i need tips
 

i need tips.. i have NO discipline or control if you put something good in front
of me i will eat it.. how do i learn to say NO?

Plan
 

You have to mentally prepare yourself in advance. When ever I have been sucessful at saying no I have been in a weight loss frame of mind. Plan on eating no more than 2000 calories a day and do it using a food journal.
I also wait 30 minutes after eating before making any decisions about eating additional food by that time I usually dont want any extra or can make a healthy choice.
Drinking adequate amts. of water each day is also critical.
Good luck:)

Fit Tips
 

There are free tips and a free ebook listing tips to lose weight
Amazing Moms Fatloss | Fit, Sexy and Strong
I hope they help!
Good Luck!

Make yourself a promise that you will drink a large glass of water before you indulge in any snacks - you'll eat less.

honestly write down everything you eat. Even if it's just one bite. Usually a few days of this makes you more self concious and more aware that if you eat that 60 calorie oreo( or hald the bag lol) then you'll have to sacrifice somewhere else. I was never aware of how much i ate until I tracked everything. It was hard at first running to the computer everytime I ate, but eventually I learned what itemes were the worst for me.

I think another really important part of it is to identify a strong motivator and keep thinking about it. Whether it's a health metric (BMI, cholesterol), or a size, or something else ... figure out what will motivate YOU. Personally, I never got motivated by my appearance (which I know is huge for others), but having children made me want to be a better role model of good health for them.

I agree with this. Write down everything!

Right here on FitDay you can create your own profile, and log your Food consumption every day. If you also log your Activities, you will have almost everything you need to lose weight! Try to keep your calories consumed between 500 and 1000 calories less than your calories used if you're trying to lose 1-2 pounds per week. Try it! :o

FitDay is the best tool I have found for controlling your consumption.

If you use the food log, you will see that cleaning the kids' plate, finishing the pan and stuff like that add up to a whole other meal every day.

The Calorie Balance tool is a great visual for me. I finish logging food for the day, click on it and it shows me the side-by-side comparison of how much I consumed vs how much I used.

Trying to keep the consumption side as low as possible while still finding filling foods became like a game, for me. You will be surprised at which foods give you the best bang for your buck. Like, 1 cup of ice cream (Blue Bell, not sherbert) is generally fewer calories than 3 refridgerator type cookies. Veggies are always a good bet and you get full, great nutritional value and fiber. Just what the doctor ordered!

Good Luck! (By the way, when I started, I needed to lose at least 50 pounds. I started refining my eating habits and paying attention in August. I have lost 20 pounds!!! Keep the faith. It will happen!)

Motivators help me a lot, thanks for the post. I usually pick a guy I would want and put his picture on the wall. Not sure how healthy that is, but it works when I feel like cheating on my diet.

And, yeah, its usually is a movie star. It's about motivating me to not eat, its not having him(just wishing). What ever works for ya!!!

A picture always helps, I am starting to do that now and it will give you the motivation of how you want your future self to look like, or get close to it! :)

Along with the picture idea i find that hanging a pair of jeans, or favourite item of clothing that no longer fits, up in the bedroom. This keeps me motivated and makes me aware that if i stick to my plan i will soon be walking around in those jeans! A cup of green tea (or normal tea) also helps me when the cravins start to creep in, it makes me full and kills the cravings for a while.

My Top 5
 

1. Food/Calorie Tracking - like on FitDay! I find it helps remind me of portion sizes and makes me ask the critical "is this worth xx calories?" before I put anything in my mouth.

2. Club Soda/Perrier Water - bubbles without all the calories! Takes some getting used to but cuts out all those useless sugar calories in pop and juice - and great for when you get sick of ice water.

3. Prepackaged 100 Calorie Snacks - ok, they`re way over priced, and the wasteful packaging is atrocious but they help enjoy the snacks you crave without over eating! Definitely worth it when you`re first getting started.

4. Pictures of me at my goal weight - wish I would have put more effort into staying there, but oh well. Seeing proof that I`ve been there before helps remind me that I can get there again!

