thank u all for such wonderful input. it has kept me going....especially when i noticed that all posts were similar in one way...they all said.."don't give up...the miracle will surely happen"..:)

i guess thats the key....motivation...one of my low points or rather the lack of it, but i am taking one day at a time....Eat right, exercise.

Have a good week y'all.

Juhi -
How much weight do you have to lose? Just curious if your workout fits your needs.
One thing is for sure - you seem to be doing all the right stuff, diet and exercise....you can't hardly go wrong. It always takes longer than we want...

Star,

I am not happy to say this...but i am yo yo dieter. I weighed in two months ago at 155....now i am down 10 pounds. Being 5'4..i deffinetly could lose 20 pounds. So well for the millionth time...i got back on track 3 weeks ago. I exercise for an hour at the gym in my apt complex...30 minutes running and 30 on an eliptical trainer. Weight training 2 to 3 times a week with free weights or machines.

Now u know it all...lol! Being an on & off dieter i know i can do it...have done before. I was once at 185...my deal is how to keep the motivation going strong...and stop yo-yo-ing and finish it off by reaching my goal...

I am hopeful:)

Well then ofcourse you know you will never be able to eat like you did before. Yo-yo dieting does something to screw up our metabolisms. You will have to continue cardio and light weights after you reach your goal, along with watching you diet.
If you like to workout - that is half the battle. But what you eat is really 90% of what makes up your body composition. So if you stop looking at "when will I reach goal" and switch to 'how to stay healthy', that would be a good thing.

Juhi, I totally know what you mean. But you are doing great keep it up. I too am 5'4" I still need to lose 23 lbs. my highest weight was 175 lbs. and I ploateaued at 155 for a long time. I did the yo-yo thing for a while until recently that I started getting strict with myself.

OMG....can i relate 2 u or what.

i was 155 for like 3 years.....gosh...thats such a long time. i try not to dwell upon it...instead focus on today and what i can do to reach my goal of 120 pounds.

btw..i am 144 right now...have a good one rakkoon:)

YES!!! I have taken so many of my failed attempts and asked myself why have I failed and rolled them into a plan for this time around. This is no longer a diet to get to a certain weight, this is a lifestyle change to ensure that I am here for my children and to teach them that healthy eating is good. I am a single mom with small children that could care less about a healthy dinner and just want something small like hotdogs or chicken nuggets. All too often I would find myself sitting in a drive through, spending money that could be spent elseware, and ending with all 3 of us consuming food that we don't need. It had gotten to the point that when I asked my kids what they wanted for dinner they would start naming fast food restaurants!

Anyway, my past failure has mainly been due to lack of confidence and not seeing the results! I have always just watched my weight, never measured or anything. This time I wrote a plan, no specific weight goal, but a size goal. Right now I have a weight goal of 175, but we will see. The first day I took my measurements, weight, and pictures. Every month I am going to do the same thing. Pictures are the biggest key here. When I think that oh I don't want pictures of me right now with my kids b/c I am fat... well, this is me too, I am still Mommy and some day my kids will look at those and say "Wow Mom you look really different now!"

wow this is a great thread. i've always gotten discouraged with dieting. and that's why i've always gone off track is because i don't see the results as fast as i want it to appear. but with the support from my husband (who loves me no matter what i look lik) i belive i'm on the righ track. i'm doing the 3 hour diet and i hope it works. so far i feel great and have more energy. my main concern is my stomache area, i had a very large pregnancy 9lb 11oz boy exactly 7 months ago. and nursing has helped me loose a few pounds but my weekness was junk food. now that hubby is on the diet thing and eat healthy with me junk food is no longer allowed in the house. but i just hope that with the dieting and exercise it will shrink. but i have thought of plastic surgery. but that's only after a yr after my goal weight is achieved and the skin is still somewhat there.

Pictures are so HUGE!!! I was really getting frustrated because I was not seeing results on the scale, but I am working out with a trainer and have been doing really good. I took pics 3 weeks ago and then last week and it made me keep going for sure. We could see such a difference in my back, waist, and bottom. I encourage everyone to take pics!!