Hey everyone!

My name is Cassie and I've been thinking about joining an online weightloss community for awhile now. I figured now is a good time since I am completely fed up with not losing weight even though I am trying and have been struggling with my weight for awhile. I am obviously doing something wrong. For 4 months I went to the gym 5 days a week, 45 minutes of cardio. I ended up gaining 5 pounds. Now alongside with the weight I wanted to lose, I have to lose 5 extra pounds.

I'm really hoping to get some tips and insight from people who have been succesful in losing weight. Such as what to eat, when to work out, and what foods to stay away from. This summer I want to definately lose these last 15-20 pounds for good and keep it off. I'm going to Disney in Florida August 5th and do not want to feel bad about how I look while i'm there! =)

Here is what I've been doing since i've been home from school:

4 days a week of cardo for 40 minutes
Pilates/Bellydancing/Swimming a couple times a week along with my cardio.
Weight training every other day different muscle groups then resting.

I changed up my gym routine and I have seen a slight difference in my waistline but not in pounds, but I know this workout regime I have going is making me feel better than what I have been doing at school. I think my biggest obstacle is the food portion of the whole dieting thing. I love sweets but I know I need to stay away from them. Does anyone have any advice on other things that are sweet but better for you?

I would be more than happy to hear the advice of anyone! And if anyone is trying to reach the same goal as me I'll be happy to be supportive and a diet-buddy!

I also have a sweet tooth, but here's the good news. There are things you can eat that will satisfy your cravings and I'll give you a list of some of my favs. Here's the bad news...if you really want to keep the weight off, you need to make a list of your trigger foods and decide whether or not you can significantly cut them down or totally eliminate them. Some people are strong enough to just cut down the frequency of the sweet. Others, like me, are all or nothing. It's so much easier for me to not start eating ice cream, ever, because once I have that first bite, my control is gone. So ice cream is on my elimination list. Do I miss it? Not anymore, not after 2 months of not eating it. Like anything else, you get used to it.
Here's some sweets I like to have now...

plain yogurt with fresh berries, 1 T honey drizzled on top, sprinkled with 2 T dry roasted almonds or sunflower seeds

Jello fat-free dark chocolate pudding cup dumped over fresh blueberries, bananas, strawberries or your favorite fruit.

1/2 piece whole grain bread spread with 1 T honey and topped with diced bananas.

chunks of pineapple

papaya with lime juice

Welcome

Looks like you've got your excercise down good! The only reason I can think of that even after a few months your weight is not trending downwards, you're not eating enough. Are you doing any calorie counting? I wasn't eating enough and didn't lose anything for almost a month and a half, then I upped my intake and started losing, little by little. What does a sample day of your look like?

Hopefully things start to move along downwards for you. Welcome to 3FC!

I, too, recommend counting calories. I tried exercising and eating healthy for a few months, and nothing happened. Since I started counting calories, I've realized that I used to eat WAY TOO MUCH, even though it was healthy food. Good luck!

Gotta plan, gotta count, gotta log.

There, that is my advice.

Plan your eating, aim for eating clean, whole foods - lots of veggies and balancing your carb/protein/fat intake.

Count your calories - unless you count, you really can't get a handle on your food intake.

Sign up for Fitday, theDailyplate, etc. Keeping a log helps you analyze trends, and fine tune your way of eating.

You CAN do this! Keep up the exercise, and get the eating plan going. Post your results here

thank you guys for all the replies!

I'm definately going to try the food recomendations when it comes to sweets. And I googled how much I should be eating during the day while I am working out and it was 1800. I'm going to start keeping a food diary and counting my calories like you all said. I tried that awhile back and I need to just STICK to it! I'm also going to try and limit my sugars as well. I'll let you know how the week goes! =)! thank you for all your advice.

welcome tinkergirl! how having fresh fruit instead of candy?

Hi Tinkergirl and

Great job on your exercise routine!!! Adding the weight lifting is a great addition because it's proven to increase your metabolism and replace fat with muscle. Of course, when you are doing strength training the scale may drop slower as you replace F w M but its a really good thing!!

I am off all sugar right now and after a month I'm feeling really great!! In addition to SF pudding, I always have some SF Jello in the frig. Right now, I go to it first, and am still going pretty easy on the pudding. Feel i can't afford it yet.

You might investigate Agave Nectar and substitute for the honey. It is MUCH lower on the Glycemic Index and tastes quite good. If you don't know about GI of foods, you might investigate there, too. It has to do with how much your blood sugar is raised by eating something.

Best wishes just keep it up!! There is great support here!

Great support and answers here @ 3FC for those who are serious. I agree about the GI foods. I also wanted to tell you that if you will go cold turkey on the foods that give you the most trouble, you will notice you will not want for them for more than a few days.

Good luck and I am glad you are here. We can all relate to the battle.

Hi again

Here is a good link to the GI of foods. http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/gifoodlist.html

I am not promoting this diet by any means. It is just the easiest reference to finding GI of many foods. I find the lower I eat on the GI index, the better I feel and the more efficiently I lose weight. GI is very important for folks with diabetes, but also for those of us trying to lose weight.

i have bookmarked the site. thanks for posting it lexxiss.