Need to Loose Weight! Help!

My mom is doing weight watchers now and likes it. It's her second time through and has lost 20 lbs. It's a good way to monitor what you eat and be held accountable.

I don't think you have to starve to loose weight - in fact you shouldn't. You should eat 5 smaller, healthy meals a day, and don't snack after dinner (at least 3 hrs before bed).

As far as loosing ASAP - that's a recipe for disaster. Loosing about 1 lb per week is healthy.

Kudos to you for walking! It's a great first step!

I got the MyFitnessPal app for my iPhone. For two weeks before I started to diet, I just entered everything I ate. I realized how much I was eating and what part of the days I needed to improve on.

Then I started improving what I ate. I started making healthier choices and exercising a bit more.

Yesterday I started a juice cleanse. I woke up yesterday 150lbs. I woke up this morning 147.8! I wasn't hungry and I got all my nutrients in for the day! I'm loving this new "diet"! If you're interested, do a Google search for juicing detox, juicing for weight loss, anything like that.

loved weight watchers. a friend and i did it several years ago and kept each other accountable for eating. we could eat anything and everything but just in portions and count points.

please -do the "Perfect 10" diet

I started Weight Watchers in March 2011, and I have lost 60 lbs. I was well over 200 when I started. A friend mentioned doing WW to me, and since I'd tried EVERY diet known to man, I figured I couldn't last on it. Well... I was wrong, big time! It costs me $17.99 a month & it's the best investment in my health I've ever made! I have a 4.5 y/o and it finally hit me, not only was I obese & could die of a heart attack if I kept up the way I was eating, she also could be obese from the foods I was cooking. So... that was enough for me to change my lifestyle, and I mean BIG time! WW is amazing. There are literally 1000's of recipe's which are quite easy & taste amazing. An eye opener for me was I had a physical, complete with blood work before starting WW. My cholesterol was high (over 200), my blood sugar was high (not diabetic), and my body mass index was in the 'morbidly obese' range. After changing 'my eating habits & lifestyle', my check up one year later was the following: Cholesterol in the 'normal'' range, down 19 points!!! Blood sugar & ALL other stats in the 'normal' range. Body mass index: NORMAL. My advise, try WW online for a month & see if you like it. I don't work for them, but I am SOOOO happy with my results, that I tell whoever I come across to try them. Find a form of exercise you like & stick to it! Give yourself a reasonable time frame for losing weight & use WW as a guide to do it. If you need any other words of encouragement, please PM me, I don't mind sharing my story with you! GOOD LUCK to you!!!!!!!

Perhaps, get referred to a Nutritionist.
That way, you will learn... how to eat healthily and they will give you ideas.
Not guessing.
And therefore, not "dieting" and depriving yourself.

Also maybe take a cooking class. To learn how to cook healthily.

Lots of people want to eat healthy, but don't know how.
But if you eat healthy and watch your portions, you do not have to feel deprived.

And yes, exercise. Per your condition now. Then you will naturally get more fit and more able to work out longer or more.
With "walking" walk fast enough that you sweat.

My Husband has lost weight, by just eating more healthy. He cut out simple starches like white bread and potatoes and cheese. And eats more whole foods and grains. And he exercises when he can. And he grazes throughout the day. Not starving himself.

Hello,

I think weight watchers is good - it is less extreme of a lifestyle change. However, you will feel hungry at first when you start eating proper portion sizes. Just do the best you can and stick with it. Good job with the walking!

WW does work for a lot of people. My husband lost 40 lbs by cutting out refined sugar, baked goods, and white bread/pasta. He also started eating a lot of veggies. I love food too, as does he. The best way to start is to avoid going out and cooking most if not all your food. You did not say if you are a good cook. I love to roast veggies with some salt and olive oil and now that it's summer, I love salads. What I think is important for a food lover is that you have to be a little naughty in the right way. Like if I had to eat boiled cauliflower instead of roasting it, I would be so, so sad. If I had to eat salad with lite dressing that would make me sad too. Don't fall for all that gimicky lite stuff. If you are going to eat, eat a little and be satisfied.

Paleo or Primal lifestyle....no grains, low sugar, high good quality fats...I've never felt better. Seriously the best route IMO :)

First off, congratulations on making the decision to start a new healthier lifestyle. That is what it is a lifestyle, not a quick fix. Losing between 30 and 50 pounds safely and effectively, the goal is one to two pounds a week. That is anywhere from 15 to 25 weeks or four to six months. Then maintenance for at least three years is shown in studies as the length it takes to get your body "happy" at the new weight. I don't tell you this to discourage you, but to encourage you. To educate you so you know that there is going to be work involved. You are a cumulation of the choices you make. What you do today and eat today will help you become the person you want to be tomorrow and it will teach your kids too, so they will not go through the same struggles as you have.

