aaneri, I went to myfitnesspal.com to see what they recommended my daily caloric intake should be. Generally, I stay around 1400-1600 per day. On the days I work out, I eat more calories-closer to 1600 or even 1700, when I don't I'm on the low end of 1400. For a night snack, since you like sweets, eat like 10 or 15 green grapes. Those are really sweet. You just have to change things slowly, see how that works for you, tweak your diet and exercise as you go along. it will come, be patient and committed. Thats all you really need right now, commitment.

Hi Aaneri! It's great you posted and take heart that this is a journey :-) I have a friend who loves weight watchers but it's not for me. I too get emotional, and that wrecks my diets. By counting calories with an online tool (I use fitday.com) I have been able to make my commitment stick even those days I feel fat! I've only lost my first (almost... ".8" to go) 10 lbs but it is following the little goal bar just like it's supposed to. So the laws of weight loss do work! Just like physics. Grin. As devsmama says - a tool like that lets you record you lifestyle (to determine how many calories you naturally burn), the weight you are, the weight you want to be, and then the date to get there. Then it shows you the daily "calorie deficit" and finally the calories you should be aiming for. For me it was 1280. So even when I have a really down day I can look at the numbers of what I ate and know I'm okay. I can also play with them when I overeat - see that okay, I washed the car today, so yes, I can have that extra minimeal! One day I went to a party and thought OMG I pigged out. But I went back to the tool and put in everything accurately and discovered I'd only overeaten by about 300 calories after all. And if you go by the rule of 3500 = 1 lb then I realized heck, the most I did was sabotage myself by like 1/10th of a lb. And I wouldn't have gained it, just not lost it. That put everything in perspective.

You're only 27, and at 42 while I wasn't having any symptoms of it, I probably am moving into perimenopause. My "big discovery" was being turned onto natural progesterone cream at our local natural health food store (the employees are very well-trained). I did some research and discovered I have probably been high in estrogen all my life. That it wasn't balanced with the progesterone. I never could take even the lowest dosage birth control without it making me suicidal after a month and I never ever resolved my acne problem. I really thought I was bipolar. Mix in diet pills and not eating healthy and drinking too much - I never got it right. However at the beginning of the year after another two weeks of **** right before my period of crying and feeling like the world was ending I got turned onto the cream (you use it for two weeks out of the month). Immediately I was better. My acne cleared up and while I still have some mood swings, nothing out of control. And my cravings - they were suddenly for the first time in my life manageable. So a month ago I finally started on a realistic diet and it's working!

I agree with the other women here - 1) it's about coming to a place that it is more painful to eat than not and 2) finding the unique combination of tools and plan that will work for YOU, but I have to also add you might consider getting your hormones checked out. I have come to believe that I probably had a slight imbalance and that slight "off" was what made me crazy and let my cravings control my behaviors. If it's a man telling me it's all about willpower I'll kick him hard in the shins. We are complicated mechanisms made up of chemicals.

I'll also add in my last two cents - I think eating "healthy" is key to it, too - to make it a lifestyle change and show yourself that you are loving yourself - not depriving yourself. Get excited about filling yourself up with nutrition. I hope you keep posting and keep going! Don't negate the weight loss you've made, either. I see you still have kept off 7 lbs Just pick up 7 lbs of groceries! See - that's a lot of weight you AREN'T carrying around from when you started. HUGS!

That's it. In a nut shell. Don't DREAD this lifestyle. Embrace it. Get excited about it. Because it's EXCITING. It's marvelous to treat yourself and your body with the very best life has to offer. Eating healthy and carefully and mindfully is NOT deprivation. It is just the opposite. Eating too much and the wrong foods - THAT"S deprivation. Eat poorly = feel poorly. Eat healthy = FEEL healthy = BE healthy. Exciting! Exciting! Exciting!

I agree, Jacquie, I think I need to find "my own way" to do this.

How do you all journal your food? Do you do it online or do you have a notebook?

Hey there, I just started trying to get healthier in mid January. I am doing weight watchers but that doesn't work for everyone. Some things that have helped though is when I started this I cleaned out my cabinets, freezer and refrigerator. I sent all the junk and a lot of the processed foods to my parents and got it out of my house. If it's not there I can't eat it.

