Ok, I have tossed around the idea about doing Atkins or South Beach diet. I keep rationalizing that I don't want to do a plan which restricts any one food group....I know that I have gained more in the end with these. Although these are good programs for some people, they are not for me.

My 9 year old daughter said to me this past week that she didn't want to be overweight like me when she got older. I know she is embarrassed and innocently says things to me about my weight. YOU WOULD THINK THAT I WOULD FINALLY DO SOMETHING, RIGHT? Wrong. I cant seem to do it.

I was doing so well until I was injured and now I cant do much of anything. I am jobless, possibly suffering from depression, definitely having anxiety....still, I cannot seem to do it. I swear I feel like finding a church and having the demons cast out of me sometimes! YIKES!

It is so hard to eat healthy when all I can afford is cheap food....(there I go again, making excuses!) It seems I come up with an excuse everyday. I know I need to love myself enough to do it! It is like I am sabotaging myself...afraid of what? I don't know. No insurance=no doctor....I really am at my wits end.

By the way, I saw a couple pics of myself this week and they are absolutely worse than I imagined. I mean I knew I was "fat" but I don't see it as badly until I see a picture or video. You would think "that" would do it for me too.

I am reading a book called Half-As*ed about a woman's weight loss journey. I just don't know what else to do. I feel like I am too much of a failure to even post on this site because I am not losing it!

Yup, you're overwelmed all right!

You're looking at all the huge big picture!

Calmly now ... take a step back. And breath! Now tell me, what's one healthy thing you can do ... every day.

You're not a failure; you're still here, aren't you? We're all here because, at one time or another, we were overweight. I'm still overweight, and I don't lose nearly as quickly as most people. For awhile I felt just as you do, that I was a failure but that is just not true. Every body is different and we lose and gain at different rates.

It sounds like you haven't found the way that's right for you. Calorie counting is what works for me, but lots of people have good results just by being really aware of what they're eating and cutting out junk.

I wish I had something useful to tell you. Lots of people say they have had a moment when a "click" went off in their head and then they knew they could do it, and I know that really helps when that happens but honestly--sometimes you just have to make a committment to start and then wait for the click mindset to hit you. For me, it didn't have anything to do with loving myself, and had a lot to do with finally telling myself, "Look, you're not a teenager anymore. Quit being a baby and just start eating right." I felt a little sad about giving up my junk food but junk food is what keeps me in my fat jeans so, for me, it was time to cowboy up and just start eating right.

You're not a failure. Keep moving forward. Keep posting. We are here to help and support you.

I can understand how you are feeling.Weight gain can lead to depression..depression can lead to weight gain.Its really hard to tell which one came first.If you are clinically depressed you really should be treated for the depression.Sometimes when the depression lifts, losing weight is a lot easier.If you have no insurance, can you qualify for state coverage?Just a thought.Take care.You can get through this.

The bottom line is if you eat less and move more you will lose weight; EVEN if what you eat is CRAP food. I know there are some that have medical conditions that may interfere but for the most part the above statement is true.

For me I had to stop dieting. Diets ALWAYS have restrictions and when I stopped dieting I ALWAYS gained back the weight I had lost and then some.

I love the Nike quote "Just Do It". One of the very few things we have control over in life is what we put in our mouths. My suggestion to you would be to eat 1500 calories a day, I don't care what it is but no more than 1500. As time goes by you will find that not all calories are created equal and you will look and find ways to make them count. I can tell you there are days that I have to add things like cheese (real cheese) or extra mayo (real mayo) to make sure I get my 1500.

Based on your current weight that would give you roughly a 1-1.5 lb. loss per week. Remember as you lose the weight that will decrease.

Next if you do one hour of cardio a day you will burn an additional 400-600 calories that will give you an addition 1 lb. loss per day. Again that will decrease as the weight drops.

I will apologize for coming off as a know it all or pushy but YOU are in a very dangerous place and under the circumstances you will be the ONLY one to get yourself out; hopefully with the help of 3FC and a friend or two that are physically close to you. You have opened up here and asked for help I would suggest you do the same with one or two people there in your community. Ask them to walk with you ask them to check on you.

If you are willing to do the above I am sure you will see the scales move and the fog lift.

You know we are here to support you but ultimately YOU are the one that has to do the footwork.

Bring the body and the mind will follow!!!

I've been where you are and tried and failed many times. Please don't give up on trying. This is your body and you are the only one in control of it. For me it took having surgery and suffering right after it to really get serious. Just start every day with a mantra in your head and refer back to it when times get tough. Have faith.

Not trying to sound like a south beach diet commercial, BUT--

I was insulin resistant, and had a HUGE problem with carbs (especially sweets). Since I've been on South Beach, I have totally transformed my way of eating. It's helped me get the carb monster under control. Now, if I have a piece of cake, I don't eat the whole cake afterwards - or continue eating the cake/cookie/insert sugar laden food here every single day.

