Don't know what to do anymore

Wow...you did put alot out there. What worked/s for me is to find foods I like and then restrict myself to eating these particular foods.
So what I did was find the fruit/veg I like and then mix and match on daily basis. But what I would recomment is to begin with one meal, say, breakfast, and eat that on regular basis until you feel comfortable with your choices. I would recommend not focusing so much on every meal, but on finding what you like and adapting that over time.

Here is what I eat for breakfasst
Now I must say that I pack my breakfast M-F and eat it at work, so this has become really easy for me.
2 pieces of fruit....bana/apple (they are so portable that is makes it easy to pack)
2 serving of veg...baby carrots/raw peppers/mini-cucumbersgrape tomatoes
Hummus (this is key cause you can put on crackers, or use as dip for veggies)
Starch ( I like "Food That Tastes Good brand of chips/crackes as they aren't highly processed)

Of course, there are many ways to switch this up. But I liike to keep it simple>

Catie

Thanks kristen6022, I don't find your comment mean at all! I know I am the one that needs to make the change and gain the willpower, I just need some advice, and I appreciate yours

I think I'll grab some veggies after work today and plan some meals, that would definitely help me stay on track!

You said it right there... you know what to do girl! PLAN. That has been the biggest helper to my willpower. The days when I haven't planned or haven't been able to go out to the store to get my 'supplies' for home and work, I seem to falter and grab the nearest food. Some things I've learned in my month:

1. Experiment with some foods for the next week or two. Try different ways to eat the veggies and fruits. Look up some different recipes for salads and other meals and make out a two week menu for the following two weeks of things you LIKE TO EAT.

2. Only replace one bad food at a time:) That way you are in control - not the 'diet'. You got plenty of time... so do it right! Took me three weeks to have the guts to replace my flavored creamer with fat-free plain creamer. I did it when I was ready.

3. Replace a bad habit with a good habit. Water! I HATED water. I replaced my 4+ coffees a day habit with waters now. Do I drink as much as I should? No! But, I drink alot more than I did.

4. I don't eat alot of salads. Unless you want to eat them... I don't see why you have to. Lean deli meats, one slice of bread, thin slice of cheese, lettuce, tomato is my usual lunch. Heat up leftovers from the night before or even a small plate of nachos!

5. A big thing I learned was that I thought in order to lose weight I needed to lower my calories significantly. SO NOT TRUE. If you are working out at least 4-5 times a week, you NEED to eat your calories. That number that MFP gives you is for when you don't exercise. Everyone told me that my 1200 was too low. I didn't listen for the first two weeks... then for a goof I upped it to 1300 and what a difference! What a weird feeling to be on a diet but to enjoy eating more!

6. I've been finding that as long as I exercise and put my foods in my diary (good, bad or otherwise) and stay within my calories and fat (I don't care much about anything else), then I had a good day. I exercise for 6 days (at least 20 mins. - mostly 1 hour) and have a day off. On the day off I pay more attention to what I'm eating but that's about it. I exercise after 5pm so for me I try to eat most of calories during the day because I end up with an overage at night and I don't what to eat junk just to catch up to my calories.

Because you are asking for advice, YOU WILL GET THERE! It's when you just give up and stop trying is when it gets the best of you. I've been there so many times..... start a diet and exercise for 2 weeks then mess up and stop. Let this time be the exception. So what if you ate something from Dairy Queen... so what you ate some chips.... get back on track the next chance you get. You can still those things in moderation... just PLAN for them.

I've lost 10 lbs. in a month. I gave in and got a 650 Dunkin Donuts pumpkin muffin one day. But now I don't crave it anymore and I just exercised appropriately that day and the next:)

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

I see a lot of good suggestions out there. If you don't like the salads don't eat them. I felt the same way once from a diet I went on called the Makers Diet, I was totally sick of salad. But now I seemed to find a way to like salad again. I've found that foods you like sort of evolved into cycles. The key is to find things you love, life is too short to eat things you don't like.

I don't know why I like salads again so much I look forward to them now. I added ingredients to make the textures change and make them interesting. But I find I must have protein to make them satisfying as well.

Different things I've tried with salads to make them interesting. I liked them but they may sound a bit weird:

I got some imitation crab meat one time (real crab is expensive!) and made up a salad dressing with water, cider vinegar, pasta sauce, and pure horseradish and I loved it.

If I add avocado it makes a nice rich flavor but adds more calories so I go with a lower calorie meat like ham or seafood. Some times I add 10-15 almonds or other nuts chopped up, dried cranberries, sliced apple, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, or fat free cheese. I just try new ingredients to spruce it up and make it interesting. Otherwise the basics for me are lettuce, green onions, tomato, cucumber.

The other weird thing I tried was taking some chicken I cooked in a crock pot and heating it on the stove with some chicken broth, add some garlic sprinkles, salt, pepper, green onions, celery. Turn off the heat and add some fresh salsa. Top this over some salad ingredients listed above.

