This is day one and although I know I need to do something I am not quite sure what! I am hearing about the South Beach Diet, there is Atkins, the Zone, Sommerzize and more and more! I've tried WW and Slim Fast...they worked but I totally messed up maintenance. Am at my highest ever and not feeling very good about myself. Hate to get dressed....everything is so tight and looks bad. Don't want to shop for anything new because I keep tellling myself I will loose the weight first. Well, I haven't lost the weight and my wardrobe has shrunk....in every way!
I need to commit to a plan...starting today. Help!

are you familiar with reading nutrition labels? or was that why you did WW and slim fast, so you could just go by the point system? and what is your exercise routine? i'm losing weight on my plan, i could give you some tips..... anyone here could
but you need to give a little more information about your dieting problems/goals.

Hey Elasky, Thanks for the reply. Yes I've done the label thing and yes its a big help....and very sobering I might add! I even read the labels on the samples at Sam's Club as I gobble them down! I think what I am really considering right now is a diet that combines the best of all the ones's I've tried or read about. I am thinking of cutting out carbs for two weeks to give my weight loss a kick start and them maybe following the principles of WW using Slim Fast Shakes and Snacks as meal replacement. I am currently at 165 and would like to get down to 130. I used to freak when I got to 150...and now I am 165 and it scares me....I've been out of control for several months. What plan are you using.....and YES, any tips would be great!

i tried atkins and that jump started my weight loss, but i felt i was missing out on a lot of good nutritious foods. so i started doing pretty much the same thing, using diet and nutrition advice/ strategy from a few different diets. I will have to say, the best diet plan i've read so far is the Curves diet plan. if you go to a Curves near you, they should have the book there, it's paper back, $8 or so, very short read-- it makes total sense, it aligns with every thing i learned in nursing school about physiology, it makes me wonder why it took so long for people to figure this stuff out! check it out.
i eat a high fiber, low(er) fat diet and limit simple carbs and sugar. i work out at least 4 times per week, 30-40minutes of cardio, and add 30 minutes of weight training atleast 2 times per week. i've been good this week, even though i only went to the gym 3 times, and i still lost a couple pounds this week. the most important thing i've done is started reading the lables before i buy anything packaged, if it has too much sugar (over 10gm per serving), ANY partially hydrogenated oils, or too many wierd things i can't pronounce, i just put it right back on the shelf.

arrrgggg....just the thing I've been trying to avoid.......exercise! I know it's so important and I will admit its my weak link. There was a time that I met with a friend and walked an hour every morning but those days are past. I have been discouraged with exercise because I haven't seen weight loss from it. I will check out the book at Curves. Another book that I would recommend is "thin tastes better" by Stephen Guillo. Practical, realistic, inspiring, and doable! Its the doable that I have the hard time with!
How much have you lost thus far? You seem to be on the same wave length as I am as far as combining the best of all worlds.....just wondering how successful its been. Thanks for the guidelines on what to look out for on the lables...going to cupboard to check out whats on the stuff I have here now.

HEY go4it I love that bassett in your pic!! we are looking to rescue one-- I think they are just adorable.

anyway I was were you were and worse..

I thin you need to make small goals for yourself and try to reach them- 5 or 10lbs at a time.

It will make it easier then a big lump sum of weight loss.

South BEach has helped me cut out carbs- Atkins does also but the foods are high fat and I just couldn't eat like that.

you need to have some willpower and learn to ignore temptation and that is a hard lesson to learn.

so set a short goal and a llow number of lost lbs and try to met it-- looking at 5 lbs in 3 or 4 weeks is alot better then trying to reach 25 lbs in 8 weeks.

Good advice April. 36 lbs is an overwhemlming thought to me right now but 10 pounds for 4 weeks does seem much more achievable. How long have you been on South Beach and what have your results been? Do you know if there is anywhere to get the guidelines for it without buying the book?

I agree with april23 about setting small goals. i started at 200lbs after having my last child 20mo ago. i'm now 178lb and my short term goal is to loose another 5lbs within the next month so i can fit back into some of my old clothes, (the ones that were a little baggier). i want to be 165lbs by June and back down to 160lbs, my prepregnancy weight, by the end of summer. i noticed a lot of the other ladies who use this site have chopped up their goals like this, i think it makes the whole thing a little more approachable.
if you don't like exercise you might enjoy Curves. people i know who have a hard time with exercise seem to enjoy it and be able to stick with it, and it incorporates weight training which is important, the more lean muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be, so when you walk, you'll burn more. i like exercising and i'm pretty experienced with it. i did Curves for a while cause it was cheaper than a regular gym but after a while i realized it wasn't challenging enough for me and i was getting bored with it. but my step mom and mother in law have been doing it for a while and love it. only 30minutes 3-4 times per week!

You're right.....Curves might work for me. I just hauled my exercise trampoline out was thinking about spending 30 minutes on it, but I checked to see how many calories that would burn and became discouraged. I will call tomorrow and get prices of a membership....thanks!

I am no expert on SB others here are. I am on phase 2 since Friday but I have been on a diet since 3 yrs ago.

I was 185 a yr after having my second baby I lost nothing I gained in that year-- I was 182 9 months pregnant and 185 a yr later I just had enough I was uncomfortable I didn't want to wear jeans I was so unhappy that is when I started Sugar Busters I made small goals and achieved them then maintained that weight for the rest of the year.
the next year I did WW again small goal and maintained. this year I started at 144.5 I am 138.5 after alittle over 2 weeks I am trying to get to 125 but I will be happy between 130-and 125 then it is maintaining this weight for the rest of my life.

I am also not a big exercise freak but I do try to walk on my treadmil everyday- I am thinking about joing curves also.

I have and will always be fighting weight- always be fighting foods-- it is in my genes fat- my fat is in my stomach- carbs are my enemy .

So the best advice I can give is to let you know it is a struggle it will not come off that quick but setting small goals make them attendable and boy when you reach themit feels so great--

just remember be kind to yourself- make choices that are good for you know matter what others say - try to get motivated and focus on all you can eat and not what you can't eat.
all the support in the world won't make the weight come off you need to supoort yourself do it 1 lb at a time for every lb you lose congrat. yourself.

good luck you can do it!!!

Hey April...thanks for all the encouragement last week! I took it to heart and this morning the scales provided their reward. Down 5 pounds in a week and I am thrilled with that. How are you doing?

not good at all!! LOL not that I am cheating-- just the weight won't come off no matter what I d eat how much water I drink or how much walking I doLOL

my body just doesn't want to get rid of this extra fat!!!

grrrrr....those plateaus can be so frustrating! I think it's just our bodies way of testing us to see how serious we really are about this. Don't let the lull discourage you, stick with it and tell your fat reserves that you have no intention to giving in! I KNOW if you persevere one day all of a sudden the scales will start to move again.
When I hit a plateau I tend to cut back more than I should thinking I need to eat less to get things moving, and yet everything I've read has said that it's just as bad to not eat enough as it is to eat too much. Yesterday I only had 600 calories and was expecting to see a drop this morning.....no go. I think my body is alarmed and hanging on to the reserves thinking starvation is in the plan. In spite of my over- enthusiam to cut back I think sometimes it can do more harm than good. For me I need to eat a minimum of 12-1500 calories a day to give my body the fuel it needs to burn the fat away. I guess my point is stick with the program....plateaus happen....plateaus pass, you WILL loose the weight!!! You can do it!!! I'm rooting for you!