Originally Posted by almeeker

I've really been struggling with willpower lately. I don't really know why, but there it is. I think my trouble started with the strawberry picking, now it's raspberries. When I'm outside doing all that stuff I eat mindlessly, and the berries are full of carbs so when they taper off I need a fix again. Which puts me right back on the vicious cycle that had me at double a healthy weight to begin with. So far I've only put on a couple of pounds, but I need to nip this in the bud or it will spiral completely out of control. I've been over my calorie budget 9 out of the last 10 days. Not by a lot, but by enough.

This morning I got up early because I couldn't sleep and do you know what I did? I ate ice cream, like 1 1/2 cups of Breyers Vanilla Bean (at least it wasn't chocolate). This is the sort of thing I used to do almost daily, but I haven't cave in to that craving in at least 6 months. Okay so I forgave myself the slip up and planned my day around the 400 extra calories I shoveled down before the sun came up. But all I want right now is a King sized Snickers bar, (let's make that 2) and a lasagna. Notice I didn't say "a piece of lasagna", that's right girls I want the whole bubbling gooey thing. Seems I've turned into Garfield, fat cartoon cat extraordinaire.

Originally Posted by pattialbert

Morning everyone
I joined the 50000000 pound weight loss challenge. On the site when you register they give you a menu for 30 days of clean eating...I like that. No thinking involved for me..I look up the menu the night before and make sure i have what I need and its all done! Im on day 2 right now and already the scale is coming back down. It does tend to be more lower carb eating so Im happy about that...but I can have fruit and whole grain bread (can eat a sandwich every day if I choose) and allows for some small treats ..such as a handful of pretzels (and chips but I know I coudlnt stop at a handful of those..even a small browie if I choose)

Originally Posted by almeeker

I hate to say this, but I'm probably doing exactly what your SIL is suggesting. I'm not a big protein eater by nature either, but I've found lots of sources of protein that I like, chicken, tuna, cottage cheese, lean cold cuts, reduced fat cheese, eggs, bacon, nuts, Greek yogurt, lean beef, lean pork etc etc. I try to stay away from most processed foods, just because they tend to have a lot more calories then the same things do if I make them myself. Have you considered making your own pizza? I make it with turkey pepperoni, pizza sauce, part skim mozzarella cheese on top of a whole grain pita - it's pretty darn yummy. BTW a thin crust frozen pizza has about 310 calories per slice, so it's good you don't eat the whole thing, but chances are you are ruining part of your week by eating more than a slice or two.

Basically what I do is keep my calories to 1,350-1,650/day (even on weekends), my burn about 2,500-3,000 calories/day, keep my pie chart at 40% carbs (mostly complex), 40% proteins and 20% good fats, like the kind in avocados, nuts and olive oil. I also try to get in 6 hours/week of hard cardio and 2 hours of weight lifting and calisthenics. Good luck honey. Change is really hard, but if you're 100 pounds heavier than you want to be, I'm afraid it's probably the only way down. Just take it one step at a time.

Originally Posted by changeisgood29

Hello lovely ladies, I hope all is off to a good start for everyone.

Almeeker - sorry to hear about your fall; glad to hear you're ok - that did indeed sound painful.

Christine - Our stats and goals are pretty similar (though you probably have an inch or 2 on me... that's pretty common ), so I wanted to respond. Sounds to me like you're feeling overwhelmed by all this fitness stuff - and yes, it can be overwhelming (especially in the beginning) when you're trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, and meanwhile you want the weight off, like, yesterday. It also sounds like you're in it for the long haul, which is great, and that will be a huge part of your success. Almeeker mentioned some great ideas, and I'm also a big supporter of her advice to make 'one change at a time.'

I know it's easy to loosen up a bit on weekends, but it does sound like that may be part of the issue. I love beer, and am a total beer snob, but unfortunately, beer loves my belly back in a big way. I had to cut my alcohol intake considerably - I'm not going to lie, I miss my microbrews, but I can tell you I thoroughly enjoy my 1 beer a week, haha. Point being that losing weight is going to take some sacrifice - maybe consider your alcohol intake as a starting point... I'm not saying to completely 86 alcohol from your diet, but if you have 10 drinks a week (just an arbitrary number), that's quite a few empty calories.

I think it's really tough to get enough protein, too, but it's super important to losing weight and maintaining a healthy diet. Take a look at what you eat... maybe replace something you consistently eat that's low-protein and replace it with something that has some... i.e., replacing Lucky Charms with cottage cheese and fruit. Every time you find something that works, you're that much closer to your goal, and that much closer to not feeling lost in fitness, as it were. There are also some great websites out there that can help you feel more informed - FitDay is great; I also checked out the Mayo Clinic's website on exercise tips and other articles.

You can do this! Don't give up, just keep tweaking and playing around until you find something that does work. You've lost 9 pounds, so you're not doing it all wrong - I wish you all the luck and encouragement in the world.

Sorry for the wordiness... Tends to happen when I write.

That's all on my end, good luck to you all... Husband and I started doing some weightlifting this week, and my arms are sore! I'm telling myself that it's one day closer to being "uber."