Ok, I'm a newbie at all this weightloss stuff. So are you on a specific program (WW, SB, etc)? Why did you choose that program? Or are you making your own program for yourself, doing your own thing? How did you get started?

I don't know which program to start, or whether to figure one out one on my own. It seems really taunting to me!

I started with South Beach but with all the fresh veggies and meats I had to get off it due to my finances being in a rut. It was one of the only programs I found that worked for me. I liked it because you did not have to measure your food or count calories...it was cut and dry...here is a list of foods you can have, and these you can't for two weeks, then they gave you a new list. There is a forum here on 3fatchicks called fat chicks on the beach and it has all the info so you do not even have to buy the book. Even though I am not strict on myself right now I still employ many of the principles of the diet and they work for me really well.

I kinda have my own program...

I substitute healthy/ low calorie foods for the fatty/high calorie foods. I watch what I eat, but I have made sure it is something that I can stick to for the rest of my life (which I can). I look for the healthier options in foods, and when I go to a resturant I know what I am going to have a head of time.

I also exercise about 5 times a week...I am mainly running now (which really helps in the stomach area), but I started off walking and doing floor exercises.


This was actually fairly easy for me because I only gained the weight a few years ago...the reason why I gained the weight is basically the wrong food choices and we would eat at fast food places a lot. Now the only fast food place I will eat is subway or Captain D's.

I count calories (kind of) I keep a fitday journal online (its free!) which helps me alot. So far ive lost 3lbs in the last like week and a half i think its been.. I cant afford to do WW, or any of the other diets, so i just do my own thing. And i try to make sure i dont eat junk food. I eat lots of fruits and veggies, rice, stuff like that. The only real "junk food" i let myself eat is pretzels, and they arnt even really junk food. Of course every so often i splurge on something i really want (ice cream or something like that) but i make sure to not overdo it, and whatever else i eat needs to balance out the extra calories. Im having great results from my diet so far tho!

Thanks for the fitday idea...I've signed up for that! I also found on the Slim Fast site, they have a meal planner, and you put in how many Calories and gives you ideas of what to eat, and how much of each to have....VERY Helpful for me, who has no sense of portion control.

I'm on the Jorge Cruise "3 Hour Diet." Basically the diet breaks down portion sizes (based on a 9 inch place) and gives you allowances: half the plate should be fruit+Veg, a deck of cards protein, a rubix cube carb, a waterbottle cap size of fat. You eat every three hours ... 400 calorie meals (using the above structure) with a 100/200/300 (depending on your weight) calorie snack every three hours in between. Supposedly the plan helps your metabolism to restart itself throughout the day, instead of peaking and then going into starvation/preservation mode.

I've been on it for a week, and I've lost 4 lbs. Even I expect it will level out to hopefully about 2/week, but I'll take 4 without complaining!

I use portion control as my diet trick, but like you said, it doesn't quite work for everyone.

I think to start off i would just start to substitute some of your everyday BAD choices in the food or drink area and start a workout routine to burn off calories.

All the girls have great advice. Just make sure what you pick is something that satisfies you and you are able to stick with it.

I've been counting calories (using fitday PC off and on, on right now) since I started. I eat out sometimes, I go out drinking sometimes, I give myself some room to live like a normal person, but I try and eat the healthiest way possible. I've lost 40 pounds doing my own thing. I workout a lot too (most of the time). I slip up a lot, but if you have more days on than off you usually end up losing weight no matter what.

WW. It is something that I can use for the rest of my life. It's not a fad diet and I can eat what I like. It's all about portion control and a simplified version of calorie counting using daily points and weekly allowances.
Unlike some people I don't go to meetings...I've been doing it on my own with the support of my mom.

Of course, I also exercise as well...that's a very important part of losing weight!

i'm following weight watchers. i like the meetings and the support and the official weigh in. ww is also teaching me portion sizes and thus portion control. i like have the number to aim for instead of messing around with calories and stuff.

i also like the flexibility of ww with the two programs (FLEX and CORE).

Thanks for all the tips and advice on this! There are so many programs out there, it's sometimes hard to tell which ones work, and which don't. Hopefully I can find one that works for me!

I think I need to start by cutting out junk food, and drink more water... Then work on portions. I'll check my local libary for books, and see what they have that I can borrow, before I go out a buy....

I also walk daily, and hope to get one of those resistance bands, to help in the toning process. I can't afford a gym membership or anything like that. So that's a start!

I don't follow any sort of plan- mostly try to avoid junk food and get a decent amount of exercise. I'm aware of how many calories I can eat, but only track them and tally everything up if it's late and I'm trying to justify a snack (sometimes I just have the urge to eat but occasionally I realize that I only had like 900 calories all day and no wonder I'm hungry!)

I'm basically trying to adopt a healthy attitude towards eating so I can control it for the rest of my life.

Hi!
Since sugar and white flour is my heroin, I don't eat sugar and white flour. I knew for a couple years I was addicted to sugar (I have eaten it out of the bag before and pancake syrup out of the bottle) I find it relatively easy to say No to the first bite, but IMPOSSIBLE to stop at one bite...so..
I am on Day 8, and feeling awesome! My hunger and cravings have done a 180 turn for the better.. Finally the focus is not on the food
If this sounds familiar to anyone, I recommend the book "why can't I stop eating" by Debbie Danowski.

Take care!
Tara

I'm sort of doing calorie counting combined with portion control. To be honest, any of the diet plans that tell me I can't have something wouldn't work for a stubborn girl like me. You could tell me I could eat anything in the world except for wallpaper paste, and I would just crave wallpaper paste!!

I write down what I eat and pay extra-close attention to the nutritional labels, trying to stick to the recommended serving sizes. Exercise, though, has been the key for me. I can lose weight eating about 1500-1750 calories a day if I get in a good 45-60 minute workout during the day. And when I go out on the weekends, the weight doesn't immediately come running back!!

I just started out making small changes and getting myself off sugar - I didn't eat anything with processed sugar or carbs for 2 weeks, just to get myself out of the habit of eating it. Sugar was one of the main reasons I gained weight. Now i let myself have treats, but I certainly don't crave it like i used to. I also started eating the same meals we usually did (we never eat fast food or junk like that for dinner - sizes were my problem), and just putting half of what I would normally eat on my plate. I look at how much i used to eat and it's scary now! So pretty much making healthier choices and watching portion control were the two big things for me. Now I track my calories on FitDay and try to exercise 4-5 days a week. Just trying to make choices I can live with for the rest of my life - i don't want to get to the end of a diet plan and have to learn all this stuff then!