I look for stuff in the grocery store to eat as a snack that are lower in calories higher in fiber, low in fat, etc. Fruit is good, if you're like me though sometimes when you want something sweet fruit just doesn't quite fill the bill, find some muffin mixes that are lower in calories and fat and then use apple sauce instead of oil if it's called for and lower it even more.

I've also found that planning ahead (mainly in my head) what I will have for meals over the next couple of days helps a lot!!! So, at lunch I already know approximately how many points I am having for dinner and can adjust things if I need to or have more at lunch if I"m really hungry.

Basically, figure out what you can live with and just do it.

Good luck!!

Hey Bobble,

I know that my "chemistry" has something to do with the struggles I am having. I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for about 7 years. I have also been on the same medication for about 7 years and I am wondering if that is losing its effect. I am going to see a new therapist on April 30th and I am hoping she will have some insight.

I have been to my PCP about my weight problem and she is so arrogant. She gives me the "diet and exercise" speech. However, I am also worried there is something more to it then this. I am wondering if maybe I should go back to her.

I think another problem is that I crave sugar because I eat so much of it. I have been considering one of those cleansing drinks...can anyone reccomend one of these?

Thanks!!

The only cleansing drink I recommend is water or water with some lemon. I think once you start eating healthy, those cravings will go away. I know they did for me. I had an insatiable sweet tooth, I mean it was absolutely awful. I could eat 4 candy bars in one sitting and then get some of those caramel creme things to wash down the candy bars. That was the biggest hurdle for me. Now I eat fruit and this morning for the first time, my applesauce snack was too sweet! It is healthy harvest, no sugar added...lol..

I log onto fatsecret.com and journal there, but I write my goals in a notebook that I carry with me daily, I have all kinds of things in there, like prayers, notes to myself, my goals (those are personal and for my eyes only).

Thanks everyone...so far so good for the day...trying to drink lots of water...wondering if that will help with the cravings.

I have a long night coming up tonight...i leave work at 2:15 and then sit in class from 3:15 to 9:15 and I always want to eat the vending machine while im sitting in class...usually end up getting pretzels and eating all the salt at the bottom of the bag...will not do that tonight!

Personally, I haven't found a solution that fits me. I'm not willing to shell out money for some sort of software that will do it, but then again a simple notebook doesn't seem to work either. I don't fit into the Spark People...I'm vegan/raw food and when I did try that I found it didn't work for me personally for various reasons. I immediately got frustrated with it because I couldn't input my data properly or in a way that would benefit me.

Maybe I should buy a journal, something girly that I can get at Staples, and just document that way. I need to, I've been trying. I really do need to journal my food for health reasons. I have food intolerances, I want to know how I felt when I ate something and I do think having it down will help me not only track what I'm eating, but also let me see how food affects me.

I just don't like overly complicated things. I'm fussy! lol

Bring a snack with you. A bottle of water. Baby carrots, grape tomatoes. An apple. Even a yogurt is transportable. Be prepared. That is the key. Have a plan in place. Look at where you go "wrong" and find ways to "fix" it.

aanen, I am one that had tried all the diets and paid good money for it, only to gain it back. This time I decided I wasn't going to pay somebody to tell me what to eat. I count calories which works well for me. I like the flexibility and it is something you can use to maintain. It helped me to take it in 10 pound increments. It was too overwhelming to think I needed to lose 80 pounds. I lost 10., then moved one to the next 10. This worked for me.
I also eat 6 times a day, not 6 meals, 6 times. About every 3 hours I eat. Breakfst, snack. lunch, snack. dinner, snack. My snacks are usually 100 calories or less, such as non fat yogurt, Laughing Cow Lite cheese wedge, apple or orange, sugar free jello or sugar free pudding there are many options.

you have to find what works for you WW may have to much freedom, calorie counting may not take the weight off quick enough, but never QUIT. You deserve better. Plan Ahead is what works for me. It keeps me from snacking and it has actually saved me money. There is no guess work and I never let my fruits and veggies go bad because I know what I need to eat everyday. I weigh and measure my foods which is a real eye opener because you have no idea how much a serving really is just by guessing. Just take small steps at first and before you know it you will find what works for you . Good Luck