Sorry this is going to be a depressing post. I am just wondering if there is anyone out there that actually enjoy their days.. Is it just me or am I just a pessimist, but I feel like theres nothing to look forward to during the days/nigts while on a diet. You can't look forward to the meals you normally would enjoy, can't look forward to drinks with friends, can't look forward to going out with friends (temptations are too hard), going to movies are even boring without the yummy snacks to enjoy. So what is there to look forward to? Go to work, eating just okay food, work out, come home, go to bed. Blah I am such a restless person. This is so hard and I'm only on day two!

The first couple of weeks are the worst, trust me! I was a cranky b**ch! After you start seeing changes, you will have different things to look forward to...compliments from friends, fitting into new clothes, etc. Stick with it.

You have a LOT to look forward to! The only difference is, you will be looking forward to longer term goals rather than the immediate gratification of something yummy to eat. That's how I look at it, anyway. The whole reason I'm doing this is because I want to look and feel better...that's what I'm looking forward to and I get closer every day.

Also...you can still go out and have fun with your friends and enjoy yourself immensely while sticking to your plan or diet. It's all about shifting your focus and changing your mindset. Popcorn and candy and pizza are not what makes life wonderful.

Sure there are times when I am bummed. But I have learned to cook a lot of great meals that I love and look forward too. No one says you food has to be boring and depressing.

Find yourself an awesome cookbook and start cooking!

This time of year is awesome, I love BBQing - and who says you can't enjoy a drink here and there? You can. Just plan for it and work it in. There are a lot of light beers now or some diet soda/crystal light with a shot or something. It is all doable. Just plan for it.

I never buy snack at the movie. Such a HUGE waste of money. If I buy anything, I just get a diet soda. I just focus on how much money I am saving and it works for me. Even if I really want a treat - it is not worth $10! The pop alone is hardly worth the money. Or make your own popcorn and sneak it in. Popcorn, if made correctly, is pretty low in calories.

It is hard in the beginning but as time goes on you get creative and learn lots of great tips. I have been doing this for 4 years now - I might not be at goal, but I sure have learned a lot! You can do this, good luck and get creative!

I think you're going about it the wrong way - this isn't about making yourself suffer - its about improving your life.

I enjoy my days SO MUCH MORE now than I did when I was severely over weight. I still do everything I did before - go to movies, go out with girl friends, have a few drinks, make awesome meals - I've just changed the way I do things.

Instead of getting a super large popcorn, soda and candy at the movies, I split a kids pack with a friend (and mostly we don't even finish it). When going out with girl friends, I make better restaurant choices. If I'm going to have a few drinks after work, I work out longer in the morning or I plan lower-calorie meal choices.

Even exercising makes me feel better - I have more energy, I'm not as sad and mopey, and my skin/hair look phenomenally better.

You can still have your favorite foods, just in smaller portions or make them a special treat. Find healthy foods that you enjoy, or experiment with spices/different cooking methods to make the healthy foods yummy.

I also frown when people refer to this as a "diet." It's not a diet, its a lifestyle change. You need to build healthy habits that will allow you to maintain the weight loss once you've accomplished it. The word diet is way too temporary, and if you keep viewing this as something that's a temporary change, you won't be successful.

You have to find a way that this works for you - and you have to find it. You can't just adopt what other people say/do. Some people would frown and shake their head at me for having chocolate every day because it doesn't work for them and its against their plan, but you know what, it works for me. If I deny myself something, I'll want it more and that will lead to me eating 3 chocolate bars when it would have been so much better if I just had those 8 peanut m&m's. Same with carbs. I love carbs. Can't live with out them. Some are horrified by this, but I know that if I don't eat enough carbs, I'm miserable and starving.

Everyone is different, and you have to find your own happiness in this journey.

I definitely have my days where I feel the same way. But most days I feel great about where I am going even though I may not be there yet. It gets easier the further along in your journey you get. You can do it. Although every day is not sunshine and rainbows there are many great days to come!

Thank you so much everyone. I was really starting to feel down today being that it is Friday and my best friends birthday. She is having all the girls over her sister's for appetizers (yumm) and drinks, and then out. I have been in a bad mood knowing I cant indulge like I normally do. But you all are right. Its time I take CONTROL and make a big effort to change my ways.

I guess I am always fighting myself; going back and forth. This is the way I see it and please correct me if Im wong, becuase I'm hoping I am. I hear all the time that when you are trying to lose the last 15-20 pounds you have to be very strict and work out a lot to lose the weight. So when people tell me I just need to make better choices, that just doesnt seem enough to lose weight. Do you get what I am saying? I think I can make better choices, and work out more, but in my mind, that wont work. Because I have been told for so long now that you have to be very strict in order to lose the last pounds..Am I wrong? Or can I really lose the weight over time just by making small changes? I dont want to just maintain and not lose; which is what I feel like I will do if I just make better choices. I feel like I need to almost never mess up and almost never drink in order to lose the weight...PLEASE if someone knows this not to be true, PLEASE tell me about it..my mentality is horrible; as you all can see!

Thank you again. I really appreciate the support in this forum.

Small changes do tend to have more of an impact when you have more to lose. Some people will lose weight just by cutting out soda or taking the stairs every day instead of the elevator. Your body WILL respond to changes. It's easier in the beginning because you generally have more options as far as making changes...more bad habits to change.

