Feel like giving up :(

How long have you been doing this? Why are your dinners so restrictive?

Don't give up. Remind yourself of why you want to lose in the first place. It's going to be hard. Anything worth having is not easy, but you can do it!

I have a limited diet as well. I only consume fish, chicken, and turkey for meat. No pork. No beef. I'd suggest looking on Pinterest for recipe ideas if you're having trouble. Play with spices. One night I had teriyaki flavored chicken. Another night I had garlic flavored with olive oil. You can do so much with chicken... or any meat for that matter.

I used to limit my menu. I have tried low fat, low carb, paleo etc...nothing ever worked. Now I eat anything I want, just weighed or measured out, and I stick to my daily calorie goal. I rarely feel deprived. I love tasting all different flavors and recipes. This has been the key to my weight loss. I am not sure why you are limiting yourself but, try not to limit yourself to tasteless, boring foods! Best of Luck and dont give up:)

Embrace the hunger. I have to convince myself that I'm not really starving and that hunger is not an emergency.

For the portion control, use a smaller plate. It tricks your mind into feeling more satisfied with the meal.

Make "rituals" about eating. Eat without distractions. Enjoy every bite and eat slowly.

Plan ahead so that you can enjoy your favorite foods on occasion, unless they are "trigger" foods. Identify those and stay away when possible.

These are my strategies.

I have lost all motivation. Don't know what to do anymore. I really don't want to give up but this all seems really hard. I am having a hard time eating a healthy dinner I am out of choices besides chicken and vegetables. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

What do you mean you are out of choices other than chicken and vegetables? Do you not include grains because you are doing low carb? Why only chicken?

You obviously have the internet. Search for recipes that meet your diet criteria. You don't have to eat the same thing every day just because you are cutting calories. There are so many healthy low cal dishes. Experiment with new recipes to find some you love.

Thanks for all your help guys. I limit myself basically because I don't know what else to eat. I also hate preparing food so it makes me more inclined to just give up. I am going to give it another go. I appreciate everyone's kind words and support, you all are so great!

I am going to look on pinterest for different recipes. I just have a portion control problem. I feel like I am always hungry no matter what. Any advice for that?

Open diary friends would be helpful too

Thanks again guys!

Get a digital food scale and read labels to control your portions.

Don't give up. Remind yourself of why you want to lose in the first place. It's going to be hard. Anything worth having is not easy, but you can do it!

This????

Hang in there! I have been at that same point recently. You just have to always remember that the time is going to pass no matter if you are losing weight or not.. 6 weeks from now, you could be 10 pounds down just because you turned down the wrong foods a few times. Walking away will always add up! Do you have anyone that you could have as an accountability partner?

This probably isn't the most healthy suggestion, but when have been feeling hungry all day and can't seem to ever get full, I eat a ton of popcorn. It's really low calorie and I can eat and eat and not do too much damage. Every so often, it's worth it just to feel like I didn't have to limit myself for once.

I'm also having a big motivation problem right now. I just try to remind myself that any progress is progress. less than 1/2 a pound a week? That's ok. In a month you'll still have lost 2 pounds. In 3 months, 6 pounds. In a year, that's 24. Baby steps will still get you there.

I just have a portion control problem. I feel like I am always hungry no matter what. Any advice for that?

There's stuff that's filling AND not a whole lot of calories. Chili is my go-to. Like, you can eat 2 full bowls of chili and be looking at under 500 calories. I have chili in my fridge always. Also, WATER. Sometimes you think you're hungry when you're just outright thirsty!

I started this back in February I think, and back then, my portions were HUGE. We're talking around 1200 calories PER MEAL. That's about what I eat in a day now! When I started this, I felt like you. My portions were never satisfying. But after only about 2-3 weeks I started seeing changes in my appetite. Smaller amounts were filling me up!

Now, that being said, this might seem both counter-intuitive and counters what I just said: eat when you're hungry. Nothing will kill a diet faster than you being hungry for hours at a time. I'm talking your stomach is growling and your hands are shaking hungry. Not JUST having an appetite. Your stomach growling means you actually need to eat. Having just an appetite means you just WANT to eat. :-)