I Desperately Need Help!

Set ONE goal for each week. Something realistic, practical, and measurable. Then do it for a week. For example, "this week, I will log ALL of my food and exercise."

Evaluate your progress, and add another small goal. "This week, I will walk around the block x number of times, on x number of days."

Then read. A lot. Here, other places, wherever. Review your food logs and pick ONE thing to work on, "I will replace every other soda with water."

This process is slow, though I am now able to set weekly goals in four areas at a time. But it is not overwhelming, and success isn't only measured by a number, but by what behavior you have changed.

We all take baby steps before we can run. Simply committing to one change a week is a good place to start.

Much luck on your journey!

Something that has really helped for me is to plan ahead -- I will pack my lunch and snacks for the day the night before, and log those calories. Also, I eat the same breakfast pretty much every day, so I log those too. I even log my coffee and creamer (I know just how much I need, and use the same amount every day). Then, I know how many I have left to play with for dinner, and if I want to treat myself or eat a larger meal, I know I either have to adjust breakfast or lunch, or exercise to make up the calories! I couldn't do it without planning ahead, it's terrible to get to dinner and have 300 calories left and be totally shocked/starving. At the same time, it really motivates me to exercise, because the more I exercise, the more I get to eat!! (I keep a pretty low daily calorie goal, but I eat those exercise calories back with pleasure).

You'd be surprised, the first week or two you'll be hungry (or hangry, as some like to say), but soon you'll be satisfied with the smaller amount of food. Please, treat yourself though. I like to use my exercise calories for an ice cream sandwich or a glass of wine on nights I'm not eating something special for dinner. It keeps you sane!

Also, get a food scale. It really helps you get a good idea of what a serving size actually looks like -- you might be eating more (or less!) than you actually think.

I disagree about not logging housework. If you're doing it for a span of time, laundry, putting clothes away, doing dishes, putting them away, vacuuming, picking up, for like twenty minutes or more straight, I would log it.

I disagree about not logging housework. If you're doing it for a span of time, laundry, putting clothes away, doing dishes, putting them away, vacuuming, picking up, for like twenty minutes or more straight, I would log it.

Logging it is fine, but make sure not to eat it back if you're doing TDEE or you're double dipping as it's already accounted for in your activity level (unless you do house work once in a blue moon or something.)

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Stay within your calorie budget. If you would like more calories to spend on food, just exercise a little more. Once you start to see a difference in your body it might motivate you to stick with it.

I disagree about not logging housework. If you're doing it for a span of time, laundry, putting clothes away, doing dishes, putting them away, vacuuming, picking up, for like twenty minutes or more straight, I would log it.

Logging it is fine, but make sure not to eat it back if you're doing TDEE or you're double dipping as it's already accounted for in your activity level (unless you do house work once in a blue moon or something.)

Housework is not exercise. I wouldn't log it, but I would set my activity level appropriately to accommodate for it.

I wear a fitbit. One day I did yard work and house cleaning for about 5 hours straight. My fitbit calorie adjustment was about 300 calories. If I logged all that work using MFP it would've given me over 1000 calories.

Again, it's not exercise. It's life.

A lot of the advice you've already gotten on this thread is really excellent: log your food and exercise, cut down your portion sizes but don't try to limit yourself too much (that will cause bingeing!), try walking for exercise, etc.I'll add two things to the mix:

1) If you feel like you do want to change something about your food, try cooking. Personally, I think cooking is kind of fun, and extremely satisfying. Don't limit what you cook, either. I have never, ever made broiled chicken with brown rice and steamed broccoli. Honestly, that sounds bland and disgusting. Anything you cook will be healthier than the pre-packaged version you find in the store, and very, very often, it will actually taste better! Only cook meals that sound delicious, and which you feel up to based on time, clean-up, and complexity. For time-crunched days, crock pots are magic. I usually play some music while I'm cooking, so I'm dancing around as well as creating a healthier meal for myself.

2) For exercise, find things you like. You don't need to stick with the same program for 90 days or whatever. Find some videos you have fun doing, try hula hooping (adult hoops are much larger and heavier than children's hoops, making it much easier, and a lot of people have gotten fit hooping...check out hoopnotica if you're interested), lift some weights or do bodyweight strength training, take walks (like other posters have recommended), go for a bike ride, etc. Whatever you do, don't force yourself to do the same thing every day if you're losing interest. Schedule your workouts every week, and do whatever you feel like doing in that time, as long as you enjoy it and/or feel satisfied about it afterward.

I love sweets and bread too. I don't deprive myself of either. I stay under my calorie count each day, but handle those cravings with things like sugar free jello and sugar free pudding with a little light whipped cream. I eat light bread(pepperidge farm oatmeal, seven gratin ) and i also splurge with Skinny cow ice creams and candy . Watermelon is sweet and so is pineapple. There are plenty of things that you can use to handle sweets & carb cravings. I started back with MFP in Jan and have lost 41 lbs. just logging everything i eat daily. Good luck!

I've read that once you eat only healthy food for awhile, then you lose your cravings for junk.

This is true for me. I haven't lost my cravings completely, but the frequency of my overeating has decreased substantially, along with my cravings. I would say that it's more about watching sugar and fat intake than eating healthy per se, because sugar and fat are addictive (source: youtube documentary "big mac under attack"). It's easy to overeat fruit (too much sugar) or nuts (too much fat) thinking you are being healthy, but really you aren't. This could be your problem. I think IIFYM is pretty good advice.

EDIT: added source for claim

If you are at 300 or so, you really do need to cut out your sugar & starches. You can do this, but you have to change your lifestyle of eating. You can still have good food, but sugary foods are not the food you need for your body. Please make a committment to yourself to change your bad habits. You can succeed, you have to want it.