Calorie counting is a pain in the butt. I count my calories and yes, it is tiresome. I hate having to keep track of every little calorie that enters my mouth. It's infuriating. I am also a big picture kind of gal. I have over 140 pounds to lose before i get to where i want to be. I can tell you I've been there. I'm still there. I don't like dieting either. I keep trying to convince myself it's a lifestyle change but really... it's dieting. I try to put on a happy face for others, encourage others... but really I should be encouraging myself. I'm not happy. But I trudge on anyways because if i don't do anything... nothing's gonna happen.

I agree!!!!! Today I looked at the tablet I write in and gave it a big ol . wanna know what happened......I ate cereal for breakfast and a BLT and brownie for lunch. Then got frustrated trying to plan a menu for the week and decided ice cream, jelly beans and mini snickers would make a GREAT dinner. I ate more than that but I think you get the point. So even tho writing everything down does become infuriating for me is it soooooooo what I need to do to keep myself on track and eating the right foods. I am sure tomorrow I will wake up feeling like crap and wishing I would've just opened the tablet and wrote things down but until tomorrow I still say to the tablet.
Also I would like to say one of the great things about calorie counting is you can plan for those treats that you want to enjoy such as ice cream. If I know I will indulge in something I normally can reduce my calories other times of the day to fit in what ever it is I want.
And I envy that fact that you like to exercise. I wish a had just one little tiny athletic bone in my body but I am just a off balance, uncoordinated mess when it come to anything physical.

I feel you! I spent my entire life over weight and finally am doing something about it. It sucks, but I know for me its a for life thing so its really not a diet in the sense that its something I'm doing for a short time to lose weight. It is a diet in the sense that this is what I eat daily and that's it. Counting calories gets to become second nature and isn't so bad after awhile. You mentally tally up everything and you can start to see portion sizes by comparing them to other things, like a deck of cards is a serving of meat. I don't cut out foods I love, I just opt for healthier versions of them. I love cheesecake, so I can have a 300 cal tiny slice of cheesecake OR a yoplait light raspberry cheesecake yogurt (which I also loved before) for 110 calories. It really is about making choices you can live with that will help you get to where you want to be. You aren't alone in how you feel. We all get bummed about it at one point or another. It seriously helps to ditch the big picture. I am a big picture girl and when I got numbers of how much I had to lose I wanted to cry. I had 310 lbs to drop to be borderline overweight according to the BMI chart. Apparently for my height I should be rocking 110-140, but 145 and OMG I'm overweight again. I've dropped almost 2/3's of that weight off already and it happened before I knew it. You say you have 140 to lose right. If you lost 1-2 lbs per week for the rest of the year, you could potentially lose 45-90lbs (estimated the # of weeks left) by Christmas. That would knock a huge chunk of your overall goal right out. How's that for a big picture. Mini goals help you get there but you've got to stay positive to do it or you're more likely to say screw it and give up. At least that how it seems to be for most people. Have faith that you will get there. You can still enjoy the foods you like, just eat them in moderation and workout to counter the extra calories. Weight loss isn't a punishment even though it can sometimes feel like it is. You should try the positive thread! I'm a wicked negative person and it has helped me try to keep my goals in view. We often forget the good things we have going for us and focus on the bad. From my time in there, it seems that positive thinking is contagious. ;D Hope to see you there.

Calorie Counting does NOT have to be painful. That said it does require some "effort" (but then again, anything you do to lose weight WILL require effort). It's all in the way you do it. I pre-prepare all my lunches/dinners bi-weekly. Then I portion them in trays and freeze them. Ex...I make 5 new entrees...I've portioned them and calculated the calories in each meal. This makes calorie counting a BREEEEZE since the work is already done in advance. Adding in snacks is not difficult (yogart, protein bars, popcorn, muffins).

Sure...we'd all like to be able to eat whatever we want without worry and not gain weight...but that's just not going to happen. Truth is...you CAN eat whatever you want...but "in moderation". To find out how much your body can process, it's imperative to monitor your calories (at first). You won't have to count calories for all eternity, but you will have to watch your portion sizes. After a while of doing this...you will get pretty good at just "eyeballing" sizes.

