Hello, I am new here and in need of some serious support! I want to lose a decent amount of weight this summer, and just need to help doing it! I have absolutely NO will power although I WANT to lose the weight. I will be good for a few days and then fall off the wagon. So I need some buddies! Tips would be wonderful!

Hi Jessica! Welcome to 3FC! Consistency tends to be really important for weight loss, so when you fall off the wagon, get back on! Falling off is not the end of weight loss, staying off could be.

Some tips:
Make sure you're eating enough. Sometimes people start off with a bang and try to restrict calories too much. You might try logging your calories for awhile on The Daily Plate and aim for 1800-2000 calories for a few weeks to see how that works.

Make sure you eat often enough. Skipping meals (especially breakfast) can prompt us to overeat later in the day.

Choose healthy foods from all the food groups---protein, fruit, veggies, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats.

Don't feel like you need to change everything all at once. Simply tracking your calories for a few weeks might be a good first step.

One of the most important things I've ever learned about weightloss was that the road to our goals is paved with stones and ALL OF US stumble along the way.

If you check down in the maintainers area, you'll find that even now maintainers have days that aren't so perfect. The point is that people who get down to goal and who stay at goal ALWAYS get back to eating healthier if they stumble. Always.

One other thing... you don't need willpower or motivation. These are fleeting emotions and we can't force ourselves to feel them. What you need is commitment. The commitment to say that you've promised yourself you'd eat healthfully. The commitment to say "Well darn, I ate that cookie for breakfast, but I have a great healthy sandwich for lunch so I'm back on track." The commitment to say that you've planned that walk during a break so you're going to do it.

Look around, and start slow (as midwife said) with one step at a time until you've mastered it. Rome wasn't built in a day.

You can do this!

Well cupcake, though you can get all the tips and support in the world, the change has to come from YOU.

Are you ready to commit to a healthy lifestyle? Ready to be content with one or two cookies instead of five or six? Ready to feel better than you ever have before?

My biggest tip: switch to clean food. If it comes from Mama Earth, embrace it. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, unprocessed oils, lean meats--these are what your body needs. Start gradually; instead of frying up eggplant Parmesan, why not grill the eggplant and top with some hot, well-seasoned crushed tomatoes, with a bit of Parmesan sprinkled on top? Delicious, nutritious, and very satisfying.

Oh yeah, and drink water too.

it sounds like you have a similar problem that I do... I have the best of intentions, but always seem to let cravings get the best of me. I went to a nutritionist and she gave me some of the best advice.


1.) When craving something...drink a glass of water or herbal tea, if you still crave it within 20 minutes of finishing the drink, let yourself have a SMALL portion.

2.) Do not restrict, instead replace with a healthy substitute.

3.) remember, a moment of pleasure on your tastebuds will be stored in your body and become a burden (fat). aka "a moment on the lips is an eternity on the hips"

4.) lastly, you didnt gain this weight in a week....so dont expect it to come off in that duration either.



I wish you lots of luck. I am always here to talk, ladies so feel free to PM me...we can vent about our weight issues.

very well said!! Good advice

one of the things that will help you succeed is to take on the persona of a person that IS succeeding...inject positive into your conversations with yourself whenever you can..

So instead of saying you have no willpower (though that may be true) tell yourself that from now on you are going to do everything to make the right choices in food. Celebrate everything you don't eat, every victory no matter how small (Hooray--I've stayed on plan all day now, so I'm going to stay on plan all night too!)

Put yourself in front of a mirror and look right at YOU and tell yourself that you are worth it; that all the reasons and excuses and back doors you give yourself so you can fail are not a part of your life anymore; and then just go forward.

I agree this is a path filled with stones, but they are just stones..you stumble a bit but you keep going FORWARD.

Good luck!

Hi Jessica,
I believe you need to find the plan that 'clicks' in your head, the one that is going to work for you. Luckily this website has loads of info and ideas and hopefully you'll find the one that will get you to where you want to be. Counting calories and fat grams has never worked for me, but is just the ticket for others. Fat blockers and appetite suppressants work for others. (tried them all) I have found the one that works for me and deals with my food issues in my head. Finding the one that fits you and your life will be what works now and for a lifetime. Good luck in your search. With all the help that is available here, I'm sure you will find it!

Thank you so much for the tips. I am going to search the rest of the sight to see what other wonderful ideas are on here!

Thank you for the support!

What type of foods/exercise is outlined in your plan? Let us know and maybe we can offer some pointers.

Make the committment!

Well, about 6 years ago, my aunt and cousin started doing Tae-bo and I really enjoyed it. I am going to start that again, and I guess just cut out all of the bad foods that I was eating. My problem isn't necessarily over eating, but eating the wrong foods at the wrong time. For instance... I usually don't eat breakfast, although I know I should. I have always been this way though. Sometimes I skip lunch too because I am simply not hungry or on the go. So, usually when I do eat it is around 2-4pm. I will usually have something small, and eat dinner around 5-6pm. Dinner I eat normal portions and don't over do it. My MAIN problem is after dinner and I do nothing but pick the rest of the night. I will get up 4-6 times a night and eat. For example, last night I woke up and ate 2 string cheese, a pudding, and a rice krispie treat. I woke up 2 and a half hours later and had another rice krispie treat. 3 hours later I woke up and made a bagel! (Wow that is embarassing.) So in short of putting a lock on my cupboards and fridge, I don't know what to do!

Sorry for rambling!

Eat during the day.

You're grazing at night and your body is waking, because it's hungry. You are overeating. You're overeating at night to make up for what you aren't eating during the day.

Force yourself to have breakfast within 2 hours of waking. It can be small... like a yogurt and a piece of fruit.

If you aren't hungry by the end of lunch time, force yourself to eat something. Again it doesn't have to be a huge meal. It can be a sandwich or a salad with grilled chicken.

Have yourself your regular sensible dinner. And then plan one snack after dinner so that you don't graze all evening.

Thank you. I never looked at it that way. But the thing is, I don't feel hungry when I get up during the middle of the night, it is just like my body is so used to it, that it is routine. I wish I didn't have that problem, but like I said, I don't know how to stop it. I know I have a ton of work ahead of me and hopefully I can stick with it and eventually be posting before and after pictures!

A lot of us have a lifetime of bad habits to break. It is about changing our routines and that's difficult, and it's a lot of work. But you CAN do this! As others have said. One step at a time.