i just want to do it right this time!!!! help welcome and needed

hi all my name is molly
ive been dieting for YEARS and have been bouncing between 13 and 17 stone for the last 8 years. ive tired so many diets at this stage from atlkins to ww to lipotrim and have seen some good and some amazinf weight loses but i just cant seem to keep it off. extreme diets are just to hard to stay on for me and then when i stop the weight come on so fast it depresses me. ww was good but i have a job that has unsocial hours and i cant make meetings.

im sick of fad diets and depriiving myself and feeling like a failure when i dont last. ive always been obsessed with fast loss and thats where i go wrong. if i dont see it fast i give up. been doing alot of thinking the last while and a bit of reading around too. i have decided that i just want to learn how to eat better and make good choices. so my plan is this :

after doing alot of reading around i have concluded that there are some of the things i need to do:

1) stick to a calorie controlled diet - cos i have to face it they are the ones all the HEALTHY websites and diets suggest.

2) get more active - in the very least i am making a comitment to walking my poor little baby bonnie (my dog) in the mornings. apparently if u work out before breakfast even if its just a 20 min walk it powers up ur metabolism.

3) build some mucle mass - cos ive notices that when i weight myself on the machine in the chemist it may say ive only lost a pound but my body fat mass could be down 3 pounds and my non fat mass could be up a pound which a fitness instructure friend of mine explained means ive gained mucle and more muscle mass burns more fat even when ur not working out!!! result

4) swap back to diet coke - i used to only drink it but i then went to coke and i have seen the differents :S

5) use this forum for support - i used it before and found it really helped me along to have somewhere to come and people to talk to about it all cos i dont like letting friends and family know im on a diet cos im always failing lol

im hoping to add to this list to create my own plan. i just want to lose the weigh now for once and for all. the hardest part for me is the calorie controling cos i really have no idea so if anyone can offer me some tips or meal ideas i would be very greatful. thanks for reading my rant anyway lol

Hi Molly

I love lists so I think making your goals is a great start. Love the one about walking your dog, what breed is she? Exercise first thing is the best and will definitely give you a positive boost to start your day.

I think calorie counting is the best "diet" - its flexible and sensible so seems perfect for you as a) not restrictive and can fit in around your working day and b) its not quirky- everything can be had in moderation :)

I would be happy to give some tips for meals etc- what kind of things do you like to eat/usually have on a day to day basis?

I think the most important thing now you have made the decision to start is to get your nose to the grindstone and start trucking away, the lbs will soon start disappearing and you will be a stone down before you know it :D

Hello Molly.

Im with you on this! My new rules are (as much as possible)

1. Try eat natural
2. Avoid sugary things or limit
3. Reduce portion size
4. Move more

I believe doing these and will weight take care of itself. I hope. I was dieting almost all last year and am actually up about half a stone from this time last year due to all my messing about.

Good luck to you, I will he following x

By natural I mean like meat and veg rather than processed foods such as pasta ans bread etc x

Hi Molly

It took me years to realise that calorie counting does actually work (when you follow it correctly & for more than a few days lol)
Like you i was always wanting the quick fix & chose whatever faddy diet promised fast losses but they didn't work for me long term so i decided to give calorie counting a proper go & I'm happy to say it was the best decision i ever made :)

As for exercise i don't do much at all apart from walking my little pooch in the evenings but its helped immensely with my weight loss & toning my legs & butt up so get that lead on & off for walkies you go :)

Good luck x

hi guys thanks for replying. thanks berryberry for ur help. well i loooove chicken and im a big fan of noodles and rice. umm im not too adventurous with fruits and veg i go for basic stuff probably why im not a model lol

time to go i like ur list portion size thats another good one im gonna add that. and drink plenty of water. so now i have:

1) calorie controlled diet

2) get more active - walking first thing in the morning

3) build muscle mass

4) swap back to diet coke

5) use this forum for support

6) watch portion size

7) plenty of water.

im doing well lol. oh and bonnie is a shih tzu and shes a little pet so shes my motivation cos she loves walking

Hiya molly, I'm just starting out too. Iv been dieting for about 10 years and im still in the same place if not bigger! I ALWAYS fall for the quick fix/fast weight loss things but it never stays that way! So this year iv decided to just TRY the whole calorie counting thing. Im going to be as healthy as I can but in order to not overwhelm myself (its only my first day!) im allowing anything for now as long as I count it...the freedom its quite weird!