I think it's GREAT that you enjoy exercise. That's probably WHY you don't look your weight...exercise builds/tones muscles! However, weight loss is 90% diet. So, until you get your diet in check...all the exercise in the world will not help you reach your goals.

I just wanna comment about being all "cheery". I think "attitude" is of UTMOST importance in SUCCESS. Excuse makers and whiners usually do not succeed in reaching their goals. Their attitude is negative and by default, they're already "self-defeating". Sure...this is hard...sure I want a piece of cake...sure...running at 10pm stinks...but I don't have to FOCUS on the negative....nor does anyone else. You can learn to see the glass "half full"...such as "if I get my exercise in tonight at 10pm, I'll reach my goal this week"....or, "if you eat this lower calorie item...I WILL get into that bikini this summer"...

Lastly...if the best years of your life are over at 23...I guess I need to shoot myself immediately! just kiddin! Your quite young and beautiful...your life has only just begun....true story...your life starts from the time you decide you want to better it. All the best!

I get the feeling sometimes like my best years have passed me by. By the time I was 23 everyone around me was already treating my like a spinster. Even though I wasn't very overweight at that time. Everyone I knew at work or from school that was my age already had at least one child, in many cases 2 or 3 and were telling me I was too old to start trying for one at that point. I'm 33 now and all of the women I know that are in their early 30's except for one have teenagers now! lol. I understand where she is coing from feeling like she's wasted time.

I also wanted to say that I think when you hit 3 digits of lbs you want to lose it becomes a whole lot more daunting of a task. I'm not really a negative attitude person, but I have trouble convincing myself that all of the effort is worth it. Maybe perhaps SOME day I will lose some of the weight, but I see people who have struggled to lose weight for YEARS, some for decades, who appear to have really put in effort and have gotten little return on it. I am never sure until I step on that scale what the result will be, so telling myself that if I beat myself up for 2 hours I'll see the result tomorrow isn't working out for me. Maybe that's why I have such a difficult time with motivation.

When you go shopping do you look at price tags? Do you check your bank balance to make sure you can afford the things you want to buy? Does that exhaust you?

It's just like keeping track of a budget. If you want to weigh less, you need to make drastic changes from what you were doing before. Just as if you were spending out of control, racking up massive debt and never once looking at your bank balance or the cost of what you wanted to buy.

And it's very easy to get the hang of calorie counting, just as it would be easy after a little while to be able to handle routine expenses, just checking in when you wanted something new or knew your bank balance was getting a little low. If you didn't have the money (or calories to spend) you could either wait until you had room in your budget, or work overtime (or exercise more) to make some more resources available for that treat.

This. This, this, this! I quoted Seagirl's whole post because every line of it is worth reading again. Joyful and Seagirl are correct--calorie counting does not have to be an exhausting, cheerless task that leaves you eating nothing but shreds of cardboard and kale.

Believe me, I used to feel as you did about it. I really rebelled against the notion of counting and watching and budgeting. "ARGH, can't I just eat in peace and enjoy a meal? How does anyone savor food when they're watching every bite?" I'm a native New Orleanian and my husband's worked as a professsional chef; I love food and consider enjoyment of it mandatory. Eating is celebratory, it's something to appreciate and look forward to.

I haven't lost a bit of my enjoyment of great food; I just eat consciously now. In fact, I derive more enjoyment from food now that I'm involved in choosing it, preparing it, and cooking it as well as eating it. You don't get that from a box of doughnuts or a bag of cheetos.

I truly thought counting calories was going to be a miserable drag. I'm astonished to find that not only does it interfere very little with my daily life, I also enjoy it. I like understanding what's going in my mouth, I like the variety it imposes on my meals, I like the fact that CC allows me to eat anything I want as long as I portion it, and needless to say, I LOVE the effect it's having on my health and appearance.

If you're really finding it a miserable grind after giving it a good long try--at least a month or so to get used to it--you might want to reassess some aspects of your plan. Are you feeling deprived or hungry? You might be eating too little volume for your calorie intake and need to revamp your menus. Don't like having to measure? Get a food scale and you'll cut your portion-control prep time to seconds. Does it make you uncomfortably numbers-focused? Try another weight loss system like WW's points, an exchange plan, or a low-carb program.

