Could you go food shopping with your mom? That's what I do with my family so I can pick out the food I eat for the week. Then it's just the ignoring the junk food the family buys...

With eating out, you probably know the drill- look up the calories counts online for the places your family often likes to go, stick with small and half portions, grilled meats and salads even if you have to special order. If it's a place that has nothing healthy at all then you could skip it and not go.

with exercise - how about exercise DVDs?

Rainy don't feel selfish asking for help. That's what this forum is here for.
There are alot of forums and threads to join. Onderchic has a 7 Day Calorie on Plan thread and 7 Day Exerercise Accountability under 100 LB forum. There are alot of challenges under Chicks Up for a Challenge. I especially, like the 5 LB Challenge. It's at no 129 right now There is also a calorie counters forum. I know what you mean about having to wear sweat pants. I also have to were elastic waist jeans. I miss jeans with a normal button waist.

Oh boy can I relate. I went from 266 to around 180 and I felt great. However for the past five weeks it's been nothing but on-and-off binging. I went to the dr. and weighed in at 191 (although with clothes, right after I ate, in the middle of the day so I guessed more at 188-189 ish). But even then these past couple of days...man. You are right. But you're not alone. I always looked at people who gained back 100 plus pounds and thought "Man, I'll NEVER do that" but what am I doing now?
Sorry, anyway it's okay. You can lose the weight before, I can, anyone on here can, we've all done it once and it can be done again. I know it's hard to get back on track but we can do it and after we do we just have to remember, again, what it feels like to be where we were.

I'm in the same boat here, this time last year I was 180's-190's, now, 245... I could actually cry it's that bad... but I'm not going to, because I know that if I really put my mind to it, it'll come off and stay off, and I know you can do it too, if you ever need to vent or just need someone who understand you can message me if you want I don't mind at all, things will pick up soon if you really want them to I really hope things work out for you, this is why I joined this site though, we are all here for each other and at some point we all need a shoulder to lean on

Np dear just hang in there there's always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... or something like that :L

I don't think there necessarily has to be some big deep-seated psychological reason. Some people may find such reasons, others not.

Personally - I am a very introspective person and I have spent years in therapy exploring the reasons I do or don't do all sorts of things. And still, with all that, the only reason I am aware of for being fat is that I really like food, and I like eating lots of tasty food more than I like not eating lots of tasty food.

In my case, it's not a defense mechanism, not a way to hide or make myself unattractive, not a way of rebelling against my family nor of accepting their love, not a search for comfort, or any of the other psychological struggles with food that some other people battle against.

It's just that eating is fun, and I like to do it. I'm a lazy hedonist at heart, and eating whatever I feel like whenever I want it is a lot easier than doing all the work I have to do to make sure I always have tasty-but-balanced-and-not-too-fattening food around, and the exercise of will that it takes to make sure that I don't eat too much of it.

At any rate, don't assume that you are in denial just because there is no magic "aha!" psychological insight that ties everything together. Sometimes life is not as tidy as TV! And best of luck to you getting back on track. You have what it takes to do it - we all do - and this place is great for getting thoughtful, helpful reminders of that fact.

Rainy, you sound like a very nice girl, and like someone who is easy to be friends with! Don't ever be afraid of seeking support - as they say, everybody needs somebody sometimes. And here we're everybody's somebodies!

I've lost and regained throughout my young life and I've decided that enough is ENOUGH. I'm going to do it this time.

But I said the same thing, before, maybe a year ago.

I don't know what's different this time around, but I think this time is definitely it. 3FC has been an invaluable resource, though, I don't think I could do any of it without it.

I understand what it feels like to be stuck at a place we're you're unhappy with your weight but you still don't do anything about it, day after day. You keep telling yourself, oh, tomorrow I'll start, or oh, tomorrow will be the day, and then you never do it. But what happened to me was that on one of my tomorrow days, I just...hopped on that elliptical. And it's only been a short time, but I'm not looking back.

It's hard when someone else does the shopping and you can't control what types of foods you're surrounded with. Calorie counting is much, much more difficult when you aren't eating the right things. Sounds like you and your mom have a good relationship, though (since you guys would go to the gym together and such) so why don't you consider going shopping with her and choosing some food items yourself? You guys spend time together and you can have good things around the house to eat. And, she might want to have some of those fruits and veggies around, too! My staples are bananas, apples, spinach/dark greens, eggs, turkey breast, Laughing Cow cheese/low fat cheese (cheddar, provolone, etc), wheat bread/wheat wraps, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, avocados, salsa - none of those things would make any normal person go "ew, health food" and you can make various combinations of delicious, filling meals that are healthy and low calorie.

Everybody says that it's 80% diet and 20% exercise. I guarantee if you switch up your diet to healthier things within your calorie range and then do that hour on the elliptical, you're gonna see some changes.

Like rockinrobin said, pick a plan and then stick to it. And when you feel like going off plan...log in here and find support. I've found it really helps. Today I didn't want to finish my cardio...but then I read a few threads and I totally did. Just finished it now, in fact.

If you want an accountability buddy, let me know! I've been looking for one myself.

Anyway, best of luck to you. But I know you can do it. We all believe in you!

and, can I just say...double rainbow, oh my god. Double rainbow...all the way across the sky.

Rainy I hope you are having a better day today.

Hey, i'm right there with you. Seriously. I was at 200 even and regained 15lbs. It sucks, the smaller clothes I bought don't fit and I had to pull my "fat" jeans out from under the bed. When I want to be mean to myself, I think about all the weight I could have lost if I had been on-plan for those three months, instead of off plan and gaining.

But you know what? I don't have a time machine. And really, neither do you...none of us do. I can either mope about the regain or I can just change my mind and move forward with my life. In the grand scheme of my life, taking an extra three months to lose weight isn't going to matter. But being 100lbs overweight (in my case) will. What matters more is the choice to change it...and then sticking to that choice.

I empathize with your regain. Lets change it