So it's not necessarily that you have to be militant now that you're in the home stretch. You just have to make DIFFERENT and perhaps more difficult changes. For me, it was beginning running. For others, it will lowering (or even upping) their calories or trying a different work out. Once your body gets to a significantly lower weight than where you started, it becomes easier to maintain because your body has gotten "accustomed", if you will. Just change it up. It doesn't necessarily have to be torture. I'm still losing at pretty much the same rate I was 50 pounds ago and I honestly think it's because I haven't gotten into a rut...I don't do or eat exact the exact same thing every day. I have fun with it.

That's my opinion anyway...definitely not an expert.

Thick,

So even though I really only have 15pds or so to lose, becuase its my "strting" point, I wont have to be so militant? Is it when I get down to 5 pounds I have to be like that? I always thought if you didnt have a lot to lose, you have to be extremly strict. But maybe since its my starting out weight it will come off easier in the beg? Oh i hope so. Tht would be so nice! Thanks again or the encourgement everyone!! I wish we could all meet up and cheers at the end of our weight loss journy

dianne- what is your weight loss plan? are you counting calories? cardio? weights? have you set any long term goals?

ya some weight should come off easily when u begin to follow a healthy lifestyle. But, we're talking a pound or two. 5lbs if you're lucky. That's one reason that so many people turn into yo-yo dieters; there are no quick and easy fixes. You just have to decide that weight loss is what you want, and that you are going to achieve it, no matter how long it takes.

Like Bry said above, the first few weeks sucked. I had a hard time at the beginning of my journey. I lost 5lbs before even finding 3fc. Then once 3fc came into my life, I gained some confidence and knowledge through lurking, and I committed to a lifestyle over-haul. I lost a quick 6lbs the first week at 3fc, then 'gained' 3 back over the next week. Since then I lost about 1-1.5 pounds a week. I fell off the wagon for about a month when I hit 150, but it took very little effort to maintain. Once I felt myself getting into some old bad habits again, I came back to 3fc to recommit again. It is a process.

But as a form of motivation, I like to imagine it being 4 months from now, and slipping into a skimpy Halloween costume, or whatever. I can't wait for the day to be over because that means I get to make more good choices tomorrow, which ultimately brings me closer to my goal! So I would really evaluate what you want and why, and whether you're willing to put up with bad days to get there. Good luck

This is why I COUNT CALORIES!!!! Nothing is off limits and even though i try to eat healthy most times the times when I want a treat or something different I dont feel as if im cheating. I know this is something I can do for life and even though this started in 2008 Im just starting to REALLY get it and it makes sense to me!!!! Live love laugh!

Aww thanks Matilda! I love your optimistic attitue

does food really make you happy? is popcorn and pizza that much of an ambrosia that nothing else in the world compares?

May sound harsh but seriously, get out of it. you can still have fun. you can still enjoy life with something to always always look forward to. Life is an incredible thing. you don't go to the movies for the popcorn otherwise there would be popcorn franchises right beside every McDonalds.

You have friends obviously, that's wonderful. You're only 15 lbs away from your goal, that's wonderful. You can move and feel good at some points when you're not obsessing about food, that's wonderful. It's all just lifestyle changes in different ways and I've found that being so close to what "my goal" is means that I can really enjoy life! I can get ready in the morning/evening and think I look pretty darn good! So really, what is it that you're depressed about?

I'm sorry, but i feel like being blunt today and taking on the opinion that life is wonderful -- no matter what size you are! Life does not mean obsessing about food. Life is taking advantage of what you can do and what makes you happy.

I'm with preppingbride on this one.

And as for small changes in the beginning vs large changes at the end...I have no idea. I made huge changes in the beginning, and the only switch I've made is going from Weight Watchers to calorie counting. As Matilda said, with calorie counting NOTHING is off limits, you just stay within your allotment for the day and you're good.

Many of us started out with much more weight to lose than 15 lbs, so its possible that our strategies may not work, but there is a Feather Weights forum on here that may offer assistance for the "If I only have 15 lbs to lose what do I do" question.

Preppin and Shasha,

I really appreciate your bluntness and I understand how my posts might come off as irritating. Here's the thing. Although I only have about 18 pounds till my goal weight, I am very unhappy with how I look. I am irritable almost every day about it, depressed looking in the mirror, and have less confidence. I may not have 100 pounds to lose, but the way I feel about myself is just the same. I want to be healthy. I can't live the rest of my life eating the way I do. I know life has a lot more to offer than just food and going out with friends but right now at 23, I feel that is what life is revolved around. I do other things. I go to church, work full time, exercise, spend time with the family, and much more. I just get in a depressed mode when I feel I cant enjoy a nice pasta meal with bread once a day. I feel like I am eating like a rabbit and my calories are still at like 1400! On top of that, I feel like I am missing out every weekend when everyone goes out. My point is, this is a huge adjustment for me and I do want it to be a lifestyle change. That is whats scary for me! I have decided I am going to make changes. All I can do is experiment. Its just the stress really gets to me. Whenever I try to change my lifestyle for the better, I obsess and get EXTREMELY stressed. For example, the past two days my throat has felt swollen and Ive had a bad headache because of the stress of it all. This happens eveytime I make the decision to change my lifestyle. This yo-ying is not good for me either. I feel like Ive gotten even bigger because of it! I will keep trying though. I cant give up..