Also a stir fry with meat, onions, mushrooms, celery, then tofu noodles, try a variety of spices (they sell some really interesting combos in the spice section). Top over shredded lettuce and some other salad ingredients.

I cringe at the thought of low carb breads, fat free cheeses, and sugar free maple syrup because I used to be a 100% organic fanatic. But I was also obese when I was 100% organic. There is no such thing as low carb tortillas, bagel thins, fat free cream or cheddar cheese that is organic. So I learned to put the 100% aside, eat mostly organic, and have a few of these products to keep myself from going insane. One meal I might have good french bread (carefully measured) and the next I might have a low carb tortilla. I've decided these things won't kill me and I'm healthier with them than I was when I was 100% organic and obese.

Squash/pumpkin: Sometimes I get tired of recipes or they feel like too much work so I just cut it up and steam it until it's soft. I'll keep it in a container in the fridge. When I want some I heat it up on the stove with a little water (I don't use a microwave) and then mash with a fork, add some butter spud sprinkles, sugar free maple syrup, cinnamon, possibly a little almond milk, coconut milk, or coconut water. It's really satisfying to me.

For other sweet treats I love fruit salads with (not necessarily all these ingredients at once) melons, cucumbers, apples, frozen blueberries, a small amount of chopped nuts, jello sugar free instant pudding, greek yogurt, stevia, a small amount chopped dates, raisins or dried cranberries. Also greek yogurt with vanilla stevia.

Oh and I love PB2 mixed with stevia and water and a scoop of cottage cheese and greek yogurt. Reminds me of peanut butter pie.

I lost weight eating one slice of really good french bread almost every day with a light coating of real butter, raw honey, and cinnamon. I always ate it after a taco or a salad, and I ALWAYS wanted MORE, but I told myself I could have more tomorrow.

Fill up with water, flavored with 5 cal or zero cal packets if necessary, and herbal teas. If I need something rich flavored I make an herbal coffee with some sugar free creamer.

Eating windows. I have found eating windows helped me stay within a calorie budget. This is a flexible form of intermittent fasting. If you do a search for intermittent fasting you will find lots of information and benefits. I happened to find all my info from it from Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. Here is how it worked for me:

So I just did my own diet thing, cherry picking from all the diets I had done. Once I had the portions down so I started eating what I called "mini meals" and put my food in small portions on a small dessert plate. One diet said don't eat after 7pm so I followed that. I ate healthy foods that I like, lean in the carb department. I limited myself to one or two very small servings of carbs a day, focused mainly on protein and veggies. I did not count calories. I got a feel for the right portions because the scale trend was going down fairly consistently. So some days I realized I probably had enough to eat so I stopped at 5pm or even 3pm. It was hard. I went to sleep at night feeling hungry and it was not fun, but I always felt great when I woke up and the weight consistently went down at a slow rate and I felt strong at the gym. That said..

You body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

So I lost 40 lbs doing my own thing and I called it "mini meals" and "mini fasts" because I realized for the first time in my life I was fasting from my last afternoon meal until breakfast the next day. I was really excited and was working patrol with one of my super fit colleagues and I told him my story. He said he lost 30 lbs the same way and told me to look up "Eat Stop Eat" on the web. I trust this guy and he is my friend but I was leery of the ESE book. But my friend who I trust said it was good. I researched reviews and it seemed that even the skeptics ended up saying it was good and backed with very good research. So I decided to get it. Along with it was a special deal for a workout, so after waffling around with my decision I finally decided to get the workout as well. This is when my life really changed.

So, it's not easy to lose weight. It's not fun. You just have to find a way to make it happen. Keep experimenting until you find what works for you. We are all different and have to find our way. I'm glad I never gave up because I'm happier than I've ever been. But it was not easy.

If you don't like salads. Don't eat them. Especially if you are adding high fat dressings on them. Find something you do like. I like to munch on baby carrots. And they need no preparation time. If you like hummus try celery sticks filled with hummus. Or lower fat cream cheese. Increase your fruits and give yourself time to adjust to a newer life style.

Don't go to the grocery store hungry. Write a list and stick to it. If the food isn't in your house it won't be handy to binge on. If you have somebody that would go to the store for you that would be a bonus.

Allow yourself one cheat day a week. You can have a blizzard or candy or whatever you want on that day. When tempted just tell yourself I can have that on my cheat day. It really is easier than thinking you can never have it. Just remember do not bring it in the house. If you want ice cream. Go out for an ice cream cone.

Most important is don't give up. It takes time to develop new habits. And one splurge does not ruin your diet. Giving up does. Log everything on your food diary. It makes us really see what we are doing.

