I am finally beginning my weight loss journey.
I have no idea where to start. There are so many different ways to go about it and frankly I am overwhelmed.
No carb, low fat, protein shakes, meal replacement bars....
I'm lost....
Help!
The easiest thing *for me* has been calorie counting. Find out the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight and eat less than that amount of calories. As you lose weight, you will need to adjust your calorie count again. Many websites have calculators for RMR (resting metabolic rate). I usually use calories per hour.
I started by looking at the foods I liked to eat and trying to come up with heathier options. I knew I wanted a plan to stick to for life, so it had to be filled with foods I liked.
I realized I ate a lot of pasta, stir fries, quesadillas, so I made healthy versions of those foods. Once I got started, it was easier to keep changing, branching, trying new things.
I also completely quit eating foods I felt had no nutritional value - fast food, sugary soda, packaged baked goods, most white carby stuff (chips, pretzels) etc. I did it for health, but it turned out to be a hidden blessing. When I stopped eating that stuff, I had less cravings for it and found it easier to stay on track.
I started by using a free website to count the calories in what I was eating in a typical day (I started on fitday.com, switched to livestrong.com/myplate, but there are many others). It made it really easy to spot the problems (peanut butter! cereal!). After a few days of that, I set a calorie goal of 1700-1800 per day. I started measuring my food and eventually broke down and bought a food scale, which is an invention far greater than sliced bread IMO. Now I count all my calories, the good, the bad, and the ugly (again with the peanut butter and cereal) and try to get 30% of my calories from protein (this is not at all a high-protein diet; it's just that left to my own devices I'd be 90% carbs. Did I mention cereal?)
You may not want to go the route of cutting out certain food groups completely like carbs. It's not usually sustainable in the long term. Your best bet is a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
Another calorie counter here. I started out very simply. I stuck with 1200 calories. (In retrospect I'd have started higher). I wanted to eat six mini meals per day which worked out to 200 calories per mini meal. Those meals were protein shakes, lean cuisines, protein bars or whatever added up to 200. Easy.
Little by little I replaced those easy foods with "real" unprocessed foods. Now my diet consists consists of almost entirely whole foods; lean meats, roasted or stir-fried vegetables, fruit.
I do still indulge in treats, but I never have a free for all.
I'm just starting too. Well, starting again. I think I've finally realized I can't just "diet" I have to change my lifestyle. My husband and I have decided to really strive to change how we even look at food. We're removing temptation foods from the house and we are going to stock up on healthy foods so that there is no choice but to eat the right things for our bodies. I'm not going to count calories, fat or carbs. I'm simply going to eat well balanced meals with healthy foods and ingredients. I'm going to try planning out my meals, which is something I've never done before. I think it will help knowing what I'm going into the kitchen to make instead of walking in and having way too many options.
I don't think there is anything wrong with calorie counting, I've done it plenty of times in the past. But it's something I could never stick to, and a lot of times I was probably getting more bad calories then I should have been. I've done WW, which is really just a different form of calorie counting. Again I've just never been able to stick with it. I know a lot of people who have had great results from WW though. If you're just starting out and you're not sure what to do it might be a good option for you since it's pretty structured and you're not limited on what you can eat.
I keep track of calories by using a notebook..I set a limit of calories, have a calorie counter book and writting daily..Am on week 3 and lost 6 Lbs so far..Keeping a food journal helps me ..its amazing!!
I'm just beginning my journey as well. I agree, super confusing with all the choices!!! But it seems the common idea is the calories. What did you all use to find the right amount of calories a day for you?
Without calorie counting, I'd be lost. For me there's portion control, but that doesn't really work on it's own because I could just be eating smaller portions of complete crap, and crap doesn't fuel your body. Not only does it help with portion control, it helps with calorie intake. But it's sort of a weird system- too little or too much throws you out of whack, you sort of just got to find what works for you.
I'm just starting out too, but I dont think I could have even lost these first 15 pounds without the help of Spark People! I highly reccomend joining.
You learn so much there, the forum community is huge, it tracks nutrition, gives custom work outs, tracks your weight and personalizes your diet. Its great!
Read through some different plans. If a plan has a lot of restrictions you know you would find difficult or require foods you don't like, you won't stick with it. When you find a plan that seems doable, give it a try and see if works with your body's metabolism. If you hate the plan or you're not losing, try something different.
Or maybe your personality makes you veer away from a strictly regimented plan. In that case, just try some calorie counting with a balanced diet and lots of wholesome natural foods (not processed crap).
Or maybe you hate to plan meals, hate to cook, hate to log your food. In that case, one of the plans where somebody brings the food to your door every day might work best for you.
Basically, you have to evaluate your personality and experiment to discover how your metabolism works.
I’m just starting also. My grandmother uses to say even deprive yourself of the things you like. Moderation it the key. So I eat one taco instead of 4,
I use turkey meat instead of ground beef. I’ve gone from white to brown, whole grain. I can’t count calories, or carbs, it just doesn't work for me.
You have to do what you know you re going to stick to.
Nothing it easy...
HELP! Just starting out!
I think I've finally realized I can't just "diet" I have to change my lifestyle. My husband and I have decided to really strive to change how we even look at food. We're removing temptation foods from the house and we are going to stock up on healthy foods so that there is no choice but to eat the right things for our bodies. I'm not going to count calories, fat or carbs. I'm simply going to eat well balanced meals with healthy foods and ingredients. I'm going to try planning out my meals, which is something I've never done before. I think it will help knowing what I'm going into the kitchen to make instead of walking in and having way too many options. 
