Lookingforhope-

Everyone has hardships in their weight loss journey. That is just life, and our weight loss/diets/exercise is only part of that life. We all have things that happen that are unplanned or not always the best circumstances.

We all have problems with family, work, health, etc. and we just keep on keeping on.

I wasn't sure what you really meant by the last post, so I thought I would add this. None of us have perfect lives or situations.

Aphil

I think that if you read around the boards alot .... that calorie counters are a pretty diverse group.
Some eat anything they want but count it.
Some eat food especially made to be low calorie.
Some eat whole natural foods.
Some exercise
Some don't
Some eat 2000 calories
Some eat 1200 calories.

Because weight loss REALLY is all about eating less than you use ... all these scenarios work.

Does it work in a textbook, linear fashion for everyone? NOPE!
Does it work? YES!
One of the 'Ladies Who Lift' maintains a personal trainers body on 1400 cals per day. That's very active.
There are women on these boards who are literally shrinking away on 2200 cals with no exercise at all.

There are literal dozens of folks on this board who are willing to walk you through this step by step until you start losing. And then those same folks are willing to cheer you on as you keep going.

I'm going to finish my usual morning reading here and then go looking to see what you've been up to lately.

To help us out a little ... could you remind us about your living situation, computer access and job.

Lookingforhope, I feel real badly that you think we were insensitive to your situation, whatever that situation may be. We certainly would have no way of knowing. And like Aphil said, we all have situations/hardships of some sort. Yes, some have it harder then others. But nevertheless, weightloss is doable regardless of the obstacles that we each must face. I am sorry that your situation is apparently a difficult one, but like Susan said, we would be more then happy to help you in any way that we can.

IMHO we put on weight because we are consuming too many calories compared to the number of calories we are burning. This is a fact and does not change, despite having thyroid issues, or a slow metabolism, or a fast one, or responding better to proteins vs carbs, exercising, or not. All these factors just mean that say if you have a slow metabolism due to thyroid issues or low muscle tone, then you need fewer calories. The reality is the reality and it doesnt care if its not fare, or you're hungry, or what. Your body needs what it needs and stores the rest as fat. Regardless of our desires or our problems.

Calorie counting addresses that reality. We count how many calories we eat, and we deduct from that total the number of approximate calories our bodies need just to survive at rest, and then deduct a number to account for the calories burned doing our normal daily activities, and then deduct the calories you burned through exercise, if any. Whatever number you come out with is how many calories you EITHER burned or stored as fat (this is called the "calorie deficit" if you burned more calories than you consumed).

You need to burn 3500 total calories to lose one pound. So if your idea of generally eating less and not really exercising still creates a calorie deficit, then great. It may in the beginning or it may just help you maintain (at least your not gaining that extra 5 or 10 pounds per year that can creep up on some people). You may need to get more and more focused in order to add up your calorie deficit each week.

Best thing to do is to count all the calories consumed in a normal day, minus your resting metabolic rate (there are lots of calculators online) and calories burned through lifestyle activities, and see what's going on.

Its a bit of work at first, but it really gives you that REALITY CHECK that you might need to get the weight off.

Not sure what your hardships are but I really feel anyone with a computer, literacy skills, and approximately 15 spare minutes spread throughout the day, can count calories. Good luck!

We just don't know what hardships people are living in their everyday lives.

I had a friend that had a chocolate bar everyday the whole time she was losing weight. But she exercised like crazy. That is the choice she made and it worked for her. I know I'm a person that has to exercise a lot to shift weight, so I have to make the choice . Every day I have to make the choice do I go out and exercise today , what will I eat today ?
Would you like get together to count your daily calories until you get into the habit ?

To answer you question, can you eat what you like within limits , with exercise .
Yes you can , but you will be limited to the portion size because of the high calorie count for some foods and you have to take in the nutritonal side of it to.

You can eat what you want within limits, but you have to keep note that if you are eating 1400 calories a day, for instance, that it isn't a good idea to eat it all in candy, fat free chips, etc. just because you are in your calorie limits for the day.
There is more to it than just "losing weight", the body needs fuel. Empty calories don't fuel the body-it is like running your car on Kool-Aid. It is perfectly fine to save 100, or 150 of your daily calories for a fat free pudding for dessert, or a couple of Hershey Kisses, etc. to keep you on track-but your diet should overall be providing you with nutrition.
I like to use the 90/10 rule. Eat well 90% of the time, and 10% can be for treats. This mean for a 1500 calorie diet, that 150 a day can be for a treat, and the rest healthy choices. (1400 would be 140 a day on average, etc.)
This way you have just enough of a treat to not feel deprived, but you aren't eating 1/4 or 1/3 of your daily intake in junk, so you are getting better nutrition.

Well let's see.

I can only access internet at work -- which is everyday but Tuesday and Thursday.
I live with my girlfriend on one budget and it's hard to get good when you are poor.
I work midnight shift at my job (11p-7a).
I have PCOS.

When I tried doing the CC before, there was no change. I guess that I need some helping finding out what my balance of caloires/exercise is.

When I tried doing the CC before, there was no change. I guess that I need some helping finding out what my balance of caloires/exercise is.

Yes, and that's what we're here for.

Scrounge around until you find some kind of a book with calorie counts in it. Do your thing on paper. Lots of folks do.
Just figure out how many calories you ate yesterday or the day before and start from there. We'll help you.

You never know who we ( even you) may be helping by posting out in the open here. There are dozens of folks who never post, but they read. As you struggle and learn, you could be helping any number of them.

alright! I'll start writing it down today.

Thanks so far Susan -- I will be back soon!

Good! Then we'll have a look at what your normal food intake is like and help you healthy it up. It may just be a matter of simply making servings smaller or drinking water instead of something else.
It don't have to be fancy

LookingForHope16 good for you

I stopped drinkin sodas like three months ago. And all I drink now is water and green tea! Sometimes sweet tea, but it's not all that sweet and i don't drink it often.

I'm still working on writing stuff and remembering it.

I will update fitday and allow you to see !

It sounds like you're off to a great start!!! Remeber you bite it, you write it. You can do this, I know you can. Good luck.

You bite it, you write it .... that's very good!

Susan, I didn't come up with that one. It was someone here at 3FC, I can't remember who right now. Maybe Ennay. But it IS a good one, certainly worth repeating and DOING.