Hi! My name is Meg. I have been trying to lose weight for twenty years now.

I manage to lose 10 pounds, regain it and lose it again.

I was just looking through My Fitness Pal and that fact smacked me right in the face. So much effort and so little results.

So I have a plan to change my bad habits.

I have a spreadsheet for exercise each day. I have an app to track my exercise. And I have an attitude of "let's get her done" instead of "I should be doing this".

I also, because of a resource I found on this site today, ordered three books that deal with emotional eating.

So I have a plan, some resources and fantastic support from my husband.

And I also now have a support forum to share and learn from.

I have the tools. Now it is time to get energized!

Thanks, and I look forward to being part of this group.

Great intro! You'll do fantastic Meg! You've got the attitude and all the tools to make changes!

Nice to meet you.

Thank you! It's nice to meet you as well.

I'm sure I will have ups and downs, but I plan to start smart. I think if I make it to a weight loss of 11 pounds, even that will be breaking the pattern.

Welcome, Meg!

I hope you find on these forums the support and motivation you're looking for to reach your goals.

Thanks! It is looking great to be here already!

Hi. My name is Courtney. I am a habitual dieter. Since I was 12 I have been on some type of diet. My grandmother died at the age of 42 due to weight related issues (high BP, morbid obesity, heart disease, etc.) I will be 42 in 3 years and 10 months..
I have done Weight Watchers (about 10 times) and been successful, but gained it back. I have done low carb, ideal protein, etc. I have done GREAT on all plans when I am mentally dedicated, but lately, I cant get focused. I stay focused for a few days and then crash (usually afternoons after work when I am making dinner while eating cookies too).
In 2017, I am working on myself. Continuing my faith journey, self improvement (loving Brene’ Brown books and TED talk!), etc.
Okay, heres my question.. for those that have done multiple programs, what are the pros and cons of each and what has worked for you. I am tired of losing the same 50lbs!

Thanks in advance!
Courtney

Courtney! I want that advice too!

The best diet I've found so far is no diet at all. Focusing on healthy foods, portion control, and understanding what your body responds best to have to become a permanent part of your life in order to achieve long term results. Otherwise, once the diet ends and you go back to eating the way you did before, you'll be right back where you started.

Way to go, It sound alike you got a great plan in place and good long term and short term goals Wishing you the best.

As far as what my plan is, I started by calorie counting but gradually tweaked the plan to suit me. I really had to reach my body and learn when I was "full", "hungry", "satisfied" and even just "thirsty". I used to think "satisfied" was hungry cause I wasn't "full". I had accidentally trianed my body to over eat. There are so many plans because honestly, every body is a little bit different. Me personally, I can't deprive myself of treats and foods I love. I need to be able to eat a slice of cake at a party, or have a helping of cheesy mashed potatoes now and then. Yesterday I had cheese fondue!

What I do is count calories, not so much to meet a goal as to just visually see what I'm eating. When I log I start to notice if I'm not getting any veggies in my body that day, etc. I log everything, even if I go "over". I always eat a little breakfast, because I find it jump starts my metabolism. I make foods that I love every week even if they aren't healthy. We firmly celebrate taco Tuesday at my house, but when I used to eat eight tacos, now I eat a much more reasonable four tacos cause I know I'll have tacos next week. Same with desserts. If a cupcake walks into my life, I can have one cupcake (key word being one) because I know the next time a cupcake is presented to me, I can eat it. I don't have to shove 5 cupcakes in my mouth like they're going extinct XD.

I just sort of balance my week, I'm the primary cook so I tend to meal plan the week in advance while grocery shopping. If I'm having something not as healthy, I make sure the days before and after are. I pay attention to how many desserts I'm eating. I live by a 80-20 rule. Eat healthy 80% of the time so 20% of the time I don't have too. I do only drink like tea and water though. I'd rather eat my calories then drink them, the bonus is my teeth have never been better since cutting sugary drinks!

I'm just a foodie at heart, and I just don't do well when I don't let myself try new things or have treats occasionally. But I know some people can't have it at all.

You've got the right attitude for weight loss. Good luck with your journey.

I agree with Blicca's approach. Not dieting has worked out really well for me. I don't feel really restricted so I tend not to overindulge when given the opportunity (like I used to), I've learned to like healthier foods and exercise for the fun of it, and I'm at my lightest weight ever. I'd been obese since elementary school and currently I'm down to only 9 lbs overweight. My journey's been a slower one than expected, but it has been teaching me good sustainable habits and offers me a healthier relationship with food. I feel like I can eat what I want and not have to worry about regaining because "what I want" to eat has become something much healthier than what it used to be.

cproko27,
My first real attempt at weight loss was just exercise alone, moderate cardio and some toning, and it didn't give the best results (240 to 230 in 6 months). I didn't realize that what I ate would have the biggest impact. I continued exercising while cutting back on carbs, mainly wheat products, corn, and white potatoes, but not super low carb, no ketogenesis or anything. I wasn't eating a big variety of foods (mainly meat and salad yet still drinking sodas). I went from 230 to 187 in the next 6 months. Then I stopped trying as hard, then the house had an electrical fire and we had to live in a hotel for a few months, and then I realized I had regained a lot of the weight back. The method worked but wasn't sustainable for me, I think because I was just cutting things out and getting bored with the meals without truly understanding healthy eating, just wanted to lose lbs. Plus living in that hotel caused me to put a lot of that weight on fast, a stressful situation combined with not being able to cook my own food in a kitchen. Then I joined 3FC weighing at 218, proceeded to go up another 9 lbs during the rest of that year, and by January 2014 I had regained 40 out of the 53 lbs. I felt so bad about it. That was the last straw.

Currently I don't consider myself on a program or diet, more of a lifestyle change. I would say that the only con is that weight loss is slower than what you get with a restrictive diet, but the time is also a pro because it gives you a chance to learn and adapt to better ways of eating. I still eat less grains however I'm focused more on food quality in general, cutting back on a lot of processed foods and trying to eat more naturally, focusing on whole foods. There are a lot of ingredients that I try to avoid like natural flavors, corn syrup, msg, hydrogentated oils, enriched bleached flour, hormones, antibiotics, and the list goes on and on. I still allow myself to eat junk sometimes but I would rather make my own treats from scratch with less sugar and healthier ingredients. I used to hate most vegetables but I've learned to like broccoli, kale, and spaghetti squash since. I eat way more veggies now than ever before, and I actually want to eat them. I used to love lots of sugar, everything I drank had to be sweet, but I weened myself down to lower amounts of sugar and salt. Now a lot of pre-made foods taste too sweet or too salty, another reason I prefer to make things myself. Plain green tea and water (sometimes with lemon) are my go-to beverages. I still like sugar but my idea of sweet has changed. I experimented with trying healthier options. I started swapping vegetable oil for coconut oil. I try to eat organic meat, dairy, and produce (when I feel like paying extra for it). I've noticed that don't have to be a perfect eater every meal of every day to get results. I've also realized that I don't have to eat a meal just because it's meal time if I'm not really that hungry.

Long story short, it's sort of been a slow adaptation to making better food choices and learning what does and doesn't work for me.