JJ, You have my sympathy, dieting is no fun. That's why I don't diet. I eat what I want, I just have to ask myself, "do I really want that and all that it will mean on my body later?"

I lost 50 pounds without dieting. I just adjusted my lifestyle and added healthier eating habits. I have a salad for dinner one or two nights a week. I eat smaller portions and I don't consume as much sugar. Cutting out the sugar was hard. I was addicted. It takes some getting used to, but the cravings do go away.

Chick has it right. One of the things I did to change my lifestyle was walk. I take my dog for a walk every evening, just before dark. Can I forget? Are you kidding, he started looking forward to the walks and now tells me when it's time. I can't look at his happy little face and tell him no.

One of the other things I've done to change my lifestyle is write down everything I eat. Yep. Everything. That's what the BWS diet has done for me. It makes me more conscious of what I'm putting in my mouth. I ask myself before I eat, do I want it? Then I have to write it down. In the BWS forum, everyone sees what I've eaten.

Women in the menapausal years have a more difficult time losing weight. I won't kid you there. I struggle with it every day. It takes longer and requires more effort, but you can lose weight. Remember, it didn't go on overnight, it won't come off overnight.

One of the things that has helped is having small min-goals of 5 pounds or 10 pounds. Once you make your goal, don't focus on losing the next 5 or 10, focus on keeping that 5 or 10 off. You have to learn how to maintain a weightloss, not just lose the weight. It really is a lifestyle change. Anybody can lose weight if they try hard enough and most diets have short-term success. However, keeping it off is another matter. It goes on real easy. Really easy. It's much harder to take off.

We're here to support you. You're going to have to figure out what works for you and adjust your lifestyle to accomodate it.

There's no secret formula. It's a matter of simple logic. What goes in has to go somewhere. You get to control what goes in.

"We're here to support you. You're going to have to figure out what works for you and adjust your lifestyle to accomodate it. "

So true, we are all so different that something that works for one will not work for the other. Just don't give up, just try something else if you aren't losing.

All the advice so far has been good. I'd like to add just a little.

First of all, the amount you're eating is "survival mode" -- frankly, so little that your metabolism has slowed down to deal with what your body has interpreted as semi-starvation. You're not getting enough nutrients for optimum health and function.

There are two ways of increasing your metabolic rate: exercise and eating more. Eating more, however, means healthy & low-cal. Keep large supplies of fresh fruit and cut-up veggies, and eat a small portion of fruit or veggies EVERY 2 HOURS. This is the optimum time frame. More than that, your body goes into starvation mode (even if you're not even remotely hungry) and your metabolism slows down. If you're travelling, buy bags of dried fruit with no added sugar or additives.

Bread for breakfast? Make sure it's whole grain. There are no-sugar all-fruit spreads if you want to break the monotony. For your salads, buy dressings that don't contain any sugar or gums. Or make your own, with extra-vigin olive oil, lemon juice or flavored vinegar, and spices.

Atkins/South beach -- aren't these the no-carb high protein programs? They sound like a heart attack waiting to happen.

As for exercise -- can you shake your booty to Elvis? Anything?

After extensive trial and error on my part and a hundred hours of reading and investigating I have learned that for those of us that are not good at measuring, abstinance or all the things that good dieters can do, we need one of the two top rated 'eating plans' there is. That would be Jenny Craig or Nutri System. Reason being the food is already prepared, tasty and satisfying. Everything is measured for you by nutritionists, calories, carbs (only good ones) seasonings etc. I went on Nitri System and dropped 53 pounds in 6 months. I was never hungry and felt fantastic even with barely any exercise. I ate 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. I got involved with someone and he wanted to eat out every other night and every morning and my diet went to hell in a handbag.... As of January 1, 2006 I will once again be on Nitri System. Went to a food tasting party a couple of months ago and the Nutri System food was as good as what I make myself and JJ no cooking necessary. It is all prepared to pop into the micro wave...They have made this so easy anyone can do it....Your food is delivered to your door monthly and you can choose the things you like the most, lots of variety....

[ December 15, 2005, 10:06 AM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Good Lord I cannot believe how all of you have come to my rescue. I would be willing to bet a week's salary (if I had a job) that all of your advice is being read by other women in the same boat as me, and helping them too, so this is such a win/win situation and dare I say, a losing one as well? Get it? Lose? Pounds? ahem...

