... its been less than a week and i'm already discouraged!!!

I cannot believe how amazing you guys are! So many of you have found ways to fight the cravings and loose so much weight.. how do you do it!?

I tried watching what i eat.... but when i'm with my friends and i see a cheeseburger on the menu... or i go to an italian restaurant and i see any sort of delicious sounding pasta dish.... its almost impossible for me to order a salad instead.  I'm just so miserable eating it... and then i keep thinking about whatever it was that i deprived myself of for the rest of the day.  The weight just wont come off because its so hard for me to say no... and my diet is also packed with sodium... (almost 5000 mg!).  I feel so hopeless, maybe i just dont have the willpower it takes so lose weight? I dont have that much to lose, but even that first lb. wont come off!!

Do you guys have any advise for fighting the cravings? Does anybody else feel this way??

If you really want it you will be able to do it.
It takes a lot of will power.
You just got to decide what it is you want.

Well, firstly... I'd suggest going out a whole lot less. When i first started, I almost never went out. When I went out, I had a Soup AND Salad first to tame my hunger and then only ate until I was full.

Make going out a treat. Do it very very occasionally.

I can suggest some cooking books, if you like. But mostly I'd work on trying to cook healthy meals for yourself and eat them.

Self-awareness and honesty are the first steps. :) It sounds like you're on your way.

To get through "the hump", I stopped going out to eat for a while. I have a cheat meal -- meal, not "day" -- every week, and I make sure to satisfy my cravings in moderation. Another tip for going out to eat...eat beforehand!! I know that sounds oxymoronic, but it keeps me from splurging on stuff at the restaurant.

Willpower, though, yes. :)

Liz :D

lisanne, I have a friend who lost about 100 pounds some years ago. When we'd go out to eat, he'd order what he wanted, and get a doggy box when he got his meal. He would immediately divide his dinner into two portions and put one of them in the box for his lunch or dinner the following day.

I went out on Sunday. I planned for the meal. I could have gotten a burger at Ruby Tuesday's, but as I'd looked at the nutrition information ahead of time, knew that there were better choices on the menu, such as...... STEAK!! Yum! It was something like 205 calories as opposed to a burger, which had 900+. That gave me the leeway to have white cheddar mashed potatoes. I had no salad on Sunday!

You aren't restricted to just salad. Get the pasta dish, but take half of it home.

And don't try to do toooo much at one time. I will suggest making one change at a time. Since your sodium is really high, how about trying to bring it down to 4000 or less each day? Just one change, and forget about calories for the moment. Look at your current food choices and see what could be replaced with a lower-sodium alternative. I switched brands of string cheese because one was so high in sodium. (It even tasted salty!) I now buy Sargento instead of.... hmmm... I don't remember what the other one was.

But one change at a time. It's extremely difficult for most people to  revamp their entire eating repertoire all at once. Pick one small change that will not be too painful to make, and concentrate on that for now.

I KNOW you can make ONE change, I just know it!!

hey lisanne, it's definately not an easy thing to do going through this lifestyle change but you gotta give it more than a week.  It doesn't happen overnight.  It's a slow process but it will stick with you for all your life and totally be worth it.  Like it's already been said you're already taking the right steps by being aware of it.  and definately try cooking a lot more of your own foods.  Don't deprive yourself either of the stuff you love, that will only make you hate this.  Go out less often but when you do go ahead and have the tasty pasta dish, but only have half, ask for only half the sauce they normally would put on it and more veggies, substitute for healthier options when you can, instead of the fries with the burger get steamed veggies.  It's those little things that you change at first that you won't even notice that keep adding up and adding up until you are eating completely healthy.  Don't get frustrated so soon.  We're here to kick your butt back on track so no worries :-)

EDIT:  lol athena, i just saw your post after i put mine up.  great minds think alike.....and so do ours :-)

Yeah i guess you're right.  I def need to eat out less often and cook more.  Its hard when you're in college and you dont have a lot of time to make food, but i can't keep making excuses and letting my weight get the better of me!

Do you guys know any healthy, easily available foods that are low in sodium? 

I'm embarrassed (but only a little) to confess that I was typing my post while munching on a chocolate chocolate-chip muffin......




(but I accounted for it in my daily plan)!

Pretty much everything thats not processed is low in sodium.  Meats, fish, veggies, fruits...all very low in sodium.  It's the canned veggies, pre-cooked meals, and restaurant foods that are LOADED with salt.  Try to eat as much fresh junk as possible.

And I'm going to echo everybody else.  It's not "easy" doing this, but if you really want to.  I mean really really REALLY want to, you can do it.  If you go into it with the attitude that you're going to fail, then you will never succeed.  You have to decide if it's worth it to you.  Saying stuff like "I just don't have willpower!" not even a week into your diet is just making excuses for when you fail.  Change that mentality and you WILL succeed at this.

You can also get low-sodium choices, in brothers, canned vegetables and meats. Just keep your eyes open :)

I think it can be overwhelming to try and do too much at once.  Make little changes you know you can stick to.  What about exercise, are you getting in any cardio? or strength training?

When you make little goals and are able to achieve them it helps motivate yourself, gives you the confidence you need to do more.

