Hello, everybody, my name is Beth and I am new. I posted in Introductions but I'm not sure how many people read that section so I'm posting again.

Anyway, I'm a 34 year old childless married woman with a part time job and a husband who works nights. I've been 20 pounds overweight for more than half my life. I know that's not a big amount compared to some, but it's enough to bother me. I'm tired of feeling frumpy and unattractive.

I've never been able to stick to a diet for more than three days, probably because I tend to take the calories too low, so I get hungry and give up.

Mostly I've just counted calories (1000-1300 a day). The only formal diet I've tried is Atkins and I only lasted half a day on that because I missed bread too much.

I'm looking forward to hearing your insights andsuggestions.

Hi Beth, and

If you're going to count calories, I think it makes a lot of sense to eat as many as you can while still losing weight. Starting off too low is generally leaves you frustrated and hungry, which isn't conducive to long term success (as you've learned).

Maybe try a more moderate calorie reduction...eat normally for a couple of days and track what you're eating on average. If you're maintaining at that number of calories (not gaining or losing), try adding in some exercise and cutting the calories slightly. 3500 calories roughly equals one pound (although this is just an estimate...our bodies don't always agree with the formulas!). If you decreased your food intake by 300 calories a day from what you're eating now (and try not to go below 1200 if you can), and burned 200 calories through exercise daily, you'd lose, on average, 1 lb a week.

Now, as I said, bodies don't follow formulas. Some of us have had to mix things up to get our bodies to work according to plan. What works for each body is different - some need to eat "clean" to lose (veggies, lean meats, whole grains, lots of water, not much processed), especially when relatively close to goal.

Look forward to hearing more from you soon!

Hello, Beth! !

You are exactly where I was when I first started my weight loss journey: 20 pounds overweight. And while it may not be much in comparison to plenty of others here, it sure does feel like crap, doesn't it? I felt incredibly frumpy, as well; I would do my grocery shopping in my pajamas, go to WORK in my pajamas, and wear baggy sweats the rest of the time, EXCEPT when I wanted to look nice. When I wanted to look nice, I would wear the same five outfits in rotation because nothing else fit me and I absolutely refused to buy fat clothes, because that meant I had to surrender to the fat!

I agree with what mandalinn said, and I also will add: I started out around 1,800 calories. I don't know how tall you are or how much you weigh, nor do I know your previous eating habits, but for me, 1,800 and under was a good starting point. I also have never been able to follow a diet plan because I hate restrictions and when I mess up, I end up giving up.

Since you work part time, I'm guessing you have some time in your day to exercise? I'm also guessing that you don't have a gym membership or own exercise equipment. So, a couple suggestions would be to go for a brisk walk every day, try running in place while watching TV, and buying a pilates DVD. If you have a bike somewhere, ride it. I recommend exercising for at least an hour at least four days a week - but everyone is different.

Hi Mandalinn82 and NightgaleShane. Thank you both for replying to my post.

I'm not sure how many calories I've been eating; I've kind of been afraid to find out lol, but I have a calorie counter book and what the book doesn't have I can look up on the web. Thank goodness for the internet!

I do walk in the afternoons, about a half hour a day. I also exercise in front of the T.V. Maybe I should crank things up a notch?

I will be sure to keep you and everyone else posted about my progress.

Hey greygirl,

You can also get a "ticker" to show your progress in your posts, if you want to. Just click on someone's ticker, and you'll be taken to screens where you can put in your numbers. Be sure to click Save and also to check Show Your Signature in your posts.

Jay

Hey greygirl! A big welcome to you. You came to the right place for support...this place is awesome. I'm married and childless, too, and I go to school fulltime so I don't have traditional "work" hours. That sort of puts us at an advantage in weightloss, we have more free time than those who have children/work full time. It doesn't matter how much weight you have to lose, you will be accepted here.

Tracking calories: have you heard of Fitday? It is a free online calorie-tracking website that a lot of people here use (including me!). It's pretty user friendly and like I said, it is free! I think it would be easier than using the books. Just do a search for "fitday", you'll find it...check it out, it may be the thing for you.

I can relate to not being able to stick to diets. I've tried a couple of different things...I've ate 5 small meals a day (didn't work because I enjoy the "ritual" of eating a full meal + it was hard to keep up with cooking/cleaning up for 5 meals), I've tried Atkins (I also made it about a day or two), I've tried Slimfast. Nothing worked. Now, I am making my own plan: I calorie count and try to eat whole foods as much as possible. I'm not saying that's the plan for you, but the point is: find what does work for you.

Welcome!

This place is awesome whether you have 20 or 120 to lose!