To put it simply... I feel hopeless sometimes

LiftAndBalance wrote: »

I went from morbidly obese (BMI of 40) to slighly overweight (BMI of 27) in 1.5 years a few years ago, and have been maintaining ever since (now lost/losing some more vanity pounds). I would definitely advise just taking it step by step.

Get a food scale if you don't have one. Try to cook as many of your own meals as possible and weigh everything you put in your mouth, including oils, condiments, nut butters etc.. Cups and spoons are rather inaccurate for everything but liquids. Make that your first step: Honestly and accurately logging everything.

Reduce your portion sizes gradually. You can of course change your diet as well but it's not necessary for weight loss—all you need for that is to eat less than your body burns. Make it a goal to meet your MFP calorie goal but don't spiral into negative thinking (or out of control) if you eat too much one day. You could even start by setting MFP to maintain and then simply strive to come in below that (it's an approach that works well for me). A 500 calorie deficit per day will result in a loss of about 1 lb per week on average. That doesn't mean you'll lose a pound week in week out even if you stay at a perfect 500 deficit every day because weight loss will never be linear or even predictable like that—don't get discouraged by that. But over the course of a few weeks and months, you will see a downward trend. Link your FitBit to MFP and log your non-step based exercise on FitBit to get your MFP goal adjusted. Exercise isn't necessary for weight loss but try to find some form of movement that you enjoy—it provides a bunch of physical and mental benefits that can help a lot on your journey to weight loss and especially better health.

Successful weight loss is as much about mindset as it is about diet and exercise. Don't assign moral labels to food. It's just food, it' not good or bad, clean or dirty. A healthy diet doesn't hinge on one food item or one meal (unless you have food allergies/intolerances obviously), it's a matter of context and overall balance. I still love food, possibly even more than when I was obese because I enjoy it much more consciously now. In fact, I'm typing this while eating a (heavenly) brownie cake with buttercream (leftover birthday cake). I never cut out anything from my diet, I just reduced portion sizes and frequency of eating calorically dense foods. Yes, you can still eat chocolate/cake/ice cream/whatever you love as long as it fits in your goals. You can even make a conscious decision every now and then that a special occasion is worth going slightly beyond your goals. Just don't do it too often and get back to meeting your goals the next day. You can definitely do this!

gothchiq wrote: »

OK, no nasty foods lol! There are healthy but also delicious preparation methods that don't pack in extra unwanted calories. If you don't have a good set of spices, now's the time to get them. Explore what vegetables can be roasted in the oven, such as certain types of winter squash. It's all about good quality ingredients plus preparation method. Olive oil, in moderation, is your friend. It helps stick the spices to the vegetables and it increases food satisfaction. Meats can be baked or seared rather than fried. If you skin the chicken before baking it, just cover it loosely with tin foil to prevent it drying out. There is a site called skinnytaste.com, and there's Cooking Light, and probably many others I don't know about, that can help you with recipes.