I am a yo-yo dieter since the age of 13 and really want to get my weight off before my 40th birthday 44 weeks from now. I have done all the fad, prescribed and fabricated diets known to man and have done well on all of them for about the first 25-35 pounds and then manage to either sabatage myself or have fate get the better of me. I have a fresh approach now but have been stubborn about really applying myself to it. would love to buddy up with someone who has the same problem of really wanting it but not being able to do it right now.

Hey stubborn ! I think I'm your match .. I also have very little patience , I want what I want and I want it right now ! I've been yo-yo dieting for the past 6 years , I've managed to lose weight and kept most of it offf , I'm sooo tired of this though , I eally want this to work for me , and everyone else out there of course I'm asking for any and all buddies to look me up pleasse ! Good luck to all ...

Well I don't know that i'm actually a yo yo dieter, but I have very little patience and almost no will power to make myself REALLY apply. I gained a crap load of weight after losing all but about 20 pounds from when i had my baby (who is now 4), and I really just want to get back to where I was before which was 150 and i could've stood to have lost 10 or 15 puonds, but i would be SO MUCH HAPPIER!!! I recently joined a gym, and I havent' been all that great about going, but i really surprised myself that i go at all by myself!! Anyway, if you want, either of you can send me a message! By the way, what is your fresh approach? Good luck!

So glad to hear back from ya'll!!! I totally agree with the wanting what I want when I want it. That's my problem i want the instant gratification of not eating the bowl of ice cream today and dropping 40 punds in the morning!! And when the scale doesn't budge i am convinced it will never happen.

My fresh approach is actually where my name comes from. Eat Less Exercise More and Put God First (ELEM-PGF). Great in theory but so far the exercise has been taking that extra trip up or down the steps when i forget something instead of waiting till morning and the eat less is not finishing the whole pack of cookies in one day but waiting until the next day. the put God first thing has been a struggle too. I don't know where ya'll are in your faith but the harder I try to be faithful the worse my eating gets !!!

I would love for us to be supports for each other. The knowing someone else is out there feeling like I should have been through with this yesterday and when will i ever not have to worry about what is going in my mouth and how much did I move my body, takes a little of the frustration out of it all.

B&LSMAMA, you go girl, the last thing i would want to do is go to a gym by myself. I recently started working a few hours with a friend who has a PT clinic in a gym and just walking through the gym part to go to the bathroom makes me want to vomit. So i am very proud to hear that you have gone at all by yourself as well. SOMEHOW, we have got to get out of this all or none way of doing this. Just because you didn't go as often as you thought you should to the gym does not discount the times that you did. those were one less day in your life that you didn't do anything to reach your goal of a healthy body!!

CHERRYLATTE, i really admire you for the keeping "most of it" off. I have never been able to say that so i am a bit jealous too! How did you manage to get most of it off? Any special plan?

Look forward to hear back from ya'll, I am an early morning late night computer viewer and may not get on every day but I will be checking back to chat more!

Mind if I jump in?

I need to get some weight off. I am terrible about doing well for the first 25-35 too and then I will regain (and sometimes gain more) than what I started at. This time around (I started on 8-29-05) and I have lost 20lbs. From 297 to 277, but I'm stuck.

I've been doing the traditional count calories/fat grams and exercise thing.

Warmest Wishes to you all!

Angela

I can't believe how many people are experiencing so many of the same emotional and sometimes uncontrollable eating/dieting craziness as me. I've always hid my eating habits from those close to me so I could avoid their judgments ...I know I've made some progress but I don't give myself the credit, the fact that I've not achieved my goal is still a failure to me.. I have to keep reminding myself how far I've really come.. I really don't feel any thinner because I lost my weight very slowly, it took me almost 3 years to be where I am today, because I have no patience and I lose all determination when I don't see immediate results..Like my butt is actually gonna be firmer after one day of exercise! I really do enjoy venting myself with everyone here.. And what a relief to know I am not alone with my eating habits.. Sometimes I definately feel as though I'm the only person in this world that can't seem to get her act together.. Hang in there ladies :O) We are all here for each other, it's the best feeling knowing your not alone.

Cherrylatte, i know what you mean about hiding it from those you care about, i am from a tiny mother and have a really hard time eating around her at all and would die if she ever saw what i can really consume. I don't want my husband or kids to see either. I have a friend from college that i would actually binge with and that was when i refined my skills for sure but those folks are few and far between.

Chikenbee, glad you jumped in. I hate the stuck thing! I really have not been able to get past that point with my last several attempts either and hope that with this support things will be different. I was never good at the calorie/fat gram counting thing. it just seems to make me angry and too pre-occupied. what kind of exercise are you doing? i just started to a new primary care doctor and she said that plateaus usually mean you need to kick up the activity another notch to get things moving again.

Gotta run for now, will check in later

Hey ya girls! I almost thought better to skip the computer tonight, so glad I didn't! I think I was meant to find you guys.

I could write each and every one of your posts! I am the queen of the yo-yo and I am so sick of it! I struggled and struggled last year to get something going and couldn't for the first time, couldn't even yo-yo with 20-30 lbs off, nuthin! This year I made a promise to myself that no matter how hard it got I would not give up I would keep going. Well, wouldn't ya know it, this is the hardest thing I have ever done. The weight is not budging despite eating right and lots of exercise. It's caused me to really doubt myself this week. I suffer from a myriad of things and do take meds so this is probably the culprit. Hopefully fixin' that tomorrow when I visit w/ the doctor. I think she's finally convinced that it's not me and it's the medicine! I've bugged her enough, so finally i get to say my piece and hopefully move on!

