why must it be so hard!

You need to do everything you can to make it easy.

Don't completely change what you eat. Eat what you eat now but in smaller portions so that you meet your calorie goal. You can then look at what you are eating and see if you can make healthier choices that are still satisfying to you.

Do you use a food scale for solids and measuring spoons/cups for liquids? Do you use the food diary?

You may be underestimating the calories you are consuming if you aren't carefully weighing/measuring and then recording everything that you eat or drink.

Results won't be fast. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

It was a hard and hellish two weeks but after I left carbs cold turkey it has been easy. I did not know I was such a carb addict until I stopped eating over 50 grams daily.

Me too!! I bit taller, but I'm trying to get into the 140's. Help!!

Hey Jennifer, don't feel bad. Many of us have had to come back a second or even third time. The point is, you are here and willing to do something about your health. When I started, I tried to cut everything in half that I would normally eat. But that did not work for me because the calories were unhealthy and still very fattening. What works for me is eating all around healthy. I lowered my carbs, and fat intake. If you notice carbohydrates will always be the bulk of your calories. And if you are prediabetic like I am, then they are also not good for you. That being said, I think all food in moderation is a good way to go. The more healthy you eat, the MORE you can eat. You can have bigger plates if what you are having is low cal and low fat etc. For the first couple of weeks, be very strict and try to get a scale to weigh your food. Believe me it helps. Sometimes by eyeballing food, you can either eat too little (keeping you hungry) or eat too much, which defeats the point. I'm happy that you decided to come back and try. Don't give up, you can definitely do it.

Its straigtforward and id agree with the first poster is that there are plenty of things you cna do to make it easier for yourself. People make it harder than it needs to be. Keep it simple, learn how to do it properly by reading the stickies, control your deficit, be your own friend, be patient and commit. Measure using a scale not cups.