always looking for ideas to get rid of the weight!

Slemma

Hey, I am struggling to lose weight so I have joined this site. I always managed to lose weight before, but the last 2 years its been impossible! I love my food!!! I am exercising and dieting but I love my food and I miss pizza, chips, pasta, sandwiches and cheese soooo much!! I don't understand how you go about setting a number for the amount of calories you can eat in a day, regards, Em

imagymrat

Being that you are only starting to understand what part healthy eating plays in your daily life, I would suggest you start slowly. I'm a clean eater, it took me almost 3 yrs to get to that point, it wasn't easy. Type in all your foods for the day before you eat anything, then take a look at what you are actually eating, figure out the easiest problem to fix, maybe it's having one slice of cheese pizza instead of let's say 2 slices of a meat and cheese pizza. Once you start fiduring out how much damage all the junk does to your body and how the fat cells just are not going away, you will want to change more. Start nixing other foods, and replacng with healthier choices, fried for baked, no skin on your chicken, get rid of the butter, eliminate refined sugar, watch your sodium. Everything should be taken in small steps in order to have any chance of your new eating behaviours to succeed. Good luck.

aippolito1

Just like gymrat said, take it slow! I did it this way:

#1: Cut down portions & started working out
#2: Started drinking more water
#2: Paid attention to calories (didn't count)
#3: Cut out soda
#4: Ate more veggies
#5: Started counting everything (joined MFP)
#6: Started drinking at LEAST 64 oz. of water per day
#7: Cut down on white carbs (I love pasta, mashed potatoes, flour tortillas, etc. but now I try not to eat them more than 2x/week)
#8: Started eating more whole grains
#9: Started eating more fiber
#10: Kicked up my cardio to everyday and staying within calories EVERYDAY.

I'm still a work in progress...I had some Dr Pepper the other day... I snack every few days with my bf but only if it fits in my calories. Take things slow. Don't try more than one thing at a time. Try just eating less for now - or just log everything. Your will power will build, just give yourself some time!! I'm 4 months in and know I still have a long ways to go... like not eating frozen burritos for lunch, lol!!

imagymrat

Just like gymrat said, take it slow! I did it this way:

#1: Cut down portions & started working out
#2: Started drinking more water
#2: Paid attention to calories (didn't count)
#3: Cut out soda
#4: Ate more veggies
#5: Started counting everything (joined MFP)
#6: Started drinking at LEAST 64 oz. of water per day
#7: Cut down on white carbs (I love pasta, mashed potatoes, flour tortillas, etc. but now I try not to eat them more than 2x/week)
#8: Started eating more whole grains
#9: Started eating more fiber
#10: Kicked up my cardio to everyday and staying within calories EVERYDAY.

I'm still a work in progress...I had some Dr Pepper the other day... I snack every few days with my bf but only if it fits in my calories. Take things slow. Don't try more than one thing at a time. Try just eating less for now - or just log everything. Your will power will build, just give yourself some time!! I'm 4 months in and know I still have a long ways to go... like not eating frozen burritos for lunch, lol!!

You said it better! lol....i'm so tired today I can barely think.

wannbAhottie

I also agree with small steps. When I started the calorie counting process I had never took into account what I was actually sticking into my body. When I decided to be accountable to myself for what I was putting into my body I told myself I was going to re-learn how to eat. I had tried several diets before, and though I was successful in loseing weight' these diets were so unrealistic I couldn't keep the weight off when I stopped. I made a promise to myself that I would count every calorie no matter how bad and that if I craved chips, chocolate, or what ever the craving of the week was I would let myself have it as long as I counted it. So far... I feel proud of myself; I wanted chips the other day therefore I ate chips. I went to the store bought a little bag of baked sour cream and chedder, ate half the bag and it completely satified my craving. A couple weeks ago I was craving chocolate(TOM) and I ate chocolate.. I had two pieces of rich chocolate counted them in my calories and went on my way. I added it up that night and I was still right on for my calorie count. It has taken me 30 years of a bad eating habit to get this way and I know that I cannot change my eating habit's over night. It might take me years to re-learn how to eat right but I feel it's these baby steps that are going to get me there. Like it was said before, make small changes, be realistic and know WE CAN do this. I refuse to believe I am on a diet, because I HAVE to completely change the way I eat, the things put in my body and the way I look at food. It will all be with baby steps. Yes girl, You can do it!

miqisha

Baby steps...it takes time....I love chocolate and sweets......however I eat them once in a while now, I try not to over indulge

I drink tons of water...Once in a while I drink Juice....very rare, and if I drink juice, its no more than a 8 oz cup for the whole day...and thats once every few weeks.

