New to the group

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2004
New to the group
7
Fri, 11-05-2004 - 12:29pm
Hello. I am new to this group, and new to message boards in general. I am posting this because I have been trying to lose weight my entire life. For as long as I can remember I have been on one diet or another. I have tried EVERY fad diet I can think of, every pill that has been made. I was temporarily successful with almost every diet I tried. I recently lost 33lbs on Atkins...then 3 months later I gained 40 back. I am feeling helpless and don't know what else to do. Food seems to control my life and I hate it. I am 25 and feeling very alone and very scared. I don't want to have surgery to lose weight but I hate losing weight and then gaining it back. Any suggestions. I know diet and exercise...if it were that easy I wouldn't be so big. What motivation do you all use? Especially during the holidays? Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2004
In reply to: imodo
Fri, 11-05-2004 - 2:11pm
Welcome!! I've only recently started posting on this board, and I think that you will find the support here amazing!!!

Diet and exercise are not easy. And, IHMO, fad diets don't work. If they did, then everyone would be thin and healthy and the diet industry would not be the multi-billion dollar industry it is. What it comes down to, you have to change your lifestyle. A diet can't be "just until I lose the weight" and then it's over. You need to learn how to eat healthy and exercise (ugh!) for the rest of your life. It's not easy, don't let anyone tell you that it is or that it should be easy. There is no miracle cure, as much as we would all like to have one. It takes time to gain the weight and it takes even longer to lose it. Someone asked me the other day how long it was going to take me to lose the weight.

For myself, I finally just got to the point where I said "I've had enough" with the way I've been living. First thing I did was quit drinking sodas. That was the hardest thing I've ever done. I swear, I used to live off of Pepsi. I was miserable for the first couple of weeks, then I got over it. I switched to water and unsweetened tea and skim milk. I actually tried to drink a soda a couple of days ago (I was in some dire need of comfort food) and it made me gag. I don't even like the taste of it now. I also figured out how many calories I need to eat each day to reach my goal weight. There are some great tools on ivillage to help you with that. Once I figured that out, I stuck to it. Fitday.com is a great website that can help you keep track of what you eat and your activity level. You need to make sure you exercise. I hate exercise, absolutely hate it, but I know I need to do it. Eventually, you'll get used to it and soon you'll find that you can't go without it.

Like I said, there is no magic wand that you can wave and make the weight disappear. It has to be the right time for you. You have to be ready to make the commitment. And everyone here on the boards will be there to support you every step of the way. It can be done!!!! Just stick to it. I've been doing this for 25 days now and have lost 18 lbs.

Best of luck to you!!

Aggie

270/252/135

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
In reply to: imodo
Fri, 11-05-2004 - 2:27pm
Hello there and welcome to the boards :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-17-2004
In reply to: imodo
Fri, 11-05-2004 - 3:59pm

First of all, welcome to a great board.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Fear

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-04-2003
In reply to: imodo
Fri, 11-05-2004 - 6:10pm

Welcome to the board!

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2004
In reply to: imodo
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 12:55pm
Thanks to everyone who replied to me! I have decided to go back on the Atkins diet! It is the one that has worked the best for me and this time I hope to devise a plan as to what will happen if I go off. It is so hard to stick to something, but after reading cl-relydria's -website I got so pumped up to get back on Atkins. I remebered how great it felt to lose weight and notice the difference! I am nervous about losing the weight and then gaining it all back but I guess I can't focus on that...just frustrating. I hate starting a diet, but I am determined to stick to it! Thanks again
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-2004
In reply to: imodo
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 4:30pm
You can gain weight back on ANY DIET so if you find a diet that you don't let me know!

I am on Atkins also, (second time) I love the way I feel now and I too love to see the weight lost in more than t 2 or 3 pounds a week.

Sussie_Q

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-05-2004
In reply to: imodo
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 4:44pm
That is SOOO true. I never thought about it like that! Thanks! Well I am determined to make it work for me this time! The holidays coming up won't help, but I will be strong...I hope.