give tips on weight loss?

do you mean an emotional eater?

I realized that I had the answer all along . . . . .

I quit smoking about 14 years ago with my husband. Every morning we would get up and promise ourselves, and each other, that we would not smoke that day . . . we might the next, but made the vow for one day only. It is the only way we got through the first month.

Fast fowarward over a decade and here I am almost 80 pounds heavier than my "ideal" weight . . . I've tried diets but just could never stick with anything long term . . . then it hits me . . . why don't I apply the same philosophy to losing weight as I did to quit smoking?????

I have a sign posed on my closet door, so is the first thing I see every morning when I sit up in bed . . . I CREATE MYSELF WITH THE CHOICES I MAKE EACH DAY . . . I don't think past today. Every morning I wake up and PROMISE myself that I will do everything possible to get to my weight loss goal . . . and I really mean it. I do not think any further than today, it is just too overwhelming.

The other BIGGIE is to plan, plan, plan. Without a good food plan you will fail, cause you will grab something quick and easy when you are hungry. I make a 2 week meal plan including all meals and snacks and hang it on my fridge. I do it up every 2 weeks because this is how I am paid, so I build my grocery list from it. We actually spend less now on groceries and waste almost nothing. Since we work full time this makes grabbing lunches and breakfast quick and easy, and we now don't forget to take out the meat for dinner . . . as it is right there on the fridge.

As the the emotional aspect . . . just focus on 1 day at a time and when you feel drawn to the kitchen do something else . . . I log onto MFP and drink a big glass of water or tea, take my dogs for a walk, or go do laps in the mall if it is cold outside. Find things to occupy your mind instead of food.

Good luck to you!

I am an emotional eater too. I eat for every occasion. Sadness, happiness, boredom, comfort...

Someone on here put in a reply to a post about a book she had read called Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth. I bought it from Amazon and it has been a real eye opener. I finished reading it last night but I want to re-read it to make sure that I understand fully what she is saying. I feel like all aspects of the book relate to me. I like the idea of eating only we are hungry and questioning why you need to eat if you are not. I am hoping that this helps for me anyway.

Good luck
Simone

I realized that I had the answer all along . . . . .

I quit smoking about 14 years ago with my husband. Every morning we would get up and promise ourselves, and each other, that we would not smoke that day . . . we might the next, but made the vow for one day only. It is the only way we got through the first month.

Fast fowarward over a decade and here I am almost 80 pounds heavier than my "ideal" weight . . . I've tried diets but just could never stick with anything long term . . . then it hits me . . . why don't I apply the same philosophy to losing weight as I did to quit smoking?????

I have a sign posed on my closet door, so is the first thing I see every morning when I sit up in bed . . . I CREATE MYSELF WITH THE CHOICES I MAKE EACH DAY . . . I don't think past today. Every morning I wake up and PROMISE myself that I will do everything possible to get to my weight loss goal . . . and I really mean it. I do not think any further than today, it is just too overwhelming.

The other BIGGIE is to plan, plan, plan. Without a good food plan you will fail, cause you will grab something quick and easy when you are hungry. I make a 2 week meal plan including all meals and snacks and hang it on my fridge. I do it up every 2 weeks because this is how I am paid, so I build my grocery list from it. We actually spend less now on groceries and waste almost nothing. Since we work full time this makes grabbing lunches and breakfast quick and easy, and we now don't forget to take out the meat for dinner . . . as it is right there on the fridge.

As the the emotional aspect . . . just focus on 1 day at a time and when you feel drawn to the kitchen do something else . . . I log onto MFP and drink a big glass of water or tea, take my dogs for a walk, or go do laps in the mall if it is cold outside. Find things to occupy your mind instead of food.

Good luck to you!

Great tips!!!:flowerforyou: I may start using that one day at a time approach. It's too easy to get overwhelmed when I think of the amount I need to lose.

Great advice! I quit smoking in 2001 but did it cold turkey. I found quitting smoking, for me, was a piece of cake (HAR HAR) compared to the mountain I am facing for weight loss (more the fact that it is going to be a forever and a thoughtful thing as you cant stop eating cold turkey). I have heard the philosophy of promising yourself that 'just today, you wont do _____ , and maybe tomorrow you will, but today, you wont'. I think it is helpful and glad you posted it as a reminder.

My tip from when I lost weight 5 years ago (60 lbs): I do recall that if ever I was doing something nonphysical, I would incorporate exercise into it. IE: Brushing my teeth...I would lift my heels off the ground and do 3 sets of 10 each time which worked my calves nicely. If I laid down to watch TV at the end of the day, I would lift my legs back and forth or do sit ups, or stand in front of the TV and jog on the spot/do squats/lunges. I would take the stairs instead of the elevator. Etc etc I never found it a huge challenge to fit exercise into my already busy lifestyle. Where I needed and still need help is on impulsive eating. I honestly cant say if I eat out of emotions, boredom or what! In any event, I am totally going to adopt the philosophy of "Today I promise myself I will eat well and treat my body with the respect it deserves".