I taking ALL of the advice into account and seeing what I think will work for me. One of the things that I forgot about was increasing my metabolic rate. I also forgot how much I love carrots and celery and I use to keep them ready to go in the frig...well duh! That is such a simple thing to do and I had already forgotten it. Also, I use to put on Elvis and assorted other artists like Big Bad Vodoo Daddy, and clean house. I would be like bird poop... everywhere! I would be movin' and a shakin' and by the time I was finished, I can guarantee you I had a workout. Thanks Ms M...see why we call her "DIVINE?"

Chatty,
If I had the funds, I would do the Nutri System just to NOT have to buy groceries and have it made simple for me. But only on the condition that they not make me watch that stupid commerical anymore where she went from a size 10 to a size 4 in just two months. Zora, you're tall, beautiful, was engaged to the guy on the Bachleor show and worried about being a size 10? You've got issues. I'm just fluffy, but youuuuu've got issues.

Meredith, one of my sisters told me she was eating 6 meals a day and had already lost 10 lbs when she started doing this. Of course she is eating healthy.

I use to carry around with me a bag of snap beans and crunch down on those. I love um... I need to stock up on some snacking veggies.

Thanks women...you are the best!

JawJaw..first of all, thank God you are ok after your accident.

I lost 21 pounds last year and have managed to keep it off. I cut back on fat and sugar. I do not eat any processed food at all. I bring a snack bag to work which has fruit, plain almonds, some cottage cheese with a chopped up apple and other healthy things. I do not drink any soda, diet or otherwise and really only drink water throughout the day. Don't get me wrong, I do indulge in the occasional pizza, burger, glass of wine or martini, but it's a treat for me and not my normal way of eating. I went from a size 10 (almost a 12), to a 4 and have managed to stay a 4. I exercise in the morning before work (treadmill and light weights) and really, I am just very AWARE of what I eat! I'm not obsessed but if I ate pizza last night, I won't have a big lunch today. I truly believe in cutting back even when you don't think it makes much of a difference, it does.
GOOD LUCK!! I am soooo rooting for you!

Jawjaw -- just saw your comments about Zora...size 10 to a 4! Just so you know, I am not waif thin, but a size 10 almost a 12 was way too much weight for me at 5'3" tall. I'm not a stick figure like some of the celebs, I just look much healthier and better proportioned to my height. Didn't want you to think I had issues too!
Go girl! I know you can do it!

Marg...were we separated at birth? I'm 5'3" too! Thank you for your input. It's very valuable to me, especially right now because I decided to do just that... cut back, and eat only when hungry, no snacking, and eat sensibly. I've dropped the "diet drinks" although I do love them, and have decided to give myself one a week. For starters. I'm hoping that going without them will eventually lead me to not having one at all. Do you mind telling me what a typical day's menu is for you? You don't have to put it here, you can send me a private message if you want, or to my email...

I've also taken Meredith's advice and put Elvis on for cleaning the house (makes a BIG difference Ms M) and I found that when the cleaning was over, I still wanted to move so I just exercised a bit longer till my body said, "don't be cruel!" hahaha...

This is going to work... I just know it. I don't want to "yo-yo" anymore. I want permanent lifestyle change, exercise, a good nights sleep, and a million dollars. Okay, I through that last one in for fun...

JJ

JawJaw, I think everyone has good ideas here too.

I think the hallmark of sucessful weight loss is in doing whatever works for you.

Take whatever you like from each person's advice and discard what you simply feel you cannot do.

My husband is not a vegetarian but by simply cutting back the portions he use to eat he lost 37 pounds. He does walk 2.2 miles each morning with me. He's really adamant about taking his daily walk now.

So, just do whatever works for you. If something seems too harsh you won't be able to stick to it and thusly won't lose the weight you wanted to.

Good for you, JJ. Yoyo'ing is very bad for the body. (It'a also hard to say!) And diet drinks are really bad. I think they can cause cravings. I bet as you cut back on them, you'll start to lose your taste for them.

How are you gonna live w/o the Oreos??? Just kidding. You can still eat them, just limit yourself to one or two. As Ladybug said, you can't be too drastic with food changes. When I do that, it just gets me frustrated and mad!!