New to calorie count!! Need some advice!

Hi everyone,

Im new to calorie count...signed up yesterday as a last ditch effort to try and lose some weight.  Im 29years old, 5ft 6in tall and weigh a whopping 187 pounds! I've tried everything that could be tried but, other than outright starvation, nothing works (starvation brought my weight down from 200 but I really think it destroys your health!). A friend of mine advised me to join and, i must say, it is nice to know other people who are facing similar situations and are choosing to fight it constructively. Despondency is my biggest problem...halfway through my diet I become depressed and start thinking that my targets are impossible....n from negative thinking to binging is but a short step! I would really love some advice from people on how to remain motivated enough to stick to my diet plan. Also, do people really lose 40-50 pounds?...is it possible? I mean, I have heard of people losing 5, 10 even 20 pounds but to lose enough to totally transform the way you look?....is it actually possible?

Special problem: I sprained my ankle so any form of exercise is out of the window for the next 3-4 weeks!

If you get easily discouraged I'd suggest a few things (and I have lost 50lbs+ which took a while)

• Eat healthy foods you enjoy and do exercise you enjoy.  If you don't enjoy what you're doing to lose weight enough you won't keep doing it
• Be flexible rather than too rigid... a healthy lifestyle should not resemble a sojourn at Guantanamo Bay.  Include some treats and relaxation as part of the bigger picture because this is how you're going to live from now on.
• Get plenty of variety... Different foods & different types of exercise keeps things interesting which is important when you're in it for the long-term.
• Set very small targets...  Decide how the day's going to look and if you make it to the end of the day and you've done a good job, tell yourself 'well done'... don't look any futher ahead than that.
• Don't let one bad meal become a bad week...  Put mistakes behind you and start fresh in the morning (see above). 
• Acknowledge milestones when they happen but don't get obsessed with them.  
• Recognise other successes beyond weight-loss.  Do you feel fitter?  Do your clothes fit better?  Do you get ill less often?  Are you happier?....  A healthy lifestyle has a lot more rewards than appearance.
• To transform the way you look make sure your clothes keep up with your shape.  A slim person in their old baggy clothes still looks like a fat person!!

You can exercise without putting weight on your ankle... try swimming, for example, or a stationary bike. 

My best advice, start by adding things to your new lifestyle.
Add a veggie, a fruit, a whole grain, a lean protein. 
Start with a walk around the block, dancing in the living room, stretching.

Think of it as a life style change not a diet.
You are releasing unwanted weight, not losing weight or fat.  If you lose something, you are always searching for it until you find it again.  Releasing means that you don't expect it to come back.

Make a plan of action.  Scheldule a time for eating, a time for moving and also time just for you.  Keep these appointments.

Eat maintance calories for the first week or two.  Chances are thaat it will still be less than you are consuming now.  Get your body healthy by chosing healthy whole foods, but remember to eat foods that you will enjoy as well.

Eat foods that you want to eat for the rest of your life.  Adjust recipes, but remember that diets fail because they are unastainable in the long run. 

Use the tools found her to help you figure out your goals.  Remember to add calories if your activities are moderate to high.

Make a meal plan and a grocery list.  It helps a lot and will cut down on your grocery bill.

Lots more to say, but this will be enough for you to start with.

Read some of the success stories here - people do lose the weight. I haven't lost an impressive amount yet, but I've been here for about 5 weeks and lost 12 pounds, so that's nothing to sneeze at. 

Jane and Candy said it already, but it can't be stressed enough - this is NOT a diet.  This is changing your life by replacing unhealthy habits with healthy ones.  Don't set difficult targets for yourself - you will give up if you stress yourself too much - and if you don't hit a particular weight target, it's not the end of the world.  It's just a learning experience. Look over your habits again:  Did you make healthy food choices?  Did you watch your portion sizes?  Did you workout when you are supposed to?  Are you getting the right amount of calories - not too much or too little?  Is there a reason your weight may be fluctuating more than usual? Fix what you can, and keep moving forward - every day is progress.  And don't begrudge yourself a treat or a lazy day now and then.  Everyone needs them.  Plan ahead to have healthy foods ready to eat and unhealthy foods out of the house.

