Ok, here's my story:
I'm 26 and I've been struggling with my weight since I remember.
I am 5'3" and weigh about 164.
I know that my problem is more mental than physical, as I've managed to lose 40 pounds the last year almost doing nothing.
I've Just followed this program with cds to listen and ebooks http://www.slimway.tk/loseweight
Now that I've quit with the program I've gained back 35 pounds in half a year, and things don't seem to get any better.
I've already contacted who sold me the program, I was really mad and they gave my money back.
I'm confused and angry, I really don't know what to do. I'm alone again, drifting between the fridge and the sofa.
Please help!

Good intentions, thinking thin, and cds won't lose the weight for you.

Monitoring your caloric intake and changing your behaviors will. It's all up to you!

Good luck, and welcome to 3FC

Why did you stop doing what you had been doing if it was working without you really doing anything? You first have to realize this is a way of life - not a diet for a certain number of days and then it's magically over. No "diet plan" works if you don't keep following it or if you don't learn from it and apply the principles long term. It's mostly a mental game - I hope you have great luck in getting back into it. you did a wonderful job before - you should be able to do it again.

Lin

I'm surprised they gave you your money back--there was no reason for them to. You can't just stop something that was working and expect to keep the weight off unless you transition to a new way of eating.

linJbr said it right, that this is a mental game and it's never over. You have to stick to some sort of plan (even if it's not the same one) for th long haul.

I've been maintaining my weight for a year. I still stick to a plan because going back to eating how I used to means I will gain the weight back.

It's not so easy! The problem is that when things go bad I can't help myself from eating everything I came across.
Lately I'm even at the risk of losing my job, and staying away from cakes, ice cream and pizza is becoming even more difficult

Nobody said it was easy. If it was nobody would have a weight problem.

In your original post you said you quit the program, gained weight, and were angry. What are you angry about? Are you angry at the program, or yourself?

Trust me, I understand stress. I'm out of work, have bills to pay, etc. it's easy to the put the blame on something else, but it's NOT going to help you in the long run.

You're right, it's not easy. No one here will ever say it is; it's a butt load of hard work and commitment! And as I'm sure you already know, no person or diet or plan will make you lose the weight. You have to find that place within yourself to push through the tough times. 3FC is an absolutely wonderful place for support! But the only person who can do it is you. Every single person here has struggles and hardships and obstacles. Unless/until you're ready to cut out the excuses it will be next to impossible. I know that you're new here so it can be hard to read posts from people without knowing where they're coming from, but I mean all of this in the best possible way. Look at everything and evaluate why you gained that weight back and figure out how you can keep that from happening again. It definitely won't be easy, but it'll be worth it.

It is confusing and maddening. Trust me, we have all been there. The first thing you need to do is channel your confusion and anger into a clear, actionable, and manageable plan. What are you willing to do in the next week to start a downwards trend? Figure that out (make sure it's something healthy!) and begin. Simple, yes. Easy, no.

Find an activity and start it. Choose one healthy eating habit and start it. Then the following week, keep those 2 habits and layer on a 3rd. Etc. Like the old shampoo instructions -- lather, rinse, repeat.

You can do this.

Until you decide to take charge of your actions, nothing will change. It isn't the program you used to follow's fault you gained back the weight - you quit the program. I, too, am amazed they refunded your money. This gives me a clue, though, as to why it didn't work. You want a solution that isn't YOU. When you realize YOU are the solution, you'll be successful. And until you see YOU as the solution, YOU will be the problem.

Personal stumbling blocks are not to blame for our weight. We choose to eat junk or eat healthy foods. By focusing the blame for failure on something outside yourself you are setting yourself up to fail time and time again. There was nothing wrong with the program you followed - you lost 40 pounds on it. The problem came when you quit. You chose to quit something that was giving you positive results, therefore you were at fault, not the program.

Get into the mental game - it's essential to success in weight loss as it is in most anything we do. Good luck.

Lin

Ok people, I guess you're right and I shall start taking my part of responsibility for what happened.
This is a very difficult time for me... I've just eaten half apple pie... I really don't know what to do.
Maybe I should become a vegan?

I think that different plans work for different people. Some seem to do well with calorie counting while others do Paleo, packaged meals, low carb, Weight Watchers, etc. Part of your journey will involve you finding an eating and exercise plan that works for you: something that you can live with and stay on long-term.

Are you a vegetarian now? If so, maybe becoming a vegan would be a relatively easy leap for you. But if you are not, I would imagine that making such a significant change in eating plans may be very challenging. Is there a reason why you think you would be successful with veganism as opposed to another eating preference?

Also, while there may or may not be many overweight vegans, I think you can gain weight on even a vegan diet if you take in more calories than you burn. Hummus, grains, beans, etc. are healthy foods, but are not necessarily low cal.

Maybe your first step should be to do some research on eating plans to find one that sounds appealing to you. All have their advantages and disadvantages. Some are more likely to work for you than others because they will allow you to eat foods you prefer. These boards have forums on everything from low carb plans to calorie counters and prepackaged plans. Do some reading to see what sounds most promising to you, then use these boards for support when you are in a tough place. Good luck.

There are plenty of vegan apple pie recipes—which is to say that becoming a vegan does not guarantee weight loss. You can eat half a vegan pie just as easily as you can half a non-vegan pie, and neither would be a healthy serving size. As others have suggested, you need to find a healthy eating plan (portion control included) that will work for you—that you can stick to faithfully. That could be vegan or vegetarian or omnivorous. The key is to adopt a way of eating that you can stick with for life. Dieting doesn't work, but changing your lifestyle does. To me there is very little difference between losing weight and maintaining it—except that I can eat more when I am maintaining. I still have to eat the right foods, watch my caloric intake, and be selective about my treats. If I don't approach my food choices as lifestyle choices, I regain.

Not everyone looses weight becomming a vegetarian or vegan...In fact some people gain. Simply put....your eating to much, not moving enough, and elimating meat or animal products won't change this unless you control the amount your consuming

You need to take responcibility for your way of eating and until you can get it under control, the weight will stay...

Gillian, it sounds like you may have an issue with stress and binge eating. It definitely sounds like your job stress is leading to some over eating. There is a binge-eating thread that has been very helpful for me. You may want to check that thread out too.

I would suggest taking it one step at a time. You said that you were listening to an ebook, but I wonder if weight loss podcasts would help you too? I listen to Fat2Fit radio podcast and CutTheFatPodcast. If you Google those two, the archives should come up without a problem. Those two podcasts have helped me tremendously at work and during my workouts.

My weight loss priorities are as follows:

1. Reduce stress - nap, vegge out to some TV, surf the internet, read a book, etc
2. Diet - I prep my food over the weekend for the whole week. It's easier than it may sound, if you're not used to doing it. Basically, I portion out my meals and snacks and then I've usually eaten enough so that I don't overeat at dinner. I have a grapefruit for an after dinner snack too so that I don't feel deprived of a snack.
3. Exercise - I try to work out at least 3-4 times per week.

It sounds like you're at the stress management part of the journey. If you can reduce your stress and stick to a good caloric intake, then you should start losing again.

Good luck - I know how job/life stress can interfere with your weight loss journey. Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing!

That's what it sounds like to me too.
If you decide to become vegan (and if you're not a vegetarian already) for weight loss purposes only but you have stress and binge eating problems, I fear you will trigger your binges even more from restricting your diet so much. It may be best to not make any type of food off limits in your head at this time, but instead shift your focus to getting healthy nutritious foods. This is just my experience.