I am a 23 year old male, I'm 6 feet tall, and I weigh approximately 310 pounds (lbs). I hold my weight well and no one would ever guess my weight, however, it doesn't change the fact that I am in the obese BMI range. I am desperately attempting to lose weight because I not only want to look better but I want to feel better as well, more specifically lightening my load will help me with my current feet issues. I've began to notice I have way too many problems with them hurting if I stand too long, and it makes it difficult for me to do my current job that requires me to stand for nearly the entirety of my 8 hour shifts.
I have tried a variety of different weight loss ideas over the years, and I've had some successes, but eventually these successes would slowly fade until I'm back at the beginning and am starting all over again. I've tried Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Noom, personal dieting, etc. At one point I had lost right at 50 pounds, but eventually began gaining it all back due to dramatic life events.
My most recent attempt to lose weight has been with calorie counting. My first week I lost 7 pounds by simply counting my calories. However, I went on vacation the next week, and enjoyed a variety of buffets as this was a family vacation, and due to us not having these restaurants or even buffets were I live locally. Now that I am back home, I have struggled to try and start up the calorie counting again. My biggest problem is that I don't cook, I prefer convenience over anything. This has had me stuck on eating simple sandwiches such as chicken salad, egg salad, organic (no sugar) peanut butter and banana sandwiches, etc. Mostly chicken salad. However, now I'm at the point in which I'm getting burnt out and this is just becoming difficult and I'm falling back to my old ways again.
I could really use some help getting a plan formed with some meal ideas. Preferably those that I don't have to cook and is simple to make and take to work with me. Any ideas and pointers would be very beneficial. Thank you in advance.
Written by
dfarmer2001
2024 August
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Hi dfarmer2001, and welcome to Weight Loss support,
First of all, weight loss is a journey that has ups and downs, and sometimes it takes a while to figure out which approach is best for you.
People on this forum follow a variety of approaches, including calorie deficit. With calorie counting you do need to count, and sometimes it's surprising just how many calories there are in a sandwich for example.
You say you don't cook, but do you think you would stick to a plan for making your own salads (they really don't have to be just lettuce), or wraps for example, and taking them into work? sometimes preparing your own food keeps your mind on the fact that what you're doing is like a gift to yourself of becoming healthier.
We have a number of groups on this forum where you will get peer support, and see how others approach their weight loss, such as low carb, or intermittent fasting. I've added the link to all the groups for you to have a look at, you can just join in by replying to people, and I know you will be made very welcome.
Good luck with your journey, you know you can do it because you've managed it before
Hi dfarmer, and welcome to this very supportive forum. The fact your here suggests that you really are ready to start tackling what you see as a weight problem. As grigid has said, all weightloss plans have there ups and downs, and there are positives and negatives in every type of diet. Perhaps a starting point for you might be to look at the ’I don’t cook’ thing. Does somebody else cook for you? Or have you never learned to cook? Or are you simply too tired to cook after 8 hours at work? There are lots of diet plans available online but unless you can embrace the idea that its worth the effort, that YOU are worth the effort, to spent some time preparing / cooking the food I think your diet will remain a bit tedious and repetitive. You did indicate that you had some success with weightwatchers, so perhaps you still have some of the foodplans from then -I think ww uses a points system which is essentially based on calories. I’m even going to suggest you go back to weightwatchers -for the support. It doesn’t matter to them if you’re not perfecct every week, or you take a holiday -they are used to it. But they should always be supportive. ( I confess I am a former weightwatcher who lost a lot of weight with them -it didn’t happen overnight and I definitely had ups and downs but I wouldn’t have done it without them).
I hope this comes across as encouragement and that you will join in with the other threads and also let us know how you’re getting on. You can do this, you just need to get yourself into the right headspace.
Truly, if you want a healthy lifestyle, then cooking is a valuable part of it. None of us is born being able to cook, it's something you learn.
One easy thing, and something you could take to work, is soup. You don't need any fancy gadgets, just a large pan, a chopping knife and a hob to cook on. Use ingredients you enjoy, give it a try.
I also don't really cook, but there's things that can add variety to your meal plans. Don't be afraid to use canned foods that you just have to heat up (I use the microwave pretty much every day!). Also, did you know that instant noodles just need to soak in boiling water for a few minutes to be ready, no actual cooking! Yes, these things are not the healthiest, but they're better than takeaways in most cases and you can calculate your calories from the labels quite easily. I'm thinking if you get used to eating more variety of foods, you might feel encouraged to start learning to cook from fresh. Either way, you can definitely meet your weight loss goal with a bit of determination!
I did state that the foods I mentioned weren't the healthiest, but weight loss will happen if an appropriate calorie goal is met, regardless of the types of food eaten.
But restricting calories is starving yourself which is unsustainable in the long term. Carbs contain no essential nutrition , they are pure energy so you can cut them out without affecting your nutrition
Loosing weight is not so much about regulating calories but cutting out carbohydrates which push up blood sugar and trigger a release of insulin which is central to fat storage and the building block of bodily fat are made in your liver from excess gycogen which comes from the blood sugar. youtu.be/SKGkNfz0814?si=33j...
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Short, fat, and many health problems 
Week 1 of my weight loss
Lacking motivation
