hello all im fairly new to this site im 23 im trying so hard to loseweight but i cant seem to do it i cant seem to stop over eating and i try i guess not hard enough im tired of blaming it on the fact that im a stay at home mom with 3 little boys i mean i want to look and feel better why cant i just stick tosomething i need help please those of you who have lost tell me how and what i can to to follow in your footsteps i need to lose at least 80 pounds im only 23 and i want to feel like it right now i feel like an old lady im letting my weight take over my body i mean my legs look likecottage its groos help please

Hi. For me, low carbing (Atkins) along with cardio (treadmill) and Curves (3 or 4 days a week) has helped me go from size 20/22 to a 14. I still have 20 or so pounds to lose -- but am currently in maintenance mode until after my vacation in September. Then, gung ho again to lose the last 20 pounds and get into a size 12.

Good luck with your efforts.

Hi,
I try to eat 5-6 small meals a day, with protein in all of them. I eat a few (3 or 4) for a snack even if I'm not hungry. It's worked in the past and it's starting to work now. I also feel much better. I do not drink any soda or coffee just green tea and sugar-free lemonade.

I walk and do Tae Bo everyday. Also as "Mad 4 Sting" said eat 5-6 smal meals a day (2 of those are snacks). I eat my carbs before 1:00pm. Only meat and veggies for dinner. I do drink coffee I don't think I can do without it.

I concentrated on eating for long term health, weight loss was a happy by product. I did not diet, I have changed the way I eat forever.

I've written a post called "My Big Weight Loss Secret" that you can find as a sticky at the top of this forum.

What I would suggest right off the top of my head is do as much research as you can about how you want to change your lifestyle. Don't get into a "diet mindset" - that usually implies a temporary situation. You need to find the way to eat that works for you and that you can keep doing permanently. The "learning phase" would be educating yourself about healthy nutrition and exercise. One good place to start (other than right here at 3FC) is the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - which can be found at www.nutrition.gov.

Don't fall for the marketing of the diet industry - we've all seen those ads and infomercials featuring self-proclaimed fitness gurus with their latest miracle diet/exercise plan. There really is only one way to lose weight and keep it off permanently - that is to reduce caloric intake while increasing calorie burn - but the diet industry is run by brilliant marketers who know (through market research) exactly what to say in their ads and who their target market is. It's VERY important to keep in mind that THERE IS NO SECRET - you just need to find the key that will unlock your 'door'. (okay that sounds really hokey...I know...)

Exercise is a VERY important part of the equation. You don't need to join a gym or buy any of those infomercial exercise gadgets - you can start by just getting a decent pair of walking shoes, opening your front door, and taking a walk which is how I started. (an MP3 player or walkman helps too - Music is a great motivator!)

The exercise key IMO is to find something you ENJOY. If you start with walking, walk as briskly as you can while enjoying the fresh air. Better yet, if you have a significant other and/or some friends that are interested, get a walking group organized! If you decide to go the gym route (I happen to be a confirmed gym rat!) shop around and find a gym you really enjoy with a motivational atmosphere, that is conveniently located and with good hours. Most gym chains (24 Hour Fitness, Bally's, Gold's, Curves, etc) offer trial periods from 3 days to 3 weeks. I encourage you to give the trial period a try prior to signing a contract, to ensure that the facility you are considering is the proper 'fit' for you.

As far as the scale number goes - IMO it's not a really good idea to focus exclusively on the scale, especially early on. If you start eating healthier and moving more, you should soon experience other benefits - both physical and mental (paraphrasing Lance Armstrong - "it's not (just) about the scale"!)

There are so many weight loss/fitness/diet books out there. A lot of them are (quite frankly) crap. However, there ARE some very useful ones - a recent one I'd like to recommend is Body for Life for Women by Pamela Peeke. (you should be able to find it in your library).

Whew...so much more I can say but I'm out of time

I do cardio 3 times a week, and weight training 3 times a week. I cut out all soda (except Diet Sprite Zero), use Splenda in the gallons of tea I drink a day, and (try to) count grams of protein -- with a goal of 100 grams per day. I don't actually count calories or carbs or fat grams, but I try very hard to make sure that my meals are based on protein FIRST, with only *some* carbs and good fats added in. Like some other people have said, I also make sure I eat something every 2 - 3 hours, even if I'm not hungry. It keeps my metabolism fired up and I find I'm not *too* hungry at mealtimes, which makes portion control much easier.

Welcome to 3FC!

Some of you have lost so much weight - Please share with the rest of us how you do it!!!!

Good topic! This will be interesting and informative!

I'm doing a Bible study from the website settingcaptivesfree.com. It's called The Lord's Table and it's free! I'm loving it!

This seems to be a popular topic today so I took the liberty of merging the two threads about this subject...

thank all you so much for replyin im going to take what all you said and get right i want to lose weight andone day be thin

I follow a modified version of Atkins, with about 50% of my calories from fat, 10-15% from carbs (net, not total; I don't count fiber), and the rest from protein.

When I weighed about 170 pounds I could eat 2150 calories a day and lose about 2 pounds a month. Now that I am down to 145, I can only eat about 1900 calories if I want to lose. I don't know how many calories I was eating when I was 200 pounds because I wasn't counting calories then.

I keep track of all this on FitDay.com. http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJourn...Owner=Newbirth

At any rate, this works for me and keeps the horrible carb cravings from my meds under control.

Just keep at it until you find what works for you. Low fat/high fiber seems to be the key for me. I find that I never have to feel hungry as long as I make the right choices, and I can eat enough food to always feel satisfied. Sweets are my weakness and I've learned to replace my sweet cravings with fruit. Now I get hungry for fresh peaches, watermelon, strawberries or pineapple, and can indulge without guilt. I don't even miss the high-fat, sugary junk I used to eat. With exercise I started slow (sometimes only 5 - 10 min. per day) and didn't want to do it and had to force myself. 7 months later I love exercise and can't skip even a day.

Lifestyle changes are always difficult at the beginning...but before you know it they become habits. It gets easier all the time for me, and the results make it so worth the effort.

The big secret, as MsJim said, is a complete lifestyle change. It isn't easy, but it can be manageable.

In my case, I basically changed the way I eat- it didn't happen overnight, I started with small changes. I cut out colas and other nutritionally void drinks like fake fruit juices and switched to fat free milk. I switched to whole grain breads and pastas, cut out almost all fast food and eat only 1/3 to 1/2 of meals at restaraunts and take the rest home. I eat breakfast every day now- something like cereal with fruit or a wheat uffin with peanut butter and fruit. Snacks are now fruit, yogurt, a homemade smoothie, veggies with a small amount of dressing, etc. I do still eat sugary foods, but instead of having a big bowl of ice cream, I will have one serving (1/2 cup) or one cookie or a couple of miniature candy bars. I still drink instant espresso coffee drinks, but for all those items, I limit the portions and don't have them ALL in one day. I personally look for foods that have the least ingredients on the label. That said, exercise has been the hardest part for me and I still struggle to find the energy and the ambition to do it. It comes down to deciding it's time to educate yourself and be accountable for your actions (or inactions).