meant to be fat???

You're giving up when you haven't even STARTED yet! Get that chocolate covered, carb filled crap and throw in the TRASH. Take a trash bag and fill it with anything in your kitchen that doesn't HELP you reach your goals. If you're not sure if you should keep it or not, DON'T. Before you get rid of the bag, take a look at it and say "Thanks for NOTHING."

What you are, healthy or unhealthy, is a result of your decisions. No one else in this whole world can change your decisions for you. No doctor's band and scalpel, no psychologist's couch, no one but YOU. No one ever succeeded in this world walking around feeling sorry for themselves. If you want to do this, then stop going halfway. Commit, 100%, and make the changes you know you need to make.

I used to be over 300 lbs. I had asthma and bad joints at 21 years old. I would stay at home instead of hanging out with friends because they were walking somewhere and I knew I just couldn't walk that far. I had given in to the fact that I was just meant to be fat, and my genetics wouldn't let me change. Such bu11$h!t. Next thing I knew my sister had lost 60 lbs, and I didn't have my excuse anymore. I started exercising every single day for an hour. NOTHING. I stopped eating pizza. NOTHING. Not a single lb lost. When I finally committed 100% and made sure every single decision I made pushed me towards my goal, the weight started moving. Now I'm a 208 lb weightlifter with a body some would kill for. When I get down under 200 lbs I should finally have the 6-pack I've always dreamed of and spent the last years working for and earning. I can run for miles and miles. I can bench press my bodyweight 6 times. If I had known how amazing it FEELS to be this healthy, I would have made a lot of changes much, much sooner.

As a bottom line, whatever you eat, if you're 500 cal below your BMR you will lose weight. Period.

Everybody gets plateaux. And if they keep at it, they fall off the plateaux, sometimes with significant losses in a very short time. I spent the last month gaining and losing the same three pounds, and just this week I've lost another five. Don't be surprised if you're weeks at the same weight. You'll notice that you can feel your shoulder bones more, or that somehow even though you're the same weight, your clothes fit differently, somehow.

You will have more than one plateau, I promise. You'll learn they're not the end of the world.

It's your choice to eat the sweets (they are physically addictive, not just mentally), but if you do, it's hard to appreciate the subtle flavours of fruits and vegetables, which are sweet in their own right.

You don't have to give up everything that tastes good to you. I had a little bowl (40g) of potato chips yesterday because I had 210 cal in my diet that I could use for a treat. The trick is to measure them out. No, they weren't baked chips, but they were done in canola oil and minimal salt, so it wasn't all that bad, nutrition wise. If you like ice cream, try frozen no fat yogurt at 100 cal per half cup (125ml). And stick to only a half cup.

If you don't want to be hungry, fill up on fibre. It's cheap for calories and you can use small amounts of sweetener which don't impact on your calorie count or better, real fruit without added sugar. I have oatmeal every morning, and I'm never hungry. I sometimes eat Ryvita Muesli Crunch, which is 65 cal per "cracker" -- they're not crackers, exactly -- which is very high fiber, low cal and sweetened slightly with honey and black currants. It's a very healthy alternative to regular cereal, but as with all starches, you have to keep a tight rein on portions. Oh yeah, some oatmeals have added soy protein, which are really good for keeping you full (look for those specifically), and the Ryvita also has pumpkin and sunflower seeds, which are a protein source.

Parcel out veggie snacks and take them with you to eat during the day. 200g of raw carrots is only 70 cal!

Measure everything! Don't be lazy with the food listings on this website. Some of them are wrong. If you can't find an entry with the right nutritional information, then put it in yourself, and be detailed and accurate.

Drink ALL your water. It's hard at first, but gets easier. You will retain water less because your body goes out of conservation mode and starts trusting that it will get more when it needs it.

Don't eat less than your recommended base calories or your body will go into conservation mode (starvation mode is a misnomer) and you won't lose the weight without a struggle. I don't know if that's the body retaining water again to maintain current weight, but I think so.

EDIT: Of course I forgot something important: Eat regularly and don't skip snacks or meals. You should be eating every three to five hours so that your body trusts that it will get energy when it needs it. Don't eat large meals. A piece of fruit here, a red pepper there, a salad at another meal with grilled chicken (not lots of it) -- this is healthy eating.

Lastly, it's good that you're telling us how you feel. We've all felt that way at one time or another. BUT none of us can be brave and courageous for you. You have to do that for yourself. You can blame your mom for not teaching you about portion control or whatever, but ultimately, it's your body and your consequence. Please keep at it.