I quit smoking back in 2001. Was on a trip to London with a friend of mine and watched, in horror, as he started shaking from nicotine withdrawal in the airplane and stood aside as he ran full-speed into one of those smoker’s “fish tanks” they set up for 20 smokers to all stare at the non-smokers. It was so depressing that once I landed back in the U.S. I swore I would never smoke again and I haven’t.

Two years ago I gave up drinking. I had already given up beer and wine (was going down too fast) and was happy with gin and rum (not in the same glass). Probably drank too much but it was fun. Met a woman who didn’t drink at ALL and she was having as much fun without the hangover. So, I decided to quit drinking completely and it was the best decision I ever made. When I go out, it’s club soda with lime and it’s not only less expensive but I have no regrets.

On January 5, 2012, I gave up meat, dairy and eggs. Going from 100% omnivour to 100% vegan overnight. Cutting out all my favorite foods and my love of cooking. Taking my 30+ restaurant list and chiseling it down to 3. Giving up meat, dairy and eggs is a hundred times harder than giving up smoking and drinking.

Pasta tastes good. Cookies and cake taste good. Alcohol tastes good. We all know that.
If you're trying to make changes in your diet, it's going to be difficult. Eating vegetables when you're used to daily blizzards is going to take some time for your palate to adjust to. Stop saying that you can't and just suck it up and do it.

I didn't say I can't do it, I asked for help and advice.

Daily blizzards? I didn't say that either. It's a very rare treat for me.

But it's ok, I figured I would get comments like this one.


Thanks to everyone else offering advice, I already have some new items for the grocery list and I really appreciate it!

I think that response just meant that everyone likes the food that got them fat, and it's a slow process of retraining our tastebuds and cravings to things that actually benefit our healthier efforts.

For me, the first step of losing weight wasn't making a grocery list, but committing to eat less junk, and telling myself I didn't want it, and then building a food plan off that. If you aren't ready on conceptual level to abandon the symbolic Blizzard in lieu of something that moves you toward your goal, then it's not going to work.

Pasta tastes good. Cookies and cake taste good. Alcohol tastes good. We all know that.
If you're trying to make changes in your diet, it's going to be difficult. Eating vegetables when you're used to daily blizzards is going to take some time for your palate to adjust to. Stop saying that you can't and just suck it up and do it.

How is this comment helpful?

I know exactly where this lady is coming from, I have many of the same issues. That is why a lot of us are here, because we need support and advise, not condescending comments.

How many pounds a week have you set to lose? It might be worth reducing this and take a bit longer over your weight loss than give up now. You can always increase it later when you get into the swing of things.

Exactly what I did. I set mine to sedentary, exercise only 3x/week for 15 minutes each time, and losing only 0.5lb/week because I know that I am coming into this with a ton of horrible habits, and I figure even a little change is better than none, and if I'm not overwhelmed trying to jump into the deepest part of the ocean without a lifejacket the first time I try to swim, I'm much more likely to continue to live (so to speak).

And it IS getting easier. With increasing frequency, I find myself more and more under my calorie goal.

Lots of good suggestions here - I'll add my 2cw.

- - use the supermarket salad bar to experiment with new vegetables and combinations. More expensive to start than making your own, but less expensive than buying a whole bunch of something it turns out you don't like. When you find what you like you can prepare your own. The Whole Foods salad bar, for example, has a lot of different options, and you might get some ideas for tasty combinations by looking at their prepared items. (That's how I discovered wheatberries and quinoa in salads!) But even my regular supermarket has a pretty good salad bar.

-- totally agree on how much planning ahead can help

-- I find that even if I think I've had a really bad day, if I force myself to log it it's not usually as bad as I thought. Which makes me feel not so bad which makes it less hard to start the next day off right.

--

-- protein in EVERY meal, even if it's just a glass of milk

-- I work in the city so lots of lunch options around for when I don't make my own, but it's sometimes hard to know what exactly goes into those meals, even if it's a place that posts nutritional info. I ask for a sandwich "in a container, no bread" and get just the items I want. This avoids the bread and pretty much makes every sandwich shop into a salad bar! I also find that if I'm eating with a fork I tend to eat more slowly than when I just pick up a half a sandwich and motor right through it, and that helps me control the amount I eat.

-- Trader Joes and Whole Foods both have interesting combinations of frozen vegetables that you might like better than eating one variety at a time.

-- if you like veggies better with cheese, forgo the cheese sauce, and sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on them instead - a lot more flavor for your caloric "buck".


Good luck with experimenting and exploring new flavors - eating is more interesting when you have a wider variety of foods in your diet!

Plain salads are boring. When I make a salad I make it be my entire meal and I make it be enough to fill me up. I put an entire plateful of romaine lettuce down, slice up a hard boiled egg and sprinkle it on, 3-4 ounces of grilled chicken, sprinkle a little cheese (not too much) and then use fat free dressing. Yes, it's about 400 calories but it's my entire dinner so it's not overdoing it.