I don't know all of your stats (height, starting weight, food intake, support system) and goals. But, as a personal trainer I do know that you can not exercise off a bad diet, no matter how hard you workout and step one is to write all of your food down that you are eating, what time you are eating and see where you are going wrong. Did you not eat breakfast? Do you eat when no one is around? Do you grab a bag of candy at 4:00? Learn your habits and your triggers and go from there. Eat five to six times a day.
Also, with the diet...eat the rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. You can eat as many veggies as possible. The fiber in it will keep you full. Always eat a serving of fruit or two servings of veggies at every meal/snack. Increase lean protein and cut refined sugar. Plan your meals the day before, plan your treat at the beginning of the week. You will know when there is a bbq, or party. That is the day you get to have your treat, a brownie, a beer, pizza or dinner out. That will give you something to look forward too and you will not go crazy thinking, I haven't had M&M's in three days, I deserve it. No, you will get it later.

Last but not least, is the exercising. Walking is great start especially if you have injuries or haven't exercised in a while, but if your heart rate isn't increasing that is just "me" time. When walking, pick a starting point, maybe the end of a street and jog to the other side. Then walk to the end of the street or from tree to tree. You will also want to incorporate weights as well. That will help with the inevitable plateau. Another tip, have a goal. Maybe you and the family can train for and run a 5k together on Labor Day. Or there maybe some bike races you all can do together too. Scoure the internet. You will find something that sounds fun and exciting to everyone so you are all on the same page!

If you do "fall off the wagon" do not get discouraged. Just get back up and start again. I really do hope this advice helps. I am rooting for you!

Weight Watchers. I did that a couple years ago and it's a great program. You won't go hungry and you don't have to deny yourself favorite foods. It just teaches you the right foods to eat, the right portions to eat and how to fit exercise into your schedule. A big eye-opener for me was starting to read nutrition info. at restaurants. Some shockers there, like grilled cheese sometimes being worse in fat and calories than a hamburger!

Weight Watchers magazine and the organization itself offer great recipes. I also love recipes in Cooking Light. I found they tied in well with Weight Watchers and still use them now, even though I'm not on the program anymore.

Whatever you do don't fall for the starvation mode myth (I see a couple moms mentioning it on here) Your metabolism will slow down no matter what diet you go on. BUT you will still loose more weight eating 1200 cal compared to 1500 cal. In studies they have proven that it takes severe conditions to reach starvation mode. Such as sever calorie restricition with crazy exercise and sleep deprivation. Think about it this way, most weight loss does platuea., but does that mean you should eat more, no you should keep what you are doing and you will start loosing weight again. Also don't fall for the water weight thing. I had a person tell me that the weight I loss (it was under severe calorie restriction) was water weight...150pds of water weight? I don't think so. Sorry this was a bit of a rant, but I hate when people pass on info without really doing research. If the starvation mode myth was real then no one would ever die of starvation right? So once again myth.

Weight watchers worked great for me. I lost 35 pounds. I think it worked because I was paying someone each week to check my weight. If you go to the weekly meetings and some one is checking your progress it helps. I know I would not have had the will power to lose the weight on my own.

Honestly weight loss is someithing like 90% diet. Not to say that you shouldn't exercise because there is no better thing that you can do for disease control and longevity-its just not the vehicle for weight loss that we think it is.
You soundl ike you need a lot of guidance and that you will most likely want to not deprive yourself. I would suggest weight watchers for you. I personally believe that South Beach/low carb is the very best way to lose but you will have to give up almost completely certain foods for it to work. IF you can do that then you should try low carb. If not then WW.

Try Zone Diet. Very balanced and very easy to start and stick with. All info is on the website along with a shopping list of all the referred veggies/carbs etc...

I've found Weight Watchers on-line to be helpful, if you are not into going to weekly meetings. My mom was successful with Weight Watchers too. You really don't need to avoid too much with WW, you just need to watch your portions, and realize that if you choose to eat a certain amount of pizza, ice cream, etc. they are going to use up a lot more points then if you stick with lean grilled, chicken, salad, and fruit. Examine what it is that you eating now, and what might be the issue: Portion sizes? Fast food? Too much sugar or salt or fats? Snack foods and other processed stuff? Read the labels of what you purchase - if it has a lot of words that you can't pronounce, or ingredients that your grandparents would not likely recognize, you probably should not be eating it!

My hubby was recently working as a long-haul truck driver, and as a result, he was not drinking his typical 3 to 4 beers a night. Maybe 1 if he was able, and it was not every night. He chose water over soda. He chose Subway over McDonald's. And he lost quite a bit of weight. Not sure of the numbers, but he went down 3 holes on his belt.

