JE NE COMPRENDS PAS!!!

Anytime you are hungry drink a bunch of water first and wait.... and I personally still have sweets but they are all sugar free! Ice cream and russell stover makes a lot of sugar free candies that I think are just as good as the real thing. And even then I limit myself to one and walk away, last night I had a sweet tooth so I made coffee, used stevia as the sweetener and a little bit of milk, so it was prob less than 10 calories! Hope it helps!

HI,

From what I can see on your signature - you have already lost 40lbs which is a lot! And way more than 10% of your starting body weight - so you must be starting to feel a lot better in yourself than you did when you started.

I know how easy it is to get disheartened after a success like that. You lose loads but you still think about what there is to go - and it can still seem daunting. I know, I am there. Almost halfway to goal weight and I have ground to a halt. And it is entirely my own fault for not following the same plan that got the original success.

Allow yourself a little time to congratulate yourself on how well you have done, and try to remember that healthy eating is a journey for the rest of your life. And with renewed focus, it will all fall into place again and you will lose more over the coming weeks and months.

You've done fab so far and you know that you'll never go back to where you were before - and that is more than half the battle! Stick in there and you'll be just fine! :happy:

One thing I learned - don't compare notes. Your body chemistries are different (and I'm speaking as someone who lost more than average at the beginning). You are fighting your own battle - and doing it for the right reasons. Definitely focus on YOU....focusing on others is what got you into the mess

My favourite lean recipe....hmmmmmm......Chicken soup!!!!

1 tablespoon butter
1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
5 carrots, chopped
6 potatoes, cubed
2 teaspoons dried savory
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Melt butter in cooking pot, brown chicken with chopped onions. Add water to cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add carrots, potatoes, and savory. Simmer some more until vegetables are cooked. Salt and pepper to taste.

It's all whole foods, which is what matters more to me but if you want to make it a little easier on the carbs or cals - sub in noodles or rice for the potatoes (about a cup or so).

Good luck on YOUR journey!!!

When you work out, are you doing the same thing every day, or do you jumble things up? I noticed the biggest improvement when I started mixing things up. Our bodies are excellent at getting efficient at doing a task - in something like 2 weeks of the same activity every day, we will use half the calories than the first time we did it. Keep up the great work!!! (oh, and I have ice cream sometimes too. Screw the sugar free crap - when I want ice cream, I want some damn ice cream!)

It's not a competition or a race. We're here to support each other in the journey and it will take longer for some people than others because all our bodies work differently. You also don't know what others have done to lose their weight either... their activity levels, their fitness levels... again, everyone is different. As long as you're losing, and are eating healthy, and are feeling good about yourself, forget how much others have lost. You'll get there eventually.

I feel the same way sometimes: I lost a lot of weight pretty steadily before I joined MFP and my last 25 pounds is going s.l.o.w.l.y.

Some small things you can try to change from what I've read on these boards that might help:

Change your workout routine - I was walking LOTS - I've replaced a little of my walking with swimming, Zumba, Calisthenics, and I've joined a gym.

Vary what you eat everyday - eat different things i.e. dont get into the routine of the same thing for breakfast everyday.

Vary how much you eat everyday - this is called 'Zig Zagging' and there are many posts about it on these forums if you search for them.

Take a multivitamin supplement every day.

Eat at least half of your exercise calories back.

Persist with your changes and don't disheartened after one week if you dont lose weight or if you gain a pound or two after making a change. Stick it out.

I hope that helps

Take care x

Since February you have lost 20 pounds. That is 5 pounds a month which is great and a better average than I have although maybe similar for when I was 1st on here before my plateauish time. However my goal was 1 pound a week. For awhile 2 pounds a week is fine but for the long run it may not really be that great for you. I want to lose the weight in such a way that I can easily keep it off forever. I also do not want any loose skin. I do not just want to lose weight I want to get healthier and fitter and yes that does mean losing weight but that is not all. I have seen people lose alot of weight on here and not really exercise much if at all. That just isn't my goal. Before MFP I started exercising and thought I would naturally lose. I didn't think I was eating more but without logging who knew right? I have seen so many people on here lose so much more in the 9 months I have been on here. I have also seen them post about loose skin, or disapear for months on end, some come back with or without the weight loss they achieved. I plug away and 1) I stopped gaining Yay 2) I am losing Yay 3) I log in everyday even if I once forgot to push the submit button Yay. 4) I exercise, some times enough others alot Yay 5) I have made progress in eating less junk and more healthy food Yay 5) I know I will continue to lose, I will not gain back what I lost and I have stopped that slow gain that those my age typically see.Yay 6) I learned that periods of not losing but maintaining a loss have more benefit than they may seem. If you are exercising you continue to firm and even slim up. You practice maintaining and it isn't a piece of cake at least not as you get older.Yay If you have significant weight to lose you will go through different challenges and it takes some thinking. It should take some time as well. Frankly I think you are right. Studies show that people who diet in a very strict way can keep it up for only a certain amount of months and usually they make alot of progress. Hopefully they take a break maintain and come back again. However some are not so lucky. I am sure there are some on here that are able to continue to eat perfectly, exercise perfectly for years on end and lose significant weight as quickly as possible and also have avoided loose skin. Yay. But they are not the norm. You have to do this your way whatever that is and to me it seems you are doing it and doing it well. I have found that there have been so many bad habits that have just disapeared by the simple act of daily logging my food and exercise. By doing it my mind sees the problem areas that are revealed and when it gets a chance it seems to self correct. Yes I have ice cream or gelato once in awhile but not very often. I can take my daughter for ice cream after her dance rehearsal and know she can have this but I do not need it. Then on a day I have eaten healthily and have exercised enough that I have a great amount of calories left I might have a small bowl of ice cream if and only if I am craving it that night. Otherwise it is an orange or a small square of dark chocolate and a glass of water. The acheivement isn't that I do this it is that I do this without feeling deprived. For me it means I will stick to this. You have to figure out what will makes sure you stick to this and do it. What someone else does hopefully works for them.