I'm so embarrassed

I'm on a budget. My boys (my honey and his son), will eat whatever I put in front of them, so actually I've been forcing them to eat healthy as well. I tend to not eat out too much and I REALLY try and stay away from fast food joints. I was very proud of myself this Sunday. My boyfriend and his son wanted Farmer Boys. I didn't. They ate Farmer Boys. I made myself a turkey patty and a side of veggies. Eating healthy doesn't mean breaking the bank. I have good meals every day. I bring my lunch to work and I make sure to stay away from places that only have "bad foods". If your boyfriend wants to eat crap. You have to find the will power to not indulge. At the end of the day, it falls back on YOU!

I got your post. I know you were being totally sarcastic. I got the meaning behind every " ".

If you can spend 50 bucks per day eating crap, then you can spend 50 bucks eating healthy! I get it

One day at a time. I think sometimes we get caught up in thinking about these big generalizations: I have to lose weight. I need to eat healthy. I should exercise more. And we end up doing NOTHING (or the oposite) because it all seems so daunting. Some people can do it - they can jump in with both feet and I applaud them. But that was never me. I had to start out slowly and concentrate on one thing a week and slowly add another and another. It has really helped me to NOT pack on the pounds while I've been on maternity leave (adopted so there is no post baby weight to lose). Working keeps my daily eating in check, being sleepless and busy with a new baby has thrown my schedule out of whack - I don't eat as well, I don't exercise as much. But I'm back on track and was able to not completely fall off the wagon because I kept up with the small changes.

I still have weight to lose - and I'm back to doing it the same way I started - this week the only thing I'm concentrating on is what I eat and logging my foods honestly. I might do that for a few weeks - just get myself back in the grove and allow habits to establish. then I'll move on to other things like working out again. It's worked for me anyway.

Healthy foods are far cheaper that the other foods you listed. My wife and I cut back on going out to eat and we have saved a ton of money, enough for a down payment on the house we just bought. Shop the outer ring of the grocery store, i.e. produce, meats, dairy, etc. and you will find that your grocery bill goes down quite a bit. And it forces you to eat healthy. Once you stick to it for a while it becomes alot easier to stay in and make a quick dinner. Also it tastes so much better and makes you feel loads better. I try to make a habit of having my meals planned out on sunday so that if needed i can make them, freeze them, then heat em up at night. Works great for me. Also i always eat right before shopping. It keeps me from collecting everything in sight.
As far as working out goes... If you are truly invested in the idea of being healthier, you will make time for it. I wake up at 2:30 in the morning on workout days and get it done, because it is a priority, or I do it as soon as i get home from work. I make it a requirement to eat dinner. In my mind if i want that good dinner my wife made i have to at least go for a run.
All in all though, a healthy lifestyle is, in my opinion, 80 percent intake. Not to say exercise isn't important, but if you fuel your body correctly, you will be more likely to feel like working out and more likely to have great workouts.
Take small steps towards being healthy and you will accomplish it very quickly. Keep at it!! I know it will be worth it!! You won't look back and see all the times you didn't get to eat that piece of cake, or all the horrible workouts. Once you change your perspective and begin to see changes you will only see the amazing change in your health, a love for a sweat drenched shirt, and a serious upgrade to confidence and desires. Best of luck. I'm here cheering you on!

ETA: Because I can't spell...

I total agree here. Since me and my wife have stopped eating out and started eating healthy. We have saved so much money. You just got to check whats on sale etc. I think by us shopping around and eating at home. We save at minimum a week $250+. And that is just by eating at home for dinner and breakfast and taking lunch to work.

One day I just decided to make myself a priority.

Honey, we have all been there or we wouldn't be here. I was you a year ago. I went from 210 pounds in January of 2012 to 158 currently. I'd like to get to 145, so I still have a little ways to go. I'm going to give you a little tough love here... You have to decide that you mean business. You also have to decide if you're ready to make your health priority #1. You also have to recognize that this needs to be a permanent lifestyle change. Diets don't work. I've tried plenty of temporary diets. What worked for me this time was a complete lifestyle overhaul.
What I'm going to do for you is eliminate your excuses

Money- You are spending quite a bit of money eating out. We used to eat out a lot. Now we try to limit ourselves to once a week.
You can buy healthy food (fruit and veggies, chicken breasts, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, etc.), cook at home, and probably spend less than you are now. Shop the perimeter of the store. The packaged convenience stuff is actually pretty expensive.

Time- This ones tough. Nobody has more than 24 hours in a day. You have to MAKE time and make it non-negotiable. I work full time and have two elementary aged kids. My husband is the deputy police chief in our town. His job doesn't give him much opportunity to help out at home. We also care for my husband's parents- his mother has a heart condition and his father has terminal cancer. My kids are involved in stuff. Almost every night I am running the girls to various practices, etc., and fixing meals for us and my in-laws. I have no other option than to work out in the morning. VERY early in the morning. I have to be READY for work at 6:00. That is when my kids get up and have to get to the bus. I have to be at work at 7:00. I work out at 4:30 A.M. Yes, you read that correctly. Now, I don't go anywhere. I use my elliptical and/or spin bike in the basement. During the summer I will run/bike outside. This time is non-negotiable for me. I don't care how tired I am, or how badly I want to sleep. Believe me, there are many, many, many mornings that I'd love an extra hour of sleep. I have discovered that I actually have more energy when I get in the exercise than if I spend the extra time sleeping. My point is, we are all busy. You have to make that time sacred.

