Hello everyone I am new to this an I am in desperate need of loosing weight. I am unhappy with myself an as i laid in bed tonight not being able to sleep I was thinking of something that i may need to do. first think that came to my mind was 3fatchick.com an then in my mind i wonder about some ways to loose wait while i search on my phone for diets i came across the master cleanse an the 3 day diet with the grapefruit an toast an yada yada!! So I am desperate need of support from anyone an everyone on this because it is so hard for me to stick with something long enough to see changes. What i wanna do first is the cleanse an that will last about 7 days an i want to keep a log an at the end of it make a blog. after this i will eat health for 7 days log it an blog. then i will take on the 3 day diet log it an so on an so forth. I will also need other diets as i go, but after the 3 day diet i will continue to eat healthy again until i find something new or to go back on the 3 day diet after 1 week. i have about 45lbs i would like to loose but i know its not gonna come off fast an i am gonna run into some walls here but with everyone's help i think i can do it. so everyone's ideas an support would be awesome please. I am not really sure of what im doing so if someone could just take me under there wing i would appreciate it..lol!

My advice is to eat a healthy diet and exercise consistently. There's no magic cure, pill, or drink for weight loss. For healthy, long term weight loss you need to be sure you are eating enough calories to fuel your body and that you get in some activity/exercise on a routine basis.

I will also add that I am a calorie counter. It is fairly simple, flexible and it's FREE.

You can find lots of info on that and other weight loss plans here at our Diet Central -

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/#diet-central

Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

ooh another southern illinoisan, welcome! i started my weight loss journey in January 2009, and have lost a bit over 100 lbs, for me the very hardest part was starting and getting through the first few weeks. i didn't do an official 'cleanse' like you're talking about, but i did cut out junk foods, fast food, soda, sugar, processed foods, ..., now i sort of live like a monk eating lots of fresh fruits/vegetables, oatmeal, lean meats, and eating proper portions. but honestly, the first few months i felt like a heroin addict going cold turkey (or at least what i imagine that would be like). it took me a good 4-5 months before the constant cravings for junk food went from nearly hourly to occasionally. the hardest part of my weight loss has been the mental and overcoming the cravings. the best advice i have is to keep the bad foods out of your home and of course talk about your experience with friends/family.

Thank you for the support an guidance, i think if i can quit smoking i can loose weight i been a non smoker for 3 years now. ONEDERCHIC i looked at your pics an you are doing an awsome job. i bet you feel really good about yourself. .. I have been watching what i eat for about a month now. but my down fall is mt. dew i love it i love it i love it! i'm in southern illinois about 20 min from carbondale. i am gonna start fresh on saturday i got some things to do this week its gonna keep me pretty busy an i'm gonna hit the store for some good health food. my honey got me a blender so im gonna be making me some fruit smoothies an veggie juice.... I also have a dew 30 minute workout i got off the computer it is a 2 min intervals. my friend has been doing this for 3 days now an she say it is deff working.. maybe i will post it sometime for you all to try. ttyl gotta get my day started..

Hey there. Welcome to 3FC.

I have an idea, why don't you skip the master cleanse, start TODAY and get rid of the pop first. Why wait until Saturday? Who starts a diet on Saturday?? lol By Saturday you'll decide to wait until Monday, and heck, then a week is gone, and you'll still be right were you are now, (or more...people typically always gain weight while waiting to start a "diet", as they try to get in all the goodies they think they'll be depriving themselves of! ). Today is Monday, December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day...An absolutely excellent day to start a new way of life!!!

If you can't tackle the rest of your healthy eating and the mountain dew at the same time, you could switch to diet soda. If you don't like the taste, you can mix it with regular until you're used to it. I don't want to be the one to blame for getting you hooked on diet soda because it's certainly not a HEALTHY thing to drink, but maybe if you drop a few pounds from cutting out all the calories from the soda it will give you the motivation to keep making healthy decisions!

fabulous ideas ladies.. thank you so much an i am gonna start today..right now..
ready set go! lol thank you,

stephj - you've gotten a lot of good advice so far. I am proud that you have decided to start today...

