Starting from the bottom
 

I hope this is it. I weigh 307 pounds I never thought I would see 300, but who does. This is not me. I lost 70 pnds on ideal protein a year and a half ago and have gained back 90. I start and fail a new diet every day. I thought maybe sharing and hearing other peoples story will help. Right now my only goal is to make it one week. That would be huge. This is so hard, I am so mad at myself for gaining it back. I feel weak. I am wasting an amazing life stuck behind all this fat. Today is the first step. A friend once told me being fat is hard, loosing weight is hard, pick your hard. I am choosing a new hard. One day then two then a week.

Analyse what goes on when you fail.
And how are you planning to succeed this time?

I feel your pain. I have been in a constant lose 10, gain 15, lose 15, gain 10 cycle for years now....yesterday was the first time I weighed in under 250 lbs (scale was 249!) in over 3 years.

You can do it. Take it one day at a time. Come here to vent/scream/gloat/get support - what ever you need.

You may find it really helpful to journal also - not just what you eat but your moods/feelings/worries that are on your mind that day. One day, being able to look back and see how far you have come will make you feel wonderful.

Welcome. You can do this. As hard as it seems, you can do this!

Thanks everyone:) today has been great so far on track for day one. I struggle with night time snacking but I've pulled out a crochet project to keep my hands busy.

Well i've certainly been guilty of night time snacking in the past. Actually more like night time binging. But that's history now. And this is what i do these days.

I have dinner early and try to go to bed early. (traditionally i was a night owl and sleep too much in the day. It took me a long time to break that habit but i seem to have done it. I don't always get to bed as early as i'd like but i try.

I have a good dinner so that i'm not hungry afterwards. The good dinner is full of slow release carbs and vegetables and protein if possible, not processed foods.

Drink. you probably need to drink more water. A lot of people eat when they are actually needing hydration.

If i was genuinely hungry, i'd have fruit or fruit and natural yoghurt. About 1/2 cup of each if the fruit is stewed. But i try to have it closer to my dinner. If i was even more hungry (which happens less often now), i'd have a piece of toast with vegemite a yeast extract spread.

I drink coffee with milk. It gives me a few calories. and doesn't seem to affect my sleep very much. But alternatively you could have tea or just hot water with 1/4 cup of milk. I've done that for periods of time.

At the beginning i was committed to three meals and only fruit between meals. If meals are substantial and full of good nutrients you shouldn't need more. If you snack from boredom, then a change of activity can help, as well as going to bed with a book. And drinking water.

And finally don't keep snack foods in the house.

Thx that's all really great advice. Losing 70 pounds before I know what it takes my biggest stumbling block has been getting over gaining it back and starting again. I know I can because I have. It needs to be a lifestyle change this time not a diet. It sounds like a lot of your changes follow more of a lifestyle change. It's exciting to hear it works. I think that's one of the biggest disappointments I know exactly what I need to do I just don't do it. I feel stupid knowing what to do and not doing it. But that was my truth yesterday. I did it today, I am doing what it takes. I'm excited about tomorrow. I guess I need to figure out what motivated the poor choices to help ensure I no longer make them.

I know why I failed all those times before. I lost weight, thought I could then eat "normally", and proceeded to eat myself into the blindness that leads to a rebound gain. I realize now that I have to always eat like I am right now, and I have major issues with highly refined carbohydrate foods with flour (bread, pasta). I stopped eating them, and 3 weeks later, I don't have uncontrollable hunger, and I have had no binges, even though I have had some stressful moments (finals). I think if I manage to lose the weight this time, I will be better prepared to deal with maintenance. I also stopped coming here to this site, and that was a huge mistake. I ate without regard to how much food I was actually consuming, and just kept eating until I was beyond full.

I know it sounds crazy, but I think you almost have to be prepared for the idea of maintenance BEFORE you begin the weight loss. The maintenance is the part that is hard, because it doesn't go away. At that point, you aren't on a diet anymore, you're just living. That's the scary part I was never really ready for.

So this time I made sure that what I am doing is not only going to confer weight loss, but that it's DOABLE. Forever. And I think it is. I plan my meals based around what they have in them, nutrients-wise. I only eat carbs in the form of steel cut oats, quinoa, brown rice, couscous, potatoes (mostly sweet), legumes, some fruit, and dairy. I don't add sugar to anything, I don't drink juices. I eat things as close to how they came as possible, with minimal grinding, milling, refining, reintroducing nutrients, etcetera. I figure I have teeth and digestive enzymes for a reason. I might as well use them. I feel better about how I am eating, but just to be sure I am on point, I weigh and measure and track my foods to be sure. I am not hungry all the time like I used to be, and I have more energy. I also only eat the grains and high carb foods for the first two meals, and my last meal is mostly protein and veggies. I also changed my idea about my fat ratios. I am trying to get more omega 3 to omega 6 than I was before, so I use less traditional vegetable oils now, and I eat more fish, nuts, and flax and chia. I really like coconut oil, and I have always used olive oil.

The point of this really long post is that I have really tried to find what will work for me long term. I have a lifetime of unhealthy relationships with food, some psychological, some things that I believe are biological, but I think that I have found what will work for me. Find what works for you. You can do it, but you have to do it.... always. Are you ready?

Thanks Brandi's!! You are so right and I do feel like I am ready for a life change not just a diet. I have so many reasons to do it!! I do feel ready this time. I remember how good it felt and how much energy I had. I feel like if I can make it through this sluggish craving stage I can do it.

Welcome Stacy--you're definitely not alone. So many have taken off a lot of pounds only to see them come back. We're learning that diets really don't work--it's takes a complete lifestyle change to keep the pounds off.

I let 25 pounds sneak up on me--just by my refusal to not get on a scale for years. I was sooo bad that when I went to the doctor's office and the nurse would weigh me--I would tell the nurse not to tell me how much I weighed. But my doctor made certain I knew it. Finally she got through to me--and that was my wake-up call.

I have lost all but 4 pounds of it--and it's been tough. You'll get hungry--there is no such thing as not getting hungry when you're losing weight. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel--where your hungry pangs will subside--and you can actually feel your thighs--stomach and buttocks shrinking, and that is your motivation to keep going.

Here is a great site for you to start. It determines your BMI--and makes other suggestions on how to proceed with your new life-style change. You can set your goal weight at this site and it will tell you how many calories you will need and or cut daily to get to your goal weight. They recommend losing 1 to 2 pounds per week.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus

Also if you have a smart phone or other internet connected device you can upload myfitnesspal for free. It is a great--easy app to help you keep track of the calories you're eating during the day--and it works. If you can invest in a Fitbit-or other device-to keep track of your activity during the day--such as how many steps you take in a day, it will sync with the myfitnesspal so you can get an accurate count of everything you're doing. Calories consumed versus calories burned during the day. And really that's all weight loss is about.

On this board you will have a lot of support--and tons of information to help you through this journey.

Welcome and good luck to you.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WDpfGJEzn4...ss+Sayings.jpg

I agree with Brandis about the value of thinking about maintenance early on. When you start to think about maintenance, you realise that your diet should be about changing dietary habits to good ones that you can follow for the rest of your life.

We've got to learn to love and eat primarily basic healthy foods. If you can do that, healthy portion sizes tend to follow. I must admit that i do control my portion sizes but i also don't get up from the dinner table still hungry. That would be stupid.

I also eat whenever i get hungry. Because of that i try to eat enough at one meal to get me to the next one. And if i find it doesn't get me there i eat something, like a piece of fruit. Or even something more substantial if i judge it necessary. I found it trickier in the early stages of my diet than now - i am bordering on the top of my healthy weight range at the moment.

Allowing yourself to be hungry for any length of time will trigger a binge sooner or later. Saying that, its worthwhile learning to recognise if our appetite is from boredom rather than actual physiological hunger. When i get boredom hunger, i tend to try to change my activities.

I know now that i am never going to be able to relax around stuff like chocolate and cakes and ice-cream. And that gives me confidence and adds to my commitment.

if i was struggling to get started on a diet, i'd just eat healthy at maintenance or wait until the mood took me to make a firm effective decision to start.

Thx Kscott, I really do feel differently this time. I know it's not a quick bandaid then back to bad habits that got me here. I really am finding all the stories and being able to relate to other people in the same situation inspiring. My plan is to do ideal protein for three months then switch to a paleo diet long term. I defiantly have refined sugar and carb addiction. So I'm doing the ideal protein to detox. Thx for all the advise and support.

Me too, bread--I love it--and I ate too much of it, along with sugary items. I don't eliminate anything from my diet anymore, I just eat a lot less of it.

So for bread it's fairly easy to eat one slice instead of two--cake for me today is a sliver--and again what really is a huge help to me is myfitnesspal. I can eat breakfast and tell how many calories I have left that I can eat for the day. And just being aware of that, for the day, is a huge help to me.

I lost about 18 pounds within a 6 month period, then it started to slow, then I was stuck on 6 pounds for months, until I uploaded myfitness pal--and I've lost another 2 pounds just because of being aware of what and how much I am eating.

If I am just starving--I will eat a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter to get me to the next lunch--dinner whatever. I have been doing it for some time now, and I rarely get hungry anymore. I think my stomach shrank along with the rest of me.

Day 4 still on track!! Thx everyone for the support:)

Awesome job!!!!