Giving it a try
 

Looking for support and ideas. I have tried cutting back portions, gave up sodas, sporadic exercise, eating healthier, walking or riding my bike in the evening, etc. Everything I do seems to bring me UP a pound here and there. Very discouraging and had a momentary brain lapse and considered laxatives or purging to help. Obviously not the best idea :(

I have three kids at home and "my time" is scarce. I am very self conscious about working out so waiting for the kids to go to bed usually means I'm falling asleep. Insomnia means waking up early is highly unlikely. Sleeping pills are a non option as one child has health issues so being even slightly out of it is not going to be ok.

Thanks and good luck!

:welcome2: Saltwater
I'm sorry that you're having a tough time of it. It wasn't long ago when I was experiencing a bit of despair about lack of progress myself. I'm glad that you recognize that extreme "solutions" such as laxatives aren't the way to go.
This is a very supportive forum, and you'll find that there are several people out there who are dealing with major stumbling blocks as they attempt to lose weight. You aren't alone!
I have two recommendations: 1) consider posting a thread in the "weight loss support" subforum - it'll get more views and you can get better advice from more members and 2) I swear by this very good common sense book by Tom Venuto called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. You can get a used copy very inexpensively on half.com. He explains all the nitty gritty about calorie expenditure and calculating how much you'll need per day in order to lose.

I hope that helps!

Thanks TrixieCat!