HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eat well throughout the week and then allow yourself a free day. Don't go CRAZY on your free day but give yourself one big fatty fried meal.
I eat really well during the week then on Sunday I have like fish and chips or something for dinner. It will usually leave me satisfied throughout the week.

i had the same problem too, start by trying to have at least 1 veggie with each meal, and if you can find a way to mix them in with your food (for example, i throw peppers and onions in with my scrambled eggs in the morning so that way its not like i have to eat a vegetable, i'm just eating something containing veggies)

You can also try not counting the veggie calories. on weight watchers fruits and veggies are 0 points, so if you tell yourself they dont count then its like getting a freebie snack that still helps to fill you up so you'll end up eating less later. Studies have shown that people who munch on low energy snacks (like celery and carrots with hummus) throughout the day end up eating less at their actual meals.

Try different low-cal/low-fat veggie dips

Make fruit smoothies (with yogurt instead of ice cream) so you get multiple fruit servings in

And don't sit around your house if you can avoid it! If you feel tempted go outside, call someone to chat, clean, anything!

Pick low cal, high protein snacks too (my favorite is cottage cheese with strawberries. the cheese is only 80 calories but really high in protein and the strawberries help with my fruit intake!)

If you are eating out and are craving fried food, save half of it and get it to go. This way you can enjoy it another day, and you're not denying yourself. Moderation is key!

The best advice I have gotten is that SMALL CHANGES WORK. Some of us can't do the radical stuff and just stop eating junk food all together or excercise everyday 7 days a week. When you do radical stuff 9 times out of 10 you will revert to your old self. There have been many studies on this. So what I would recommend is maybe substitute 2 or 3 days a week french fries with some veggies that you like. Instead of parking closest to the store, park far. When you are bored go for walk and really ask yourself am I hungry? Or am I bored? Up your water intake, if you don't like water put a lemon slice in it. You will find you will start feeling better and better and then you will up your veggie intake and start making better choices. JMO

I don't know how you will live a healthier life with only eating fried meats and potatoes.

You're going to have to figure out what type of fruit and veggies you like and work them in. It's amazing how much better I think they taste grilled.

For eating out of boredom you need to find something else to do to not think about it. Maybe books? You could read some cook books and find some healthy recipes and walk to the store to get them.

You get out of it what you put into it. If we could eat like crap and not exercise and lose weight we wouldn't be here.

Very well said! I was going to offer some of the same thoughts but looks like you covered a great deal of it!:flowerforyou:

Something I do when bored, though I haven't been bored in, well, I can't even remember when, years? I always manage to find something to do that's worthwhile. I workout, go walking, clean as someone suggested, prepare some larger quantity meals and pkg. them up and freeze them for later in the week.

If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to learn to love healthy food, there are a TON of veggies & fruits I wonder if you've even given a chance to?

What a perfect time to explore new foods, when you are looking to make many positive changes in your life!:drinker:

Been there! And I did it!

At 29 I ate 0 vegetables...none at all. My partner is a chef and she was the one who started making them for me...little by little I got into it (or just into a few of them ;-)). I know it is hard; for me is all about the texture of the food; so I want my veggies cooked but with a crunch. Today at 34, I'm still not a super veggie eater but I like a handful of them.

Since I joined MFP I changed my diet...now, I don't do diets, at all! What I changed was the way I eat, and my drinking...for me it was a lifestyle change altogether.

I am from Puerto Rico, so rice has always been in my diet...I started eating broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower...instead of rice (or with just a little bit of it, here and there). I am not a big fruit fan, but I like some. So when I am in the couch and I want to have a snack I have strawberries (especially in the summer), cherries...berries in general are my favorite...I also snack nuts.

Good luck to you!!!

YOU CAN DO IT!!
;-)

i am NOT a goal setting person by nature, but i suggest listing the reasons you want to lose weight- remember it isn't ALL about weight, it's also about getting healthier... get those reasons in your mind, post them on your fridge, on your bathroom mirror, in front of your toilet, whatever it takes to keep them fresh in your mind. set weekly, monthly, and maybe even a yearly goal. where do you want to be in the next year? i like the quote several people have on their pages, "i'm not where i want to be, but i'm not where i once was either!" it may not seem like much at first, but if you're determined to stay the course, you'll keep making forward progresss.

look at success stories on this site. sometimes i'm encouraged enough by these to do the right thing when i'm feeling a weak moment coming on. make a commitment to yourself and the people you love. believe in yourself, you can do this!

