Man, why is it so hard to do something so simple?!
I'm talking about just EATING LESS. I will never go on another fad diet, ever. My plan is and will be from now on to basically EAT LESS and MOVE MORE. Sounds easy enough.......WHY CAN'T I DO IT?! (The move more part I have a handle on, but I would love to also do the eating part so I can finally see some results)
I'm stumped. Please, I need tips to JUST SAY NO and put the (fill in the blank with any food item) down!!!
Why is it hard? Because it is SO DIFFERENT from what you're used to!
OK, so you need to establish a new set of habits. You've already established a move more habit, and now you need an eat less habit. How do you do that?
Step One - plan! Lots of littler meals and snacks, healthy foods...then stock your house up with those healthy foods. Once you've got the plan and the healthy foods on hand, you're ready to move to...
Step Two - execute! Eat your meals and snacks for the day. When they're gone? The kitchen is CLOSED. Period. You can have more of your healthy options tomorrow, but no more today. And that is where the willpower comes in...you have to make the decision. But it is a lot easier to do with a plan and healthy options!
I think mandalinn82 is right .I know if you eat about every 3 hours in small amounts (2oz -3oz chicken or fish veggies 1cup )it works.water water water.Also keep your heart rate between 55%-65% in fat burner zones when workout . I just wondering what fad diets you done.
SAY NO and put the (fill in the blank with any food item) down!!!
I have the same thing going on right now .I will not bring in what I call red light food into my home . there are some foods that send me over the edge. I am also making meals that are ready to go .It takes the same amount of time to cook 3 chicken breast as it does to cook 1.I can also bake 6 small potatos at the same time.It giving my some thing to grab on the go. Good luck you can do this.
Popupgirl, good strategies! I agree that it's much easier if you surround yourself with foods that you CAN eat and get rid of the foods that have to be off limits, at least for now.
One of my favorite snack foods is baby carrots--they are crunchy, they are sweet tasting, they have fiber and vitamins, and there is just no way I can do much damage calorie-wise, even if I decide to eat a dozen! Other raw vegetables are also helpful if I have the munchies... For example, yesterday I ate half a sweet red pepper as an "appetizer"--it was sweet, lots of fiber, crunchy... and, if you don't like just the plain pepper, there are some good fat free and low fat dressings that can be dribbled onto the slices. Yum!
Foods I have to restrict include ice cream, any kind of corn chips, and nuts. These are foods that tend to make me want to eat more...
Sometimes just replacing one bad food with something "less bad" is a good start. One summer I lost 25 pounds by eating a small bag of chips a day instead of my usual large bag, and exercising four times a week for 30 minutes. I know that sounds a bit pathetic... it would have been ideal to cut the chips right out... but it was a huge improvement on what I'd been doing.
Little steps lead to big ones. Good luck!
It's hard because weight loss is not easy. You've already accomplished the hardest aspect of it though - you started. You've got a plan and a course of action. You're taking responsibility for yourself and your own health. Congratulations! Resisting the lure of mythic ease that fad diets promise is a much healthier mindset than many begin their weight loss journeys with. I don't think false hope actually weighs anything, but I sure felt like something heavy had been taken off my shoulders when I realized that there aren't any quick fixes and changing my overall health meant changing my way of life.
You have a good and healthy plan. Part of what's so great about it is its simplicity. "Eat less, move more" is a goal that can be met everyday and show drastic improvements in the long run. I'm sorry that you're feeling dissuaded already, but you don't have to feel that way.
Eat less, move more does not have to mean doing both during the same day (or week). You're already making progress by moving more! Don't you feel better? Some days you can decide to move the same amount that you did previously and make eating less your priority. You can choose to focus on either or both. It's all up to you.
Eating less is relative. You can reach that goal from any number of angles. You can choose to eat less for dinner than you did yesterday. That would be a success. You can choose to eat less of certain kinds of foods. You can choose to eat less in a hundred different ways that will make every day a victory.
You really can meet your goals. Remember to focus on what you're trying to do and why. You asked "why can't I do it?" but there is no real answer because you really can do it.
I have a question too. How can you do it? What steps are right for you? Whether or not you're eating less right now, how can you see yourself actually doing it? Can you picture the details of your lifestyle that will support you? I know you can and I bet you will.
I think recognizing that it isn't simple and it isn't easy is the first step. If everyone told you that playing piano was "easy" and you sat down at the piano and couldn't make music for the life of you (never mind that you've never even had a lesson, because no one told you about the lessons and practice, they just said it was easy), how long would it take you to just give up. If everyone said running a marathon was easy (not mentioning the work and practice part), how long would it take you to give up?