Girl I have gone more than a month without weight loss, but had inchs lost instead. A few months I had no movement at all, and that is okay, because if you are not over eating and moving your body the scale and inches are going to move down, just be patien it will happen.

looking at your advice and my diary i think you're right, its crap!!! i think its time to give up and go to docs can't do this on my own anymore, thank you all for your replies x

It's not crap, hun, but it can do with some tweaking.

I personally think you're spot on for your calorie goal - 1400-1500 is perfect. I'm fed up of seeing people's set to 1200! There's more to life than a diet!

I think there are some things though that aren't quite right. I noticed you'd logged some mini cornish pasties - just in terms of calories, but all the nutritional values had come up as 0. Now, much as I love cornish pasties (or the mini pork pies), everyone knows that have just a tiny amount of lots of fat in them... as well as lots of carbs!

I also noticed that you do eat a lot of bread, often accompanied by a processed dish - tinned soup, baked beans, whatever... all of which contain a fair amount of carbs, salt and invariably flavourings, sugar, and colourings. I think a first step would be to limit this kind of meal to just once a day (and then once every other day, etc...) because it actually doesn't do that much for you. Depending on your budget and time, you could try to substitute canned soups for fresh ones - or even home-made! These are deadly simple to do - bung random stuff in a saucepan, boil it, and blend it - and ofc you have complete control over what goes in them.

Lastly, your snacks. They're often a packet of crisps. Are there any alternatives that you'd quite enjoy? Maybe move to Snack-a-jacks or something similar... or pre-chopped fruit, nuts or a cereal bar. Tescos and whatnot also do fruit bars (check out Humzingers) that are sooooo moreish but brilliantly good for you!

The crucial thing is that you never feel you're sacrificing what you enjoy. Make smart choices whenever you can, but if you want fish and chips (and who doesn't?!) then have it. Life really is too short not to enjoy our food.

I've just come off my 2 month-long plateau, where I didn't lose a thing and am starting to lose slowly again. Just when you want to jack it all in, there's hope. Hang on in there!

Ah, yes, and I'm one of the few who doesn't exercise at the gym!

You're giving up when you haven't even STARTED yet! Get that chocolate covered, carb filled crap and throw in the TRASH. Take a trash bag and fill it with anything in your kitchen that doesn't HELP you reach your goals. If you're not sure if you should keep it or not, DON'T. Before you get rid of the bag, take a look at it and say "Thanks for NOTHING."

What you are, healthy or unhealthy, is a result of your decisions. No one else in this whole world can change your decisions for you. No doctor's band and scalpel, no psychologist's couch, no one but YOU. No one ever succeeded in this world walking around feeling sorry for themselves. If you want to do this, then stop going halfway. Commit, 100%, and make the changes you know you need to make.

I used to be over 300 lbs. I had asthma and bad joints at 21 years old. I would stay at home instead of hanging out with friends because they were walking somewhere and I knew I just couldn't walk that far. I had given in to the fact that I was just meant to be fat, and my genetics wouldn't let me change. Such bu11$h!t. Next thing I knew my sister had lost 60 lbs, and I didn't have my excuse anymore. I started exercising every single day for an hour. NOTHING. I stopped eating pizza. NOTHING. Not a single lb lost. When I finally committed 100% and made sure every single decision I made pushed me towards my goal, the weight started moving. Now I'm a 208 lb weightlifter with a body some would kill for. When I get down under 200 lbs I should finally have the 6-pack I've always dreamed of and spent the last years working for and earning. I can run for miles and miles. I can bench press my bodyweight 6 times. If I had known how amazing it FEELS to be this healthy, I would have made a lot of changes much, much sooner.

such a good reply!! You made me cry.
i need to push myself FOR myself

Others have addressed some of your food choices so I won't go there. I don't understand your reaction to ginger's post. She pointed out some of your food choices and you throw your hands up and say you need a doc's help? Is the doctor going to live with you 24/7 and put food in your mouth? No matter what kind of professional or medical help/treatment you get, you still have to make smart food choices. And you can do that. You said you don't think you did too bad last week but you were over your calories almost every single day. You can do this!! But your attitude isn't helping. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself you should just tweak your food choices a bit.

You've already lost 38lbs and that's amazing! Now just keep that up with a little change to your diet.