Also, use this experience to learn more about your body and how it works.  I've learned quite a lot about myself in the last month, and it's really interesting.  The more you understand about yourself, the easier it becomes to figure out what you need to do.  For example, find out what foods (fiber, healthy fats) keep you full longer, and which foods (simple carbs) make you hungry again soon.  Learn to understand that your weight will fluctuate from day to day (and hour to hour) and not to worry about it.  There are a lot of articles, blogs, and forum posts that will help you get started and give you tips when you hit a rough patch.

And of course, if you get down or have a question, post here.  There are a LOT of knowledgeable, helpful people here to help you. 

If you can't swim or something that involves your whole body without hurting your ankle, you might want to just do something with your upper body - weights even.  Just to get you started moving. 

Good luck!

I have lost 70 lbs. as jane, candy and corellia have said, it is not a diet, it is a lifestyle. embrace it. diets, mean not eating this or that. I have nothing off limits, whatever I eat or ingest is in moderation( as long as I stay within my daily calories..  I started out at 280, I am now at 210.  My weight loss did plateau for about a year, and I am still working on that, but I did find out that I can maintain a weight and am now ready to keep it moving to the next level. Ideally I would like to be about 160. I am 5'4 1/2" and a full figured girl anyway. I am in  a size 18.  I do exercise alot,  I walk on treadmill 3 miles a day and do pilates, for about 40 mins. then swim 3 days a week 50-6o laps. embrace exercise it is very important( when you get over your injury).  as mentioned above portion sizes are very important, measure at first to really realize what real portions are . most rest. portions are 2-3 servings(at least in the south anyway).  realize to that your are 5'6", not a short person. all charts do not take into consideration everything about you to suggest a weight. they do usually have frame size, but If you are person with natural curviness like me,  with DDD bra or whatever, the weight they suggest is not really " real" for me. take baby steps, look at the first five lbs, then the next five. sometimes the big picture is to overwhelming.  Set realistic goals too. This is not a race..... that is what I had to learn,  have patience and do  the changes, and get a realistic calorie intake, burn and the weight loss will come....... hope you get over the injury soon, and much luck!!!

Its possible I have lost 76 pounds since Feb of this year.Im 4'11 I started at 210 and im at 134 now and still losing and my goal weights about 115 Ill see what I look like from there .and I have not hit a plateau yet so everyones different but you can do it.I did it by counting my calories and completely changing my lifestyle and bad eating habits .I stopped fast food,I became vegan I dont eat meat or dairy I did this from a Drs advice for medical reasons I started by cutting all meats except fish and now I eat no meats at all and i eat no dairy My Dr put me on a muliti vitamin and calcium supplement,I cut all sugar except sugar in fruits. I switched to all whole grains instead of white bread and pasta and flour I use whole grains and exercising and switching to drinking all water and green tea no sugar added.I gave up all junk food.I had to make drastic changes quickly for healthy issues so not everyone has to be as extreme as me Im also under a Drs supervision.It was very hard at first but now I dont even want that stuff.Its completely changed my life and body and my body still has alot of fat at 134 I was horribly out of shape .But Im getting there Im feeling much better I do aerobocs everymorning 1 to 2 hours a day also when i first started I couldnt do more then 20 minutes.I walk everywhere and before I could walk down the street without being in pain I have Pad in my legs which is why I had to this now I walk everywhere no surgery.My blood pressure is great my cholesterol went from outragous to excellent and my halth problems are under control now I feel better then I have for years Im only 34 years old and feel better then I have since I was a teenager.

Also Im sorry about your ankle i hope You feel better soon .

Thank you everyone for all the advice and encouraging words. I am definitely a convert to the healthy way of losing weight now...no more fad diets for me! Its only been three or fours days now but already I am feeling a sense of wellness and good health...like I am doing something that needed to be done for health reasons and not just for losing weight. Surprisingly I havn't had a single binging episode or craving in these 4 days (in my previous attempts I'd always cave in by this time)...I think thats because I'm not starving my body. Im actually eating more than I did previously but since its all healthy the calorie count is very low (earlier I used to have pizza and burgers for breafast and starve the rest of the day to compensate!).

I have actually taken prinouts of all your replies and stuck them on my refrigerator just to remind me that it can be done. Thanks again!