Lots of good ideas here - especially taking things slowly.  I have one planned cheat day a month (as opposed to one meal a week) and I actually keep track of my cravings and promise myself that on August 26 I can eat whatever I want - no guilt, no counting.  Come the 26th I find I only need to eat one or two things to satisfy the cravings. And knowing the 26th is coming, it is much easier to hold off.

If you are tempted to eat something you know is bad for you log it in to your food log and really see how many cal. it has. Planning my meals and snacks ahead of time really helps me. I am a huge dessert lover so when I get a craving I jump on C-C and after looking at how many cal. it has I am usually steered away from it. Also try having one day where you just eat what you want that could be your reward for the whole week.

There is alot of good ideas in this thread, wow.. For me, the thing that helped me the best to fight cravings was never letting myself get hungry.. I work evenings and often skipped dinner and I was so hungry after my shift that I would stop at any fast food restraunt on my way home.. Lucky me I pass 2 Tim Hortons, 3 McDonalds, a Burger King, a Wendys and an A&W on the way so I was eating (usually AW, their onion rings are killer) any on of those at least 2 nights a week.. If I go to a restraunt I have a snack or a light meal before I got and that helps ALOT.. I think that is the thing that has helped me the most since I started.. Yesturday was my 6 week anniversary..

Have you thought about weight watchers? It's not that expensive and the more you start off weighing, the more you can start off eating. The point system is easy and the points are easy to find, and add up. You get extra points for the day if you exercise, depending on how long and the type of exercise. You also get 35 bonus points for the week, that you can break up, or use for that one "yummy" meal that you want. It's a good system, to ease into a healthy lifestyle and my Dr. even says it's the best thing out there for weight loss help. I agree with the person that said give yourself a freebee meal every week to eat what you want for just that one meal. That should help to keep you from falling off the wagon. I'm guilty of it myself but I usually last about a month or so before falling off. I'm hoping to stick to it this time and change my lifestyle!

Lisanne, I am with you.  Just went to lunch intending to get grilled chicken and ended up with a chicken quesadilla.  NOT a good choice.  Ok, it's done.  I'm just a little above my calorie goal for this time of day.  I'll be careful this afternoon and evening.  I have TSD class tonight so I'm looking at a great workout!  Remember all those little positive steps you are taking.  They add up!  Did you see the "August Goals" thread from Monday?  Check it out!  Maybe one of you goals can be to eat out less. 

Just know you aren't alone...the baked ziti calls to me...by name...via loudspeaker...in the middle of the night... on a regular basis!

1.  Ask your friends to help you when you go out.  Ask them to order salads too.  It would be to their health benefit to choose the salad regardless of their weight status.  If they won't (I have a sister that aint about to do that), ask them, can we make sandwiches and have a picnic instead?  That's so much fun!  My sister, the fast food junkie, even loves it when I pack up the picnic basket full of healthy sandwiches and diet colas with granola bars, fruit, or baked chips. It's cheaper and more fun.  And, look how thoughtful you are for doing it.  Look how much love went into it.  If you don't want to take time to make sandwiches, just toss in some turkey, cheese,mustard, and a loaf of bread, go to the park, and let everyone make their own.  It's fun!

2.  When you go out, plan ahead of time what you will be eating.  Look on the internet and find the menu and nutritional information. Don't leave it to the last minute.  Tell yourself, I am going to have the chicken nuggets (170 calories) and the french fries (235), and that will be less than 500 calories at a meal, and that will be fine.  (or whatever your choices are).

lisanne - I know how hard it is to stick to it in college. I go to college full time with a double major and a full time job plus volunteer. I'm INSANE busy! The "freshman 15" definitely caught up with me (more like freshman 50, but the same concept nonetheless). I knew that I was good in classes, so I started treating my wiegh-ins and research on how to better myself as class time, go to the university gym three times a week to weigh myself, and spend the rest of the hour in the library doing research on it. For homework: cooking, excersize, cleaning, keeping a journal of my activities and foods, etc. I don't know if this would work for you, but it does for me.

I don't know what your friends are like, but sometimes its fun to find a diet buddy and take turns cooking for each other.  I did this with a friend for a while and we had a great time. 

Another thing that works for me is to eat something before going out.  It's usually a piece of fruit and a piece of cheese, but it could be a Luna bar (180 calories).  That way I'm not starving when I sit down and can be more rational about my menu choices.

thanks for all the great advice! i think taking it one step at a time and having reasonable goals in mind will be the hardest thing.  The picnic idea sounds really fun too! definitely will be something i will try. thanks for the support everyone :)

I agree so much with the others who've encouraged you to plan ahead.  Since I eat out a few times a week, I plan ahead and read the calorie counts on this website to figure out what will keep my on track.  It's important to eat foods that you actually will enjoy!  Look at the menu and adjust it to your plan.  Just because the salad comes with a high fat dressing doesn't mean you have to order it that way. 

Some examples: I had a wonderful salad in a restaurant recently that came with a bacon dressing...so instead of that, I order oil and vinegar on the side... and just had the vinegar on the salad...   

Last night had McDonald's... but had the small fries and the grilled chicken sandwich...but held the mayo, had half the bun... and had bbq sauce on it instead... delicious!