Hello... Any advice?

Hi! I'm Rachel, that's awesome what you're doing! I go on a daily walk and it has really helped me lose weight. Another thing I did is when I first started dieting, I did 2 weeks of only eating 20 carbs a day. Its part of the Atkins diet I think. Basically I ate a lot of eggs, cheese, and other things that were very low carb (eggs have none, and some cheeses don't have any) Plus I went on the daily walks and did an exercise routine every night. After that I've just been cutting out sugars and bread and counting calories of this website.

As long as you burn more calories than you eat/drink, you will lose weight. Cutting out sodas is one way to reduce your intake of calories. Good luck!

Hi! Welcome to MFP. Good for you for realizing how important your health is at a young age!

You are doing great by cutting out the soda. Small changes can lead to big results. Keep up with walking, and try to think up other ways to add in a few minutes of activity everyday (I started off by just doing 15 minutes walking up & down my stairwell). Keep checking back here and let us know how you are doing!

Hi Caitlyn! That's awesome that you want to make some positive changes for your help! My advice is to remember that not all your success can be measured by a scale. Sometimes you'll work really hard and not lose a pound and it can be really discouraging. But no that you're making great strides for your health. You're also probably losing inches, gaining muscle, increasing your stamina, and gaining energy- all things that can't be measured on a scale. Good luck with your weight loss journey. My fitness pal is a great resource! Feel free to add me.

Hey girl!!!! You are going to love the support you will get here. You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to! Keep your chin up! Create a plan and stick to it. I know that is so much easier said than done, but I promise it will work. Let me know how I can help. I can share some of the things that have worked for me. I am in the process of getting back on track. Last Fall I lost about 30 pounds, but have since put it all back on plus some. I have yo-yo'd all my life. Feel free to add me, if you'd like! )

Oh sister you asked for it so here goes...

Here's the thinking that got helped me on my way:

The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

1) tracking for a couple of weeks before I worried about losing.
(although seeing what I was eating I couldn't help but rein back a bit)

2) seeing where I could make small changes on things that weren't that important to me.
(Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
--Reducing quantities where I won't notice it so much
--Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

3) Look at my diary and started adding foods that had positive healthy effects specifically for the health issue in my family.
I found most of the things I "should" add were really yummy too! salmon, avocado, oatmeal, mango, red grapes....
(Sort of think of food as medicine to deal with family history of various health issue oatmeal is good for heart health, mango and red grapes lower cholesterol, tumeric and cinnamon good for arthritis)

4) every couple of weeks I see where I can make another couple of small changes.
If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort.
sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves.
You don't have to be perfect you just have to do better.

5) also rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. (I swear this saved my life.) I was happier once I gave myself a range:

ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.

---

(SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

---

I naturally tended to do 2-4 days between 1200-1300 cal then a day at about 1500-1600 cal then back to the 1200-1300 cal. (No hard science here, but I credit the zig-zagging calories with preventing plateaus.)

--As long as I stayed under the top of my range I should continue to lose, even if it is at a slower rate.
--As long as I don't go past my safety valve I shouldn't gain.

6) I only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

Food is not the enemy.

Oddly enough on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

I figure if I've got a good plan that I can actually maintain I can keep this off for a long time to come, without feeling deprived.

Good Luck

Hello Caitlyn,

I am Shayla, I just started using this site but I've lost weight by diet and exercise before using this site. I joined to mostly be able to keep track of what it is I'm really eating. Cutting out soda sounds like a great idea. Studies show the best way to loose weight is with your diet and exercise combined. The walking group should really help with that. Try focusing following the food guide (or pyramid since it appears you are American) and eating the right number of each category. This will help give your body the nutrients it needs and help keep you energized and feeling full throughout the day. Make sure to eat breakfast as well, as this will help keep your body out of starvation mode which can cause your body to store instead of burn fat.

Watch your sugar

BOTH sugar and artificial sweeteners increase your appetite.... The more you get the more you want.

I DO have a sweet tooth, so I try really hard to watch out for sugar in *real* foods.

The brand of pasta sauce I was using had 9g sugar per 1/2 cup serving.
My favorite cookies have 9g sugar per 15 cookies. --- I'd rather have the cookies.

I started reading labels and found sauces I liked in the 1-3g sugar per serving range.
I get plain yogurt and add my own flavorings so I can have more control over the sugar content.

Food manufactures love adding sugars, because they are cheap and they make you want more.
HFCS is much sweeter than regular sugar AND food manufacturers use MORE of it. (Huh?)

Hi!! I'm new to this too =]
I don't drink soda, but I know that my dad lost weight a lot easier after he dropped it. Instead, he drank carbonated flavored water... I personally don't recommend carbonated water XD but you'd be so surprised by how many calories you DRINK. Did you know that you can eat 3 fruits for the same calorie count as 8 ounces of soda? And come on, who drinks just 8 ounces? One of those "big gulp" things (64 oz. of soda) at KFC can have up to 800 calories in it. That's almost 2 whole meals and NONE of the nutritional value. It is totally worth it to cut that crap out of your life!
Also, give yourself a break. Decide that at one time or meal, you will eat a few cookies or some sort of sweet. You can still have your soda, just think of it as a treat instead of a side with your meal =]
And don't forget to get enough sleep. Sleep is what regulates your metabolism, and makes it easier to lose weight. And I know how much it sucks as a teenager to want to stay up late, all while knowing that sleep is so good for you.
But I'd love to talk to you and help you out whenever you need it!! Motivation is where I struggle most, and I know I'm not the only one, so if you ever need me, just message me. Seriously, I am always here, and I am right along side of you on this obnoxiously hard journey to lose weight. Just keep at it!

P.S. something that might help you! You can actually enter food in your online food diary BEFORE you eat it. So the night before, enter your food, and then the next day, just stick to what you planned yesterday! You can even change it around during the day if you don't feel like eating something you planned yesterday. It's so nice to have a plan, and it's a lot easier to stick to. It takes out the guess work.

Hi Caitlyn

Wow, you've had a lot of advice, some more extreme/specific than others.

In my humble opinion. Do what works for you. If cutting out certain foods makes you feel in control, then go for it. Others find that making something banned, just makes you want it more. Look and listen to everyone, we're all amateur experts - some more amateur than others! There is unlimited information out there on diets and weight loss and it is multi-billion pound industry for a reason.

Try something - give it while - if doesn't work try something different. If doesn't work, see if you can find out why, but don't give up. There are loads of people here to give advice or opinions. The best advice I read was on eating more calories. I honestly went from losing 1lb a week to losing 3lbs the next (we'll see what happens next week).

The changes you make are for a life time. Do not punish yourself, if you are suffering then you will not sustain those changes for long. Remember, you always have a choice (even if you don't think so).

Good luck x