I want to lose 44 pounds by the end of october

LAT1963

Ashley there's a difference between "judgment" and advice. You asked for advice. People do not think you are "bad" in any way for wanting to lose 44 lbs quickly. It's just that 44 lbs is a very aggressive goal. Starting off with so difficult a goal is setting yourself up for failure. You could lose 30 lbs and feel like you failed because you didn't reach 44 lbs--and totally miss the point that yay you lost 30 lbs. Then you would feel discouraged for "failing" instead of proud and triumphant over your accomplishment.

Nor are you being judged for giving your kids pizza. As long as it's within calorie-budget, you can have pizza too. But if you are making healthy food for yourself you may as well make it for everyone, and calorie-budget a pizza day into your week too so that you are all eating together as a family. Doing it this way makes healthy eating a habit for everyone, not just "that weird thing mom is doing to lose weight", while still letting everyone have party food on occasion. This will help them avoid weight problems when they are older.

Losing weight is hard. That's why there's such a huge industry around doing it. There are a lot of elements to learn about and nobody starts off really knowing what to do. In addition everyone's body is unique; there are commonalities (such as your total daily calories eaten must be less than expended), but what worked well for one person may not work for another because a different metabolic quirk caused each of them to be fat in the first place, so each needs a different approach.

Another generality--the diet that will work for you is a diet you can stick to. The best plan in the world won't work if it leaves you constantly ravenous, because you won't be able to maintain it long enough. Experiment to find out what makes you feel full--fiber, carbs, protein, or fat--and be sure to keep enough of that element in your diet so that you're never more than moderately hungry. (Beware that carbs are short-acting and can get you on a binge-fast yo-yo eating-pattern if you are not careful to space them frequently through the day. Most people find fiber, protein, or fat is what makes them feel full for several hours at the lowest daily calorie intake. For me it's fat, so I avoid low-fat diets and bias toward balanced or low-carb diets so I can stick with it).

PS: Pizza is not bad for you so long as you stick to a quantity within your calorie budget. It is bread, cheese, and vegetables, maybe with a little meat. All of those elements are decent, worthwhile foods. But, (mostly due to cheese) it does have a lot of calories per volume, so it may not make you feel full quickly as you are eating it; it's good to pair pizza with a low-calorie high-volume food like salad that makes you feel full while you eat it, so you don't over-eat before your system digests enough pizza to sense the calories and say "stop eating you're done".

BasicGreatGuy

I think it is important to keep in mind, that we are all different in our age, health condition, background, and nutrition. While some general advice is good to share, it is important to remember that what worked for you (as an individual) may not work or be applicable at this point in time to the person asking for advice. Just because you had success with no ill-effects that you are aware of, that doesn't mean that you should rinse and repeat the advice to someone else, in my opinion.

Miss Ashley, have you consulted with your doctor about your health and weight loss goals? If not, I think that that is a very important first step. If possible, seeking nutritional advice specific to you and your needs from your doctor or another professional would be a good thing to do.

There are many fine people here who do their best to help. And with all the different advice coming your way at once, especially with terms or phrases you may not be familiar with, it can leave one even more confused and frustrated.

You didn't put on the weight overnight and it isn't going to come off overnight. Be patient with yourself. Get the ok from your doctor and then work with him etc. so that you slowly get the weight off in a healthy manner that works for you.

LAT1963

Actually, I take that back--it may be the bread that is the biggest calorie offender in pizza.

One tip from the Atkins perspective--almost anything that works well as a combo on pizza, also works well as an omelette. Your kids might be amused if you experiment with "pizza omelettes" sometime.

ashleysolomon119

LAT1963 wrote: »

Actually, I take that back--it may be the bread that is the biggest calorie offender in pizza.

One tip from the Atkins perspective--almost anything that works well as a combo on pizza, also works well as an omelette. Your kids might be amused if you experiment with "pizza omelettes" sometime.

That is actually a great Idea, I will have to try that.

2snakeswoman

I think 1300 calories is reasonable. Good luck!