I am a beer person, love my heineken....but I have made a concious effort to cut down on beer....havent had any beer in almost 1mth.

I have decided to cut out my liquor until my Husband birthday weekend in June, because deffinately have to party hard that weekend.

Some people can cut out bad foods completely...and thats good that they can....people like us that love food so much....its alot harder....but once in a while, I dont think is bad

Baby steps....

h_eloise86

I agree. It is all about baby steps.
I have had a terrible love affair with fast food for around six years now.
For me, cutting out fast food and soda has been hard.
I still go out once a week, I just workout a tad bit more than normal that day to compensate.
I also make the healthiest choices I can.
I have also cut down on my fast food portions.
(Eating a small healthy snack and drinking water before I go out)
I have also made the switch to the occasional diet soda rather than cans and cans of regular soda a day.
I remind myself that nothing worth doing happens overnight so I take things day by day.
I try to stay a little under on my calories and drink more and more water throughout the day.
Good luck to you!

Slemma

wow, thanks guys! All that advice really helps!!! I am so impressed with all your tips, reading them I realise how far you all have come and what incredible changes you have made.

I have thought about things that I am doing wrong.
1) I eat my husbands left overs (following eating my healthy meal) when I clear his plate.
2) I drink far too much wine- its the only thing that keeps me alive at the end of the day
3) I eat late at night, especially puddings such as yoghurt or banannas and marshmallows
4) I have found a secret stash of ginger biscuits in one of my colleagues draws and I keep sneaking them into my mouth when she is away from her desk

JCSKENNEDY

great advice one day at a time. all baby steps

needamulligan

I may be crazy but I think that the better I eat the less junk I crave. I haven't pin pointed the exact component that triggers a binge. I'm starting to think that it's refined wheat products and/or diet pop. The first time I noticed a correlation between craving/feeling out of control was after a can of diet Coke. One of the last times I felt out of control was after a few slices of pizza. I'm starting to figure out that eating "clean" is its own reward!

Susan367

Hi Slemma, I'm new here but I think we're probably going thru kind of the same trial- I've gained steadily for the last 2 years since I decided to put an end to all dieting efforts. Now I've realized that I've got to take a more sensible, long-term approach to being healthy. What's hard for me is that I know that being physicall active is an important component to any healthy lifestyle, but I live in the northeast, and am house-bound for six or seven months of the year because it's either to cold or too snowy outside. My solution was to join a local gym that lets me go month-to-month. Fall and winter I'm in the gym, and come spring and summer I cancel my membership and get active outside. I also read some really good advice about calories, the gyst of which was to eat what is "normal" for you for three weeks. The only change is that you must be strict with yourself about writing everything you eat down. Once the three weeks is over, calculate the average number of calories you consume each day by dividing your total calorie intake over the three weeks by 21. If for example you averaged 3,000 calories a day, then just subtract 500 calories a day from that. Over a week you would lose 3,500, which is equal to 1 pound of weight. If you did this for 10 weeks, you'd lose 10 lbs, and so on. Once your weight loss slowed, you'd do the three week calculation again, counting every calorie as before. If you were eating on average 2500 calories per day, you'd reduce it by another 500, and that should be enough to shock your body out of it's "set point." Of course, after another ten weeks you could potentially shed another 10 pounds, but once you reach 2,000 calories, I personally would begin adjusting the number of calories you cut back to something more doable, like 300, and then increasing the amount of time you exercise to make up for the other 200 calories, so you can continue to lose at a rate of 1 lb. per week, which is really a very sensible way of losing weight and keeping it off. That's what I'm doing. I figure it took me 10 years to put all this weight on, I certainly can't ask my body to lose it overnight. Best of luck!

needamulligan

btw slices of pizza around here are, roughly, two inch squares!