STOP buying junk! you can't eat it if it isn't in the house. maybe start out by dipping your veggies in ranch dressing? i know that's not the healthiest way to go, but maybe you can acclimate over time and slowly wean yourself away from the dressing? if you stop eating the junk food, eventually it won't even taste good to you, but you HAVE to give up the binge eating. (i'm saying this from experience...) i'd eat half a pan of brownies just because i liked the way they tasted! i'm learning not to deprive myself completely, just watch your portions... weigh out your food. when you realize how difficult it is to exercise enough to burn off a big mac and maybe you'll think twice about what you put in your mouth?

when you want to snack, chew gum or drink water. if you must snack, you're going to have to find something low in calories to munch on. i was amazed at how much food i HAD to eat once i started tracking my calories and exercise on this site. i am eating far less and i don't feel at all deprived. snacking, like smoking is a habit you'll have to break. be determined, stop making excuses, and you CAN do this! TODAY IS THE DAY!

If you can just begin introducing fruits and vegetables and continue to make yourself have a little here and there you will find that your tastes will change. My husband had never had any vegetables besides canned corn, peas and green beans when we met and he was a very picky eater. Last night he commented to me how he never thought he'd like peppers and onions and yet the grilled fajitas I made for dinner were filled with them (and he loved it!) He married a woman who adores vegetables and I serve them all the time so he really had very little choice.

Pick one thing to change about your diet at a time and then just focus on that. I'd recommend choosing to add more vegetables or fruit and not the cutting out of something you love yet. If you focus on making yourself eat some vegetables before you allow yourself the fried meat or potatoes those things will naturally be cut down because you'll have eaten veggies first. If you go from fried meat and potatoes to thinking you have to eat super clean over night you'll never stick to it. Give yourself time to make your changes in a way that will stick for life.

And for the boredom, find something to do besides eat! Take up the guitar or knitting or play a sport. Play an active video game or go garden. Plant some vegetables that you'll eat! (You can container garden so you don't even need a big plot of land. Just a pot, some soil and seeds or starts. Google "Square Foot Gardener".) Try to make sure you're eating good food that satisfies you and then retrain yourself to do something other than eat mindlessly!

Get the junk food out of your house. When you want a junk-food treat, make it something you have to go to the store for special, and make it a single serving so there's no way to go crazy with it.

I love meat, so the changes I made? I cut my portion size and switched from frying to baking, broiling, and grilling. I still get my wonderful meats without all the fat and crap that goes with them. If you love fries, buy a bag of red potatoes, slice them into fries or wedges, sprinkle them with a nice, salt-free spice blend (we use Paul Prudhomme's salt-free Magic), and bake 'em up. To make up for the smaller portion sizes? I added a large side of veggies--steamed broccoli, steamed sugar snap peas, cooked carrots, steamed green beans with almond slivers, spinach, a salad with light dressing and sunflower seeds, etc. You won't feel hungry when dinner is done.

You don't have to swear off everythiing. In fact, you don't necessarily have to swear off anything, you just have to watch your portions and pay attention to the numbers. My best advice? Use the food diary here, measure/weigh foods religiously, make sure the numbers/values you choose are accurate, and be absolutely honest in your logging of foods. Do this for a couple of weeks, then take a hard look at what you're eating. Then start asking folks to take a look and make replacement/improvement suggestions. Some folks have 500 calorie grilled cheese sandwiches. Mine come in at 200 calories. Some folks have 1,000 calorie fried chicken tender with tater dinners--mine comes in at under 600. Baking instead of frying, making use of lower calorie, healthier foods, and adding veggies makes such a difference for me.

You can do this. It's not easy at first, but learning new things is always hard. I promise it's worth it. And the foods you'll eat aren't "rabbit food." I never walk away from dinner feeling like I've been cheated. You can do this; be open to help and be willing to take the plunge.

Good luck!

Edited to say: my son wasn't a veggie person, either, until he figured out that steamed broccoli tastes really good dipped in his arrabiata/spaghetti sauce, and that frying up just a HALF a slice of bacon, rinsing it, then breaking it into tiny pieces to be served with the green beans makes the green beans "delish."

Kris

My main advice is a total change in values/expectations. You gotta want it to happen, and you have to take the steps to change your life. If you begin this quest by asking how you can lose weight and still eat bad foods and be a couch potato in the evenings, it doesnt seem like you really have a desire.

popcorn can be a good snack - the calories are pretty low for the amount of times you get to put food in your mouth. Plus it's full of fiber.
I love grilled meats - and like to use the sandwhich thins for buns.
I also quit drinking calories, no sodas no milkshakes etc. If I am going to eat 1000 calories I want to feel like I ate 1000 calories
Almost anything you make at home will be better for you than the same type item at a restaurant. There are a lot of cheats that you can do to make a quick home meal - like tyson grilled and ready meats.etc