I would read posts about how someone just ate "one cookie" and walked away from the rest (pre south beach), and I always thought that was weird, because I usually wasn't able to do it. I'd eat one cookie with dinner, and spend a good majority of the night thinking about the rest of the cookies. South beach definitely helped me get the sugar/carb addiction under control, which I think is going to make this time more successful than past times dieting.

Just some food for thought (pun intended).

You CAN do this. Susan is right. Step back, make a plan - what ONE thing can you do - today? Repeat it tomorrow. When it becomes a habit, and the next healthy thing.

And - gotta tell you - you now have TIME to eat healthy. Good food does not have to be expensive. You have time to do beans and rice from scratch, make your own healthy breads, pasta sauces, etc. By buying whole foods in their natural state - you CAN do this. Do you have a farmer's market available? Frozen fruits and vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh if you don't have inexpensive sources available.

Here are links to some of the 3FC "dieting on a budget" threads

Here
and
Here
and
Here

I like plain old calorie counting and moderate exercise. Start with walking. Add in some light weights and a stretchie band, maybe some dance. You can get exercise videos from the library, online (exercisetv has some free stuff), and some video stores lend them for free as well.

Seriously - make sure you are getting the exercise, it helps me put things into perspective. The hormones released when you are active are so helpful

You guys on here are so great. I love every suggestion. I AM GOING TO FIND WHAT IS RIGHT FOR ME. Thank you all so much. Just as windchime was saying, it may not click with me first....I am going to have to start doing something and if it works and CLICKS then I will stick with it. Windchime, you also said, "I wish I had something useful to tell you." YOU DID HAVE SOMETHING USEFUL TO SAY. ALL OF YOU! I think I really have been being a cry-baby! Seriously! I have been saying, "well I don't want to restrict any one thing." I think this may be an "a-ha" moment guys....wait for it....wait for it.......I HAVE TO RESTRICT FRIGGIN' DONUTS IF I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT. Even if I am on a tight budget, that doesn't mean I need to eat donuts or Little Debbies or potato chips. There are better choices. I have been of the mind-set that if I go to McDonald's I should go ahead and eat the fries. Right? Wrong! Hey, this really might be my clicking moment! I can get a side salad or apple dippers instead of fries. Right...

I am taking a step back and calming down now. My little girl will see how hard I am working to have better health and will respect me much more. That means EVERYTHING to me. I don't want to be a mother who gives up. A PERSON who gives up! I am gonna do this thing now. I think that might be my new motto....

"Let's do this thing!"

You have made several sensible suggestions in your post--you're on the right track now! And yes, I have gone to a fast-food restaurant in a pinch and gotten a plain burger with NO FRIES and I lived to tell the tale.

Another thing that I have done is substitute. In the early days, the thought of going without potato chips entirely made me want to cry, so I found something at Safeway called "Eating Right Potato Crisps". They are in the chip aisle and they make a nice substitution for chips while you are transitioning into a healthy lifestyle.

I found that I needed to substitute things at first. The Potato Crisps now seem too salty to me so I don't know if I'll buy more, but I ate them probably every second day when I was first starting out. Substitutions at first was what worked for me, and then after a month or so I was ready to start counting calories.

Good luck! You can do this! You're not alone; we are here to help you.

Angel - I want to hug you! I am so there with you :-)

I just started my journey, in terms of "dieting" and losing weight, but I think it has been coming for awhile. Two years ago we were on a budget (still are), so when I started wanting to go organic and whole foods it seemed impossible. But we've done it. And I've become so much more interested in eating healthy - it's FUN. I sometimes choose a cookie over an apple, but I'm not afraid of that anymore because I've learned balance. And that journey in itself will help give your daughter the skills so she won't be overweight (or addicted to diet pills) when she gets older. I would recommend focusing on that. I bet you might even be able to get her support with that? Get her to help oh - reading nutrition labels, determining what healthy choices are, etc. There's a lot of information out there (library, internet) and if you can become a regular at a GOOD health food store with trained staff that's half the battle. And I love whfoods.org - the guy is selling a book but I hope the moderators leave the link in as it is an awesome resource. It lists all the healthiest foods, tells their story, why they are so healthy, gives recipes - I have never been so excited about asparagus and broccoli in my life!

I really started my journey when I discovered natural progesterone cream the first of this year - turns out I've always been estrogen high. Once I started taking that my PMS symptoms subsided, acne cleared up and OMG I finally was in control of my cravings. Sure I still have them - but they don't turn into the blind fog that kept me from making the right choices.

I'm not saying you need it - only that you are going through A LOT and depression, fear and anxiety will all blind us. It's not that you don't have discipline (and kick any one in the shins that tells you that), you just are going to have to work to counter act those things at the same time...yoga? Meditation? Creative visualization? Good old fashioned prayer?

I'm right in there with you - we all support you and love you and look forward to your posts! Feel free to message me with ANY questions about how to eat better on a budget.

YOU CAN DO THIS! WE CAN DO THIS!