Day 2 and I want to quit already

So I am going to tell you how I have lost my weight with success. Slow and steady absolutly wins the race. You do not want the problems that come with losing weight too fast (saggy skin and health issues). I started my weight loss journey at the end of April this year. I told myself enough is enough. I started at 233.6 and I weighed in this morning at 188.9. An amazing feeling to see that number on the scale for sure. I have worked hard but not to hard. It is not miserable. I do a protein smoothie diet. It may sound miserable but it is not bad at all.
This is just an example of my day...
Morning
I blend in my blender bullet
1 c. ice
8 oz light and fit Greek yogurt(play around with flavors, my favorite is the toasted coconut vanilla)
and a scoop of protein.(i look for the one with lowest carbs possible but still a good amount of protein. (wal-mart has some good ones) don't get the really cheap stuff because it doesn't blend well.
**I will add a chopped up frozen banana if I use banana flavored yogurt and I will do frozen strawberries and blueberries if it is a fruity flavored yogurt. You just have to play around with the flavors. It never gets boring. If you like coffee they have a mocha flavored one and you can do a scoop of coffee flavored protein powder.

Snack
I will have a cup of whole fat cottage cheese with salt and pepper

Lunch
I will have a veggie burger(the morning star ones in the green box) I always look for the ones with the lower
sometimes i will have cottage cheese with it or break it up on a salad with onion and raw salad mushrooms and a light dressing with lots of pepper.

pre-workout i will eat a banana with peanut butter on it and drink a sugar free vanilla/blueberry iced coffee with skim milk(99 cents and dunkin donuts from 3-6, the best) this gives me a boost of energy that i absolutely need to make it through my workout.

right after my workout i have a protein shake

for dinner i have something with very light carbs since it is usually around nine that i eat
i usually just have another protein smoothie (which is why i call it a protein smoothie diet) If i am on the go i will replace any meals with one of them too. They have all you need in them. Add some flax seed for some good fiber.. it blends so well you would never know its in there.

and of course lots of water.

I also set my desktop background at work to something inspirational. Keep a picture on the fridge with and inspirational quote. It really helps me. I have tried so many diets and this one really seems to work. I can sip all through out the day.

Instead of starting out at any kind of deficit, why don’t you just log what you normally eat for a week? Afterwards, you’ll have a visual which can help you determine where you can swap out certain foods for better choices and see where you might want exercise portion control.

Just eat what you normally do only in moderation. One thing I try NEVER to drink my calories. EAT FOOD, I like food. Good luck

It does get easier! After a couple if weeks, you get used to it and the routine just kicks in!

If you are wanting to do low carb, there are low carb boards where you can get answers for your questions. I control my carbs and try to keep my carbs around 100 a day. The carbs I do eat are from oatmeal, whole grains, fruit veggies, etc. I watch sugars especially because I am insulin resistant. My total sugars are usually around 30 a day. Basically I don't add sugar to my food. I use unsweetened almond milk in my coffee, for instance, because even 2% milk has enough sugars to mess with my totals at meal time.
A lot of people like low carb high fat diets because they don't feel as hungry throughout the day. That is because your body digests carbs first and fats last. But, when people say low carb they mean LOW carb (some below 30, but usually under 100). 247 isn't low carb.
Im not suggesting that you choose this way of eating, just that you are unnecessarily creating angst for yourself. If you love your carbs and sugar and have no medical reasons for cutting carbs, just count calories. It works for most people. If you continue to find hunger difficult to deal with, do some research on low carb. You may find that it is an easier way for you to control your hunger.

You've gotten a lot of good advice (with the exception of the carb thing). I would add that I find drinking carbonated flavored water helps me keep hunger at bay--sorry if this is a repeat, but didn't see it in the tips I skimmed. I also second the protein snacks recommendation; I find if I concentrate on getting in more protein I am not as hungry.

Hang in there!!! Same as you...I've tried so many times to lose weight, but have fell off the wagon after just 2 days because of the hunger and the cravings...I started all over again Sep 14th, today is my 11th day into the journey..the bloating is gone, double chin is almost gone...and over all i'm feeling so much refreshed and have lots of energy...and it's really motivating. So far I've lost 5 lbs. But the 4 first days are the worst.....after that it will get better! It takes 21 days to make it a habit. Go girl!!

Thank you for all the replies!

I am 5'4 230lb 40 yo. I set my goal to be 1.5 and my calories are at 1370. I have been trying to get protein in but I'm probably blowing it! I guess I am so used to eating whatever, whenever I want that it's a shock to my system. I haven't exercised yet, last time I tried my knees hurt and I just honestly haven't wanted to again...yet.

