I think it is a good plan. It's kind of what I do when I get sick of counting calories. I pick very specific foods I am going to eliminate for a very specific amount of time. For me it works to give me enough food awareness but not go crazy.

Ha, Otter Pops! I haven't thought about those since I was little!!

I am sooo hooked on Otter Pops! I love blue, pink and red the best.

Not so fond of green and orange.

well, I have cut back on my portions of junk food. I don't drink drinks with sugar in it. I make a homemade blend of green and white teas that is sweetened with honey and has like 20 cs glass.

I am doing fast-5 to control my cravings and for structure--I have to admit on this plan it is REALLY hard to overeat. when you do eat--you feel like you have overeaten because you get so full so fast.

I eat mostly clean and mostly in protein/ complex carb ratio. But when I have a dessert after dinner it is a little daily treat.

tonight I had 1/4th cup icecream (130cs 4.5g fat per 1/2 cup), a tbsp whipped cream and 4 cherries cut up into it. really the ice cream is comparable to yogurt, but I Like the ice cream better. (I already take probiotics)

earlier in the day I split a 40 calorie cookie with my son.

so you see I am still enjoying some goodies here and there. Just NOT a whole pack of cookies or 1/2 gallon ice cream.

I can relate, i am the epitome of the diet - binge - diet cycle. i found that taking one baby step at a time helped. i always needed to start tommorow or on monday full force, if i slipped and ate a couple of maltesers, oh well diets ruined lets order a pizza! stupid i know, but that was me. now im a bit more relaxed.

things that i cut out thats dropped calorie intake significantly:
- Wine! (swapped for herbal tea)
- tea & sugar (swapped from lemon&green tea)
- desserts (swapped for fruit)
- unecessary snacks (drink water first)

swapping means you dont feel deprived. im not saying these are unecessary per say, some nights i do have wine, they were just unecessary for me personally.

I think this is an excellent plan. I can relate to that feeling of being overwhelmed by too much change. For me it was always ultimately impossible to stay on any super strict plan and that just let me make excuses to myself for falling off of it. I started cutting back on junk food slowly over the winter and I saw a definite result. I lost at least 5 lbs doing that and I wasn't even being very strict with it.

What helped me was that mentally when I decided to get strict and start counting calories, it was a lot easier. I'd already done a lot of the work, so I felt less restricted moving to a more controlled plan.

I had a cool experience last night.

We had a get together at my parent's house and cake was served. Before I would have taken a piece like everyone else, thinking it's just a piece of cake, what's the big deal? Well, instead I went to the fridge and took out 2 otter pops (the grandkids eat them too!) and ate them instead! They were the larger ones, at 25 cals. a piece, but heck, 50 cals. is A LOT better than how many cals. was in the cake! I didn't feel deprived! I am not craving cake because I ate something that was equally satisfying to me!

I'm going to lose this weight by cutting out all those extra cals. I seem to be putting in my mouth for no good reason. Step one is going very well. I"m even now consciously eating less throughout the day to knock off even more cals. An extra serving here, an extra serving there.....man, I'm feeling real good about myself today!

girl you are rocking it. Just keep that mindset and you will be there in no time!

When I decided to start eating better in mid-March I weighed in at 280 pounds. I love bread, sweets, starches, fatty foods and yes, even some alcohol. I didn't want to eliminate those items completely because I knew I wouldn't stick with the diet if I gave up everything I enjoy.

I decided to ADD 8+ glasses of water, 5+ servings of vegetables, 2+ servings of fruit and exercise to my daily life instead of removing anything. Because of all the healthier foods and water I'm consuming, I'm not hungry and I find I eat substantially less of the other foods. I weigh and measure everything I consume (including condiments) and I journal my daily food and exercise. I've taken off a fair amount of weight by doing these things and feel like I can live with this eating plan for life.

Perhaps some of this strategy may work for you. If not, I hope you find a plan that does help you to lose the extra weight. And keep posting here for support and encouragement.

That's a great approach, and obviously it has produced results for you!! WTG! I eat TONS of vegetables throughout the day, and am so happy that the farm stands are starting to be in full swing these days!

I think its a great plan! And its making you conscious of what you put in your mouth and make better choices/substitutions Trust yourself you seem to know the direction to move towards. And you know what, if and when you want to be more structured, you can do that too - thats the beauty of you being in control of your life and body!

I weighed myself tonight. 2 lbs. down! Yay!

Yay indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woah there. This is where you need to be looking. I got to 250 on binge eating because of depression and anxiety. Once I was given an anti-depressant, I became happier, more able to cope, and lost some weight. I plan to get down to 175-160. The medication I am on is really helping though because I do not binge because of anxiety any more. I actually eat less than ever before, and also can occasionally have a treat. Yesterday I had an ice cream cone.

I did something similar though. I took out items that were empty calories and of little nutritional value, and exchanged them for items with more nutritional value. I also took a good look at serving sizes and realized that my meals were at least twice the reccomended size and a lot of calories came from that. I also stopped paying attention to conventional meals. If I wanted a boiled egg and an orange for dinner, then I would have it. I wouldn't bother with the whole "balanced meal" thing. If I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't eat.

I'm pretty much trying to keep it simple this go around. There are so many things I SHOULD be doing, that I can be overwhelmed by it all very quickly. This leads to crash and burn every time for me.

That's why I am just focusing on cutting out what I don't really need. For me, right now, I need the comfort of most of my eating routine in tact. I am eating my same meals (I don't cook) for one thing. Just not eating after dinner is hard for me right now, but I'm doing it, slow but sure. After I make that a habit and keep it up for say, 2 weeks, then I can move to step two....smaller portions. I had to stop with the "gotta lose this weight NOW!" mentality because it just didn't work for me. If I can be down 2 lbs. a month, that is fine with me. As long as I'm not gaining anymore, that's great! I was just eating to eat for the longest time and ignoring the consequences. I was getting on that scale every week, watching the numbers creep up, and I got to the point last week where I said, "D*MN! This has got to stop!" But I couldn't go back on that traditional "diet" that I've always failed at. The all or nothing diet plan. I hate that roller coaster ride. Eat, binge, eat, binge....I am trying something different, and I think it's working, Thank God.

For some people, they learn how to swim by being thrown into the pool the first time. I'm more of a one toe at a time person. You throw me into the pool and I drown!