Hey there!
I've been trying to lose weight for... around 9 years now (I used to drink Slimfast at High School). My heaviest weight was 203lbs (That's when I had been with my boyfriend for about a year). I'm currently at around 175 but I've got to 160 once but gained it back. I always get back up to around 180 and stay there. I've lost the weight when I was on the 17 Day Diet. I was doing EXCELLENT the first time I tried but then fell off the wagon and couldn't keep up with following a diet anymore. Holidays came and that's where everything fell for the worst. I tried starting again a couple of times but kept falling off plan. I've decided on starting a gym (starting tonight actually) and I want to eat healthy with it. My goal was to get to 140 this summer but it seems out of reach now. I'd love to lose some weight so I look better in a bathing suit. I need ALL the support I can get. I'm 24 and would love to have a buddy or some buddies to keep me on my toes and keep me going towards my goal. I just don't know what to do diet wise. Not sure if I should try the 17DD again... What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading!

Have you identified why you keep falling off?

you have to do something that will work for you. Everyones diet/weightloss plans are different. some people are able to say im done with pop and cookies and chips ect ect and never touch them. But others that's just not a good idea b/c thats how they fall off the wagon that's what makes it miserable for them. counting calories is another example some people find that easy write a diary of what they ate and the calories. Others may just look at the calorie content on the item they are going to eat and make sure it's reasonable. and to get that craving of sweets there is weight watchers ice creams ect that are very reasonable....you like chips special K chips are amazing. Point is you don't have to cut all that out if it makes you feel smothered just go to the healthier option. Now exercise just move any way say you just can't stand the every day gym...get a workout dvd... or go for a walk or turn on some music and dance your butt off! I encourage you to get a pedometer i believe it's called says how many miles you walked or steps you took...and wear that while you dance or walk in place in you living room or w/e and just give your self a goal a simple one a mile a day ect sounds like a lot but i promise it's not I was dancing my booty off b/c i wasn't feeling the p90x dvd and a hour later didn't even feel like an hour! but the pedometer read 3.50miles! I was shocked! The point to all of this is it has to be set to what you like/can do and make it fit your schedule. I hope this helped a little.

I could have written this post a few years ago when I was in your shoes. Yo-yo dieting was my repertoire where I would alternate between diets and letting loose and finding myself back on square one.

What worked this time around when I was 23 turning 24 was I stopped treating this as a diet and a temporary solution. I decided I needed to find a way to adopt a healthier lifestyle all around where moderation was key and it was something that I could follow for the rest of my life.

I started off with calorie counting because I realize it gave me the flexibility I needed not to get bored with any diet and I could fit most foods into my plan. I aimed to load up on high-volume, low cal foods like vegetables to stay satiated.

The problem with the diet plans I found was that it was often too restrictive. Are your plans too restrictive where you are craving certain foods?

When I first started out, a food journal helped me out layout areas of improvement and getting a gauge of what was "normal" for me.

Exercise wise.. I started off super light with 30 minutes of ANY activity a day. I slowly built on that and pushed myself but I find food intake has more to do with weight-loss than anything else.

Good luck to you!

Sophie- let this motivate- I had very similar stats and experiences as you, alwaysss stalling out during weight loss around 180. I hated 180 because I couldnt escape it. I kept putting frantic diet demands and deadlines on myself, falling off the wagon and yo-yoing fo years. I fell off the wagon once again and never got back on, and here I sit in the 250s. I was thinking today that if you'd have told me two years ago that I'd be wayyy into the 200's ever I'd have told you you were insane.. But feeling deprived and too much dieting sent me out of control. So my advice would be to take it slow, and really take the advice of maintainers on here who tell you that you can't rush real, sustainable weightless. They are 100% right and I wish I hadn't disregarded their tried and true words of wisdom. Everyone is different, of course, and i can only speak from my own experience, but I could have written your post a couple of years ago. Good luck hon. There's a ton of support here, and checking in and being accountable are amazing tools. I don't know how people do it alone.

I have a similar problem and to tell you the truth I have no one to blame but myself for this outcome. I visited the result section of this forum and it is really helping to stay motivated towards what I want to achieve with my body.

I'm right were you are. I simply don't have the drive to pick it all up again. I think in general I am a worry wort and when I worry about weight I become really manic. I am a perfectionist so when I slip on a diet even just a little bit I would beat myself up about it big time and then get really depressingly down on myself. Like I would become crazy about how ugly I was and how ugly I was going to become and I would start thinking someone should just take me out to pasture and shoot me for the meat... Like brutal horrible thoughts about myself. I simply am much happier not on a diet. Like right now I am just starting to think I should be on a diet... but really I don't want to feel the way a diet usually makes me feel... you know. Like you ladies must feel crazy all the bleeden time.

All you can think about is writing your calories down and planning out your meals and getting on that scale all the time. Blah... I say. Why should I be motivated about that... That type of in my face... keep control of your food intake and energy out take just makes my mind turn into a big pile of superficial mush. Perhaps I need to fix my brain before I fix my body... But how do I do that? I just wish I had something I loved that would help me lose weight but everything seems to fall threw and I am back where I started again every single time.

Why? Why should I be motivated about that I ask you? Why should I go back to beating myself up. I just don't know how to switch it off when I get in the "lose weight-get healthy-feel great." mode the high last for about 3 days and then for 2 weeks its just pure unadulterated self loathing until I turn to food again... Whats wrong with me. How do normal people handle the pressures of a diet? Inquiring minds want to know. How is it you work the diet and the diet doesn't work you? HOW TELL ME HOW! yeah I'm not stressen already ...can't you tell.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your posts. I've been feeling so... stressed by not having a "game plan" in mind that it's driving me insane these days.

I have a hard time just taking things slow. I feel as though I need guidelines to tell me what I can and can't do (I've been dieting for so long, that's probably the reason). Without those, I go all-out and end up gaining and failing. I tried keeping journals and counting calories but as soon as I didn't know what calories where in a certain food, I would give up all-together.

I ended up not going to the gym because the girl that was supposed to come with me is broke and can't afford it right now and I'm too chicken to go alone... I love walking when it's nice out but when it rains, I don't do any workouts.

Maybe a pedometer would be a good idea though. I could make myself goals to reach. Food though is going to be though. I'm going to give the food diary another try too.

Edit: Rorke, you posted at the same time as me haha! You sound almost exactly like me! Are you my twin or something. I feel the exact same way...

I had to take a drastic step because for the better half of 2011 i was gaining and loosing the same 5 lbs over and over again. Now don't get me wrong, it was nice that I didn't gain weight but I knew I was wasting my time and energy.

So, in March I started Dr. Cranton's elimination diet for 30 days. Now Im on the primal blueprint. Both are drastic and cut things out, but I need those rules- with calorie counting I wasn't doing a good job. It's different for everyone. I don't miss bread that much but it was hard at first. I am finally in the 130's again and I feel good and healthy. But I had to do something a little more drastic to remove my carb/sugar cravings...I was so addicted!

I haven't gotten back the excercise component yet. Its hard for me to get the gym. Im either a gym rat and miss one day or give it all up and am feeling guilty all the time. I am thinking I may also get a pedometer and make a steps goal per day.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Maybe just pick a plan to stick to for a week and start there? Best of luck to you :-)

I have a pedometer at home somewheres. Just need to find it now.
I bought myself a booklet and wrote everything I ate today including calories. I'm up to 1,255 calories and haven't had dinner yet. Seems pretty high in my opinion. I'm going to track how much I eat in a week and see an average of how much I'm eating and go from there.