Hi folks! New member here. I introduced myself in the "introductions" thread, but here's a quick rundown of my story. I grew up as a gangly "scarecrow" type kid, never having a weight problem. As I got older, I noticed that I was slowly getting thicker, and putting on weight year after year. I started eating healthier and exercising in an effort to stop the weight gain, but it has not done anything to keep off the weight. I feel so frustrated and I am now realizing that this is not a problem I can solve on my own, because my efforts so far have done nothing. We are about to go on a nice post-holiday trip to a warm climate, and almost all the summer clothes I was going to pack are too small, or just barely fit. These are clothes that fit this past summer. I sat down and cried in frustration, and decided I need to bring out the "big guns" to get me back down to my weight from 10 years ago. I am going to watch my calories like a hawk, something I am not used to doing, and making sure I do at least 30 minutes of cardio and/or weights every day. I am scared to death of starting this, because even thinking of the word "diet" makes my stomach rumble. Seeing some of your success stories has inspired me.

Welcome to 3FC I'm glad stories here have inspired you, and I wish you support and encouragement during this journey.

Thanks Indie. I'm a few days into the new plan, and am already learning to not fear hunger, but feeling empowered by the ability to control when and how much I am eating.

«Hunger is nothing to panic about» is a saying that I remember a member saying and it's stuck with me for some reason... It's true though, we know that in an hour or so there will be a good healthy meal in front of us, so why panic ... it just makes so much sense, to me anyway ...

I'm a few days into this and I might be going overboard too soon, setting myself up for a big binge later, but I can't seem to stop. My desire to see results fast and the realization that being hungry between meals is not the worst thing to happen to me has allowed me to turn calorie cutting into a contest to see how little food I can get by on every day. Hopefully after I lose my first inch or so and some of my clothes begin to fit I can get a bit more relaxed about this whole thing, but right now I am like a woman possessed. Did this happen to any of you when you first started a diet, and what was the result?

How many calories per day are you eating? Calorie restrictions that are too low lead to binges. Are you eating every 3-4 hours? I find this prevents me from overeating...

My goal is 1500 calories a day, but I have only been taking in 1100-1300 lately. I do eat every few hours, even if it's just a handful of dried edamame or an apple, so hopefully that will keep the "starvation mode" mechanism from kicking in.