Few people tell us that losing weight is difficult even with a lot of work and practice. Instead everyone trying to sell you what worked for them (no doubt with a lot of work and practice) or worse people selling diets who never used them themselves - THEY all say how "easy" their diet is. The fact is, there isn't an easy way. And I think when we acknowledge the difficulty it's a whole lot easier to stay motivated, knowing that we re doing something difficult and practice, effort, and persistance are needed to get where we want to be.
I totally understand! Intellectually, I totally "get it". Heck, I could probably be someone else's weight-loss coach. I mean, really - "eat less, move more." How hard is it?! Well, as someone who is obese, I can attest to the fact that it is VERY hard! But I am determined to try to (NO! - succeed at) doing it. I'm with ya!
Why on earth would you want to be hungry? Instead of "eating less, moving more" I made my plan "eat fewer bad foods, eat plenty of good foods, move more" and the added satisfaction of being full and doing good things for my body made a huge difference for me. Instead of concentrating on NOT EATING (as I had many times in the past) I concentrated on eating LOTS of specific healthy foods (from the Super Foods Rx book that jumpstarted my healthy life style change). I had a goal to eat at least 1 of 10 different healthy food groups every day - I was actually trying to eat! It made a huge change
Some other points to consider:
* Check out the book Mindless Eating - so much of being satisfied is derived from visual cues, not our stomachs. Use a smaller plate, shorter glass, etc. The book is absolutely fascinating and I made a lot of changes that were very successful based on what I learned in that book.
* Consider volume - a huge plate of roasted vegetables over a cup of cooked whole wheat couscous, is a BIG SATISFYING HEALTHY plate of food - no chance of being hungry after a meal like that!
Personally, I think that being hungry works against us for weight loss because our bodies interpret continous hunger as an "uh oh, famine" sign - our bodies couldn't possibly understand NOT eating food when it's available. When I am hungry, I make terrible, terrible food decisions.
Now, I plan all my meals/snacks and eat every 2-3 hours, usually before I get hungry. It is SIMPLE but HARD WORK (all that planning, shopping, packing lunches, snacks, etc). By Sunday, I know exactly what I am eating for every meal that week - I concentrate on eating mostly whole foods, very little processed foods, tons of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, low fat dairy and healthy fat. Knowing what to eat is SIMPLE but it's HARD WORK to have them handy and at my fingertips on a meal by meal basis.
It is HARD WORK to eat well in our society, eating in the US is geared around fast fast fast convenient food, which is rarely the best option.
Who said it was easy? The concept itself - simple to grasp...the execution? Requires tons of planning and determination. Ain't nunna dat easy. But if the alternative is to be fat....what's it worth to ya?
losing weight is about making lifelong changes that work for YOU and that you can stick with for a lifetime. as others have pointed out, there's a lot that goes into 'eat less' and 'move more.' and no matter how you slice it, ya gotta figure out how to eat the right amount for your body, with the right mix of carbs/protein/fat that'll get you through the day without hunger, and with the energy you need.
and you need to figure it out without adding to your stress - and so on and so on and so on.
and for the 'move more,' ya gotta fit it into your schedule in a way that makes the most of the time for YOUR body.
having said ALL THAT, i personally find that protein snacks get me through the day. other people find that high-quality carbs work for them; others do well with a combination.
keep experimenting - take care of ONE ISSUE, like, figuring out how to get through the day without being hungry, and then move onto the next. and please, even though it's hard, pay some attention to what it REALLY feels like to be hungry, and to be sure that you can tell the difference between being THIRSTY or TIRED.
one strategy, in fact, that helps a lot of people, is to DRINK SOMETHING first - like tea or coffee. and then wait awhile. sometimes we're thirsty, not hungry.
Man, why is it so hard to do something so simple?!
Please, I need tips to JUST SAY NO and put the (fill in the blank with any food item) down!!! 
Other raw vegetables are also helpful if I have the munchies... For example, yesterday I ate half a sweet red pepper as an "appetizer"--it was sweet, lots of fiber, crunchy... and, if you don't like just the plain pepper, there are some good fat free and low fat dressings that can be dribbled onto the slices. Yum!
I know that sounds a bit pathetic... it would have been ideal to cut the chips right out... but it was a huge improvement on what I'd been doing. 
Good luck! 
