[LadyNASDAQ]

It's day 3. I've been on an 1800 calorie diet Program. I have also used 2 Slim Fast replacement bars and 1 snack bar from Slim Fast in order to stay full and the perk is no sweets and chocolate cravings. I eat a lunch and a dinner plus snacks to keep the day at about 1800 calories but yesterday I was at 1920 and still lost.
In 2 days I've lost 4 lbs. I weigh a lot. I started at my all time high of 300.5 lbs. This morning down at 296.5 lbs. so you see I am very high on the scale but I also realized I need to plan my day about what I want and what works.

The 4 pm hour has made me slip up so many times. For the past 2 days I eat a Slim Fast meal replacement bar and a fruit at that time. This is working. I need a crutch right now. I can see I can succeed and also I feel that I have an insight on what I need to consider as the weight goes down. I must have that 4 pm filling snack.

I want to say that I have tried so many diets and this is the first time in years that I can manage to stick to something and not feel incredibly hungry. I love the idea of calorie counting and I believe if you do need a bar of some kind and like me you need a push this is a way to accomplish it.

My short term goal is to go to the gym at 250 lbs. At that weight I will be 100 lbs. from my high goal and get myself light enough to walk the treadmill and do more. In the meantime I am trying to get more active with housework and some mall walking. I have a long journey ahead but I feel like I must say that calorie counting at least for me is proving itself the way to go. It's easy, you can manipulate your day around it and for me for now, make the healthy food fit into your day and eat it guilt free. I have been eating out at dinnertime and for the past 2 days actually was able to eat at Boston Market with 3 sides, no bread and move the scale down which is a huge accomplishment because I do love to eat out as well as eat at home but for this week eating a diet frozen dinner and a fruit for lunch and was comfortably full because I had eaten a snack between breakfast and lunch.
I also think I leave a snack after dinner too so that really has helped too.

[124chicksinger]

Do what works for you. I find its a good idea to stick with the same breakfast/lunch until I can't stand it any more then move on to the next thing.

Planning your B/L/D and snacks, and sticking to it, and having those items available is key to structured success without hunger. Hunger can cause us to do things we wouldn't otherwise do.

Try not to weigh in daily tho. It can throw you into a tailspin.

I wish you continued success and motivation.

[LadyNASDAQ]

Thank you for your reply!I feel that actually those month to month results really show you progress and I truly know that I can do this. My worst day I would hope would be a 2000 cal day which would just keep me maintained and catch myself lol. I have a very strong will to succeed and I know in my heart that I need to get myself prepared for sizes lost because trust me, as my clothes get too big I am absolutely throwing them out lol! I truly mean it. I have 1x-4x clothes that are going to get pitched as this weight goes down.
Right now it is 8:15 pm and 200 calories left. I ate a very sensible dinner and have 200 calories left. You know, I have a long journey and a sweet tooth. I feel like ice cream. I'm going to McD's for an ice cream cone. It's 150 calories for a small one. I'll be within my points when I go to sleep tonight and can enjoy my ice cream cone without guilt.

[Munchy]

I always plan a snack for 4pm - it's usually carrots or cherry tomatoes with hummus, but I'll eat natural jerky, cheese with wasa/akmak or cherry tomatoes, or nuts with or without dried fruit.

If I didn't have it, I may get too hungry when I'm finishing work, picking up my daughter, running errands, and making/packing lunches.

[LadyNASDAQ]

Those snacks you've mentioned are definitely something I could enjoy.
Another day has passed. I have finished 3 days and on day 4. I'm now down a total of 6 pounds averaging again 2 lbs. water weight loss each day. I know these first 10 lbs. are going to happen pretty soon.
My hysterical moment was that awful weigh in and eye opening moment where I needed a Plan now but I had to rethink about what I could try, make an effort to stick to it and plan the day. Day 1 which should have been extremely difficult turned out to be easy. It's all about appetite and suppressing that drive that morbidly obese suffer. It's that anxious feeling of feeling full. It's unexplainable. One thing that most morbidly obese people don't do is learn how to snack and to eat in between meals and I am waving pointing to myself. That's in my opinion key to weight loss and keeping excess hunger down a few notches so I agree with a plan for a snack and what you've mentioned definitely is healthy and very smart to do.

[4star]

Sounds like you are making great strides! Good for you!

It really is tricky sometimes, managing your food intake and still feel like you're getting enough to eat but it's totally doable once you discover the little tweaks that get you through the rough spots.

[Munchy]

You're right on with the plan. I think that all of the years I struggled with eating as a young adult, I always failed because I wasn't thinking of either nutrition or giving myself a clear guideline. It was always "eat less" and I ended up doing it for years and really giving myself some mental anguish. Nobody should live on broth and coffee!

Now that I have a guideline - a specific number of calories a day and the idea that 80% of my food should be comprised of whole foods and 50% of my meals should be vegetables - I never have a problem.

As soon as I went further in planning out my three meals and three snacks in the correct caloric range for me, it was SIMPLE. I can't believe I made it so hard. I eat so much more than I ever did, my food is delicious, and I'm doing good things for my body.

Since I make my own freezer meals, it's even easier to just pull out a meal (they're all pretty much in the same range of calories) according to what I'm in the mood for.

If I knew all of this before, I would have been so much better off in my teens and early twenties.