a little venting.

What you are feeling is TOTALLY understandable. The hard thing is, if this is how you feel, you may not be mentally ready to lose weight. As much work as this is physically, it's ten times more mentally challenging and demanding. I think you need to ask yourself if this is really something you can commit to and if this is really something you want to do right now. The mental is just as important as the physical, and you need both to keep on the journey.

That being said, just because you are on a diet doesn't mean you need to starve yourself. Of course drink water and whatnot, but you need to continuously eat throughout the day. Snack on 100 calorie packs, fruit, raw veggies, pita chips, whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter, etc. Keep eating healthy throughout the day and sooner than later you will start to not crave so much food all the time.

Good luck on your journey, and remember you family at MFP is always here for you!

I know what you mean, I have found that if I eat what I want and just cut it in half then I do not crave the foods. I have lost 35lbs in 2 mo. Try that it may work for you!!

Smaller goals may make you more successful and allow you to see progress. Once you reach your small goal just continue to increase.

Water does nothing for me either. But what does work is distracting myself. I have set times when I eat during the day so if I'm feeling hungry an hour or so before I am going to eat, then I'll take my dog for a walk or pick up a book, clean the bathroom, etc. Anything to get my mind off the nagging feeling of feeling hungry.

I feel ya, I find eating bigger meals helps me, yeah I have a couple snack each day but I want a MEAL!!!! Water doesn't make me miraculously full either. But one little thing that does help me sometimes is a packet of sugar free hot cocoa after dinner. It makes my stomach full and really helps. Good luck, we all feel you pain.

I went through your food diary some and it looks like you eat out a lot. Most of those foods are high in sodium. Especially things like subway. Try tracking your sodium and cutting that down. A trick I learned was after I finished my measured portion, I take a piece of gum and chew it. It lets me body catch up to the feeling full since I tend to be a fast eater. Also try eating more salads as a large portion of lunch or dinners and less meat. It might help.

Good Luck.

So, this is probably not what you want to hear...

I looked at your profile picture and you look great. You weigh 133 pounds to start off with, which I am guessing 99% of the people on this site would LOVE to weigh. You want to lose 10 pounds. Perhaps you are already at your body's perfect recommended weight and that is why you are finding it so hard to lose. We live in a dieting culture that teaches us to hate our bodies. What is your BMI? Do you have health risks associated with your weight?

Maybe it would work better for you to focus on eating healthy and finding an exercise that you really enjoy. And practice loving yourself and improving your self esteem in a way that is not dependent on the scale.

I think it might be a combination of things:
1. Too much sodium in your diet- you are mistaking thirst for hunger (even if you drink a ton of water, having a high sodium diet you are going to need to drink 2x as much)
2. Obsessing over food. Obsessing over what you want to eat and thinking too much about avoiding it. You have to stop thinking about food so much.

I have problems with both of the above. For the sodium I drink one ounce of water per pound of body weight 4x a week, and when I'm dying for bad food, I eat it, I just make a sacrifice somewhere else. Sometimes to make up for ONE bad meal you are going to have to "make it up" by reducing intake over several days to break even.

The best advice I can give is, take notice of the times you are unnecessarily hungry, when you know your body shouldn't be hungry because you've recently eaten but you "feel" hungry, and start scheduling a work out or walk in those times. I work out every day before lunch and when I get home after work I walk at least one mile before going in and making dinner. A mile walk at 3.5 pace will only take 17-18 minutes so it really doesn't effect your family's schedule, but that little jump in your metabolism kills your hunger so you can think clearly and get your food obsession out of your mind and you can eat a good meal.

So, this is probably not what you want to hear...

I looked at your profile picture and you look great. You weigh 133 pounds to start off with, which I am guessing 99% of the people on this site would LOVE to weigh. You want to lose 10 pounds. Perhaps you are already at your body's perfect recommended weight and that is why you are finding it so hard to lose. We live in a dieting culture that teaches us to hate our bodies. What is your BMI? Do you have health risks associated with your weight?

Maybe it would work better for you to focus on eating healthy and finding an exercise that you really enjoy. And practice loving yourself and improving your self esteem in a way that is not dependent on the scale.

I checked it out and I am a little over than what Im supposed to be.

You may be above by a small amount but the closer you are to a healthy weight the harder it is to lose. You describe being hungry all the time, but do not mention your diet. Are you eating naturally filling foods? I worked with a girl recently who was always hungry and her diet consisted of diet breakfast bars (processed) diet lunch products (processed) and diet drinks. Your body cannot operate on that kind of fuel. The easiest way to eat healthy is to eat simple. Try some grilled chicken with a homemade pesto and whole wheat pasta! Filling, rich, but still healthy calorie wise and good for your body. Start off one day at a time. One or two workouts a week. And ENJOY them. That is the key. Remember you want to better your body and your health and use that is a jumping point instead of taunting yourself with a number you want to lose. Someone mentioned you focusing on negatives and that is a big deal: self fufilling prophecy! If you focus on your feelings of defeat and hungry and disappointment, you won't get anywhere. I've been in that pickle!

When i started my fitness pal i was strictly on a diet no exercise....i lost 5 puonds in 2 weeks but my body looked like ****....so i started going to the gym and working out...i go 5 times a week i get changed at work and dont even make that stop home bec then i wont go...now i am not on a diet anymore i work out and eat healthy and dont deprive myself of anything....if i want chocolate i have a peice if i want pasta i have some and if i want chips i will eat them...now im back at my starting wieght i was very frustrated bec i am working out like a dog and gained all my wieght back...and then i tried on my jeans now i havent really worn my jeans for a while bec i was afraid to put them on....they are really loose! seriosly working out is the key to eating healthy, feeling good, and loosing wieght...i feel lazy too but i just go just do it you will feel so much better about yourself...i have never joined a gym in my life until now and i have never felt better about myself..i used to cry when i went into a dressing room at a store and i went shopping today and i acually was jumping up and down the jeans looked so good!