Okay. For a fellow Tennessean.

If you have any problems with depression, DEAL WITH THAT FIRST. The fat is just a symptom, not the problem. If you haven't any issues with depression, do this:

Eat whatever you want. I don't give a FUCK what it is. Eat it.

I'm serious.

The catch is twofold: first and foremost, moderation is KEY. Did you know that the human stomach is only supposed to hold about 12 ounces of food at a time? That's why it HURTS to overeat or binge. Think Thanksgiving. Ugh.

You want to get back into the swing of only letting your tummy hold that 12 ounces. Use tablespoons instead of the bigger kitchen spoons when dishing up your dinner/lunch/breakfast. ONE tablespoon of each veggie, and only about 6 ounces (a deck of cards or a half a chicken breast) of meat. It may not look like a lot to you, but there's plenty there.

SET YOUR FORK DOWN BETWEEN BITES. Seriously. It takes your body about 20 minutes to register a "full" feeling. Give your body the time time register it. Talk to your family over dinner, setting the fork down between bites, chewing thoroughly, and actually enjoying your food. If you feel full, STOP EATING. Fuck the whole "clean plate" bullshit. If you're still hungry after eating, don't automatically go back for more. Chances are your body just hasn't yet registered that there's food in there to work with. Give it about 5 or 10 minutes, and if you still feel a bit hungry, have another tablespoon of something. Do NOT take this as an excuse to pig out.

Have something to drink in your hand all day. Diet cola, water (best option), juice, tea (unsweetened...sweeten with splenda) are all good options. If you've always got something to drink at hand, your body doesn't feel hungry until you're actually hungry. Besides, it helps to flush your system, which will get rid of the water weight and help the fat to more easily be shed.

Phase Two: GET UP OFF YOUR ASS. Even if you're not lazy, get up and do more than usual. Walk the dogs, walk the kids, walk the husband, (maybe all at the same time), use the stairs instead of elevators, find an exercise routine you actually like and can live with doing on a regular basis. The more calories you use, the less you'll weigh because by retraining your body to feel full on 12 ounces of food at a time, you're restricting calories naturally.

Listen to your body. If it tells you that a salad sounds really good, have a salad. If it tells you that some chocolate would kick ass, have a piece or two of chocolate. (This one is tricky: Try the snack size bars of chocolate and limit yourself to TWO a day. Have the husband hide it and only dole out 2 pieces in the mornings if you have to.) Usually when your body gets cravings, it means that it wants/needs certain nutrients that are in the food you're craving. Eat some. It won't kill you.

Last but not least, for fuck's sake, STOP DIETING. You're already on a diet. Everything you eat is a part of your daily diet. Dieting to lose weight is what's making us fat to begin with, and yo-yos are toys. Eat what you want in moderation and get up off your ass. It may not be quick loss, but it's damn well a stop to the yo-yoing. Once your body hits its own comfortable weight, you'll stop losing altogether. (This will depend on your body chemistry and genetics. Some of us are born to be a size 6 and some of us are born to be a size 14. I'm closer to the 14ish.)

It's about attitude and determination and realizing that you don't have to give up a goddamn thing to lose the weight and keep it off. Moderate and exercise. Good luck. :)

Hi Bitterpen, I truly dont believe in diets as they make me more anxious. I lost up to 15 kilos when I did a natural regime based on:
1- Strenghtening and detoxicating your liver
2- Make it 3 times a day to the bathroom minimum
3- Yoga
4- One day a week fruits and juice to clean your body
5- Linpha massages.

Do some research in that. You'll see the theory is actually that if your body is healthy and works at its best, specially its metabolism and detoxifies itself, it cures itself. Sort of a chinese principle.

Ah! And drink lots of hot tea. Do not combine ice with warm food. Ice makes fat in food be less easy to digest. ;)

Ditto!!! Good advice! :thumbsup

Do the subway diet, it works!

moderation, don't do anything in excess.

I have tried every diet, every workout program, and I get the best results when eat moderate sized meals, and do at least 30 min cardio each day.

When I starve myself and workout like crazy I lose a ton of weight but then gain it all back once I get burned out working out.

MODERATION

Thanks to everyone that posted. It means a lot that you each took time to give me insight. I really appreciate it.

Tala, Thanks again for the long post. Definitely going to try that. I have minimized (or I thought I had) my intake, but I like the idea of the 12 oz. meal. And the craving concept really makes sense to me. I tend to be on the anemic side, and I crave lots of red meat and iron fortified foods when I am at my worst. I will try to listen more to my body.

I have also been researching some of the other posts, so thanks to all who have donated their time and experiences with me. I will post before and after pics when I'm getting closer. :)

Thanks again.

