Day 1 calorie restriction..kill me now

I know how you are feeling. I lost 40lbs before, thought I could quit and gained 55lbs back. :-( I ended up losing 60 and will be getting a baby bump here soon. You can totally do this. :flowerforyou:

First of all...GOOD LUCK. I'm so glad you look at this as a life-style change and not a quick fix or 'diet.' I'm in no way, shape or form a diet expert. That much is obvious - I have 53 lbs left to lose. But I will give you some advice - take it or leave it. Don't eat too few calories trying to bust the weight off quick. Eating below 1300-1400 in the beginning is self-defeating. Your body will eventually go into starvation mode and even though you will lose fast in the beginning - it will come back. As you lose weight, your body needs less so at that time you can lower your calories. Eat balanced meals. Protein, fat and - yes - carbohydrates. They are not the enemy. Just eat the right ones. Fresh fruit, veggies, oatmeal, whole grains. Whole grain bread. Brown rice. Quinoa. Sweet potatoes. The key is portion control. Obviously cakes, donuts, potato chips and things like that are not good and should be all but eliminated. Measure and weigh your food. It's a pain in the *kitten* but it's very important to eat the proper portion sizes.

I'm currently on Prednisone so losing weight is a challenge. But it can be done. 10 lbs. lost so far on the average of 0.5 to 1 lb. a week. I eat in a way I'll be able to continue when all the weight is off. That is important because most of these diets out there today are not practical in the long-run. And back comes the weight. So be realistic. I don't know if you work outside the home or not but if you do, try to bring your lunch to work. If it is routine to eat out with co-workers, then simply change from a burger and fries to a wrap and soup. Be careful of fast food - way too much fat and salt. Coffee drinks are delicious but lethal. Choose the low fat, sugar free ones when they're available. If not, treat yourself once a week. Don't eat the same things day in and day out....you'll get bored and binge. Variety. Seasoning. If you want some good guidelines to follow, weight watchers is a great place to start. Healthy and sensible.

Exercise is very important. Even if you hate it like I do. LOL. If you're like most people and dont have the money to take classes or join a gym, improvise. Walk. Dust off the bicycle and ride it. Look on YouTube for fitness videos or yoga. Park at the far end of the parking lot (unless its pouring), take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Most important, weigh yourself at the same time of the day once a week. Don't beat yourself up. Don't try to subsist on food that tests your gag reflex just because self proclaimed fitness guru told you it was what you had to eat to lose body fat/weight. My gag food is plain greek yogurt and plain egg whites. No color, texture or flavor. Reminds me of the post-op soft diet I had to have after my cancer surgery and the pureed diets our dysphagia patients are on. Ugh. But I choked it down. For about a week. Then in self defense ate a huge bowl of popcorn, toast, apples...anything that had some crunch and body and didn't just slide down my throat. I didn't gain any weight back (thank God) because I stopped myself before I went off the chain BUT I've not been so lucky over the years.

Anyhow...I'll shut up. Good luck. Be careful who you listen to on here. Talk to your doctor before you do anything drastic. Drink water. Eat balanced. Exercise.
:drinker:

Thanks you guys. In regards to carb restriction. What does a 40/30/30 diet/eating habit look like? I need to check into this. Thanks for that

This doesn't work for everyone. I'm a 50/25/25 (50% carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fat). I figured this out through metabolic testing. So, you can give it a try, but adjust however you see the results; my rule was 3 months (I know it sounds long) but 3 months for your body to adjust and to truly gauge how your body is responding to it.. For me, this did the trick...the "no carb" or "low carb" stuff just didn't cut it with me. my body worked better losing when I made the new adjustments.

EDIT: just to clarify, I'm NOT saying do 50/25/25...just trying to let you know, again, that some things don't work for everyone. I would talk to your doctor or nutritionist to find out what they recommend for your intake %. :flowerforyou:

I've up'ed and down'ed on my weight for years (and two bumps).
Lower your carbs a lot, increase your protein, have half your plate as veg (not potatoes!) and steer clear of the sugar.
All sugar. Cakes, choc, refined sugars in pasta, rice, bread etc.

I've lost weight, I've kept loosing weight, shifted depression and cleaned up my spotty skin by doing this xxxxx

You are in the right place my Dear x