You said your calories are set at 1370 but today's daily goal in your diary is 1,693. Anyway, doesn't really matter, I was just confused by that. [I guess i didn't read all the posts and skipped the part where you upped your calories]

Also looking at your diary. I like what you are trying to do. You are balancing out your calories among the macros, especially trying to target your protein. However, you may need a little more whole slow metabolizing carbs in the morning. A serving of oatmeal may do the trick. I also notice a few days where you are still in the green by like 200 or 300 calories but are complaining that you feel like you are starving. Try finding maybe some more low calorie snacks in your trigger times. You know, the times when you feel the most like you want to cheat or binge. Just enough to get you closer to your target calories and feel more satisfied but not going over . Maybe 1 oz (or whatever the containiner says is 1 serving) of cashews or almonds as an example.

As far as lunch, instead of the Oscer Meyer stuff, try eating 4 or 6 oz of whole chicken breast. That is very satisfying.

One last thing. It's only 2 days. You can hang in there for 2 more days. Those cravings will subside a bit once you get used to this.


Edited to answer my own question.

Even if your exercise is slow at first, it is a start. Go for walk. Do 20 min on a treadmill. I'm in Tx too and it is finally(!) getting to be a reasonable temp here for walking outside. Even if it's short it's something. And build on that. I know how hard it is to be patient, but it's better for your body to start an exercise regiment slowly. If you start running 5 miles today, you will be miserable. But if you say to yourself, "today, I can do 20 minutes". That is possible and attainable. Do that 2 or 3 days this week. Next week walk 22 minutes 3 days and do some planks, squats and sit ups on 2 or 3 days. (Or an exercise video). Whatever, just go slow. Make your goals reasonable. You got this!

For me, I started by just getting rid of 1 different bad thing a week before i really plowed in. I started with fried foods. I changed it to grilled foods or changed to salads/veggies. Remember veggies are your friend. They are so low in calories and so good for you, so eat up. Anyways, each week I changed something (of course leaving chocolate/desserts for last) until I found I was eating more healthy in the end. For exercise I started with just walking a little at the park and malls (great that malls usually open a couple hours before the stores do for walkers), and then build from there. I now go to the gym 5 days/ 9 times a week and still walk my dog a mile every morning. Sometimes I splurge like during birthday parties or holidays but you always just move forward. I'm now down 95 lbs and still have 65-70 lbs to go.

So don't get discouraged. You CAN do this. It will get easier. Make sure you say out loud every day what you want to accomplish for you and then go for it.

Friend me if you like and let me know how your doing.

I went whole foods vegan and cut out sugar, because I can go over and still lose weight. I cannot stand being hungry. May I suggest parceling out your meals so you have a bit to eat throughout the day? Also, try eating at least 2 servings of vegetables before the meals. That will fill you up and help you to not be hungry.

Also foods with fiber naturally, fruit vegetables whole grain and legumes will always fill you up and keep you from feeling hunger for much longer. Hope these suggestions help you to make it a little easier on yourself during the transition. Hang in there. You will find your way.:drinker:

And I'm proud of you for starting this journey. Give yourself a pat on the back for the courage to change and for following through!

And for everyone who claims that she just needs to exercise... Sigh.

Exercise is a wellness tool. It is not a weight loss tool.

Most people feel better and function better if they get a modest amount of regular exercise. On average across the population, thin people get more exercise than heavy people. People who exercise regularly across a lifetime live longer. But the extrapolation of these observations – that if heavy people exercised a lot more they’d be thin and live longer – is not supported by science. Nonetheless, that is the message that many health care professionals and the media consistently communicate to heavy people.

Here are some basic (but often ignored) facts. Fitness is primarily an inherited trait. Training can increase aerobic power at most by 10-20%, but (figuratively speaking) a different choice of parents would increase or decrease your fitness by as much as 50%. It takes about 350 miles of running or 1000 miles of cycling to burn off 10 pounds of body fat (assuming that your appetite doesn’t increase or your metabolism slows down). Unfortunately, when heavy people exercise regularly, their resting metabolism slows – this is not a typo! – it SLOWS by 5 to 15% on average. Based on the results of 4 tightly controlled, inpatient human studies, instead of losing 10 pounds, the average person loses 7 pounds with this much exercise, and some people lose as little as 2 or 3. These studies specifically demonstrated that this less-than-expected weight loss was attributable to the observed reduction in resting metabolic rate.

Exercise done by heavy people causes a lot of collateral damage. Think ankles, knees, hips, and low backs. So here’s a radical idea: let heavy people try carbohydrate restriction first, lose some weight (which most do without resorting to exercise), and then let them decide when to become more active once they are empowered, energized, and lighter of foot.

Making heavy people exercise is punitive. Enabling heavy people to lose weight and then become more fit is smart.

I seriously know the feeling. Today is my 3rd day on mfp and right this moment I'm sooo hungry. Water is probably the only thing that's keeping me going. You need to "suffer" for the first few days so it's better to just get them over with then to start all over again. Stay strong and keep thinking about WHY you want to get fit. That's just what I do.