If you 100% positive with giving up dieting, then I recommed on doing some reading on mindful eating method. On eating whatever you want, no rules, and eating only from stomach hunger.

I gave up the dieting world,and now am antidiet chick that lost 21 Lbs so far ..

Read on books on Mindful eating..One book that I have and it is my lifeline advice book, Its called, Overcoming Overeating by Jane hirshman and Carol Munter.

Best wishes on your efforts!!

Liliann

We are all different, but most people who are overweight, again, most, but I guess not all, have trouble listening to their stomachs. There stomachs pretty much tell them to keep on eating and eating. That's why they're overweight in the first place. At least that was the case with me. I guess I was a bit hard of hearing, well, actually more then a bit.

Truth is, after losing 165 lbs, I STILL can't rely on listening to my stomach. It still wants me to eat waaay too much. Which is why I rely heavily on calorie counting. I believe lots of others do as well. It forces limits on oneself. Puts the brakes on. IT determines how much food one can eat. Nope, I can't rely on my tummy.

I am thrilled for you though as 21 lbs is a great start!!!! I bet all your friends tell you that you're a great listener.

Food is not a crime.Food is for pleasure and no one should forbid any certain foods. I am a sweet eater, and won't give it up. I lost, my clothes are getting loosen...even I get TOM normal now.I am healthy, my sugar is 84 and am happy the way I am.

I need to be active,,and in my opinion, most overweight/obese persons need to be active.Make peace with food as well.

Robin, I remember you and Congratulations on your weight loss!!!

Liliann

For sure food is not a crime. And neither is being overweight, for that matter.

To say that no one should forbid any certain foods, well, I respectfully, yet STRONGLY disagree with that. Strongly. Certain foods are like crack to me. So, I need to avoid them. Completely. ESPECIALLY early on. Until I gained some control.

My wants for the high calorie foods greatly diminished when I cut them out. I had to let those wants dry up and out. IT was a miracle to me. And soooo very worth it. I discovered healthy, nutritious foods that are now totally and completely delicious to me. Foods that my family, friends and anyone could and DOES thoroughly enjoy. I have added sweets back into my life, in small portions and on rare occassions. I truly believe they are meant to be eaten once in a while. Not on a regular basis.

I wish you continued success. Soon you'll be needing a whole new wardrobe. How exciting!!!

Amen, "sister in sweat" ( a quote from Leslie herself ). Leslie Sansone's videos are the best. After doing the 1 mile for about a week, you're ready for the 2nd mile, then 3rd, and so on.

You'd be surprised, Lottie, how fast you'll get in shape just walking in place. You'd also be surprised at how you'll want to do more challenging things as time goes on, as you get in good shape starting out with simple walking and a resistant band.

Very well put. This is exactly the case.

Well I don't know if the OP has left- but it does sound like you work out too much and probably aren't eating either right- or eating more than you think you take in or WAY too little.

If you weigh 300 lbs than that means you can eat 3000 cal a day and not gain- 75% of that is a good number to lose weight- so you should be eating 2200-2300 calories a day, then exercise an hour a day (how do you find more time than that!?). Whatever exercise you want- weights, running, cycling, ellptical, swimming, etc.

My trainer had a client who weighed 300 lbs who was eating 1200 calories a day and didn't lose ONE POUND because he was in starvation mode- when my trainer told him the magic recipe (weightx100x.75)= how many calories a day to lose weight he started dropping the pounds- so it is true that sometimes you need to eat MORE to lose weight- but that doesn't mean go to McDonald's everyday- eat healthy meals!

I guess you mean weight x 10 x .75, or rather, weight * 7.5? When I do that calculation, I'm at less than 1200 calories a day, and when I get closer to my goal weight I'll be even less! Not to complete disregard your magic recipe, I guess my point is that you have to find new ways to find the perfect number of calories sometimes, especially when you get smaller or if you start out at a lower weight. The only thing that works for me is trial and error, and listening to my body.

oops it is weight x 10 x .75

Sorry lol.

