how do people do it?

i always got off track after a few weeks, but in september, i finally got sick of being fat, and got serious. went from 246 to today, i actually hit ONEderland... 199.8!!! im 5 foot 10, and still have another 25 pounds to go for my goal...

its like quitting smoking, until YOU WANT IT BAD ENOUGH, staying on track isnt going to work. YOU have to want to loose the weight bad enough!!!

you can do it, the question is, how bad do you want it?

as for how to do it, its not rocket science, its calories in vs. calories out... move when you can, walk when you can, BUT ALWAYS LOG, because we underestimate how much we really eat during the day...

I agree with this. I had a similar problem, where I'd do well for a few weeks, and give up because I just wasn't ready. But, just over a year ago, something was different. I WAS ready. And I've been committed to the change since then. I think, until you hit the "I'm ready!" point, there's not much that you can do.

Logging accurate calories seems to work for me. I usually start to struggle if I am eating out and can't work out how many calories I have eaten eg Icecream.

Sometimes I will 100 calories less which also works for me. If I know I am not feeling particularly hungry I will do this however some days I need to eat the full amount to feel satisfied.

Logging accurate calories seems to work for me. I usually start to struggle if I am eating out and can't work out how many calories I have eaten eg Icecream.

Sometimes I will 100 calories less which also works for me. If I know I am not feeling particularly hungry I will do this however some days I need to eat the full amount to feel satisfied.

I will agree with this. I log religiously, weigh, measure and calculate everything that I and my family eats. Sugars, ice cream, and breads are included in our diets, but because everything's measured, I know it is accurate. I've kept my weight off and haven't yo-yoed back up in over a year, all because I am a meticulous portion control freak.

I do have to say that when I started measuring everything, I was surprised at how much more than the standard portion sizes I was eating. Usually double what I thought!

stop making excuses. everyone has potential reasons NOT to stick with it.
just freaking do it.
stop with the i work a lot..... Oh really, because so do i, and I still find time to exercise. I run a company. and I still work out every day. I am planning my wedding, and I still work out. I have had family and personal issues come up, and I still work out. I still eat right. I have cheat days, I eat what I want on the holidays, and I'm right back to my normal healthy eating the next days. STOP WITH THE EXCUSES.

taking time for you makes you more valuable to all those that are depending on you. I seriously fail to see where ANYONE can't take 30 - 60 minutes to go to the gym, go for a walk, do a work out dvd. I don't buy your excuses. the problem is, everyone who fails is not failing because they can't do it. they're failing because they're making excuses. plain and simple. and the only one their hurting is themselves. take responsibility for your actions. you got yourself to where you are (most people are unhappily overweight here) - so get yourself out of the mess you got yourself into.

I was always overweight, and just thought that's the way it is. Well it's not. I started on 1/1/11 -- at 303.4lbs (I a 5'6'')..... Now I am 186.6lbs and still going strong. have run 5k's, 10k's and just ran two half marathons in the past couple months. yea, sometimes it hurts. sometimes it's hard. but you just stick with it. You just do it. giving up gets you nowhere. excuses get you nowhere. period.

I started by making little changes like cutting out sugar from my tea, then cutting out other things once I got used to the change. Take it slowly and you won't feel deprived. Good luck with it all

Eat clean, give up processed food and all sodas, get plenty of protein, drink water and lots of it, keep moving even when you are not at work. Most important for me, log everything you eat. Everything. Good luck. :drinker:

If I believed I had to do all that, I'd never have started. To me, sudden radical changes are too intimidating/overwhelming. What I've done is let MFP set my calories, log everything I eat and I'll gradually improve the quality of what I eat. I let myself cheat. My doc encourages me to have treats and cheat days, so I don't feel deprived. I just have to watch the temptation to overindulge.

I've lost 26 lbs in nearly 4 months, most of it in the first 3. MFP will lower your calories as you lose weight so you can gradually cut back. I've been struggling the last couple of weeks, but working hard to get back on track. It'll help to be back at work starting Weds.

It's hard work, but worth it. The best rewards are fitting into smaller clothing and feeling better. It helps that I have a super supportive bf who loves me at any size and encourages me to eat better for my health.

Two things I've found really encouraging:

1. Temporarily setting my MFP settings to my goal weight and seeing how many calories I get to eat for maintenance. I wouldn't do that right away. Your starting calories will probably be lower than your final maint. calories. I saw mine and was like "I can do that for the rest of my life".

2. Realizing that I'm 1/4 of the way to my goal! 25 lbs is pretty awesome, but realizing that's 25% of my goal loss really encouraged me.

I know you're not there yet, but keep those in mind for later. For now, keep in mind that making your calorie goal is celebration worthy...you're taking control and winning the battle every day you do that! Also remember that every fraction of a lb is a big deal and that 1-2 lbs/week may take longer, but gives you the best chance of it being a lifestyle change that you can maintain.

Everyone has given great advice already.

What I would say is to try to look at the very big picture. You want to lose 70lbs, but you also want to keep it off! That means you need to be focusing on changing your habits for life, not just to lose the weight. You need to remind yourself that these need to be life long changes so there is absolutely no option but to keep it up. At the same time everyone has bad days/week where they eat badly, even healthy people, so if after four weeks you eat badly, it doesn't matter! Just move on from it.

I would also recommend ignoring the scale for a while and not worry about losing any weight, it seems to be sabotaging you, and instead focus on eating better and remind yourself that eating well is a step in the right direction to a healthy life, not the number on a scale. It doesn't matter if you don't lose a pound if you're making healthier choices. Once you find it easier to avoid the 'bad foods' and actually start enjoying/find time for the good stuff just as much then it's so much easier to lose weight.

You said takeaway and wine is a downfall so you could start by reducing the consumption of these items. Start by saying you can have them once a week, that way you're less likely to feel deprived. And to help with that, like others have said, make sure you're eating more throughout the day, healthy snacks, and have healthy meals ready so you're less likely to want to get that takeaway.

You also might be one of those people that doesn't lose weight for ages and then suddenly see pounds fall off. I'm one of those people, it took two months for the scale to shift! So don't worry, just remind yourself that any step in the right direction when if comes to diet and exercise is positive and not worth giving up on.

Losing weight is easy. Just figure out what your caloric maintenance is then simply eat at a caloric deficit. I'm surprised in such a busy job as a nurse you'd have problem losing the weight. Perhaps you have a bad diet also? A lot of it is common sense, cut out the cakes, chocolate, takeaways, etc.

Take the timeline off - don't think about the weeks. Take it one day at a time, one choice at a time, one step at a time. I had so much to lose when I first started, I couldn't even think about the long road ahead. I took it in 5 pound increments. I lost the first 5 and then said to myself, yup - I'm going for another 5 and so on and so on..... Don't make it a 'diet', make it a life style change. My favourite mantra (and some of you may groan) ...... It's a journey; not a race.

I'd have to agree with this! Small steps make the biggest changes in the end. I, myself, cannot set such a huge goal. I get intimidated easily and fail. I had to start really small. It started with "I'll make sure I log EVERYTHING for the first week.....good or bad." I met that goal. Then I said I'd make a small change to my diet.....such as fewer sodas or soy milk in my coffee vs regular milk, etc. Then I just kept going. And I'm still here about 80some days later and 13 pounds lighter.
And it sounds like you get plenty of exercise in (with all the walking you do at work), so it's gotta be the food that's the issue. So I'd suggest making just one or two small changes at first. Then work your way from there. You can do it!