i started a new diet a couple of weeks ago. its called the scot and white diet and it cuts out carbs, i found it really exciting to begin with because my dad had been on it for 10 weeks and he lost nearly 42 pounds ! but now its really wearing me out and i'm sick of salad, i desperately want to lose weight but i find it so hard ! before i turned to drastic diets i tried fasting and starving myself but that didnt work either! i'm stuck in a horrible body and i'm desperately trying to get out. When i began the diet and exersise about 4 weeks ago my best friend said she would try it too , she gave up on the diet but joined a gym with her mum, and you can allready see a difference in her shape, i stuck to the diet but have only lost 3 0r so pounds and its really got me down, after all my efforts i only manage to loose about a quarter of my goal ! i dont know what to do and i feel so horrible, everytime i look at myself all i see is fat ! i feel terrible today because i felt so awful i broke the diet and had a bowl of cerial, now i feel even worse, its a vicious cycle thats so hard to brake free from i dont know what else to do and i feel as though i'm the only one who feels like this

Hi Laura -

Man, I could have written that post when I was 15.

First of all - 3 pounds in 4 weeks is AWESOME! None of us put on our weight overnight, and unfortunately, it doesn't come off all that fast either. 1/2 to 2 lbs a week is considered a good, healthy rate for weight loss, so don't panic if you're losing at that rate...it'll happen for you eventually.

You did, however, refer to your diet as "drastic", which is worrisome. You need to stick to a new way of living and eating for the rest of your life to really make a lifelong difference in your body. So your changes can be a little less drastic and a little more approachable.

There are lots of ladies with good advice here...maybe you could post what you eat in a standard day and we could offer you some advice on what tweaks might make the way you are eating a little bit easier for you?

You are -not- the only one who feels like this. Hopefully you'll get some excellent advice if you provide us with a little more information!

i stuck to the diet but have only lost 3 0r so pounds and its really got me down, after all my efforts i only manage to loose about a quarter of my goal !

Hi Laura - if I read your comment above correctly, your 3 lb loss is 1/4 of your goal - so your goal was to lose 12 lb? If that is correct, then you are already 25% after only 3 weeks! Awesome! Are you exercising? Walking? There are many workout videos you could do at home. You can even rent them from the library where I am from! Low carb diets were hard to me to stick too for very long. Perhaps you could just focus on eating lots of fruits and veggies and get some excercise in. Just think - if you continued to lose at your current rate of 3lb/month, by summer you will be well below your goal! I too want to the weight loss to be faster, but losing too fast usually ends up in the weight coming back. Good luck! Keep coming back to this website for support and motivation!

Hi Laura,

Don't get discouraged! I know how you feel...I want my weight to come off immediately so I can wear cute clothes again and feel better about how my body looks. Sadly, though, it doesn't work that way. The important thing is to focus on what you have done right (losing those pounds you already lost!) and not on what you have done wrong (eating a bowl of cereal is not so bad, just jump back onto your diet and keep going).

Also, we are all DIFFERENT and lose weight in different ways, on different timeframes. My husband lost over 30 pounds and eats way more junk than I do. I have only lost 19 and mostly stick to my diet. It is frustrating, but men and women do lose weight differently, so don't compare yourself to your dad (or your friend) because that is counterproductive.

Make sure that whatever diet you are on is a healthy one, or you may end up hurting your health in the long run. You probably already know that 'starvation' diets tend to cause your metabolism to slow down even more, so you can't get the pounds off as quickly as you could with a more balanced diet.

Lastly, be gentle with yourself and DON'T GIVE UP! Often it takes many, many tries before we get to where we want to be. Check out some of the posts around here...many (if not most) of us didn't succeed the first time around. The important thing is to keep trying until you find something that works for you and your body.

Good luck!

Have you thought about talking to a nutrtionist or school health nurse. They could help with a guide for healthy eating, and may even be able to suggest a few exercises to do at home. Whatever yo do do not give up. It takes time and LOTS of patience. We have to retrain ourselves on how we look at food.

Good luck and remember there are a whole lot of people here to talk to and support you.

Laura I know that it is hard to stay focused. I am trying to help my daughter who is 13 to lose weight and get healthy. I buy 100% whole wheat bread, noodles, cereal and rice for her and try to limit it to only 2-3 of these a day. I look for food that does not have more than 5 grams of sugar (cereal no more than 8 grams). I encourage her to eat lots of vegtables, fruits, a few nuts, leans meats and fish/seafood. (When I'm not looking she cheats)

The biggest help to her is the exersize. We go to the gym together 3-4 times a week and do cardio and weights for about 1 hour. I put her in dance and cheerleading which she does 3 times a week at the rec. center. This has helped bring her down a pants size in the last 2-3 months. She has lost about 17 lbs. since the last week of October.

I would sugguest that you do some type of exersize 4-5 times a week for about 30 minutes. Even dancing with music on will get you up and moving And drinks lots of water. For weights you can lift cans of vegtables or whatever you can think of...get creative.

It is a slow process...but well worth it. Don't give up and start everyday fresh.

Hey I am sixteen and the same weight as you , i know how you feel but this is a great place really is for suport. I was on a low carb diet since around september but lately I hate that I am eating veggies and watching my calrie intake I try for around 1000-1200 claories a day and I wake up early to workout every other day. I know how it feels to have skinny friends and starve yourself and cheat on your diet , problem is low carb is so restricitve ya know? If i have learned one thing it is that confidence wins anyone over. we both need to learn to accept our selfs. try what i am sayign right now. I am going to be healthy not skinny healthy. Your worth it !