Try not to think of yourself as being on a diet so much as learning better ways to eat. Exercise is essential as well, but if you haven't been doing any it's far better to ease into it rather than try to do too much at once, since that almost always leads to frustration. Nothing fancy; walking 20-30 minutes a day 3-4 times a week is doable, even for someone who hasn't been doing any regular exercise. If you have been exercising, then by all means continue.

I started out having to lose 40 lbs; I've lost exactly 16 pounds in exactly 13 weeks simply by counting calories and walking, increasing my walking to now 4 miles a day on average 6 days a week (but I certainly didn't start out walking that much). I record everything that goes in my mouth. Obviously some foods are better than others for you, but a good lifetime food plan allows for occasional treats. Start changing out the bad foods for the good ones a few at a time and eventually you will find yourself looking at food a whole new way.

I've never smoked, but I've been around enough of them to know how hard a habit that is to break. So you are right; if you can do that, you can certainly lose 45 lbs!

Best of luck to you!

Thank you so very much

I am excited you are starting your new life today. I am looking forward to reading about your success

small world steph, i just live outside of carbondale (in carterville)! i don't know why but it makes me really happy knowing that there are other locals here too. good luck!

You sound like me. I was at the end of my rope I can tell you. The support I have on these forums is amazing. I have completely changed my outlook and for the first time, after doing every fad diet on the planet I am eating 3 meals a day, exactly what my family eat, but doing it sensibly. There's no 'bad' food. Moderatin in everything and everything in moderation. I'm losing a pound a week at the moment. Slow I know, but I also know that each pound will stay off. I'm being easy on myself, no unrealistic goals.
I hated myself and was demoralized but now the pressure is off I feel really good about myself

I have a little suggestion. Of course, it is very important that you do this the way you want to do it...and they way you feel you can best stick to it. But you were talking about doing a lot of different diets, which is fine if you can keep with it! But, I have tried some of these diets before (3 day diet, and others), and I found that they are so restrictive on what you can eat that you may get through the first 3-day stint, but by the 2nd round, you don't even wanna do it anymore. Plus I think that the 3 day diet is way too low on calories. I don't know that for sure because I never counted them up, but I know I felt like I was STARVING those 3 days. And lastly, when you're on a diet that you are only allowed certain foods for certain meals, you usually end up in a position where something comes up and you aren't able to eat the foods you're supposed to eat.....then you feel the whole effort has been ruined and end up quitting. I hope that makes sense.

My point is, I think it is a lot easier to stick to methods like counting calories. I've been counting calories for about 2 months now. I use the food diary on livestrong.com to keep track of everything I eat. I try to make sure that all the foods I eat are healthy and nutritious...and because most healthy food is lower in calories, I eat PLENTY of food (I'm never hungry) and I'm still within my calorie limit. When those moments come up that I'm out shopping or whatever and end up having to opt for fast food, I try to get the healthiest thing on the menu....and I count that in my calories. I don't have to feel guilty for eating out *every once in a while*...I stay right on track and eat healthy the very next meal!

I hate to break it to ya, but you really should part with the mountain dew. I'm not totally against diet sodas....switch to diet first...then slowly cut down. Baby steps. Regular soda is wasted calories. I know diet doesn't taste as good, but now that I've switched and haven't had regular in a couple months, I can't even tell the difference. I have cut down to only drinking 1 diet soda a day...sometimes only every other day. I try to stick to coffee in the morning, one soda at dinner, and nothing else but water throughout the rest of the day.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. However you decide to do this, make sure you're prepared...go to the store and get all the healthy foods you need--and get rid of the junk food in your house! I cleared out my fridge and cabinets when I started. Out of sight, out of mind

YOU CAN DO THIS!! Just take it one day at a time!! If you slip-up at some point, don't get discouraged!! We all have slip-ups! Just get right back to it the VERY NEXT MEAL!

I just realized how long this is lol I hope I've helped a little! Best of luck to you!!!

i want to thank you again these are all great ideas an awesome support. i have been watching the food i am eating but the mt. dew is still stuck with me, i am gonna let it go after there all gone then i might try to go to diet but i have found that i really like the flavored propel waters. and i also think that i will do a weigh in every week for awhile an then go to every other week. thank you all so very much for being here for me.

Hey hey!

My best advice to you is to eat well and exercise... keep your mind on your goal and ooze determination.. You'll be exactly where you want to be, I can't give you a date but you can work towards one in your head

Good luck
xxxx