other changes.

[kerowo]

You need to plan ahead more. Prepare good things to eat for breakfast and lunch ahead of time. Cliff bars or energy bars of your choice are a good idea because you can eat those on the go, either during your commute or during a break at work.

Switching to water for most of your fluids is a good idea as well.

Whatever your schdule is try not to eat for two hours before going to bed.

Weigh yourself once a week and keep track of it in a spreadsheet or notebook or something so you can see what is going on. Set quarterly goals and mark them on the spreadsheet as well.

Remember that you didn't to be as big as you are overnight and won't get rid of overnight either.

[avfletch]

[ QUOTE ]
Whatever your schdule is try not to eat for two hours before going to bed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why?

[Korch]

I was heavyier than you and lost over 100lbs so far. I started by going on a low carb diet for a few months, then started working out. At first, I would walk briskly on the tradmill 3 times/wk. After probably 2 months, I started jogging for as long as I could (60 seconds) then walking, then joggin again, then walking trying to do about 40 min total. At this point I added weight training. After a while I was able to jog for around 3min then walk. After a few more months I was able to run a slow mile, take a break, then run another slow mile. Now I can jog slowly for around 45min before my joints feel like they're gonna fall off (I'm 240 now). I'd say take the working out slowly if you're not athletically inclined. Big people probably aren't meant for jogging. I was lucky in that I never got injured even though I may have been overly ambitious at first. I try to do more HIIT instead of jogging now, but if I tried that 100lbs ago I'd have broken myself. I also phased in carbs, mostly from good sources (veggies, nuts, etc.). Feel free to PM me if you've got any other qs about my experience.

[Packard]

to really start losing 100+ pounds:

eliminate grains

make a slow cooker of carrots, lean chicken, apples right before bed and put on slow and wake up and eat the goodness. You can mix and match ingredients of fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Use calorie free hot sauce or ms. dash spice to flavor.

Dont eat grains late in the day. NONE.

[avfletch]

[ QUOTE ]
to really start losing 100+ pounds:

eliminate grains

make a slow cooker of carrots, lean chicken, apples right before bed and put on slow and wake up and eat the goodness. You can mix and match ingredients of fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Use calorie free hot sauce or ms. dash spice to flavor.

Dont eat grains late in the day. NONE.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why? Specifically why no grains late in the day?

[Packard]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
to really start losing 100+ pounds:

eliminate grains

make a slow cooker of carrots, lean chicken, apples right before bed and put on slow and wake up and eat the goodness. You can mix and match ingredients of fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Use calorie free hot sauce or ms. dash spice to flavor.

Dont eat grains late in the day. NONE.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why? Specifically why no grains late in the day?

[/ QUOTE ]

Basicly grains late in the day are very likely to be stored as fat. Late in the day your body is getting ready for sleep and you dont need grains to fuel your body so it turns the grains into fat [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]