Norcal,

You're getting some great advice from some very knowledgeable people and I believe they really do know what they're talking about. But I did want to throw another idea your way - Think and Lose. This is a self hypnosis program that deals with the overeating and food issues where it counts, in your head. I've tried almost ALL the other weightloss plans, with some success for awhile, spent thousands of dollars, and had my fill of frustration and hopelessness. This program has proved to be the answer for me. I absolutely love it. It's basically effortless, I don't crave chips and munchies anymore, sweets or candy, I'm eating healthy, no cravings, no feeling deprived, no more obsessing about numbers - be it on the scale or calories, no more frustration and hopelessness. It's something that will stay with me the rest of my life.

Just wanted to let you know that there is another option out there if you're at the end of your rope and figuring there's nothing that will work for you. I believe there is a plan out there that will work for all of us, it sometimes just takes time to find the right one. Good luck and don't give up.

Shirley

Norcal,
It looks like you have lost quite a bit of weight. you started at over 300lbs and now are in the 200's, why give up???

One thing i would like to say is that if you are following a sensible diet and getting regular exersize and nothing is working, you may have a metabolic imbalance. Hypothyroid or PCOS are both quite common afflictions that can make weight loss an uphill battle.

However, if this is not the case, i would take a look at your workout routine.
For one thing, you need at least one day off. Stressing your body too much is not ideal for weight loss. Also, i would reverse the amount of time spent doing cardio vs weight training. I would increase the cardio from 15 minutes to 30 or 45 minutes, varying the intensity and cut the weight training to ~30 minutes. or alternate days. It sounds like your body is not getting a break.


Also, all the diets you mentioned did not mention calorie counting as many others pointed out. Even if you are doing adkins for example, if you are still over eating, you will not loose weight.

I am going through the same dilemma right now and had to take a strict look at how much i was really eating, and it turns out i was intaking more than I thought.


let us know how you are doing, sounds like you've simply hit a plateau.

I would disagree with your statement that nothing has worked. You've found what it takes to successfully lose nearly 30 lbs. That's 30 lbs of solid-gold success. You want more success, and that's great, but giving up, will probably mean regaining those 30 lbs, and that's not going to feel like success.

I have had 60 lbs worth of success, and it's taken me about 4 years to get where I am. 40 lbs of it in the last year. So, it took me three years to find what it was going to take to get me past the initial 20 lbs loss. I don't know how long it's going to take to get me past 40 lbs, but I do know that I can't give up, or I'll regain all those 60 lbs and probably more.

So don't give up on yourself, you will want to keep the success you've had so far. I'm not saying you want to take four years to find what allows you to move to the next level, but giving up on yourself certainly isn't going to get you there AND is going to result in you losing the progress you have made.

My advice though is to look at a very small goal, when you're frustrated. Do you think you could make a doable change that would get you one more pound lost? If not, then how about maintaining your current weight? You can always at least do that, right?

I've definitely learned that sometimes I can't look beyond the current moment. Thinking about what it's going to take to get me to my ultimate goal weight is just far too overwhelming, but looking one or two pounds ahead is more doable - how often I take to get that one or two pounds taken care of, well that's a whole 'nother story, but this really isn't a race, and there's no time limit on my getting there. I will get there when I get there, and the only thing I really have to worry about is maintaining and breaking ground - no retreat. And that doesn't mean my weight doesn't fluctuate, it does, but if I lose the battle with one pound or two, I make sure I don't lose the war, and let myself backslide or I'll backslide 60 lbs or even more.

If this were really true, wouldn't it be theoretically impossible for people to starve to death? I keep seeing this kind of thing quoted repeatedly here on 3FC and it seems to me that if it were really possible for people's bodies to work this way, nobody would really need to eat at all! Anorexics wouldn't get really skinny because the 300 calories a day would sustain them since their bodies can't let go of fat in "starvation mode".

I'm really curious about this, why this is such an oft-repeated idea here. It really seems counter-intuitive.

Trying to burn more calories than what you eat in a day is dangerous.

I am also young, 17, and have given up many times. But I can tell this time will be different. The problem with burning off everything you eat is that your body has no nutrition to fuel its self, so it eats away at your muscle, resulting in fat gain instead of loss. I have visited numerous nutritionists, and this is what all of them have said, and it's hard because i want to go run everything off too. But they say that's bad.

The absolute best workout that I have tried is actually swimming laps. I know its like,...ugh!...swimsuit! but really, it is a total body workout and it just melts the fat away and tones everything! I really think that you should try it if you haven't already, because I promise you, if you swim laps for 30 minutes a day, building up gradually, the fat will just melt away. I promise.

-Nelli