We are glad you are here. For me I don't follow a program I just started eating healthier, staying away from soda, fast food and junk food. So far so good. Search around and you will find a lot of useful information here

This is what worked for me:

My plan was changing my lifestyle. Not diet. Diets are temporary, lifestyle is lifelong. Period. Get healthy, work out, do research. I personally never considered anything that you've tried because I find them to be incredibly restrictive or cut out food groups or something and they don't seem sustainable lifelong. I'm a foodie, I enjoy cooking and eating way too much for that.

Be knowledgeable. Be inquisitive. I'm learning so much about my food, my body, and my environment from this journey and I continue to everyday.

The first steps I took was more fresh produce (organic where possible), no trans fat, no processed food, and keep your body in motion. I find counting calories important. Cals in vs cals out. The weight loss equation. After a while it's not tedious. We're creatures of habit and eat much of the same things over and over.

I'm never actually hungry. It seems like I'm always eating but my cals range from 1200-1500 daily. I eat tons of veg. I eat HUGE salads all the time and they rarely exceed 80 cals. Quality of your food is super important as well.

If you're looking for something that will spell out everything for you, get a book. Winning by Losing is a good (just ignore the Splenda in the recipes...no good). Simply read, gives you a working knowledge of the things you need to be aware of.

My main problem was detoxing all the crap out of my system. When you stop introducing foreign things, you're body reacts weird at first. I was hungry, I was lethargic, I was a tad cranky (well, that's normal for me, lol) But once that passed, I was fine. I don't even need to amount of food I used to believe I needed.

I hope amidst my rambling you found something helpful

Hi and welcome to 3FC.

I am a calorie counter. It is simple and FREE . You can find out more on calorie counting and other eating plans at our Diet Central here - http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/#diet-central

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Welcome and good luck!

Dhani

Hello and Welcome! I have learned that diets does not work. Been on a few in the past and even counting calories..Am just making wise, healthy choices, eat when am hungry, making healthy snacks...plus exercise. I wish you good luck with your efforts and you can do it!!

Thanks everyone for their help!
JMFan- I am a huge Jillian Michael's fan, too! ( I am assuming that is what JM stands for I just finished watching Losing it with Jillian (I had recorded it and just got around to it). I actually have the book you were referring to. I have not tried the program, though. I took the quiz in the book, and it said what I was afraid of- I need to cut back on carbs. See, I do lose weight when I do that. However, I just find it incredibly hard not to eat a lot of carbs. I love them! I actually start feeling sad thinking about not eating them... I know that sounds strange. Well, I think I might look into it more, though. I am afraid of failing once again. I really want to do this and succeed, but I am not sure how. I know how to eat healthy, but I guess part of me resists it because I love food. I hate feeling hungry or having cravings. I guess it is just something I will have to deal with, huh?

blonie- Yay another Jillian fan!!

It's hard. Trust me, I know. I love food too. Loved, loved, LOVED carbs! Pasta and breads all day, everyday. I took it slow. Swapped out the enriched white pasta for whole grain blah blah. Quality of your carbs are very important. If you can't eat a ton of them, make them the best for your body. Then I set limits like not to eat more than one slice of toast or skip the dinner rolls and eat more veggies. Still carbs in the veggies but not nearly as much and not nearly as harmful. You could have a giant bowl of salad the size of a basketball (low carb, very healthy) or a roll (high carb, and depending on the type of bread its not so great)? Which would you choose? The one where you won't be crazy hungry and get to eat a ton, right?

Take it slow. Your mind and body WILL adjust. I will go through a time where you're RAVENOUS!! It will pass though. Changing your habits is a shock to the system. Your body will have it's "whoa! what the heck are you doing?" moment. It's just apart of it. Take your time. Learn from any slip ups and continue to move forward.

Here's a cliche for you:
Nothing worthwhile comes easy.

P.S. If you haven't listened to Jillian's old podcasts, I highly suggest that you do. They put tons of things in perspective for me. I'd gladly send you a link where they are.

Welcome! I also suggest taking it slowly, if you say love eating pasta replace it with whole grains and cut the portion in half, replace the other half with non-starch veggies, your still eating the same amount but your carbs are cut in half.

Also try to avoid pre-made foods with preservative and HFCS. Try more home cooked meals, etc. One goal at a time