HELP me!!!

I don't know if this is something that will help you, but for me, educating myself is the best way to keep me on track. If I know just how many calories are in that Starbucks White Mocha.. I'm sure a heck of a lot less likely to order it again because now I know that is almost 1/2 my day's calories!! Same with any fast food. Or I also know just how long I have to exercise to get calories burnt off... just not worth it to me and sure doesn't taste as good.

Not to mention the fact that I feel better when I eat right and exercise. I feel sluggish when I eat wrong and put yucky fuel in my body.

Read a lot of the older threads (the ones for newbies, especially), and you'll be amazed at how much you can learn from the other members here. Best of luck to you... and remember... no one changes over night. This is a process. Do your best every day.

I completely understand where you are coming from! I'm having trouble with food right now too.

I will tell you what has helped me in the past and what I know that I need to do now ... plan, plan, plan. If I have a weekly or even daily meal plan, buy the groceries - and log the food ahead of time in my journal so that I know how many calories everything is - that is when I do my best. If I just go through my day without any idea of what I'm going to eat - then I tend to make bad choices and am always shocked at the end of the day to see how many calories I ate.

One thing that has helped me a lot with exercising is a heart rate monitor. I got a Polar F11 for my birthday and love it. It sets a weekly exercise goal and during weeks that I'm struggling to get in my exercise - it has really helped to have that goal because it makes me go out and walk or do anything to get my exercise time in for the week. It tracks calories spent during workouts and that can be very motivating. It also helped me realize I wasn't really pushing myself enough when I walk - my heart rate wasn't getting into the fat burning zone ever. So I would highly recommend a good heart rate monitor.

Hello! I understand how you feel. I have been dealing with your same issue for quite sometime. When I hit 230, and I developed liver problems, my doctor and I knew it was necessary to loose the weight. You have to reshape the way you look at food. Yes, food is delicious but some can be down right dangerous! Fried, creamy food is the worst! Don't do the weight loss for your image, or for how you want society to look at you. Do it for your heart, your liver, your kidneys! I always think of the penny test with soda. When you drop a penny into a gallon of soda, it disintegrates! That is scary! If you need the carbonation, drink sparkling mineral water. It's yummy and you get the fizz! Also, the calorie counter helps out soo much when you are making choices at the drive thru. I have lost 6 lbs in the last 3 weeks from abiding by these rules. I see you have already lost 1 lb, so you have started on your new path to being healthier! Don't be discouraged from the people around you if they choose unhealthier things. Here are some tips I have found help:

- :drinker: When I go to a fast food place, I order a chicken grilled sandwich with NO MAYO, and add barbecue sauce instead. Also, you can get a kid size fries or side salad, NO DRESSING! Creamy things have tons of calories so avoid those as much as possible. Don't dive into a diet soda. Diet sodas are actually worse for you then regular soda. Opt for a plain iced tea. The taste takes some time to get used to, but its good for your body!

- :laugh: Always keep your self moving. Dance in your living room to some fast music for 30 minutes is a great workout, and its fun! You'll be loosing tons of calories and when you're done you will feel great! Don't like dancing? Go for a brisk walk for 45 minutes. Get that heart rate going! Remember, baby steps!

- :noway: Don't believe the "low-fat", "zero calories", "sugar substitutes" I URGE you to read Dr. Schwarzbein's books about eating whole healthy foods. It changed my life and brought my liver function tests up to a healthy level.

I'm so glad I found myfitnesspal, not only for myself but to see other peoples challenges and triumphs as well. Keep your eye on the goal you have and I know for a fact you will get to where you want to!

Good luck and I hope this helped out!!!

-Lori Hendrix :bigsmile:

First of all, realize that food is an addiction. Sometimes mental, sometimes physical, but either way, it takes time to break it. You might be comforting yourself with bad food, you may need to look deeper within yourself to solve that problem. But until then:

Take baby steps. If you normally eat FF 3x/day, for the next 2 weeks, eat it twice a day. Or have a good salad FF one of those meals. After that, cut down to 1x/day.

If you eat a couple of burgers, supersize everything, cut down.

In the beginning, you'll feel tired, lethargic - that's the physical addiction - it will go away!

Eventually - taking it one step at a time - start filling your days with fresh fruit and salad. If counting cals is too much for you right now, just look at fresh food and eat that. Chicken breast (not breaded), fish, lean meats. Change - slowly - what you put into your body.

For snacks, eat fresh stuff. Salads, etc.

Eventually you'll come to a point - if you work hard - when your body feels GREAT eating the good stuff and the bad stuff will make you sick (BTDT). Because in reality, it IS making you sick.

This is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Realizing the crap we put in our bodies (and I"m not a clean eater, by any means) and what it's doing to us helps us to make better choices. And that's what it's all about.

In the beginning you might feel deprived. If you have the strength, delve into that. Why am I feeling deprived when I am fueling my body with the right stuff? It's not about the food, it's about the underlying reasons we stuff our faces with food. That needs to be fixed in order for you to continue this lifestyle and be healthy. It may mean reading a self-help book, it may mean joining a support group for overeaters, it may mean talking to a close friend, it may mean going to a counselor. Journaling what you're eating, the emotions you are feeling before and after you eat... those will help you figure out your triggers. It will take time, it will take work, but it is TOTALLY within your power.