Cannot seem to do this! It's a little depressing

Part of you wants to and part of you doesn't. We've all had the same problem, or we wouldn't be here on MFP. When you are ready and determined you will fight that inner demon and let it know who is boss. Why don't you think you deserve to be healthy? thinner and fitter? Why do you think you sabotage your journey? Work in a little bit of sweets into your daily caloric intake if that helps. Buy some weights and use them 10 minutes at a time. Stop concentrating on why you can't, how you can't, and start thinking about what you can do, and how this will work, and have fun figuring out how you can do it. Forgive yourself for those times you fall, and pick yourself up and keep on going. If you really want this you will be watching what you eat and working out for the rest of your life. To make this happen, you are not "going" on a diet, whatever you eat is your diet. You're not exercising until you get the scale to where you want it to be, you're going to be exercising always, loving it, and making it part of your life. It's a different way of thinking, and you can do it.

Dear Big-D: so with you. Can't seem to break the sweet tooth that started three wks ago when I began dipping into the Halloween candy early...
I am a strict perfectionist so one bit of failure and I blow the whole thing.
Trying to give myself credit for every little thing I do right, rather than beating myself up for the bads. Ex., if I do actually have 2 fruits, or 4 veggies, or 3 whole grains, or 3 skim/non-fat dairy, or 4 oz protein, in any given day, I am trying to reprogram myself to see that in and of itself as a successful day, regardless of what I do in other food groups or if I eat junk too or don't get enough (or any) exercise that day. Gradually hope to add on each category at a time till it "sticks" for a week or two before tackling another pos. change.
I made a chart of the food groups for a pre-diabetic diet (see above) and give myself a sticker in each category that I eat in.
Used to include a "cheats" category but got rid of it so I am only recording positive actions. This is really challenging for my personality and hard to wait for the weight loss I want to see...

wish i could help. try to think of your new eating habits as a project. set aside a shopping day every week. take your time and read labels. look for healthier alternatives to the junk food- there are so many whole grain crackers and chips that are healthy and tasty. don't keep things you know you will be tempted by around the house. dancing is great cardio exercise- so time yourself and count that in your diary as aerobic exercise. and do eat foods you actually enjoy. i think we all fail in dieting when we are eating foods we don't like just because its healthy. don't let yourself get hungry- always try to have something every few hours- fruit, yogurt, something low in calories. eating healthier might also help you not to feel so tired too you really can do this take care

It comes down to getting the food under control. I'd recommend purchasing a crock pot for easy one pot meals. Also take a little bit of time on the weekends for food prep. I prep on Monday's but may people prefer Sunday. Cook things that can be used to easily assemble meals during the week. Boil half a dozen eggs for adding to salads or quick breakfast on the go. A pack of chicken breast that can be shredded for salads, slice for for and added to mushrooms & gravy for a faux stroganoff, A pot of pasta or rice. Chop veggies for cooking and snacking, Planning for meals means you don't revert to chips and fast food when you are tired through the week. Planning your snacks means you have something healthy to munch on when you want a snack. The best thing is food prep should only take about an hour once a week. Do not bring anything into the house you can't eat without binging.

The next thing I would advice is try to go for a walk 15 mins a day. That's it. 15 mins. When you get that down pat, add another 10 mins to that walk.

Don't look for quick fixes or miracle rapid weight loss, just focus on gradually incorporating better, healthier habits into your life. Ask yourself, "Can I do or eat like this forever?" Those will be the changes that last.

Everything that everyone else has said, but especially get the crap foods out of the house. If you are at risk for diabetes, so is your son. You need to establish good eating habits for him from the outset. Ditch candy, chips, soda, etc., and use the money saved on those things for other things--a gym membership, workout DVDs, new clothes when you start losing weight and/or toning up.

Last winter I sat on my butt most of the time I wasn't at work, did facebook, watched TV, etc., and completely ignored the gym-quality elliptical located in the same part of the house as our home theatre. I don't know if I was depressed, discouraged, if my thyroid levels were so out of whack I didn't have the energy or what, but there was no reason why I couldn't have spent even a half hour each night on the elliptical watching the same crap TV, or doing yoga with the Wii Fit to guide me.

Set a realistic goal to start some sort of exercise--even if it's 15 minutes 4 days a week to get you in the habit. You can do it, you just need to decide that it is an important part of your life going forward.

Try a 1700 calorie diet. Don't try for 2lbs a week, try for 0.5-1 lb a week. Slow and steady is better than trying for too fast and failing. Try to get in walks 2-3 times a week...

Marcy, the post I quoted is some very good advice. I hope you'll follow it.

Others have given really good advice too.

Like you, I have a lot of weight to lose, and like you, I've gotten discouraged when my latest-and-greatest diet has resulted in either little to no weight loss or weight loss that I've gained right back.

Sustainability is the single most important factor in any diet in my opinion. If you're hungry all the time, you will eat. If you deny yourself that cookie ever single day, you will eventually cave. If you love pizza but you never eat pizza, you will binge on pizza.

I feel like I've finally figured out the weight loss thing for me. I've lost more weight than I've ever lost and I'm past the point where I can say "this is really hard". It's not hard anymore. I do occasionally say "screw it" and have days like I had this Thursday where I logged an impressive 2500 calories and ate pizza AND chicken nuggets AND frozen yogurt. But most of the time, I eat a normal foods and keep my calories at 1500 on the days I don't work out and at 1700, 1800, or even 2000 on the days that I do work out depending on how many calories I've burned.

A couple other things that have helped with my journey:

1) Tell people you love and trust. I've dieted in secret so many times because I didn't want to risk the embarrassment when I failed. That attitude of course sets me up to fail, but more... the people I've told this time around have been a huge help.

2) If you can afford it, find yourself a "coach" for the beginning stages. I did Jenny Craig for a while. I don't actually recommend Jenny Craig because they push a severe calorie restriction and I disagree with that philosophy. They wanted me on 1200 calories a day even though I was wearing a body-bug (measures METs and gives a calorie read out) and I knew I was burning at least 2200 calories a day. HOWEVER, having someone I could talk to every week in the beginning made a world of difference. They also gave other great pointers, which I'll talk about below. So... I'd suggest finding a "coach" that agrees with your philosophies on diet. Stick with them until the diet becomes a habit. Then you can fly solo if you want. If you can't afford to hire someone, then I suggest finding yourself a friend you can confide in and check in with (something MFP seems to encourage).

3) "Volumize". Eat a lot of leafy veggies. Eat a lot of low-starch veggies. Try eating at least half a cup to 2 cups every meal. (I've slacked off on this part, but it was pretty important for me in the beginning).

4) Stop thinking of exercise in terms of: I have to set aside 30 minutes or an hour of my day to go work and sweat. Every little thing counts. If you go to the grocery store, park at the far end of the parking lot and walk. If you work in a tall building, walk up one flight of stairs before taking the elevator the rest of the way. Walk to the water-cooler once every hour. Drink lots of water, which gives you an excuse to walk to the bath room once an hour too. All that walking adds up. Once you've dropped some weight and strengthened your walking muscles, you'll naturally start wanting to walk more. You'll eventually get to the point where I'm at where you're seeking out exercise because you want it, not because you have to do it.

5) Have faith in yourself. Have patience. Be persistent. Weight loss is a long, slow journey. You can do it. But you're not going to do it fast. Part of the game is getting back up when you fall. Weight loss is the same. If you binge? Re-commit and try again. You'll eventually binge less and do better.


And one day, I'll actually write a post that's not a novel. *sigh*

Good luck. You can do this.

That's a great start, good luck!:happy: