need imaginary friends to help with weight loss.
 

That's what my husband calls my internet friends. Imaginary. But then again he belongs to a comic book forum so he has his own imaginary friends as well. But yeah...I need to lose weight. I suck at dieting. I pretty much hate it. But I am more than 100 pound over weight, and this is hard.

Thinking about joining weight watchers... but I haven't decided. In the last week I've cut out candy and sugary foods. Made a big difference in my energy level, but not enough of a difference to make going out for jog sound appealing. Today, I logged my food on mynetdiary.com and I'm over my allotted calories and still hungry. Boo Hiss. Anyway, that's me.

Welcome. I am glad you're watching your calories, I use myfitnesspal to do that. Unfortunately, if you're accustomed to eating 3000 plus calories a day and cut back to less than half of that, you're going to get hungry. That's why so many fail. It's an uncomfortable feeling and something that overweight people rarely experience.

There is no magic pill, that will alleviate it. The good news is once your brain gets used to its new calorie consumption long with a stomach that shrinks those hunger pangs will subside. But at first it's sheer determination that gets you thru it.

Being 100 pounds overweight you will lose weight quickly at first and then it will slow down. The weird diets of certain elimination of food contribute to yo yo dieting. The all liquid, the no carb diets result in rapid weight loss, but when you eventually eat a piece of bread, you'll gain back all the weight plus an extra 20 or so. It's simple, calories consumed during the day versus calories burned. A calorie is a calorie regardless if it is a carrot or cookie.

Long term weight loss success and fitness is a lifestyle change not a diet. It's a lifetime committment leading to a healthier happier you.

I don't eliminate food from my lifestyle. Two pieces of bread turned into one, a piece of cake turns into a sliver. Thereby I avoid cravings for certain foods.

If you can invest in a Fitbit or Jawbone up they should be able to sync with your calorie app, giving you the amount of steps you take in a day, and a lot more information on your calories burned, etc.

Good luck to you on this new journey, you'll find all the information and support to help you get to your goal weight right here.

Welcome! I second everything Kscott said. Only, I find for my own weight loss journey, I did in fact have to cut out sugar almost entirely. Or as much as possible. Simply because it was a trigger food for me. And the surprising result was that "non sugary" foods started to taste sweeter. Hm! But you will find what works for you of course :) Everyone is different.

The only thing I would like to contribute is to try to make counting calories and weight loss FUN for yourself!
Everyone has this really skewed outlook that weight-loss and dieting is going to suck. Booooo. Hisssssss. It's something that seems to be ingrained in our thinking without even realizing it. We just accept this world-wide aversion to it because its what everyone else is saying. Free your thinking!

It doesn't have to suck! Look for forward to all your progress. And find a way to make it FUN! Exercise is not a necessary part of making this fun either.

No one ever wants to do anything that isn't fun. For me, just researching the nutritional content of things and trying to hit all the marks but still keeping at a certain calorie level became somewhat of a daily game. And I like recording and making lists which might be a lame hobby but hey it works!

Weight loss and getting to a healthier lifestyle is a puzzle and a brain-teaser. Try enjoying it!

Hi Seana

Sounds to me like you've made a good start. I don't think you need to join weight watchers.
Just cutting out the sweet stuff will take you far. It what i have done. Though of course you have to eat less to lose weight but its easier to do with you cut out the sweet stuff.

I wouldn't worry about the running right now if you don't feel like it. That can come later. you can lose weight easily without doing any exercise. I am not against exercise just think its not necessary for a while.

It was about four months before i started my running program. I was supposed to go today but missed it because of rain. I only go twice a week. I'm following an easy running program.

Anyway back to the food. Just log your food, try to eat healthy foods especially vegetables and fruit. Keep your protein up. Healthy fats are good. Moderate your carbs.

Even you just food log everything religiously you don't even really need to count calories because this will show you where you can make cut backs.

I also recommend trying to eat only or mainly at mealtimes. Try to avoid snacks unless you are genuinely hungry.

Resist boredom eating and emotional eating. And if there is tempting food around you, try to take yourself away from it. I found it a little difficult at first being near sweets but now i don't even really notice them.

My rule is that i can eat sweets when someone outside the home offers them to me, or if i am at a restaurant with others (so neither of these situations happens to me that often so i don't eat sweets often. Actually i have rejected them on a number of occasions but that was mostly important at the beginning). I am off casually sweet eating for life since i can't do moderation.

I did count calories a little in the beginning but not every day. Just to get a sense of what was the right amount for me. I didn't reduce too much but i weighed daily and wasn't upset by fluctuations in my weight due to to water gain. Its worthwhile logging your daily weight too.

Good luck.

Haha - your husband sounds hilarious :)

Welcome! If you want ideas on how to cut calories without being hungry, sometimes it's all about the composition of the meals you eat. We have a volumetric thread with plenty of ideas and recipes. Come check it out!

Volumetric Followers

Welcome, Seana! Everything written here is great advice. And I would love to be one of your "imaginary friends." LOL

Pattience, your eating plan describes mine almost exactly. A few years ago I easily lost weight eating like that (kind of like loose South Beach phase 2), but it only "clicked" once I got rid of sugar. And then I got lazy, picked the sugar back up, and also found the weight I'd lost. So here we go again, older and wiser.

I think everyone has their triggers. The key is to find yours and eliminate it. Success will be a lot easier after that.

Thanks everyone. Alright, so I need to work on pushing through the hunger. I did not succeed yesterday. But I'm doing okay for now. I had a fitbit, and then I washed it. Twice. Then I got a new one, and it did an update and stopped working. I'll probably get a new one soon. I am about to start summer vacation, and I tend to be less active during the summer. I don't like the heat so I don't like to be outside. I live in the dessert. It gets hot. But I will work on my activity level over the summer while working on my eating.
Munchy, I have never heard of volumetrics. I'll have to check it out.

Again, thanks for the support. Goodness knows I needed it.