I do have pasta on occasion but I choose whole wheat pasta which is healthier and a lot less calories. I hardly notice any real difference in taste.

When I'm craving a sweet treat I have a Fiber One chocolate granola bar. They are very yummy and totally satisfy my craving. Trust me you won't eat more than one.....or at least you won't do it a second time. :happy:

I think a big key for you is finding substitutions that don't make you feel like you're being deprived. BTW, I HATE veggies.

Exercise needs to become a part of your daily life so pick something you can do. For me it's walking. One hour a day just walking. I love zumba and all that but that isn't something that I can do every day. Walking every day is easy to work into my lifestyle. You can walk anywhere, in your neighborhood, at the park, at the mall, on a treadmill. All you really need is a good pair of shoes and you're ready to go.

I do agree with others that it doesn't sound like you are ready to make the commitment to yourself that you will succeed. You beat yourself up over your failures but you haven't sat down and drawn up a plan to succeed. Without a plan you are going to fail because you don't know where you're going or how to get there. Your plan needs to consist of three things, eat within your calories, log all food, and move more. That's it, and when you're ready it will all click for you. It will take time and it won't be easy but you'll know what to do and how to do it.

Personally I skip breakfast (bad I know but I'm never hungry), then I have soup for lunch most days. About 250 calories and very filling. I have a larger afternoon snack of 200-300 calories and then dinner consists of about 400-500 calories which puts me right about 1200 calories for my day. I choose not to eat back my exercise calories (don't judge) because I feel like I get enough food during the day and I'm not hungry. On days where I am a little more hungry I eat an extra 200 or so calories.

You CAN do this, once you decide that you want to lose weight MORE than you want the DQ Blizzard. Last night my son was starving after cross country practice and begged for McDonalds. I gave in and took him but didn't buy a single thing for myself - I love, love, love McDonalds so this was really hard for me. i just kept telling myself the whole time he was sitting next to me eating it that I want to lose weight more than I want that sandwich. I had to keep my eyes on my goal in order to turn it down. It was SO HARD but today I feel proud of myself for winning that battle.

Allow yourself one cheat day a week. You can have a blizzard or candy or whatever you want on that day. When tempted just tell yourself I can have that on my cheat day. It really is easier than thinking you can never have it. Just remember do not bring it in the house. If you want ice cream. Go out for an ice cream cone.

LOVE THIS!! Thank you for the tip. I never really thought about 'not bringing it home' before but I did that just yesterday with Entermann's Chocolate Chip cookies. I had a couple and then gave them to my co-workers. I could have brought them home, but I knew I'd be sitting at the computer and I'd probably eat the rest.

Oh, and try fresh lemon juice on your veggies. Made me like broccoli and green beans:) Lemon juice is my new condiment.

Another suggestion.... find a good ethnic food store. Look at the spices and sauces (not creamy based) that add a ton of flavor. I found that just a couple teaspoons of Thai Peanut Sauce goes a long way on cooked vegies. Add some spaghetti squash and some lean protein and it makes a huge fantastic dish for very few calories. If (and that is a big if) you can find it, Thai Peanut salad dressing is kind of creamy, lower in calories than Ranch and huge on flavor. Experiment with some of the dried chilies in the Asian or Hispanic sections. Get a little inventive with your food. Half the time the fun is in the cooking and not the eatting. If you don't like something you cooked, think about how you can make it better next time. Ask the people at the store to make recommendations on what to try, or use Google to get some ideas. Just because you are trying to reduce calories, it doesn't have to be boring and tasteless.

You can still have your goodies.....just less of them. One trick that helps me is that I make a deal with myself, I have to finish a plate of vegies and a portion of lean protein before I can have my treat. That way I am full and want less of the treat. I try (notice I said TRY) to keep away from trigger foods between meals. I try to keep myself busy and away from where the food is until it is time for my meal. I also drink a glass of water before my meal or snack, and a cup of coffee or tea (decaf depending on the time of day) after.

That few days of the month....well, all bets are off. :ohwell: Haven't found anything to help those days.

I am having trouble too, but I would like to share ....Bakery Style Tortillas. H.E.B .....low carb...whole wheat...flour tortillas...5gr...fiber...no sugar...50 calories...Really does help....Sometimes I make a sandwich out of them...and put 30 cal. ham.fat free cheese.... .from Wal Mart..mustard.....lettuce (get the head)..and all the veggies...and enjoy it. It really does help....
For my sweet treats I am using honey....and so far it is working...take a TBS and eat it by its self...drink ice water with it....

I don't understand. What is wrong with a 300 calorie sandwich?

Also, you do know that MFP sets up your goals so that you lose weight without exercise, then when you exercise it gives you more calories to eat? So if your goal was 1,200 then you exercised and burned 300, you need to eat 1,500.