Shoot for 1 to 2 pounds of weight loss a week. That is what is considered healthy and do-able long-term, rather than trying to starve yourself and then failing when you can't keep it up. And if you restrict your calories too much, your body thinks you are in "starvation mode" and will hold onto excess fat that much more. Make breakfast your biggest meal of the day, and the rest of the meals (including a few small healthy snacks) relatively smaller.

I have been obese my entire adult life and remember e doctor first talking to my mom about my weight when I was around seven or eight. Two years ago my best friend, who is a nurse sat down with me and told me I was beautiful and she wanted me around for a long time. Her eyes filling with tears, she said that I was lucky to be so healthy,but being in my forties, it was only a matter of time before I started experiencing major complications. I went to a new doctor, she recommended, and the first thing the doctor told me was that she did not care if I had surgery, went on a liquid fast or actually how I did it, but I needed to take off weight immediately. This was a huge awakening for me. I cannot tell you how many times I had joined weight watchers. I would always experience some success, but would stop only to regain and add a few pounds. I too love food and was actually a very healthy eater over all but my portions were out of control. I went back and rejoined W.W. because it is all about portion control and a health lifestyle. The goal is that you will change the way you live and eat. There are no special foods you have to purchase and unless I mentioned it, no one would have noticed because of what I was eating. Everything icahn be worked into the plan. Long story short...over eighteen months I went from a BMI of 44 to 25 and lost over a hundred pounds...and have truly changed my life. It is still a struggle, I love food and still want to over eat, but when I follow this program, to a T, I know that it works. I have never felt better than when I reached my goal for the first time in my life.

I've been doing www.myfitnesspal.com with great results! The program is free and helps you track your calories, fat and carbs as well as exercise and water intake. It's fabulous! Kind of like WW Online, but better.

Also, I checked out the facebook group that MzKitty mentioned and it looks WONDERFUL. What a great way to have accountability and encouragement!

If you, or anyone else, is active on Facebook, I have an online support group for this situation. Search "Be My Diet Buddy" and ask to join the group. There are several women on there doing different things, one of them has lost 99.5 pounds. Good luck!

I love the Myfitnesspal.com and the FB page MzKitty has too. I too have struggled with my wt for the last 10 years but I have declared this is the summer I am losing it once and for all. All 40+ lbs of it. If you drink any soda at all...stop! Not even diet soda, some people say the artificial sweetener is worst than the high fructose corn syrup. Do you drink skim milk? I switched from 2% to skim and it has helped some (13 lbs) in the last year. How much fried foods do you eat? They are high in saturated fats. I rarely eat them anymore. Also pizza, lasagna and mexican foods. All my favorites but I am staying away from them for now. Eat 3 balanced/well proportioned meals a day and healthy snacks between them. You don't want to be hungry so when you are, grab an apple, orange or grapes (if you put grapes in the freezer, they are an excellent summer time snack thru out the day.) Also water water water. I hate drinking so much of it, seems like I am in the bathroom more than anywhere else. Good job on the walking. I know walking is free but I see you live in Boise, is there a Gold's Gym around you? We have Gold's here, they are a nice club and only $10-$20 a month, depending on if you want classes/tanning. Child care is an extra $10 for each kid. Maybe you could work there, like the kids club and then get a discount on personal training. I know P.T. is expensive but I would do it if I could.

Weight Watchers is very good, but works best if you go to the meetings. There is a huge psychological benefit to being accountable to actual people in your weekly meetings and your group leader.

Some people like to hunt. Some like to fish. Some like to go shopping or jogging. Some people like to shoot a round of golf every chance they get.

As for me, I like to eat. I like well made, spiced just right, food. The problem is it has a bad effect on me.

I went on the 6-Week Body make-over diet and lost 25 pounds in the first three weeks. They guarentee you will lose one pants size or one dress size in the first six week or your money back. I lost two pants sizes and loved it. I kept it off for almost 8 years. Then I got careless.

What I found was I get cravings when I go on any diet. And I found out that these cravings are irresistable by the end of two weeks on a strict diet. So I go off my diet for one day each week (Sundays work best for me) and I will eat anything I want, but only in small portions. That helps me tremendously and it kills the cravings.

Good luck to you and yours.

I tried WW and it worked for the most part. I can't stand their foods though. Very processed. To add to the Myfitnessplan.com, I use Loseit.com. They have an app too. It not only lets you add recipes, you can track workouts, calories and nutritional intake. It also partners with ChooseMyPlate.gov so you can see daily what you are missing in your diet.

The real only obstacle I see are that people do not stick with it. You have to stay on top of it no matter what road you take. I believe that if you just eat healthy, weight loss is a positive side-effect. I have also learned that if you can't take 30 minutes a day for yourself, there is something wrong with your lifeplan, anyway. 30 minutes of "you" time whether exercising or meditating is just good for the soul.

Good luck!
D.