[ReadySetLose]

Where to start, I guess that's my question. I eat nothing but junk. The veggies I like are very limited( corn potatoes tomatoes green beans lima beans). I do however live fruit. I'm addicted to chocolate, milk and soda. I don't eat fish or other seafood for that matter. No diet I've found seems even close to something I thing I can stick with ling term. Does any onstage anny suggestions?

[DezziePS]

Have you thought about calorie counting? You can eat whatever you want as long as it fits into your calories for the day. It seems that most people on here have success with between 1200-1800 calories a day- 1200 is pretty low, 1800 might be a good place to start if you have never really dieted before. Track all your calories for a couple of days without changing how you eat, just so you can see what you're putting in your body. If you bite it, write it! There are lots of websites that will help you do this if you google "calorie tracker."

One thing that tends to help is volume-based eating. That is, eating foods that are lower in calories for more volume of food. Clear soups, for example, fill you up faster with less calories. You can eat A LOT of veggie soup for the number of calories in a candy bar. You say you don't like most veggies, but maybe try playing with different ways to cook them? Grilled zucchini is WONDERFUL! Speaking of, for me, getting a stupid little George Foreman grill changed my life. Those things are amazing and will help you make super fast, delicious, low-calorie meals. Coat a chicken breast in low-cal Italian dressing, slap it on the grill for a few minutes, pair with a bunch of green beans and a piece of fruit, and you've got a really healthy dinner! Or grill some ham slices and serve over lima beans with a bunch of grilled onions and a leafy salad on the side! Yum!

I love soda, too, but drinking calories is a big no-no for me. It doesn't fill you up at all. I try to drink only water or iced tea now, but every once in a while I drink diet soda , or flavored sparkling water. It takes a while to adjust, but it's worth it!

Seriously, though- the first step is tracking calories! Think of your daily calorie allowance as a budget- If you have 1800 calories to "spend" for the whole day and that's it, is it worth spending 200 on a soda? Maybe some days it is, maybe some days you'd rather have three eggwhites with salsa, a piece of double fiber toast, a cup of strawberries, and a slice of bacon?

[theox]

Calorie counting helps a lot of people. If you think you might benefit from a bit more structure and you have a little bit of time and money to invest, you might want to consider a formal program that still allows some flexibility, like Weight Watchers (just an example).

There is a lot of information about weight loss and nutrition out there (not all of it good), but folks on here can probably direct you to some good sources if you want to learn more about good diet choices.

I think that the easiest thing to do, especially if you're not on a prescribed plan, might be to start small. Start practicing a few new habits - cutting back to one soda a day, having a veggie or salad once a day, eating in more often, whatever. When you get pretty good at those (you don't have to be perfect), incorporate more new habits. You don't have to do everything at once, and I think that more good habits you add, the easier things will get over time. You might not lose a lot of weight at first, but you'll be feeding yourself better and the changes will show up over time.

Good luck!