The first day is the hardest!

[Ayn1]

Ok, so its day #1 (again). I've been struggling to lose weight since coming home from college about a year ago. Every diet I have tried has ultimatly failed and I now feel that my resolve is beginning to waiver. I typically go on a health kick for a few weeks only to end up binging and gaining even more weght than I lost. I know this is a common story but today is the first day that I truly thought about just giving up. But I can't do that, I'm not a quitter. So here I am back to day #1 and looking for some support outside myself. Maybe this time I'll succeed.

[01gt4.6]

Welcome back to day 1. One question though, how did the diets fail you?

[barkerfit]

Stop with the negative talk about maybe succeeding. I'm sure you are mentally stronger than you think. Drop the horrible "D" word from your vocabulary. Check out some videos on YouTube or Google "Paleo Diet" or "Primal Blueprint". Mark Sisson has an amazing site called marksdailyapple.com. I advise you check that out. Don't be afraid to reach out to other members on the site...chances are we've had the same struggles.

Personally, I always hate those days where I screw up and then I pick a day and say "I'm definitely starting then and I will have X weeks before X." It's been happening to me all year, but there's a point where you have to push past any failures and view them as obstacles. It's never going to be an easy journey, but that doesn't mean we have to give up when faced with an obstacle.

Best of luck! Feel free to reply or message and let me know what you think about Paleo.

-Alex

[mecompco]

Ayn, "diets" tend to be something one starts and eventually ends. I've come to realize that what we need are lifestyle changes instead of "diets". If you can't live with your chosen eating and exercise style for the long run, what's going to happen when you stop/change? In my case, it is sliding right back into old (bad) habits.

I think you need to make the commitment and come up with an eating/exercise plan that you can live with indefinitely (with tweaks along the way as necessary).

Regards,
Michael

[rpmcduff]

I agree with Michael. Stop looking at this as a short term diet and start approaching your journey as a lifestyle change. I believe that making big changes (like not having any carbs!) just make the process harder. My first change was to give up the 3-4 sodas a day. At first that meant substituting tea, eventually the tea gave way to water and now except for my morning coffee I rarely drink anything but water.

The key is to find what works for you and that you can handle mentally and physically. If you have been a sugar and snack junkie and you stop cold turkey you will likely experience cravings (withdrawal). I would suggest you develop a plan to taper away from your problem foods, that may help you have the long term success you are looking for.