I need Help :(

I would definitely lose the soda and liquor add a few Zumba classes and logging everything you eat everyday it will help make better choices. Best wishes

I'd hate to be an advocate FOR drinking Diet Coke, however at the end of the day it all comes down to calories. I have not given it up at all because it has not hindered progress. Don't get me wrong, water is a way better choice, but you should be able to have the best of both worlds.

Some things to think about:
*How hard are you working out? (sweating, heart rate>=65% of max HR. If you aren't sure, investing in a HR monitor helps)
*Sleep (get plenty of it)
*Weight training (the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn.)
*DIET (be accurate with tracking, because your'e only cheating yourself)

jesus, would everyone just stop bashing diet soda? flavored water and flavored teas are sweetened with the same thing as diet soda…

i've been losing weight off and on for 6+ years and this whole "lifestyle change" thing has managed to take away pretty much every simple pleasure from my life.

God forbid if we love to purge ourselves with Diet Coke.

there're A LOT of things I've learned over the years, and one of them, for sure, is that it's not the DIET COKE making me gain weight.

-_-

I guess I should specify that when I suggested tea, I meant real, hot tea, not diet teas or flavoured teas or cold tea. if you don't need the caffeine, matcha green tea, regular green tea and camomile honey vanilla are awesome with a little bit of extra honey instead of sugar, they have a lot of health benefits but are caffeine-free.

jesus, would everyone just stop bashing diet soda? flavored water and flavored teas are sweetened with the same thing as diet soda…

i've been losing weight off and on for 6+ years and this whole "lifestyle change" thing has managed to take away pretty much every simple pleasure from my life.

God forbid if we love to purge ourselves with Diet Coke.

there're A LOT of things I've learned over the years, and one of them, for sure, is that it's not the DIET COKE making me gain weight.

-_-

But they're not though. Not trying to argue to be a turd but honestly, look up the specific ingredients used as sugar substitutes in the diet coke (which I promise you will not find in any good brand of the flavored waters...even it may be in some, it's as easy as quickly checking the label and grabbing the next brand) and the effects it has on insulin levels. Plus it's just that sometimes cutting something that is not good for you that you rely HEAVILY on is all you need to spike a serious weight loss so why not try, right?

Hey guys! I have no clue where to start! I have seen so many success stories but it seems like for me my weight is barely coming off

I feel like this should be the easiest part, I'm currently at 249 lbs.. I started back in like November but started to get serious in mid April..


Does anyone have any tips for me?

Things I eat and enjoy..please give me feedback if you want and maybe any tips or things I should change.
*Diet Coke - usually 3 a day - Only caffeine I drink and love it
* I enjoy eating at Chipotle, Subway if I do eat out. (Typically order the rice bowl and eat half for lunch and half for dinner and at Subway Steak egg white and cheese on wheat)
*Usually have 8 - 10 glasses of water a day.
* I typically exercise 5 days a week 30 minutes of cardio.
*I work at a hospital where I am on my feet all day usually 2 to 3 days a week as well.
*I have a weight watchers scale and weigh myself daily and don't seem to see the numbers change.
*Typically eat breakfast, lunch and dinner
*I do drink and go out typically twice a week but do alot of dancing. I never drink beer, usually a liqour and Diet coke..

When I eat at Subway, I usually do a 6" roasted chicken breast sandwich. Fluids look good... I drink more diet coke than you do (shouldn't but I do)... and still lose weight. Cardio looks good, may want to add weight training. I can't view your logs so it is hard to determine if you may be under eating or perhaps over eating. Many times if your logs look good it could be mis estimations on the portion sizes. As long as you are not drinking more than a couple of shots per week your alcohol should not be bothering your progress (I don't drink but I know some who do so successfully)... Really without seeing what you are doing, it is sort of hard to answer the question.

Well I like the Poland Springs waters which have no substitutes at all. And if those aren't available everywhere, I know the wal-mart brand waters (although they contain aspartame) have much less of it. There's just a difference between coke being your guilty pleasure and drinking it as more than half of your fluid intake per day, no matter how you look at it

if the water doesn't have any subs, then what flavors it? are you referring to the carbonated Walmart brand water? i prefer Nestle, since it's not carbonated, but it's made with Splenda. and i totally agree with that last statement. i do drink a lot of diet soda, but i also make sure to drink more water every day than anything else. it's all about compromise for me.

Don't stress yourself out just because your progression isn't as obvious as others'. Stress can actually cause you to have weight fluctuations! Also, stay away from unhealthy and unnatural sugars. Your mouth contains a second set of taste buds that are specific for these kinds of sugars and can cause you to overeat. Make sure to eat breakfast and work on weight training as well! Good luck!

for some people aspartame, the common sweetner in anything diet, stalls weight loss. I am one of those. Even one aspartame drink a day and i dont lose weight on a 1000 calorie diet plus exercise. If you want your coke switch to coke zero. Thats made with sucralose which is better than aspartame and does not interfere with weight loss

Also caffiene interferes with sugar levels (scientifically proven) so it would make sense to replace your caffiene and aspartame laced drink with sucralose (splenda) sweetened ice tea.

that suggestion i can totally understand and agree with. i personally can't stand hot tea or even regular iced tea, but i can't function without caffeine and don't drink any kind of coffee, so it leaves me with few options =/

I'm actually addressing this comment, as well as the OP's first call for help.

I, like you, needed my caffeine fix for years. I literally could not function without it. I'd been a barista for a long time and I also had a bad Coca Cola habit. However, you CAN wean yourself off of caffeine. It took my husband and I about two weeks to be totally free of it. It's an addiction, not as serious as some but still an addiction.

The funny thing is, when we got a coffee maker (and we brew decaf), my husband realized that he had the same 'need coffee' feeling he'd had back when we were caffeinated. Drinking a cup of decaf coffee actually gives him the same morning boost that regular coffee used to do, but without the side effects of raising blood pressure or jitters. Turns out it wasn't the caffeine we were after--the 'wake up' feeling is so entrenched in us that the mere smell of fresh-brewed coffee is enough to switch it on. Talk about a psychological addiction!

There's an excellent article here that outlines the issues diet sodas create. http://www.kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2011/12/01/8-dangers-of-diet-soda/

My point is, you CAN escape the Diet Coke hold on you. And this goes for any food--if there is something in your diet that you think you MUST ALWAYS HAVE, something that you think you cannot live without, you may want to reexamine your attachment to it. How would you react if you discovered you were allergic to something about it? What if you developed a sensitivity to the sweetener or the food coloring? What would you do if you couldn't have it?

I say this as someone who has been there, and has given up some things that I did love, but they were just plain bad for me (beef jerky--killed my teeth and omg SODIUM; caffeine and alcohol for the most part; hostess cupcakes). I don't miss them the way I thought I would. I am also not sitting here all miserable because those things are no longer in my life. I've rediscovered a thousand new things to drink and eat that give me the same satisfaction and I don't feel like I've deprived myself of the joy of eating.