5. Exercise class - I hate working out, and it seems when I`m on a machine at the gym I can always find 1000 reasons to stop and quit early. If I`m in a class (tae-bo, boxercise is my favourite!) it`s way harder to leave part-way through when everyone is looking at you!

Hope these help - good luck!

I agree with writng down everything.

Also, I use a reward system. for every 10 lbs I loose, I will go buy myself something.. I pre-decide what I want..
at 10 lbs, I purchased an i-tunes gift card to add more music to my ipod
at 20 lbs I purchased new sneakers
at 30 lbs I WILL buy new jeans
at 40 lbs I WILL get a pedicure
at 50 lbs I WILL do a day at the spa

that way I decide every time I put food in my mouth, would I rather have food that lasts for a few minutes or work my way to my goals...

also if I feel hungry I will drink 16 oz of water and then wait 10 minutes before I would get something to eat. I have heard that sometimes your body confuses hunger with thirst/dehydration.

I drink 64 oz of water a day, so I am usually floating and that makes me not want to eat..

chew gum if you want to eat,sometimes my mouth just wants to chew so gum will give me the same sensation(actually it tires out my jaw so I do not want to eat) gum helps a lot....

Thanks for all your great replies, the glass of water and 30 minute rule really help and of course using Fitday journals :)

Set goals. You have a long term goal, but set weekly and daily goals.

Sit down on Sunday or Monday morning and determine how much you are going to eat and what and when you are going to exercise for the upcoming week. For example, make a goal to eat 1500 calories and exercise 1 hour per day.

Record on a calendar or a spreadsheet what you did. I would circle the items I did in red and cross out the things I didn't do on a calendar and then it became very visual.

On the following Sunday or Monday, evaluate how you did for the week. Did you make your eating goal? Your exercise goal? If not, figure out why and where the problems were and try to figure out how to get better. For example, if you planned to workout first thing in the morning and only got up once to exercise then you might consider trying to get to bed earlier, investing in stronger coffee, or moving your workout time later in the day. But always keep it positive and moving forward. Don't berate yourself. Just keep trying. If you made your goals, then congratulate yourself and set your goals for the next week.

Find a partner!
 

I found that using a partner, in my case, a neighbor/friend, has helped keep both of us motivated. We hold each other accountable and instead of sitting in front of the TV, we plan walks, runs, and share dinner ideas.

When I'm not in the mood to go for a run, she motivates me and I don't want to let her down...and vice versa. Plus, it is inspiring to see someone else's success and makes it much more fun and sustainable.

TIPs that I like to use and Seems to help me
 

I try to eat bascially the same for Breakfast and lunch. Like Yogart and banana for breakfast. Or egg beater and multi bran WW bread.
For lunch I try to have either soup, one serving with added vegetables, or a salad. Salad made with all kinds of veggies,(not lettuce) with slices of turkey, and I use a tablespoon of cottage cheese and mix it all together. This salad is quite filling. Veggies like, carrot, cukes, apples, zucchini, pickles, tomotoes,onions peppers seem to fill you up better than lettuce. I use lots of veggies, with frozen entres for dinner. 100 calorie popcorn and 100 calorie Ice cream pops for snack in the evening. I need my treat. Plenty of water. I can not use sugar subsitutes, (alergies) so I try not to use sugar. Good luck to all, pls let me know any tips that you may use. I love to eat, and I need my rewards, so if you have any tricks. I will try them.

GREAT tip! That's one that WWatchers suggests too. A glass of milk before each meal is good too. It fills and coats your stomach so getting full happens so much quicker. I am a water drinker now since living in the desert. The benefits of water are amazing.

You mention sharing dinners....that's a great tip. Also, when you go out to eat, before diving into that extra large portion restaurants always serve, ask the wait staff for a "to go" box. Fill the box with half of what's on your plate. Eat what's on your plate and enjoy the portion in the box for the next day's lunch or dinner. It works!