So, how do I have time to cook healthy meals and not eat out? My slow cooker is my best friend. And thin crust frozen pizzas with veggies. Some of them are only 300 calories or so per serving. Tyson has new "lightly breaded" chicken strips that are pretty good in the oven. They are low cal and high protein. We have been known to have omelets for dinner. When all else fails, we hit Subway. No mayo, cheese, etc., and lots of veggies. Allrecipes.com has some good recipes. You can also search/select healthy recipes, quick recipes, etc., and you can search by ingredient.

It's all that refined sugar that makes you jittery. Eat some good snacks that include some protein. Think Greek yogurt, apple with peanut butter, etc. and try to make sure your meals include more lean protein, less fat, and less sugary stuff. I can't do without my caffeine, but I limit it to 1 cup of coffee per day that I make myself. Some of the low cal creamers, etc., are pretty yummy. Almost like starbucks and much, much cheaper. I avoid artificial sweeteners, so I splurge on a little sugar in my coffee. 1 tsp has 15 calories. Much better than the hundreds of calories in Starbucks!

You can do this. You just have to decide that you're a beast, your tough, you mean business and you're going to get it done!! Reward yourself with a new outfit or pair of shoes rather than that steak dinner... Fitting into Victoria's Secret stuff was huge for me. That's the reward that keeps on giving, let me tell you... Husbands are more than happy to contribute to that reward!! As you lose, you will need new clothes. You'll also enjoy shopping for them! Shopping will become fun again, and if you do this right food will no longer feel like a reward.

Friend request sent

You had me at TL;DR...and you were right

TL;DR

I find that I eat healthier if I have food prepped. I cut all my veggies and refrigerate them so I can grab them when I feel like I could eat the entire kitchen. That's how you avoid the ease of fast food. If you don't have a spare half hour in your week to do this, you aren't using your time well.

Hi! Don't be embarrassed, you are being honest with yourself. It's probably hard for you to say no or lose weight because your boyfriend is so supportive of your decisions and loves you the way you are. For the longest time I used my husband's support and love as an excuse for my "I'm fine the way i am, he loves me" excuse. Until finally I realized holy smokes! More fat layers! With the budget, it's your money, do what you want with it, its acutally fun to go grocery shopping with your boyfriend if you are both on the same track- looking at the calories and nutritional value of all the food you buy. I am still fighting my problem of over eating even though I know I don't need it or will burst throwing up and burping if I eat another bite. Just like you "I have to eat it". Lately I've been counting calories with the calorie counter, it helps tremendously. I also have alarms on my phone set on when I need to stuff my face so it helps me speed my metabolism and not be too hungry, plus its a bonus when your alarm goes off and I'm thinking to myself "yes! snack time"! Each alarm is titled how many calories to eat. For example: I set myself on a 1200 calorie diet each day, I just broke those calories evenly into 5 meals and set my alarm accordingly. Its okay to reward yourself with food every once in a while, heck if I had the cash, I would too. But for real though, once you start trying out the eating healthy bit (even when eating out) for a good week, your will will get stronger. Another thing before I end my ranting is when I still have food on my plate (I tend to put more than I should have-way more) and I know I don't need to eat all the delicious rest, I put a napkin on my plate/ food. Keeps me from picking on it or eating everything else. Does wonders at restaurants! hope this helps! Good luck!

Forget about yesterday and move on. Don't go to the coffee shop...don't wander up and down the aisles of the grocery shop - stick to the perimeter and never go shopping without a list. Don't buy anything that isn't on the list. Eat before going shopping.

"Eating healthy is more expensive," is nothing but a ****hole excuse. It's cheaper to eat healthy than it is to buy crap. Cook several meals in advance. Just last night I bought a tray of chicken tenders, some bell peppers, and a couple heads of broccoli. I then cooked them into a stir fry, and after consuming one portion for dinner, I have four more portions left over. I do this for all my meals except breakfast, which I cook in the morning.

Oh, and having a boyfriend that doesn't support you in getting healthy isn't a guy worth having in your life. Just break up.

I was exactly where you were 2 years ago! My bottom point was ordering a lunch in food fair, then once I was done, I went and got a SECOND lunch, then cried all the way back to work. I FINALLY made a change 2 years ago. And it was hard because my husband didn't change his eating/exercise habits and I have 2 small children at home too. For the first 2 weeks of my new "diet" (not a diet, just a change of lifestyle) I felt sick and cried for almost 2 weeks. It was HARD. But I did it and today I am 50 pounds lighter and I exercise everyday (just a walk in the am, but hey, its excercise). I am so happy with who I am today. I'm back to being "me" before I got fat, lazy and stopped caring about what I looked like or how I ate or what I did. If I can do you YOU CAN DO IT! Baby steps. One day at a time. Make little changes like no more cream in your coffee (I only drink black coffee now). Salads for lunch with applie slices. Plain yogurt and fruit for breaky. Changes like that. The physical change you will notice will be big, but even bigger and better is the change in your self confidence and the change in your energy level. Every teensy step forward is a step forward. Please keep us posted on how you are doing. GOOD LUCK!!!