[wishfuiiy]

I'm brand-spanking new to the world of dieting, and to this forum. Well, I mean, I know what a diet is but have I ever been serious about one? **** no. I cannot even stand to think about counting calories! My whole life my mom told me one day I'll decide to do it for me, and no one else can force me to diet. Well, last night it came to ahead after a month long internal debate over whether I should get off my fat, well, you know what what. Below I've made a list of pros and cons! Ungh, I feel like I'm in school.

Let me remind myself of the pros and cons of going on a diet.

PROS

• Health -

I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t think that I needed to lose a few pounds, or maybe a hundred. Obviously, I have felt sluggish and a little worried when my heart skips a beat. It is also my biggest fear for my mother to have to bury me at such a young age. That thought alone brings tears to my eyes. If she does have to bury me young, I want it because I beat up a thug for stealing an old ladies purse, not because I shoved pizza in my trap.

• Bailey -

Come January, my family is welcoming the first baby. My sister, who is also overweight, is giving birth to a sweet girl. I want to be able to live and see my future children play with Bailey. I also don’t want to go to Bailey’s school for a play, or something like that, and be the fat aunt. Yeah, that’s a bummer for a little kid to have a “fat” family.

• Vanity -

I’ve always been a big girl. I’ve rocked the **** out of my shape, and I’ve kept a great positive attitude about I look. I personally feel if people don’t like the way I look, then don’t look. However, what do you do when you cannot stand looking at yourself? Yeah, that’s become my latest problem. I hate the way I look nowadays, when I used to feel like I dressed so cute. My pants that were once my fat pants have long been retired, and sweats are my choice of dress. That’s totally unlike me. I’m not blaming my weight on anyone but myself, but I know that the weight didn’t start to really pack on until I moved in with my ex, and we got so comfortable with each other. However, the bottom fell out and now I’m left with bills, a dog and extra padding. Totally lame!

CONS

• “Yummy” foods

- I don’t give a damn what anyone says. Diet does not taste good. It will never taste as great as great as a big cheeseburger with a coke. Um, yeah, that’s it.

Obviously the pros outweight (hehehe) the cons. I’ve also set realistic goals for myself. Lower my blood sugar, lower my blood pressure, lower my cholesterol and tone up. **** the pounds, dude. I’m not gonna be stressed if I lose a pound, or gain one. I’m not even gonna step on a scale for the first month actually. Drastic? I don’t want to know how much I weight. If I see it, I might get discouraged and I cannot afford to lose now. I know that just being active, and eating healthier will work out for me in the long run. I’m not gonna be a model-size, and nor do I want to be. I know I have to be real with my goals, and not set myself up for failure. I’m also not looking to tell anyone except my mother, because she’s the one who is going to be on this journey with me. For each other, and the baby that is coming. I already told her not to coach me, and not to ***** when I eat something that isn’t helping my diet. I told her I need to go slow, but I’m finally at the point of my life where I know I need to do something.

I just want to live, and I can’t live with clogged arteries. It’s that simple. Wish me luck.

[jiffypop]

i'm with you on one point - NOTHING tastes as good as a really good cheeseburger [not a drive=thru icky hockey puck!]

but a big one? not as important. but a GOOD one? essential!! i've taken the attitude that i'm not going waste my time eating ANYTHING i don't really like.

wow. that's the first time i've ever written that down!

So, consider smaller portions, and making small changes. one at a time. One of my friends lost 15 pounds last year by decreasing the amount of milk she put in her tea!

i'm SERIOUS! she used to put at least 1/4 cup of whole milk in every mug of tea she drank. And she drank a lot of tea - adding up to a couple of hundred calories a day. She started putting in 1-2 tablespoons, and VOILA!!!!!

[Beck]

Welcome! I'm not going to wish you luck, because that you have no control over. You do have control over this, and with strength, determination, consistency, and persistence- you can and will succeed! So, I'll wish you all of those instead and success!

Keep an on-going list of all the reasons you can think of to lose weight and read them often. Whenever you feel a tug to make poor food choices, go read through your list. This is one of the tasks put forth by Dr. Judith Beck (no relation to me; Beck is just my nickname) in her books, and I found them to be very helpful. http://www.amazon.com/Beck-Diet-Solu...5880486&sr=8-4 Maybe they'll help you on your journey, too. There is also a forum on 3FC for those who follow the Beck Diet Solution.

You've come to a great place for support and encouragement. Hope to see you around the forum.

[Lovely]

Welcome to 3FC

Love your attitude!

There are a few sections you might like: The 300+ Club (for those of us starting out at 300 pounds or more) and the 100lb Club (for those looking to lose 100 pounds or more).

You do NOT have to give up good food. You WILL have to give up enormous unchecked portions of good food.

A couple weeks ago when my family visited, we went out for ice cream. I hadn't had ice cream in a while, so we went to a local place where it's made fresh. Heck yes, I had REAL ice cream. I got myself a small (which, truth be told is more like a medium at this place), and I enjoyed every delicious bite of it.

The difference this time from before I started paying attention? It was a real treat, I planned for it, I tracked it, and I didn't scarf it down like I hadn't eaten food in 3 weeks. I enjoyed it.

It sounds like you already have some great realistic goals, but I wanted to add not to push yourself too hard to start.

It might seem a little silly suggesting someone start out walking 10 minutes a day, but it's important to build up over time. And most of us here aren't beginning as marathon runners (I certainly wasn't), so we have to be careful with our bodies.

Keep coming back to the boards regularly. Check in, post, participate.

No luck. We don't need luck. We have it within us to persevere no matter what the situation. With the right mindset, we can do anything. And you've got the right mindset.

You can do this!

[indiblue]

Welcome!

Similar to what others have suggested, it may be less helpful to look at food as "diet food" versus every other food ("the fun kind!"). When you lose weight it is a LIFE commitment to change the way you eat for the rest of your life. Otherwise you will lose and regain!

There is NOTHING wrong with a good cheeseburger and there NO reason you can't lose weight eating cheeseburgers. Does that mean you can eat a 1000-calorie Whopper every day for lunch? No. Does that mean you can eat a lean all-beef burger with real cheddar on a whole-wheat bun fresh off the grill at home once a week? Absolutely, as long as you had a sensible lunch and don't have a tendency to binge once you've had a taste of a trigger food.

I love sweets and eat a dessert every single day. I would be healthier and lose more if I didn't, but I do, and that's just how it goes. I calorie count and eating one small slice of cake or a few pieces of candy, as long as it fits into my daily alloted calories and is balanced by lots of fresh, whole foods the rest of the day, is perfectly fine.

I also HATE "diet" foods- anything from a can or frozen (except Morningstar veggie foods . I LOVE real foods- real cheese, local fresh vegetables, freshly baked bread, mmm! I think the reason some "diets" fail is they focus too much on the former and do not include enough of the latter. I would ditch a diet too if all I ate were Lean Cuisines all day.

One interesting revelation people on 3FC have after changing their way of eating is that they no longer WANT the old junk food they used to crave. It really is an addiction and once it's broken and replaced with healthier, fresher alternatives you realize the old stuff was literally JUNK- and your body feels so healthy and alive that you don't want to put any of that junk in it anymore!

So again, as cliche as it is, it's not a diet it's a lifestyle change, and nothing can be more true than that. But changing your way of eating isn't awful, and eventually it doesn't even become a chore. If you learn to love real food you'll find losing weight and maintaining a whole lot easier

Good luck!