I started dieting about a month ago. I have been watching what I eat, keeping it to fruits, vegtibles, boneless chicken with the occational turkey wrap as subway, I lost 7 lbs the first week. I have not changed anything, if anything I have been more active. I havent lost an ounce since. I am ready to say forget it and just accept being fat.
Kathy

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Don't give up now, you're just beginning!

7 pounds is a lot to lose in one week. A lot of that was probably water weight, too. Dropping that much that quickly (as usually happens right at the beginning) can kind of send your body into mini-shock mode, so now your body is saying "Woah! Slow down!"

But everything is stabilizing, getting used to lower calorie levels and healthier foods (and hopefully exercise and lots of water!). You ARE being healthier, and the scale will reflect it eventually.

Besides, being healthy is so much more important then a number on the scale.

My advice: make a list of all the reasons you want to lose weight, and keep it handy to refer to whenever you start thinking about giving up.

~Elisha

I know your right , I used to be able to loose weight very fast, I have always had a weight problem, I think I have probably lost three people in my life time. I just don't understand why its not coming off as fast this time. Maybe its because I am 38 now. I know its now or never. I have to do something.

Sluggers, I know it is helping me to resign myself to work as hard as I can at this for at least 3 months even if I dont get one single change. But I KNOW that after 3 months I will lose weight... its just that I dont want to be checking daily and saying "this isnt working, its easier to just go back to doing what I want". I have decided thats not an option, no matter what, for at least 3 months. I dont care if nothing happens at all. At least then Ill be able to say "see? its hopeless". But I know it wont be... in fact it HAS been working... but some days, I think Ive stopped seeing changes and worry I wont get thinner. And then I do get smaller again after a little bit, and I know that by 3 months I will be encouraged by the progress I have made to go even further.

So anyway maybe it could help if you make the decision with blind determination to do this a certain amount of time regardless, and throw away the option of giving up for that amount of time. Its working for me...
Best of luck whatever you do, and remember that as long as you consistently burn more than you take in, you simply WILL lose. I have to keep telling myself that too!! :O)

Sluggersmom, I am 43 and the old grey mare ain't what she used to be! It does take longer as we get older with more effort. Our metabolism slows down as we age. If you are satisfied with yourself as you are now, then give up. Otherwise, keep on trucking. It's also hard with kids. They want the snacks. I have found myself finishing the food that my daughter doesn't finish. And of course, she is a dear. SHe is always asking me if I want some!

Thank you guys for the great advice. I guess I just needed to hear it

You've been dieting for a week and ready to give up? Try 7 years of dieting. Dieting never stops - because if it does, you just gain more when you quit. People that are prone to gaining wait have got to resign themselves to always being on a good and healthy diet and exercising for the rest of their lives. And anyone who tells you any different is just fooling themselves and you.

Sorry that this entry is a bit harsh - but dieting is not for the weakhearted or foolish - and I don't think you are either. It takes determination and fortitude. You can accomplish your goal, whether it be for healthy, weightloss, or just fitting into a favorite pair of pants - but first you have to tell yourself that it is going to be a long haul type of thing (and I hope it's for a long long time because you are still young).

I wish you the best of luck! You can do it....

oops - sorry I misread - but still a month isn't a real long time...

Sweety, PLEASE don't give up!! This journey is SOOO worth it! What all are you eating every day? Maybe your not eating enough or maybe you are eating the wrong things. Have you tried calculating your calories on Fit Day? That really helped me in the beginning. What are you doing for exercise?
I lost 8 pounds in my first week too. Don't worry, as long as you stay committed to this, you WILL lose weight!! This is a long, hard journey but you will be so happy when you've completed it!!

I agree. Stick with it and your body will have to lose weight. That's how I look at things when I hit a plateau.

Having the right goals helps. Whenever I would diet before I would do it to lose weight. It never worked obviously. At least not for a long time. Now my goal is to just eat healthy and be in better shape. That is what keeps me going. I do have a secondary goal of losing weight, but even if I don't I still stick with it because of my main goal. Maybe this way of thinking would help you.

I would definately track how many calories you are eating. It could be way off from what you are thinking. I don't know what you should be eating but definately don't go below 1200. You can use a free service like fitday or nutridiary. These will give you the calories you need a day. It's very convient.

Keep with it and don't give up. Tell yourself you are a survior and you're going to make it. Stay strong.

Definitely track your calories carefully so you know exactly what you are taking in. It's possible to eat very healthy food, just too much of it.

Also, you didn't mention any exercise. Get out and move your booty!

Like the others said, KEEP GOING.

Your body is just slowing things down right now to get used to the new calorie and activity level. Look at the signatures of some of the people in this thread. Some of us, like you, started out at over 200 pounds. And we did it and so can you.

You have to give your body time to adjust. Like Elisha said, your body is wanting to slow down for right now. It doesn't mean its completely stopped. It's just taking a break.

Now, if after a couple of weeks you haven't noticed anymore loss, you may want to consider keeping a food journal (most of us here use fitday.com) and keeping track of what you eat because sometimes, even though we try and eat healthy, we may be unwittingly taking in more calories than our body needs. Because remember, you can gain weight eating nothing but vegetables and lose weight eat candy. It all boils down to calories. And sometimes we may be taking in more than we think. For me, just eating healthy alone wasn't enough. Because although I was eating healthy, I was still taking in more calories than my body needed to burn for energy. Therefore, I wasn't losing any weight.

So I started counting calories. At first the concept may seem tedious, with weighing and measuring and all the fun stuff that comes with counting, but you soon become so used to it that it becomes second-nature. I love it, in fact. Anytime I buy a new food, I race to my computer to go to my fitday account (it's free) and enter in the nutrition information so it's there when I'm ready to eat it.

I love eating healthy and staying accountable with what I eat because it puts ME in control. You have to control the food, you can't let the food control you. And it sounds to me like you're off to a great start. So don't give up now!

Thank you guys for all of your encourgment