The reward system is wonderful! I treated myself to a turkey platter from Germany when I lost 20 pounds of pregnancy weight. Everytime I pull that platter out for Thanksgiving, it reminds me of the discipline I once had to lose that weight.

I like the ten pound increment rewards. It puts more items into your surroundings for that reminder of every ten pounds lost. Hopefully it will foster memories to not gain the weight back too! Great Suggestion.

I used to leave out bowls of candy for holidays, plates of cookies and baked goodies for the kids and hubby, a bowl of chips and salsa while we made mexican food, stuff like that. Since using fitday, I have gotten into the habit of keeping EVERYTHING out of sight! There is always a big bowl of fresh whole fruit on the table, and I chop up celery sticks, carrots, radishes, pickles, and keep them in the front of the fridge so I'm more likely to grab that instead of the chocolate. (which is now in the freezer so I have to wait for it to defrost!) At work, when faced with co-workers bringing in doughnuts and treats, I tell them I can't have that. I think of it like a food I'm allergic to.

I used to work with a girl that would refuse goodies at work saying she is allergic, that it makes her butt swell. :D

Wow these are great ideas.

I remember hearing a weight watcher friend saying: "Plan ahead or Plan to fail".

Preparing food ahead like you do is a great idea to Plan to succeed.

You mention refusing doughnuts at work as an allergy....I think of it as that's one time I said "no" to another bad food for my body. Chalk it up to will power no matter how you look at it. No matter how you refuse that temptation, your will power is the master behind the "NO"!!!!
Keep up the good work!

I eat basically the same thing for breakfast and lunch each day (with some variation) so my routine is, when I get to work, put in all the food I plan to eat there and what I've already had - breakfast, lunch, and snacks. That way, I know how many calories I have left for dinner etc, and helps me to resist treats in the staff lounge because I know that whatever I eat will mess up what I've done already.

Allow yourself ONE indulgence a week. ONE Serving. ONLY ONE. But give yourself that. I find, if I don't have something I'm really craving or wanting, I'll eat everything else until I get that taste/texture satisfied.

Also, a multi vitamin a day does wonders for this!! (you're body won't crave what it may be missing, cuz it ain't missing nuthin!)

I find it best if I have salty, protien & sweet snacks available.

Over eating and thinking to much about calories & how much/what food... could become an obsession for me. So I set my snacks up- the same day that I do my shopping.

If I shop Saturday- on Saturday- I have a bowl of readily available fruit set up. I slice oranges or tangerines and place them in a baggy, put soy nuts in sanwich bags. Cut carrots and place in a bowl & baggies.

For my protien snacks, I boil the eggs, slice the cheese- again soy nuts are great protien.

If I am desperate for a treat - rather than eating something I am sure to be sorry about,
I just add some sugar free/fat free pudding mix to my shake mix & make a health desert.

Hi,

If you want stop your hobbit, first mentally you have to fix in your mind, you should control yourself.Before eating any item just this about that, that is good for health or not than you can stop eating that food. If its good for health no problem.

Make a rule for yourself for just a few days. The rule would be that if you didn't plan to eat it, it's just not gonna go down. Explain that to whoever cooks for you. Remember, it's just for a few days. No surprises. See how that goes.

What will happen is - you won't be impulsively dining out with friends. And eventually, if this becomes a habit, you will dine out but review the menu ahead of time and decide on something that looks good and least-caloric from the menu, or else you'll have to find another place to dine.

People were dieting successfully for years and years without having access to modern tools like the Internet and online menus. This means life has gotten easier for dieters, not harder. So, use those tools, just like you use fitday.

Very good point!

Re going to restaurants, whenever possible, I too look at the menu online and choose a good option before I go. Or I'll have half a portion. I love Reuben sandwiches (800 calories - :eek:). Now I only eat half the sandwich and have a green salad instead of fries. Still not the most healthful choice in terms of fat calories, but it's a treat and I feel completely satisfied with just half the sandwich. I know people who ask for a take home container when their order comes, and they immediately put half of their meal into it.