BitterPen

No need for nature bullshit. It can help but if you want to keep your muscle and not turn into a tree hugger, you need to make sure you are getting 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily from good protein sources like meat and lift weights.

I looked into their program. It's a great idea. Just 30 minutes of weight/resistance training with running in place in between machines for cardio. Interesting concept and it seems to work. Only problem for me is that the owner of Curves is a major supporter of Pro-Life organizations. I personally have an issue with supporting businesses whose profits go to anti-abortion groups so I won't go there. Just FYI.

What's been working as an exercise program for me has been surprisingly easy to incorporate into my day. I have a back injury and went to a few months of physical therapy. As part of that therapy they taught me some pilates and other exercises with the exercise band and ball. I do some combination of those exercises 30 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening 4 days a week.

The rest of my workout is getting out there and moving my butt. :) I've got a dog who loves to go for walks, even in the Seattle rain. I've got a garden that needs all kinds of work and I've been swinging the pick and making use of long neglected areas of the yard. We have a new firewood pile too. :)

You can find good pilates exercies on the net, or at the library you can rent the Pilates for Dummies or some other DVD and try it out. The exercise videos were too tough for me at first and I found it easier to just do a mixture of exercises based on what hurt the least in the early days.

The hardest part is sticking with it. It's so easy to give up. I'm determined though and even when I screw up big time, I try to jump right back on track and get going again.

lifestyle change - you know the food you should and shouldnt eat... most of it is pretty straight fwd - don't fall into any major "no carbs" or "no this or that" diet - eat in moderation, stay away from overlly fatty foods, high calorie foods, eat more fruit and veggies, and exercise more

eat 1400 calories a day and work out 3 or 4 times a week. doing mostly cardio for atleast 30 minutes a work out after weights. there's no magic solution to weight loss. nothing comes quickly nothing is easy nothing is overnight. i've never been overweight but i've seen this work for many people.

"Diets" do not work. Sorry.

A change in lifestyle works.

Which means you have to build muscle to burn the fat.

Reduce your carbs. Don't eliminate them.

Exercise.

Learn to graze, rather than eat three full meals.

Drink lots of water.

Give up soda. Even the diet ones.

ok this is proof that no one here knows what theyre talkin about, one of the most important parts of loseing weight is to drink water. Go get some real help www.bodybuilding.com

dont mix your weight training days with your cardio days if your interested in gaining muscle mass

I am just interested in losing FAT! I will worry about muscle tone after I lose my fat.

:winkwink:

Do Anna Nicole's diet...

If you are someone who does not know much about nutrition the Weight Watcher's program can be really good. It basically incorporates all of the good advice you have gotten in this thread. Some people enjoy meeting with other people that are going through the same thing as them and also like the accountability of having someone else weigh them each week.
I went to the meetings a little while this spring to get myself jumpstarted again and motivated. Now I'm doing great. Watching what I eat and enjoying healthy food and hitting the gym 3-5 days a week. I feel so much better!
I also follow Hal's philosophy and make sure my fridge and cabinets are full of healthy foods that I like.

if your not interested in gaining muscle mass then dont bother doing weight training, just do more cardio make sure your cardio workout is effective though

i got into amazing shape last summer by making some basic changes to my life.

- stopped drinking anything with sugar in it
- started drinking lots of water
- cut out most of the fat in my diet
- hiked Whistler mountain *every* day

worked like a charm.

When you get the munchies if you don't already have something low-cal/fat handy, you are going to grab the first thing that is handy. For some people (me) not eating in the evening is misery.

Cook a whole cabbage, or a whole bunch of broccolli or a whole head of caulliflower or a whole bag of carrots or a large pot of greens (no drippings:) or squash, zucchini etc. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, peppers, any low/non-caloric seasonings that you like in other foods. When you have to eat, go nuts. Eat the whole pot if you want with no consequences (except maybe a bit of gas:1orglaugh). By using your favorite seasonings you can head off cravings and the inconsequential calories let you eat until stuffed if you want.

Other great snack ideas are whole dills and pickled okra. Those tend to satisfy my cravings for salty/crunchy.

If you just want to be thinner all you need to do is eat less and excercise. You cant put on weight if you're not taking anything into your body.

But to be healthy and thinner, I'd suggest you make the lifestyle change other have recommended in the thread.

Note: the things you eat are going to take getting used to and it's not going to be easy and it's ever going to be the same not being able to binge on pastries coated with creamy sugar. But you have to give a little to gain a little. Just set limits. You can still eat out once in awhile and you can still enjoy brownies and cake. But it's all in different portions and not nearly as often as now.

100% right !!! :thumbsup