I'm curious how everyone is managing their weight loss? I'm going back to calories counting and spending about 30 minutes cardio/30 minutes weight machines at the gym (gym 5-6 times per week)? That worked for me before? Is anyone else doing a paid plan like IP or WW? Any special exercise routine?

I'm a bit of a grumpus in that I absolutely want to do this myself. I feel like if I do that, it will lead to my greatest understanding of why I (clearly!) overeat when life throws me any kind of wobble. I'm also only interested in maintainable concepts, so, for example, non of these cabbage for a month diets or what have you. What happens when you stop with the cabbage? The weight comes back on because you start doing what you were doing before.

That means a lifestyle overhaul, complete with new patterns and hopefully new ways of dealing with stress. This was working very well until one of my kids took a nosedive- she has some psychological problems. These things seem to skip a generation because my mother was bonkers, which is where I learned about the seductive power of food to compensate (seemingly!) for love and affection.

Anyway, I don't count calories. I know what's in most foods and I kind of know if I've had enough or not, so I eat a lot of fruit, we're vegetarians, so tofu, eggs, yogurt... Looooove salad. Also, I try to make my evening meal portion small. Breakfast or lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Love muesli, make a lot of smoothies with fruit, yogurt, quark, ground almonds crushed linseeds... What have you.

For exercise, I'm jogging again. I was quite fit (by my standards) a year or so ago and I could jog (albeit slowly) for 30 min at a stretch. I do other strength building exercises with dumbells a couple times a week, too.

I have heard that too much routine can lull your body into adopting a metabolism that will start to maintain rather than lose. Like so many theories, this has yet to stand the test of time, but I have the impression (yes, I know anecdotal evidence is notoriously unreliable) that I have better results if I don't let things get too regular.

Magicsusan - I am also a do-it-yourselfer to a fault. In fact, I just posted in another forum about a trainer at my gym attempting to shanghai me into signing up for sessions with him. I like working out alone, thanks! In fact, way back at the beginning of my weight loss journey I wouldn't even pay for a gym membership - it was walking, jogging, and biking all the way - until I broke my leg. After that, I had to rehabilitate in the more controlled gym environment, and truth be told, the winter weather where I live isn't great for year round outdoor exercise. I get more regular workouts at the gym - but I am strictly solo there. As far as diets, I also swore I wouldn't sign up with a paid plan. I got my MyFitnessPal calorie and exercise tracker and that's been helpful (problem is I quit using it earlier last year, hence my weight gain).

TripSwitch - I have to admit, Oprah makes a great spokesperson and I've been tempted to join, but I won't. Many moons ago after the birth of my 4th child I joined up, lost some weight, promptly gained it back when I stopped going to meetings (I never made goal, so I had to pay everytime I went to a meeting, which got too expensive, not to mention buying the point bars and other WW foods). For me, these plans that rely on packaged convenience snacks or meals, are a temporary fix. I've only tried WW, but I grew to depend on the mindless convenience of grabbing a 2 point bar (or however many points it was) for breakfast or snacks, and most of the foods were only available at the meeting location - so when I stopped eating them I gained.

I am counting calories, eating low carb and high protein. Also trying to walk a few times a week.

Yes! Mindless convenience! I'm dependent on the mindless convenience of grabbing an apple. What I mean is, I don't ever want to put myself in the position of having the excuse of 'I couldn't get this food,' or 'get to the gym,' so I stick to things that I can normally control- common healthy foods from the local supermarket, walking, jogging, waving my dumbbells around in my living room...

I count calories, watch my carb intake, portion control and work out 3-5 times a week. It's not easy, but it's attainable.

dietcokehead98 - sounds like we are using similar approaches! I really hope that I can see my way through to my goal this time.

I eat whole foods, mainly organic (sometimes, something is not available) veggies, fruit, herbs, turkey, chicken, fish, beans, nuts. I limit whole grains, and stay away from refined grains and processed food. Definitely something I can do the rest of my life. Planning and meal prep is key. Every weekend I make turkey chili, turkey meatballs, turkey burgers and freeze them, makes for quick meals on days I need it. I bought a couple veggie pasta machines, and love veggie noodles. Day 19 for me and I lost 17.8 lbs. I am loving that!!

Sounds good, TM. I think starting something you can keep doing for the rest of your life is key.

What's your exercise plan like? Just curious...

Wow, transforming! That's amazing! I am lucky to lost 3-5 pounds in 19 days, if that! I also am trying to stick to whole foods, and yes, preparation is the key. I tend to make a giant pot of some kind of vegetable rich soup on Monday (this week I made lentil soup with a bunch of root vegetables) and eat off of it throughout the week. From that base, I make salads or veggies and hummos or other vegetable fillers to round out a meal. Once a week I add broiled salmon, and once or twice a week chicken breast.

I inadvertently did something similar this week. I made a pot of one of my favorite things, a dish with mung beans, lots of onions and garlic, tomatoes, spinach and lime juice and olive oil. I seem to be the only one who likes it soooo... Lucky me! Been eating it all week. I need to find more dishes like that, he he he.

I'm back to doing what worked before, which is the Mayo Clinic Diet. (basic clean eating and portion control)

This week, I decided that I'll eat the same thing everyday--forget meal planning.

So, plain oatmeal with walnuts & banana for breakfast. Egg, half a whole wheat bagel and salad for lunch. And then, tilapia and cooked veggies for dinner. I have fruit/veg for snack.

I'll probably change things up a bit next week.

I haven't started exercising regularly.....yet.

Hmm- well, I am no longer eating sweets or having any alcohol because that is just a lot of empty calories- and my biggest weakness!
I am also walking to and fro to work every day (3 miles/4.8 kilometers) a day. I don't think I could do anything like "no carbs" "no meat" "no fat" and it doesn't seem reasonable. So far, I've yet to see any diet plan that says vegetables are bad, so I'm trying to eat more of them. I wish I liked them more.

2manypounds--That's a good amount of walking!

I don't mind eating the vegetables, but I do like them with dressings and spices, so maybe that's not so good. LOL

I eat a *lot* more fruit than veg. At the moment I'm looking much more at portion size and clean balanced eating. After that becomes automatic, I'll start getting pickier about ways to trim fat and stuff. The walking program sounds good, 2many. I'm really eager for spring. Walking is a chore for me in the winter and a pleasure the rest of the year!