really struggling

You have to really want it. Gaining weight is super easy. its losing it that requires work. For me, what has helped is having support around me. You might not notice it right away, but the weight will melt away.

I try to plan my meals for the week on Sunday before I shop.

I spend an hour on the supermarket website checking offers

and plan my meals Monday to Friday that way I know what I

will have each day and what I need to prepare for lunches etc.

For me its all about control and planning.

calorie counting should become second nature to you.

Just like going to the gym becomes a 'habit' for a lot of people(or running) so should calorie counting if you're serious about losing weight.

get a FOOD SCALE, TABLESPOON .

That's all you need.

You should know what goes in your body. You research thoroughly before you invest your hard earned money in any funds or investments right? The same logic applies to your food.

You are investing in yourself... so make sure you know what you're investing in.

What's working for me is logging in advance and using the app on my phone so that I don't have to be at my computer to do log.

I try to log a day or more in advance, but of course I end up switching things around (usually when I realize my kids ate the last of the leftovers! LOL). However, having a plan - and logging into MFP every day - keeps me on track. If I decide to completely change something, I'll do a quick check to see what I can replace it with (and exactly how much I can have - I max out my allowed calories, including exercise calories, because if I'm hungry, I'm going to blow it). I use the "Copy to" feature a lot so that I'm not having to search for the same things over and over. Also, I'm starting to create a few recipes in MFP of the foods we eat frequently so that I don't have to manually calculate the calories every time. And the "Remember meal" option is useful in that way as well.

And don't forget - once you've been using MFP for a while, it tracks your most frequent foods, so you don't have to keep looking for things from scratch.

However, if all that is too much, you could set yourself a limit for each meal. For example, with a 1200 calorie diet, you could do the following:

Snacks: 150
Breakfast: 250
Lunch: 350
Dinner: 450 + exercise calories

If you stick to that formula, you'll never go over your calories. However, you'll probably find it difficult to stick to exactly those amounts every day, so you'll end up averaging and going "just a bit" over for a meal here and there, and that's when you might find yourself in trouble (not realizing how many times you've gone over). Perhaps for those super busy days this method could be a bit of relief, but I wouldn't do it every day.

The reason MFP works is because it stops you from guessing how many calories are going in and out - I think just about everyone on MFP will tell you that they have a hard time guessing accurately. Also, there are a TON of foods that will surprise you (Quizno's veggie sub = 780 cals!).

The science is the same no matter what tools you use. If you don't find a way to keep track, your numbers will be inaccurate and you will be unsuccessful. Perhaps Weight Watchers would be better for you, since they have a simpler point system (from what I've heard, I've never done it myself). However, Weight Watchers is not free, and it's their own somewhat arbitrary "system" for calculating "points." I myself prefer to learn the actual caloric values so that it's something I can benefit from for a lifetime, and not just for "dieting" purposes.

Kim

I disagree re really wanting it and putting in 100% effort. No-one can sustain 100% effort long term. You need to focus on long term compliance, i.e. strategies that will help you keep going when your motivation isn't so strong. You have to look for the easiest way to do this that still works. You don't need to be perfect... you just need to be good enough. So set your calorie goal for slow weight loss, eat back your exercise calories. It takes longer, but the point is that if you can stick at it long term, you'll get there in the end. As opposed to it being too difficult and losing motivation and always ending up back at square one. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Maybe you have to walk some stretches, or even take a little rest, but so long as you keep moving in the right direction, then you're succeeding.

Look for strategies to stay within your calories and get regular exercise that are going to be easy to stick to. Make them a habit and set goals for long term compliance, e.g. 3 week goal, 1 month goal, 3 month goal, 6 month goal, 1 year goal.... have days where you eat more so you can enjoy all the foods you love, just make sure that overall you're in a calorie deficit, and that you're slowly but surely losing weight over time. Any exercise you do, make it something you really really enjoy, so sticking with it isn't going to be a chore and isn't going to require you being constantly pumped up with motivation. Something you can stick with on the rainy days and days you don't feel like moving very much. And make your eating plan out of foods you enjoy eating, so you look forward to meals, just measure everything carefully so you stay within your calorie goal.

I agree with the posters that talk about planning your meals. Take an hour or two to make a plan for several days ahead. I too am burning out. But. looked at other posters diaries and some are doing well eating bigger, more satisfying meals as opposed to the snacking marathon I have. Fewer meals equals fewer entries. Also, to make my coffee it is four entries for me..milk, sweetener, splenda, flavor. I plan to create my own coffee by totaling the carbs, sugar, cals, etc. for the others so I can just select it once. Same with my salads. You might try that.

great post! thank you

It's possible to lose weight without counting calories. I don't count them. I do weigh myself every day and make adjustments in food and/or exercise when I don't see the scale moving at my goal of losing about 1 pound per week. If you have no idea how many calories you're eating, it's a good idea to count them at least for a while so that you can get a realistic idea of where you are, but it's not 100% necessary to measure food and count calories for life, despite what some people here might tell you.

I was on here once before but I just didn't have the mindstate for it. I kept telling myself I was ready but I just wasn't. I found excuses and reasons to busy at work. It was too much work. You name it I came up with it. Now my attitude has changed and my focus is clear to what I want and it's not work or hard for me now. Hope you get on the right track. I have and I am loving it.