I have to let you all know that I am not a whiner. I usually don't go to just anyone and vent my frustrations. That is why I am overweight. My husband is the only one I have to talk to and he is not around most of the time due to his job. Anyway....to keep my self from eating something I shouldn't I decided to come here. That is why I joined the group. For support and someone to talk to. I haven't posted since my intro so here is an update since then.....I have started exercising again and it feels great. Not doing a lot but making it a point to do something daily..cardio or strength training. Just something other than normal daily activities. I am drinking 72 oz or more of water daily. I know that will increase with the warmer weather. I still really need to work on my eating habits. I need a routine of some sort but I am trying not to eat if I am not hungry which causes me to not get into a routine....anyway, I'm sure you all get the picture. So why I am writing now is because of my morning. I was all gung ho to do some exercising this morning....got out the weights and did that for about 10 minutes and then got my book to get on the elliptical. It was making a loud cluncking noise and it worried me after about 1 minute so I got off to check it out. I thought it was just unbalanced on the floor so I put something under it to balance it. Got back on....still cluncking and getting worse.....Get off again....I can tell something is loose....Got the hammer.....banged it back in place.....no such luck......get the screwdriver.....take it apart to figure out the problem......a loose bolt on the inside.....tighten it up.....screw it all back together.....this all takes about 20 minutes so at this point I don't even want to get on....but I do.... hanging on for dear life just in case I didn't fix the problem.....everything is going smoothly....no loud cluncking.....I go for almost 11 minutes then the cluncking is back. I want to scream. At this point I have to get off before I cause more damage. I will try again later to fix it. I hope that I can. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Good luck to everyone and have a great day.

Sorry about yer machine...

as far as having a schedule...Here is mine, I'm usually hungry whenever I eat....

breakfast: noon
snack: 3
lunch: 6
snack: 9
dinner: midnight (I lead a late lifestyle due to bf's work)
snack: 3

I'm on a 15-1600 cal diet...this is what a typical day looks like for me..

breakfast: bagel, banana, yogurt
snack: grapes
lunch: lean cuisin/salad with lite dressing
snack: pear
dinner: grileld chicken whole wheat tortilla with reduced fat cheese/ oven crinkles
snack: 7 trisquits

this is 1603 cals and keeps me full throughout the day. I get hungry sometimes, but I figure I'm just giving my stomach time to shrink!!! hope that helps!

How frustrating!! Just take a deep breath, step away from situation for a minute, and try again later when you don't feel like your head is about to explode! You'll get it fixed, you'll get what you need to done and you'll feel totally better for it in the end. Good luck and don't hurt your elliptical, remember the elliptical is your friend!

Beverly

As for the food question, hunger is complicated. We often need fuel before many of us overweight folks "feel hungry" as we've come to understand it. (Same thing with our perception of "full.") I think it is often very helpful to eat on a schedule for a while to get back in touch with our bodies and the subtle signals we may be missing. Also, eating on the right schedule can help rev up our metabolism. You don't have to eat a LOT each time, but making sure you eat breakfast, and make sure you have at least 75-100 calories every 3 to 4 hours -- even if you don't feel "hungry" as you currently understand it -- can go a long way to retrain your body, keep things like blood sugar and insulin on an even keel, and keep that metabolism humming. Below is my typical food schedule. After I had eaten this way for a few weeks, I really started to understand when I needed fuel, and how much better I felt all day long eating a little food every few hours vs. eating 1 or 2 or 3 larger meals. (The calorie amounts are just rough averages, they vary from day to day, as do the exact times.)

8:30 - breakfast (300 calories)
11:30 - lunch (400)
3:00 - snack (150)
6:00 - dinner (450)
8:00 - snack (200)

Thanks for giving this schedule...I'm going to try to do this as well. I try to eat 1200-1400 calories per day,so Im going to try to eat 5 small meals per day! I have heard good things about his, I've just never done it before!