I'm new here so give me a chance.I need and want to loose 90 lbs,I've aready lost 20. I'm unsure what to do'I don't want to loose 1lb. if all I'm going to do is gain it back. I'm wanting and trying to change what and how I eat.I've looked at WW,food lovers,10 min. work out w/ diet help,8 week body make over, and others. I know I need help with types of food and meal plans.But all these plans cost a lot and I'm not sure which will help me.I'm looking at foodlovers and 10 min work out the most. What advice can you give me,thanx

I'd say start with simple and free, calorie counting. There are a lot of tools to do calorie counting and it'll cost you nothing.

I'm doing the same as nelie.

Agree you should try calorie counting It's free (except for buying maybe a food scale), no food is banned (unless you decide to ban it - I've banned myself from cheese for a while because I can never stop eating it) and I think it's good preparation for maintainance. It's also easier to work around if you're eating out, going on holiday etc (I still ate all the holiday treat type food when we went away but less quantities to try and keep within a certain amount of calories). It's easy enough after the first few weeks - the foods you eat all the time you soon get good a judging the calories for and anything else you can look at on the packet or look up on the internet as you go along. I also find calories counting good it my weight loss is slowing down - it's easy to add 100 or take away 100 calories to experiment with the number of calories.

You don't need to spend a cent to lose weight. There are lots of excellent resources on the internet to help you with designing food plans. Personally, my plan is to eat a lot less than what I used to eat and to make that food healthy and nutritious. Pretty simple, really. And calorie counting is an easy way to stay on track. Websites like Daily Plate are terrific for keeping track of what you're eating and keeping you in line as far as protein, carb, and fats.

So welcome to 3FC! Glad you found us. There is so much great advice and support to be had here. Hope you stick around!

all those plans do the same thing in one way or another : restrict calories. counting them yourself just allows you to be more in control instead of hoping the menu is being accurate. As long as you burn more than you take in you should be losing. I assume from your user name you are a guy, so you are lucky in that guys usually lose much more smoothly and quickly.

I agree with the ladies above in saying counting calories! It is free! Woo Hoo! I am doing WW, but if I had it to do over again I would count calories, the reason--- it is harder to convert when you are used to doing one thing (well for me it is)...... B/c when I tried to count calories, I always thought of the points in the item as well, just out of habit.

Good luck, and you have found the best FREE help of all--- 3fc. Btw, there are a few guys on here...... buddy up with one of them, they can help you along the way when us "chicks" are at a loss.

Tammy

One more vote for calorie counting! Also rent some exercise videos from like netflix and if you find one you really like, hit ebay and get it on the cheap. Start going to yardsales and build yourself a home gym if you have space.. we just picked up a complete home gym system in great condition for $40 after some haggling. We are still watching for a treadmill and an eliptical.. but we make do with what we have... lots of videos, the ability to go for walks and the gym and some freeweights.

I think the thing with those programs is if you don't learn why you are eating unhealthy in the first place then when you get off of them you'll just gain the weight back.

My friend spent a fortune on Nutrisystem and lost a lot of weight- she looks good- but she's confessed to me she's started gaining back and I was like well you need to start cooking for yourself- not going back to your old habits- so now she's struggling again to maintain but she has gained back some of it.

Calorie counting works if you are diligent and track your calories. I actually did this for a while and lost about 20 lbs, but due to my medical condition and the advice of my doctor I decided to switch to South Beach, so far so good.

It's all about what works for you- if you think you can track calories, then track calories (sparkpeople.com is a great site to do it all electronically), if you can't eat carbs, then try low carb, or go vegetarian if you feel you can live without meat, and so on.

Start out slow, make small changes, cut out soda, then cut out chips and other snacks, etc. I started cooking my lunches in advance so that I don't have to worry about it. Last night I made lunches for three days- they are packed and ready to go- then on Wednesday night I'll make two more lunches

I also plan all my meals and each night prepare a good dinner- I also eat breakfast so I'm not starving by the time lunch comes around

I've found that while my loss has been slow it's been steady and the changes I have made have lasted

Another calorie counter here. It is flexible and free. I have tried many diets and calorie counting works best for me.

I definitely agree about the calorie counting. If you're going to lose weight and keep it off then you're going to need something that you can commit to in the long-term.

Calorie counting is good because all you need is a food scale (i got mine for 6.99 @ Walmart) and/or measuring cups (pretty cheap) and then all you need to do is start reading labels and tracking your consumption and you're pretty good to go. The good thing being you can get used to eating the "regular" food that you're going to consume the rest of your life and not feel like you're on a diet or have to eat diet food (which really is not sustainable).

*raises hand* another calorie counter here When I first started and needed extra support I did weight watchers though!

Yet another calorie counter here.

It is free, simple (once you get the hang out of it) and something that can be done forever. It's built in accountability and FORCED portion control. It also forces you to educate yourself on nutrition, wanting to *spend* those calories in the best possible way, getting the most bang for your buck so to speak.

Fitday.com., thedailyplate.com, nutritiondata.com are just a few of the many websites that can help you get started.

I'm a calorie counter too.

One of the great things about calorie counting is that it is so flexible. A lot of folks take a hybrid approach. Some folks apportion their macro nutrients in addition to calorie counting (protien/carbs/fats). Some take a whole foods or superfoods approach in addition to calorie counting. I think that if you stick with calorie countig for a while, you do being to appreciate the nutrient value of your food and naturally start to steer away from the junky food that is a bad value for your calorie budget.

But other folks have found other approaches that work for them. Good luck finding a approach that works for you!

Me to I am a calorie Counter. I agree with what everyone here is saying. You count calories you will learn How to prepare your own foods and Portions. It keeps me from eating junk foods cause I wont give my calories away for junk I value them too much.

Jest keep droping by everyone here will do their best to help you out.