I have never had a weight problem...have always been super active and fit. Then suddenly this year...it seems like my metabolism has changed! I gained 20 pounds this past year and now none of my clothes fit! As someone who has never dieted...I don't even know where to start! Tried doing P90X and following the meal plan but didn't stick with it! Now it's warm out and I cannot fit into my summer clothes and I feel extremely depressed! I don't even know where to start!

Cut out carbs? Fat? Watch calories? I feel desperate and unhappy!

First off welcome! I completely understand. I never had a weight problem until after I had my kids. So I was kinda in the dark too. I first started with better and more structured meals and adding exercise everyday. After doing that I start to look into what might fit into my lifestyle better and I chose lower carbs and high protein. Just remember it takes baby steps. If it comes off to fast it might come back too fast. When I first started using my elliptical again I could only stay on 8 mins. Now I am up to 30-40 mins every night!!!

I hope you find something that will work for you! Btw you will love it here. You can loose weight and make friends!

1975, welcome! I'm sorry it just hit you out of the blue. Quite a shock I'm sure. I started struggling around 23. Lots of partying & eating everything. I have tried lots of things. I tried Eating "healthy", organic, Mediterranean diet, south beach diet, and nutrisystem. All yielded some results, but the deciding factor was me. Would I or could I stick to it? All the diets had so many restrictions. Finally I tried calorie counting. That made sense to me. I could eat what I want but I had to keep within my calorie limits each day. And by calorie counting I naturally avoided calorie rich foods, for the mot part. Unfortunately there is no magic diet. You will have to see what works best for you. The super cool thing is this place has a forum for many different types of diets. I suggest taking a tour & see what makes sense to you. You know what your tendencies are. I like to eat dinner so I save calories during the day to snack at night. Also I don't like having something forbidden so my diet works for me.

Just know you are not alone! We are all in the same boat. Good luck & think positively. You can do this!! =D

Welcome!

My first suggestion is, if you haven't already, make a visit to your doctor for a physical. It seems strange that you would suddenly gain 20 lbs in a year if nothing has changed.

You'll have to experiment to find a plan that fits into your life. I personally like calorie counting because it's flexible. I use the My Fitness Pal app on my phone to track. (Weight Watchers is a similar concept, but simplified to "points" and has the option of going to meetings if you're the kind of person who needs outside accountability or support.) Within my calories I keep carbs to <50% of calories, and eat lots of fiber (>35g/day).

Welcome, 1975!! I have to agree with what everyone has said so far! I'm a calorie counter as well, and have tried every other diet under the sun. This one works for me since I can eat what I want as long as I stay under my goal calories for the day...

I also agree with Juliana - maybe a physical would be a good idea? Maybe it is possible you could have some sort or thyroid issues or something else going on that has caused the weight gain if your regular lifestyle really hasn't changed at all....

Either way, you can do this!! Everyone here is in the same boat and are all very supportive!

Start tracking your daily calories and figure out how much you expect to burn. Outside of something weird medically, your metabolism doesn't change that drastically. You're probably eating more than you realize. Good luck.

Exercise and myfitnesspal.com to track your food. Good luck!