Good luck with your calorie counting, Molly! :) There's just one thing I'd recommend tweaking on your list of things to do - if you can, give up Coke completely, even Diet. It's horribly bad for you, and it has actually been shown to cause weight gain even though it's sugar free! I used to drink a lot of fizz, but have had to reluctantly accept that it's no good, so now only have it occasionally as a treat.

All the best. xx

hey floss i wish u luck. i think even the process of writing down what ur eating makes u more conscious. and tracy i no ur right i used to drink loads of it but i have cute down loads i just love it thou its my bad habit lol i will be trying to replace it with water thou because i need to get into the habit of drinking more anyway but i could give it completely up lol

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Originally Posted by TracyGWill

Good luck with your calorie counting, Molly! :) There's just one thing I'd recommend tweaking on your list of things to do - if you can, give up Coke completely, even Diet. It's horribly bad for you, and it has actually been shown to cause weight gain even though it's sugar free! I used to drink a lot of fizz, but have had to reluctantly accept that it's no good, so now only have it occasionally as a treat.

All the best. xx

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Possibly, but I've lost 5 stone and had at least 2 cans of diet coke a day. I agree it has no goodness in it but in itself it doesn't make you gain weight. Studies show that it can cause you to crave more sweet things which (if you give in to cravings) will make you gain weight. It's full of rubbish and chemicals but It's not the content of diet coke that makes you gain weight.

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Originally Posted by Babana

Possibly, but I've lost 5 stone and had at least 2 cans of diet coke a day. I agree it has no goodness in it but in itself it doesn't make you gain weight. Studies show that it can cause you to crave more sweet things which (if you give in to cravings) will make you gain weight. It's full of rubbish and chemicals but It's not the content of diet coke that makes you gain weight.

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No, it's not the content of it, it's the fact that it causes insulin spikes apparently. I've lost loads of weight in the past drinking fizzy drinks, but it's one of the things I changed this time, and I'm doing much better this time round (7.5 stone off so far) having yo-yo dieted for 30 years, lol. It's just something to think about - if you can do without it you'll be better off in a number of ways. :) xx

I used to drink diet coke by the bucket and it (as well as being over weight) gave me kidney stones.
It is literally the most painful thing ( and I've had two kids!) it can ruin your days while u have them and it got so bad I was on morphine daily and ended up having surgery.

Have I totally given up diet coke? No. I have it if we go to a pub (which is very rare with 2 little ones) but I've totally converted to squash and water. I don't drink tea or coffee either because I hate them both!
As long as ur not overdoing it diet coke is a preferable option especially in the pubs where u would end up having a calorie packed alcoholic drink or juice like j2o x

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Originally Posted by Babana

Possibly, but I've lost 5 stone and had at least 2 cans of diet coke a day. I agree it has no goodness in it but in itself it doesn't make you gain weight. Studies show that it can cause you to crave more sweet things which (if you give in to cravings) will make you gain weight. It's full of rubbish and chemicals but It's not the content of diet coke that makes you gain weight.

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Me too, 5 stone plus lost and sometimes diet cola is my lifeline when I'm craving something sweet, especially Pepsi max as it does taste quite sweet. I know it's not especially good for you but it definitely hasn't hindered my weight loss at all and compared to fruit juice is a really low cal option on a night out.
I would rather eat my calories than drink them!!! . I do try to choose water where possible but do have to admit I love my diet cola.... Think it started back in the day of the adverts on the tv with the hunky man and the diet coke break!! Does anyone else remember that back in the 90's??!! Mmmm

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Originally Posted by LadyJo

I used to drink diet coke by the bucket and it (as well as being over weight) gave me kidney stones.
It is literally the most painful thing ( and I've had two kids!) it can ruin your days while u have them and it got so bad I was on morphine daily and ended up having surgery.

Have I totally given up diet coke? No. I have it if we go to a pub (which is very rare with 2 little ones) but I've totally converted to squash and water. I don't drink tea or coffee either because I hate them both!
As long as ur not overdoing it diet coke is a preferable option especially in the pubs where u would end up having a calorie packed alcoholic drink or juice like j2o x

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Yes, that's what I tend to do, just have it when I'm eating out, as I do love it and have only given it up reluctantly, lol. I drink squash too, but most of my hydration comes from coffee and tea, they're what I couldn't give up!! :) xx

oh i remember them ads sue mmmmm. yes i also drink squash now instead of coke which has helped me up the water intake. thats the good think about calorie counting, u can have anything once u count it in. i have been on so many diets where u cant have tea or milk or anything but water its to much!