Anyways, I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. Maybe we can set up some sort of circle w/ email, IM's and such? Would love to get a good late night chat going!

Take care ladies, I'll check in with you all in the morning!

I look back at the days when I was the perfect weight for my height -6'3" and 180 and my EX-HUSBAND thought I was too fat. I have a new husband and he only cares about my weight because of poor health - he loves me when I'm fat, depressed or craving something he knows I'm going to hate myself for eating! There's a diet competition where I work - men only. They really like to rub it in how well they're doing too. I'd like to celebrate each 1/2lb with each of you. It may take us longer - but we will get it done!

My exercise is very sporadic...and nearly non-existant.

Generally it is Walking with my Leslie Sansone DVD. When the weather warms up it will be walking at the park, maybe I can convince myself to get back on the Bowflex that has become a lovely clothes catcher.

Ang

Hey You Guys This Is Great! I Am Only On Really During The Day (occasionally At Night But Not Often)...how Do We Go About Getting A Circle Going? How Many Of You Are On Here During The Day?

Wow ! How much fun is this So many people to share our struggles and success with .. No more feeling alone in this battle for me..I am so glad to have found this site. So I'm down 6 pounds the last 3 downs, obviously I was retaining some water, I'm relieved that's all it was, I'd thought I'd gained 9 pounds during my 10 day "eating" splurge. It was my b-day, I used that as my excuse to behave badly. I always like the holidays, b-days, etc.. 'cuz that's the best reason for me to snack, snack, snack.. But I noticed that there is a holiday each month, so this has got to end!! No more excuses, I promise myself..
Chickenbee, I noticed your goal weight is 102, are you a short gal? I am,, only 5'3, I hate how being short can make me look so much heavier
Tryagain5402 your blessed to have your height..
Desertdreamer good luck at you doc' appointment today, let us know what you find out k..
My answer to ELEM-PGf; how I've lost weight, keeping my caloric intake below 1500, exercising when I'm not being to lazy, which is not as often as I'd like, always pay attention to the sugar in foods, like alot of fat-free foods, they are usually loaded with excess sugar, this will only give you more cravings later.. I try to increase my protein intake, it helps cure some cravings and helps me feel full longer, but I'm such a carb lover, I could live on cereal and sandwiches, so it's really difficult to stay away from those overly processed cereals and breads..That's basically all I've been doing, no big secret diet tricks I'm afraid! I wish there was a miracle fat-loss treatment, I'd be the first in line :O) I've tried everything out there and so far it's all been a big waste of money and time.. Good luck to you all, talk later girlies...

Cherrylatte - yep, I'm a short girl - 5'4 though. I do so hate how being short makes me look dumpy. I weighed in a day early, today, and I am down 2 lbs this week! Only 3 more lbs to go to make my March goal of 10 pounds this month. I LOVE Carbs. I tried Atkins and I just can't do it. I love pastas, potatoes, and breads (not to mention cakes and cookies and other stuff made with starchy products). That's why the dietician put me on this diet - counting my calories (and she gave me a little paper that teaches me how many serving of each food group I am allowed to have per each meal). I lost these first 20 pounds by doing the T-Lite diet without the pills. When I hit 20 pounds I kept juggling the last 3 of them off and on and off and on. That's why this month I switched to calorie counting to get more weight off. Does anyone else notice the need to switch up their diet?

B&Lsmama - I am here during the day off and on.

Angela

Good afternoon girls! So I went to the dr. today. She agreed to taper me off Effexor and try a new med. This will hopefully still help me but let me lose weight like I should be. With the Effexor I lost basically nothing and no inches either. Not to mention, it makes me crave carbs like nobody's business!
I start the new one today so crossing my fingers it works all the way around!

cherrylatte, you've done an awesome job losing so far. And to think, no pills, no quick way, no magic bullet, just you and plain ole hard work. Truly an inspiration! Is this thing the dietecian gave you similar to like a diabetic diet? I only ask because years ago when I was around probably 20 or so, my mom and I did something familiar to that, we used these food logs and on them it listed for each meal the groups we should eat from for that particular meal, snack,etc.. I did lose great with that but being young and dumb, I didnt stick to it. Why would I, *gasp* I had to actually work at it!

I can so relate to not being forthcoming to people about eating. I've had a binge eating disorder for as long as I can remember and have always kept it a secret. Altho', by looking at me who couldn't tell I was eating too much?
My mom 'claims' to have had no idea I did this as a child, but I think she knew all to well. I only told my husband about this struggle just last year and he was shocked. He still hasn't come to grips with it yet I think. He sees how much I want to lose weight, and I think he worries that it either won't happen, or I'll regain it all if I do. Haven't been able to figure out if there is something emotionally holding me back and that's why I do this? I dunno! It's very frustrating. Any of you deal with this at all? I swear, I feel like I am the only one who thinks and feels this way.

Someone mentioned doing Atkins. I've done it twice and both times I lost great. The second time I actually dropped about 45 pounds in about 6 weeks by just following the plan to the letter and exercising 30 min. a day 4x a week. It just got to be too much, cooking almost 2 seperate meals for dh and the kids and then mine. Plus, anyone who's done this knows there's alot of time spent in the kitchen anyways, so I felt like that's all I did preparing two seperate lifestyles. I'm 5'4" too and I feel and look just like one of those red handballs we all played with in school!

I guess I've blabbered on enough. Sorry girls! Once I get to talking, hard to shut me up!

I hope you are having an amazing day girls, keep up the great spirit.
Also, lets figure how we may want to set up some sort of specific thread, or to email back & forth. I need the support! lol