Hi I am Jessica....

Welcome back Jessica And congratulations on returning once again You should do this for yourself, and yourself only! Don't bother about what people say, unless they think something you are doing may injure you I promise never to be negative to you. We can definitely motivate each other! Cheers!

Hi. I am Jessica. I have been on this site before but I deleted my account due to the constant negative comments about every choice and opinion I had. I am looking for positive people to be my friend. People who really care and will motivate and encourage me, and when needed a wake up smack in the head. I don't want people who are close-minded and will just constantly bash and bring me down. Thank you.

It is kind of sad how that happens isn't it? The constant judging and bashing.

Being on a calorie deficit is hard. You can't do this journey on will power alone. You must set up your environment for success. Have a team around you in your real life, not just online. Get trigger foods out of the house. It will take some sacrifice and it's not easy. You might have to say no to some social events sometimes.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

Your 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, hormones, 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 cannot 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.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Wishing you the best! Bobbie

Boy, you really got hooked up with the wrong group. I've had nothing but postive feedback from all my "friends" on fb! It's "infectuous." They're the reason I've had success. You've really taken the first positive step...ask for help, want to lose. Good for you! That's what this is all about.... If you need some positive feedback, just ask!

I like to keep an open mind about this stuff. There is no right or wrong way when deciding on what to eat, but rather keeping your portions in check. If you want to eat ice cream for breakfast, great! As long as one measures, and accounts for what they eat, and keep it under levels, one will lose weight. I am not one to bash anyone, but rather ask questions if I notice something I don't understand. Feel free to add me.