Hi!! I'm new to the 3fc and I have decided that is it, finally time for me to try and get some positive reinforcement in my life. Everytime I decide I'm ready to start a new weight loss program it lasts for about 3-4 days then I give up.

A little background on myself I'm a mother of 2 young children, I do not have a lot of time for exercise. I'm not able to join a gym due to childcare and finances. Since the beginning of summer I have gained about 16lbs. without doing anything differently.

I want to get back down to the mid 140's. I have bought Jillian Michaels DVD's but I'm not motivated enough to do them once I get home. I also have tried to watch what I eat, however, I'm not a very healthy eater. I am a very picky eater, so its hard for me to start a diet since I don't eat a lot of fresh veggies.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

I would say count calories because you can still eat whatever you want but you just have to keep it in moderation. You can use sites like sparkpeople.com, fitday.com, livestrong.com, to calculate how many calories you are allowed per day and then you record what you eat during the day. It seems to work best for me.
As for only lasting 3-4 days...well, that happens to everyone. We all go through those days where we are just "tired" of dieting. That's why a lot of us call it a lifestyle change instead of a diet. Also, if you do mess up, don't call it starting over when you do get back on track...just get back on track and keep going. You can do it!!

Thanks so much for your input. I'm really hoping that I can stay motivated and makes changes for the better. Not only for me but for my whole family. Counting Calories is hard for me when I'm out of the house. In mid-january I will be relocated to working from home so that will make it a lot easier on me. No fast food places or little convienence store in the lobby. I will be eating the healthier foods that I plan on keeping in my household.

I agree with the other lady, you can do this. Try not to doubt yourself before you even get started. Try to remain positive. If your a very picky/bad eater just start cutting back and watching your portions. I use sparkpeople and for the past 3 days I have been tracking everything. Im really proud of myself and Im trying to make it a habit that will stick with me forever. I think you will do well just try to stay positive and have faith in yourself. Good Luck

Good luck and congratulations on a new start! As for your exercise issue, you could try working out early in the morning. I know this sounds like a pain in the butt, but once you get used to it it feels awesome to start your day this way. Also, it leaves you with no "I'm too tired excuse" because its the first thing you do and its specifically for you. Plus, it allows you to workout and do things before all the stress of the work day/family can interfere. Good luck!

So, in the past you've started and given up within a week....guess what.... you won't this time!!! Use 3FC and EVERYONE here for support, whether that means reading success stories, asking for help -- anything! Everyone here is so great, and we're all in the same boat; trying to get healthy and get fit.

I totally understand not having enough money to join a gym. The one good thing about little kids is that they (usually) LOVE being active, so you can use them to help you without even knowing! You don't have access to a treadmill, but you can take the little ones out for a walk (do they walk yet? I'm not sure on their ages) and "race" them. Or, if they're still in strollers, take them out for a walk with the added challenge of pushing a stroller!

Due to a weird health thing, I can't eat raw vegetables and (most) fruits. Are there any you do like? You can try "hiding" veggies in kids' food (google it -- I think it's a new thing and there are TONS of recipes!), and you can also make them healthy smoothies with yogurt, frozen fruit, & milk and tell them it's a milkshake. Serve them a little bit and you can have the rest. The good thing about little kids is that (most of the time) they will believe what you tell them. They won't know it's yogurt and good-for-you-berries, they'll just think it's ice cream!

Definitely try to keep track of your food. Even if it means that you carry a little notebook with you during the day and enter everything online once the kids are in bed, it will make you think about what you're putting into your body.

Also, through all of this, you will be becoming a healthier mom for the little ones and show them what it means to live a healthy, fit, fulfilling life.

Thanks so much for all of the input, some very good ideas. I joined SparkPeople last night but I can't figure out how to calculate my dinner portions. Its easy for me to calculate my breakfast and lunch. But when I cook at home, I guess since I'm new to calorie counting I just can't figure out how much my dinner is.

Maybe we can help break it down for you?

I am not much of a calorie counter. I don't journal because it doesn't work for me (although it works for many, many people), so I worked on replacing the food I was eating with much more nutritionally dense foods. I also focused a lot on controlling my portions. I just had to find what worked for me. You have mentioned in your previous posts what doesn't work for you, but how about we find what does work for you?

I agree!

Me too!! I guess only trial and error will tell what works for me.

a simple thing that helps you to start is PLAN.
Plan your schedule - you might not want to put exercise into your schedule yet because you aren't motivated enough. That's fine. But plan your food schedule. For a whole week. Like what will you eat in the morning, lunch, etc. And stick with it. Combine with planning your food schedule is food journal. Write down everything that you eat/drink. That also helps you realize how much actually you eat, instead of just "guessing".

Start by planning your food right now. Later when you adapted a healthier eating lifestyle, adding exercise in your schedule might not be as hard as it is now.

Good luck

I was just about to say plan, plan plan but annita beat me to it! If you have a plan its easier to keep going when you feel unmotivated because its a schedule. I'm an "over planner" naturally but when i feel like its getting tough to keep on track, I will plan what I am going to eat and exactly when, plus when im going to exercise and what im going to do.

Also when i started calorie counting I started out weighing everything. I would advise you do this for a little while, because when I started I really didnt know how big 100g of meat was, 1 cup of milk etc. After a while you can generally eye ball it (a lot of people are like "oooh no never eye ball" but it works for me- if you stop losing, start weighing the food again. Simple)

you can do this!

If you're having problems with measuring portions for dinner, start out simple, with things you can measure. Avoid casseroles for a while. You can measure out things like pasta, rice, veggies, beans, meats, etc. easily. I'd suggest, if you don't already have one, getting a food scale. I bought one at Walmart for $20 but you can sometimes find them cheaper online.

There are also a ton of recipes out there that have a serving size and calorie count on them already. 3FC has a really good selection with the difficult part done for you. Once you've gotten into good habits, you'll be able to work with your older recipes to figure out the calories per serving.

As for the out of the house issue, have you tried looking up the calorie count of foods you eat frequently? Write it down and keep it with you. That way, you know how many calories are in the sandwich you pick up every tuesday and you can build it into your life. Any time you know you're going to a restaurant, see if you can find the calorie counts online before going.

You can do this. Its hard and it may take some adjustment but if you're serious about it, you'll find ways to start incorporating a healthier lifestyle into your life. The people here are full of resources. Give yourself some time and work out the kinks and you'll be ok