I was just ready. I tried several times since my fourth son was born (two years ago), but couldn't stay on plan (any plan).

So, I'm holding my breath b/c I am aware of how quickly I can get out of control. But I have been counting cals for almost a month, made it through one menstrual cycle w/o blowing it.

I was just ready. Really, emotionally and physically ready to make changes.

I say this while crossing my fingers b/c I don't want to jinx myself.

I was never good at cold turkey. I liked hot tea with sugar and milk, and regular cokes...knew I wasn't ready to give those up, and wasn't sure what type of "healthy" or lower cal food I might like. So, for me, I just started with portion control, and didn't do anything about the tea and coke habits. I did get the "binge" food out, like candy, ice cream, stuff like that, just stopped buying it for a while.

Gradually, maybe a few weeks later??? I started replacing the high sodium/high calorie junk like burgers/pizza with better choices, like chicken breast or fish, skip the cheese, and found some other foods I liked that were lower cal, like baby spinach and other salad ingredients. I don't like FF anything (so far), so I still use regular salad dressing and such, but just learned to use a lot less of it.

Just replacing food like that brought my calories down quite a bit, and then I started counting calories, I started exercising like I meant it, and the weight started coming off.

Now, I can have reese cups or whatever in the house, and I'm not tempted. I actually can't even drink regular coke now, I guess because cutting back on other sweets made the coke start tasting like straight syrup to me, so I gave up cokes without even meaning to. (trust me, I fought it, and bought about six cokes thinking the fountain machines were bad, lol) Now, I still have my tea with sugar and milk, but have to put less sugar, or that tastes bad, also. I also drink water where I would previously have had a coke, like at skating or the movies.

You'll find your way. I would just say, take an honest look. If you're really not ready to give something up, then maybe gradual is the way to go. If you think you'd be better with a clean break, then do that. We each just have to find our own way, but if one way doesnt work for you, don't be afraid to try something else. Best of luck to you!

bel
First, when the doc told me the meads were just about out of my system and I could TRY ( she wasn't very encouraging ) to lose weight I decided I wanted to lower my fat intake and portion sizes. I ate lean cuisines and fruits, veggies and dairy. I did this for a couple of months I think. Little by little I got rid of the pop I was drinking and switched to bottled tea. Then I split the bottles of tea and added my own unsweetened decaf tea. After awhile I got to where I was only drinking straight decaf tea. This took time to get off all the caffeine without having headaches, Rome wasn't built in a day lol. Then I figured 1200 to 1400 calories was good for me ( later asking the doc and a dietitian/nutritionist about this and they felt those were great numbers for me ). I was going to try Alli but they wanted me at 1600 to 1800 calories and I never never never could take that much in every single day lol. I looked at the back of packages and figured out from the 2000 calories diets that all amounts are set on what where the amounts of carbs and fats for 1200 to 1400 calories. Now I have between 1200 and 1400 calories, 180 to 210 carbs and 30 to 35 fat. I think it was well worth the time, money and afford to go and see the dietitian/nutritionist to be sure the amounts I am taking in are good for me. I now eat the required amounts of the four basic food groups and if I have left over carbs, fat and calories those are for my yummys and snacks. For me a snack = no nutritional value like mountain dew which I have at least once a week This wasn't hard for me. I had never been over weight before all the mead gains and I was more than ready to get back to healthy eating and getting the weight off. I also added exercise little by little. Starting out with a 1 mile walking/aerobic video which I had to pause a few times to be able to finish ( low lung capacity ). To now doing 5 mile walking/aerobic videos. Not only losing weight but eating healthy and exercising has done much more for me than just taking off weight. It has helped me increase my lung capacity. I use fit day to log everything I eat and I plan my meals the night before. For me, planning is another thing that really keeps me on track.

I hadn't been happy with my weight in years. It held me back from some activities that I enjoy and I found myself not able to do everything I wanted with my kids. Over the last year, I've been doing a lot of things to improve our lives and had already been trying to eat more veggies. Finally, at the end of January, I decided I needed to tackle this thing straight on. Just tracking my daily calories was eye-opening! Day 9 of my diet was the last time I went over my calorie goal. In fact, I'm averaging 250-300 under it! This time is going to be my last time to diet. From now on, I'm going to eat properly and weigh myself frequently. I'll set some sort of warning line - maybe five pounds above my goal. If I hit that warning line, I'll do something about it before that five pounds becomes fifty - again!

Like so many others on here I have started and stopped so many times. Each time I have made changes that I have built on over the years. For example, I sitched to low-fat dairy when I was a teenager. Five years ago I switched to whole wheat bread/pasta/brown rice and I started trying to include more fresh or frozen veggies into my diet.

This time, I just decided I had lived my life being heavy long enough and I wanted to try living the rest of my life thin and healthy. So I just decided after Jan. 1 that I was going to count calories and start losing it permanently.

What did I give up after Jan. 1? Sodas. I wasn't a big soda drinker in general, but I gave them up completely. I also gave up my regular visits to fast food drive thrus and I cook more at home. For me, making drastic changes at one time never worked, but gradual changes have taken hold.

Now exercise is a different story for me. After 3.5 months of counting calories and almost a 30 lb weightloss, I know its time to start moving, but I always have trouble starting an exercise program. I have no problems being accountable to myself for what I eat, but for some reason I do have that problem with exercise. So I'm going to take the same approach. I'm going to start small and gradual and build up to regular daily exercise.

I cold turkeyed it! But I have stopped calorie counting on weekends and I just eat what I want, but healthy. I usually go out to eat on weekend a lot and do family activities where it would be impossible to count calories. As long as I stay on plan all week this seems to be working. And if I have a bad craving I usually give into it on the weekend. Keeps me sane. I have lost 19lbs in just under 3 months so I think it's working.

cold as cold turkey gets. I jumped in both feet.

I was heavy my entire life, I had a physical with my doctor and she told me basically that I was eating myself to an early death. I was 17...kinda shocking. So, I kinda struggled with that thought for a couple of weeks and then decided one day that I needed to change. Started eating 1500 calories a day and haven't looked back since, I don't ever want to be who I was again.

The breaking point for me was when I "outgrew" the largest pant size in my closet and I decided that I was NOT going to buy anything bigger!! My butt was as big as an elephant and I was woefully out of shape -- criminal, considering that I had run a marathon just 3 years earlier!! I had allowed my job and life busy-ness to get in the way of regular exercise and proper diet. I was living squarely in the land of Denial, until literally nothing fit any more. I got on the long-ignored scale and realized to my horror that I weighed more than I ever had in my life, including when I was 9 months pregnant! That was the Moment of Truth. I simply couldn't hide from myself any longer.

I started out by re-establishing a regular exercise program, taking my lunch (salad) every day to work, and changing my diet to emphasize vegetables and lean meats over carbs. Over time, I increased the exercise duration and intensity and was able to begin running again. I had my occasional splurges, but generally kept on a high vegetable / higher lean protein / moderate to low carb diet plan. I wasn't on any specific "plan". It took me a year to reach goal -- 40 pounds lost.

I didn't "count calories" until just recently when I hit maintenance and wanted to get a better handle on what I can eat now to stay where I'm at.