[usam]

I am having such a bad week. Not binge or off diet week but just that I have decided not to follow any particualr plan and I feel lost. I can't work out cause I have two little ones and there is no gym around here that will care for them while I work out. My husband works long hours and the last thing he needs is for me to dump the kids on him when he walks through the door at night. I walked for about 45min with both kids in the stroller yesterday but I don't feel like its enough.
I didn't eat anything all day and then last night for dinner I had half an apple and starved the rest of the night. So naturally before bed I ate some Kellogs cereal (dry) and half a sandwich with a teaspoon of peanut butter. Then I feel all guilty and sick of myself for not having self control. I just want to find a plan I can follow and feel proud that I can accomplish something. I don't have any major cravings I think I binge because I starve my body and then eat anything in sight. HOWEVER it has been 17 days binge free.
This cycle never ends, I eat feel guilty, stop eating, starve, eat feel guilty etc...
Please help me, give me some ideas. Keep in mind that I am a vegetarian, I have IBS and love to cook. The South Beach diet is great and I have tried it but with IBS the bloating and constipation is too much for me. I have counted calories too but get too obsessed with it and freak out if I go over. What should I do, I just want to cry right. What plans if any do you follow and do they work?
Thanks in advance for any advice

[teagreen]

woah, woah woah!!!! Even reading that message it sounded frantic.

Slow down. Take a step back, and really, REALLY analyze what you're doing.

No food all day till dinner? And then eating before bed? Worst thing you could do. All the calories you eat before bed don't get worked off at all.

You have to eat little meals and specific times during the day or you're not going to see any improvment, and you have to stop eating after 8, what plan you stick to.

I think fad diets are a joke and the only way i lost any weight was to just portion control and make smart decisions about the calories i was consuming. Not counting.

As for working out, you can SO do it with little ones. If they are old enough, involve them in you're workouts, make it fun for them and instill good habits from an early age!

If they are too young to walk and talk plop them in that stroller, and use the stroller as a tool. Push them uphill while doing squats, power walk around a park for a bit and make it fun for them.

Good luck, be well, stay strong!

[Lori Bell]

It doesn't matter when you eat...late at night, early in the morning...3 times a day, six times a day...whenever. You can lose weight no matter what times you eat...you just have to eat. And you don't need to join a gym, you don't need to chug water, you don't have to do ANY of that stuff to successfully lose weight. I'm totally 100% living proof that you do not need to spend a dime, (beside on decent food) to lose massive amounts of weight.

A handful of dry cereal a piece of bread, a teaspoon of PB and 1/2 an apple is NOT enough food...even if you ate it in bed seconds before you fall asleep. We are talking ONLY around 300 calories for the ENTIRE DAY. That is less than I eat for breakfast. Any person would go nuts trying to live that way. You don't have to. It's okay to eat a normal balanced diet. If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you always got. You and food can coexist in perfect harmony.

Now, lets get down to the nitty gritty...Can you tell me 3 things.
1. How old are you
2. How tall are you
3. How much do you weigh?

[Rochester]

Originally Posted by teagreen

woah, woah woah!!!! Even reading that message it sounded frantic.

Agreed!

I'm guessing that any plan with a rigid structure (phases, points, etc) is going to totally stress you out right now. Start by just implementing some basic diet rules.

You need to burn more calories than you eat, plain and simple. You do this by creating a deficit with both calorie restriction AND exercise (NOT by starving yourself!).

Calorie counting doesn't mean you have to eat X number of calories spot on every day. Give yourself a range to work in. Some days you'll be a little high, some days you'll be a little low, and it all comes out the same at the end of the week.

And you do not have to go to a gym to exercise. Walking with the kids in the stroller is a GREAT cardio workout! Get some DVDs to work on strength training and toning....you can do those with the kids around...and they might even join in with you. (And you can find DVDs on Netflix or at the library instead of buying them). Just going outside or to a park or whatever and running around and playing with the kids is exercise.

You CAN do this! Just calm down, and focus, and believe it's possible!