Diario de katiegirl525, 22 feb. 11

Hey, I have some ideas that really worked for me! Do not call what your doing a diet, diets always fail thats why weight watchers and all that stuff make so much money b/c its almost impossible to keep to those "diets". Especially w/o a trainer. I'm sure it has worked for many people but for me "dieting" made it harder for me. Exercise as much as you can, even if it just means doing crunches at night, it will make you feel better. LOG EVERYTHING, at first it might depress you but you will find yourself looking at the fat/carbs/sodium and all that good stuff before you actually put it in your mouth. The best idea I could give you is stick to it, even if you have a bad grubbing day...you need to remember that the next day is a new day and dont beat yourself up over that bad day. Your doing great just by getting on this site and starting. I still have ups and downs but I've definitly learned to eat a little better and I feel much better about myself now that I do! Good luck and if you need anything, I'm here or this site has a great support system.  

Ditto what epright9 says - use the calorie counting as a way to motivate yourself to make smart choices but also build in some occassional splurges that will keep you on track. Total deprivation never lasts long and you'll have much better success if you see your eating in terms of trade-offs rather than what you have to give up. In the end you also need a plan that works with your lifestyle and it may be a slower rate of weight loss than you'd like, but again, you'll be setting yourself up for success finding a path that's possible for you to stick to in the long term. I also thought it was a great exercise to put down in words WHY it was important for me to lose weight- all those little annoyances like my legs shafing when I wear skirts or feeling like I'm always being judged by skinny people for my food choices, or the fact that I feel like all my close are disposable because I don't want to commit to being that size for the long-term. Those are just a few of the ones on my list, but I know you have your own thoughts along these lines. Once you have your list of motivating factors down on paper, it might help you to focus better on what you want out of this and why the sacrifices are worht it. Also, are you rewarding your progress? Do you have people in your life giving you support? All these things can make it easier for you to stay on track, so always be looking for little things that you can do for yourself, or that others can do for you, that will set you up for success.  

I like to plot out all my meals, according to my 'formula' the day before. I take lunch wherever I am going and eat it while others are eating there take out. I don't leave the day to happenstance, but if I get hungry I just add to my food diary (and maybe adjust the last meal of my day accordingly). Don't give up. You have done so well already and you have all these very cool people out here with you to share in the journey. 

Sometimes it's really hard to keep on track, don't let the little slip ups keep you from getting back on track and reach your goal, and like they said above LOG EVERYTHING! get in the habit of doing it right after you eat so you don't forget something, it holds you accountable to what you eat and drink, then go from there.