Hello, my name is Amanda. I am 5'3 and weigh 270 pounds. I want to lose 100 pounds but I don't know where to begin. I know I need to eat clean, but I work 3:30 to midnight. I need opinions on how I should diet and possibly what to eat. Should I snack? I just need advice. How should I exercise?

Sincerely, a girl who needs support and help.

Thanks.

Hi and from another Amanda!

What kind of job do you have? Like are you busy constantly the whole time or do you have a lot of downtime? Do you have access to fridge/microwave/stovetop or oven?

I'd start out slowly- maybe count calories (they have a lot of free apps on the phone for easy tracking)? That way you can have a lot of options on what you can have and cannot have. You don't have to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner and/or snacks. Make your own rules! If you do snack, I'd try to make it whole foods like veggies, fruit, yogurt and/or cheese.

Without knowing your age, I'd put you down for around 1800-2000 calories per day and that is without exercise! As for how you should exercise, if you're a total newbie, start out slowly! Walking is a great start! Lots of free walk-at-home videos online.

Well, that's all I can suggest for now with the info you've provided.

I lost a lot of my weight and am now maintaining by generally not eating before noon. Every day it's a little bit of a challenge for me as I wake up at 7, and of course sometimes I do eat early if it's a special occasion, but this strategy allows me to eat more calories for lunch, dinner, and snacks and helps me feel more satisfied later in the day.

You can find research to support any hypothesis you want, but the true answer is to figure out what works for YOU by trial and error and then sticking to it. If a strategy stops working, change it up