No matter what means you use to lose weight, you're going to need to make changes. For me, changing portion size was an easier change than overhauling my diet and drastically shifting the macronutrients I ate (low-carb or low-fat). Your mileage may vary and another plan might be ideal for you.

Whatever you do, please don't get disgusted with the process altogether and give up on it. There are so many people here who've changed their lives as they've changed their bodies and they've each had to find their own way. It's so worth finding the plan that works for you, and there is one--there always is. Even if it isn't CC, your best plan is out there somewhere.

I am just beginning my new plan for weight loss... this very minute. I have been reading through posts for the past hour in my bed trying to decide what I want to do to lose weight. Unfortunatly, there is no forum entitled "Im new, don't know what I want to do, need help deciding from someone who has lost the 130 that I want to lose." I ran across this thread, and loved that I was in the same boat as you reallytrying. I really am horrified by the thought that I have to count everything. My life is hectic enough without having to figure up what the calories were for the bagel I just ate and writing down every nuance. Sigh...... I don't really have an alternative ideas though.... Let me know if you want a buddy. I'd love to have one, I think I need the accountability. We are around the same starting weight and have about the same amount to lose, and are the same age (from what I can descern from your post). We could figure it out together?

The hour that you spent lying in bed reading posts, you could have spent on a site like Sparkpeople or Fitday or DailyPlate setting up an account, and starting to learn the calorie counts of different foods.

When you are ready, you'll stop making excuses like "my life is so hectic" and you'll cut out things like tv or internet and make time for things like your health and exercise.

Like anything worth doing well, no matter what plan you choose, it's going to take some time to figure it all out. Then, that part gets a lot easier.

Also, there are plans where you don't have to count calories, but there are other things you have to do instead, like significantly change the kinds of foods you're eating. You might find you like plans like that better

But when it comes down to it, there's no magic pill for weight loss. To lose the weight and keep it off, you have to get to the point where you're willing to do what it takes to get that goal you want.

The good news is, it's worth it! AND, we can be there for you the whole way!

Good to hear you're feeling better! And I finished a Ph.D., so I get that dissertation stress!!!!

One thing to add... I've found that sometimes, something that worked for you initially, does not work later. So while you do need to make a commitment to weight loss, I don't think you need to make a commitment to all the specifics.

For instance, when I lost weight I did it with a number of small meals everyday. Maybe I'd eat every 2-3 hours, so maybe 6 small meals. Now I'm finding that on a number of days it makes more sense for me to eat 3 larger meals, and maybe a snack, rather than eating 6-7 times a day.

So, you have to be able to be flexible too, as you think of how to fit the eating and exercise in long-term.

WOW CAKEGIRL! You are doing great...Congratulations.

Reallytrying..... I have to count every little thing that goes in my mouth or I mess up.
I am losing more than I thought I would when I started my diet last year.

I eat what I want, but have to keep a talley every day. And my diet is balanced.

I gave up all junk food, ice cream, processed food, TV dinners and fast food restaurants.... soda & sweetened ice tea.

Losing weight and keeping it off takes diligence. It is a lifetime change that has to take place.
There is no easy fix. I have to deny myself large portions of high calorie foods.

It is a very tiresome slow process, but every week I see a change for the better, so it is well worth it.

And I soooo love throwing out my baggy clothes.
Best of luck to you!

........

I'm not going to try to add to the excellent words of wisdom you've been given above, but I did want to say that I *absolutely* get where you're coming from, and YES I've felt that way. I still do, sometimes, to be honest. In fact, as I near maintenance, these feelings are even stronger at times because I don't always have the reward of seeing the numbers on the scale drop.

But here's the deal, and here's what I focus on when I am discouraged/negative like this: Being overweight and obese was, for me, 1000% more difficult (physically, mentally, financially, emotionally) than counting calories. When I remember that, and acknowledge counting calories is much better than the alternative, then I am in a better mental headspace about the whole thing.

Some things in life are always going to be difficult/tedious/annoying/icky. But between being fat and tracking my food, I'll take the second every time.

You can do this, I promise!