When I'm stuck and feel like giving up, I'll write down my goals and how I will achieve them. What will happen when I do reach my goals? How will I feel? How has my life changed? Write it all down, and really visualize how you would feel. how it would feel to walk the beach with a great body, or wearing that dress, talking long walks with the kids without feeling exhausted ...

I know it sounds stupid, and people have even laughed at me when I've told them. But trust me on this one.

The fact is, that people who are writing down their goals have a much higher chance of achieving them. They go from being an intangible thought in your head to being an actual goal. Have you read the book "Think and grow rich'? I know it's about accumulating and building wealth, but the very same concepts apply to losing weight (or any other achievement that will have to be done in small steps over a period of time).

Erin B

I know the overwhelming feeling also. I have decided that I can not look at the long term though and that I need to concentrate on the mini goals. Right now I have set a goal to track my food on MyFitnessPal for 3 weeks straight and to be able to weigh my self on my own scale at home with in the month. (I used to weigh my self at work, ,but quit my job last week) I find I do much better with the smaller goals and stay more focused. If I think to myself that I really need to lose 300lbs I am setting myself to fail.

I can relate to the feeling of being hungry all the time. But something I've slowly started to learn is determining when I'm truly hungry. Sometimes, we're just so used to eating all the time that our brains trick us into thinking we're hungry when we're really not. Then, the more we dwell on it and think about it, the "hungrier" we feel. What I've had to do is come up with activities that redirect my mind. So much of this weight loss stuff is reliant on your state of mind. Sometimes I read or play a computer game or go for a walk. You can learn hobbies or take up a craft. Any of these things can occupy your mind so it's not focused so much on food. This is also why I don't let myself obsess about calorie counting. Instead, I have tried to change the types and portion sizes of foods as a lifestyle change. I know, realistically, that I will not obsessively count calories for the rest of my life. I had to find another way to do it that is more manageable for the long term.