[openheart]

Please help!!! I am a yo-yo dieter & always have been. I started a diet Jan. 1st. only to last a few days. Mid Jan. I joined an on-line pay to diet group which was working till we went out to supper with friends & I came home still hungry. I've been on the "see-food diet" ever since! That was about 3 weeks ago. When I start eating all the wrong things I also give up the exercising. I am almost 59 yrs. old & have had openheart surgery & really need to exercise & eat very healthy all the time. But I have such a hard time getting back on track! I know what's at stake, but the food wins out. What is wrong with me??? Please help if you have any advice at all to motivate me once & for all. I might add that it seems every time I take the weight off that I always end up putting it back on again & I think it's definitely became a thought in the back of my pea-brain that it doesn't matter if I get it all off, that I'm going to put it back on again - so why bother. But I REALLY do want to get it all off & keep it off! Thanks for letting me blow steam.
Signed, Openheart

[doozer]

Hi Openheart,

I just wanted to offer you some support and tell you that you can, you absolutely can do this.

I often feel, in a low moment, that it doesn't matter either way what I eat. I tell myself that I'll probably never get down to my ideal weight anyway and that life's not all about how you look.

But the reality is that being healthy and feeling like you look well makes you, me, us feel good- and enjoy life more. It's that simple.

Don't feel like the journey or the challenge is insurmountable(sp?) because it's not. Imagine.....this time next year you could look totally different to now, at your ideal weight, or you could look exactly the same, either way the year will have passed so you just have to decide how you want your life to be.

Something that helps me a lot (cause I'm a greedy pig in my soul ) is when I feel like I want to have something fatty or bad for me I tell myself that the food is not going anywhere, That chocolate will be there tomorrow, or I can have a slice of pizza with extra cheese at the end of the day. The craving eventually passes and I have fooled myself into not putting the bad stuff into my body.

Good luck and make sure you use the support on this site for exactly those moments when you want to throw it all in- that why it's here!

[JayEll]

Hey, openheart,

You really can change the way you do things. Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Have a plan each day of what you are going to eat. I don't mean down to the crumb (although it could be) but the good, low calorie choices you have available for each meal and snack. It may mean some shopping. I'm sure that you know what foods are good and what are not--if not, look around this site some more.

2. Get through just that one day. Make that your goal--getting through one day on track. Don't worry about yesterday, don't worry about tomorrow. Sometimes it gets overwhelming to think too far ahead. Every day, plan for that day, and stick with it. As doozer said, those foods will be there tomorrow. There's no rush.

3. Make sure you have some emotional support. Open heart surgery sometimes leaves people feeling depressed or sad, and that can make you want to eat the "wrong" things.

Also, check out the "Dieting with Obstacles" forum--there may be some people like you posting.

I wish you the best! You can do it!
Jay

[kotapaint]

I agree with jayell: have a plan each day. A food plan. A moderate walking plan.

I used to crave and I mean crave fatty, sugary, starchy foods--rip open the bag of chips and gnash through a 1/2 pint of dip, eat half the pan of brownies, cruise through a Snickers in under two minutes, and wash it all down with a couple of Diet Cokes...right...DIET Coke...

Seriously, I am not kidding when I say for the past three days (and they are the first three days of my new lifestyle and I figured the cravings would be intense at first...) that I have only craved (and caved) once. I am eating 1300 - 1450 calories a day and I am not hungry nor am I stuffed, and I don't WANT to be stuffed anymore. After reading the You: On a Diet book, I thought I have finally found something that sounds reasonable. (I was usually starving or craving or unhappy on WW or Atkins). I don't follow the book EXACTly, but do eat three healthy meals each day at roughly the same time and two snacks. Plan them. Pack them if you aren't at home. The snacks that have worked for me to curb the cravings: a small Granny Smith apple and a child's size handful of walnuts. I get the sweet, the crunch, and the fat--but it's healthy food. And for whatever magical ? biological ? reason, it takes the edge off between bkfst/lunch and lunch/dinner. I also stopped eating at least two hours before bed time. You can read more if you are interested on my journal posting (which I started today) entitled "I have a secret." or check my other posts by clicking on my nickname for a drop down menu.

It's never too late to be healthy. You deserve it. You should have it. You should do it. Do it now; make a plan. Good Luck and I hope my tips work for you as well as they have worked for me thus far.

[busysinglemom]

Well, you've already passed my biggest problem. YOU ASKED FOR HELP AND SUPPORT!!! Way to go!!

This seems to be the best place for it. I'm a newbie myself.

The best words of wisdom I can give are don't worry about the pounds. There are just as many unhealthy skinny folk out there as pudgy unhealthy folk.

You don't have a pea brain, you just happen to be like all the rest of us and emotionally you can't handle another failure, so you give up. I know someone mentioned that "You- on a diet book". I just finished with it and the most smack-yourself-in-the-forehead concept was the U-turn. Holy cow!! You have a bad minute, turn it into a bad day and then things really take off. The author suggests taking a U-turn. So you wandered off, just find your way back. You wouldn't drive your car off of a cliff because you got lost on your way to the mall, right?

Take a deep breath, relax and find your way back!! It's all about baby steps.

[rockinrobin]

You've gotten some good advice already.

As far as not trying because you always wind up gaining back that doesn't HAVE to be the case. You only have to be successful at this one time. The final time. And that time might as well be now.

Experiment and find healthy foods that you really, really love. THis has been a key in my recent success. Just knowing that each meal will be tasty and satisfying keeps me on plan. I also eat every 2 -3 hours, so I know that there's something coming. I also plan, plan and then plan some more. It keeps me on track. I basically have a weeks worth of food mapped out at a time. I've also emptied my house of all "forbidden" foods, keeping it stocked with healthy foods, so that if I am tempted to eat for no other reason then just because I want to, I can't do much damage. Try to be aware of everything that goes in your mouth. Make everything you do put in your mouth a better and healthier choice. Those better choices will add up. Good luck.

[smatchus]

Well...I am so glad to hear I am not the only one struggling! I am new here...but the big problem is I AM NOT A DIETER...I am an eater ! I love food and my eating habits are just out of control. I will be going to to WW this weekend to get the real kick to get started. I do however like checking in here at night to see others successes! I will need this I am sure!


Good luck to us!