Struggling with dieting and losing weight

[Ginger91]

my goal is to lose 80 pounds in 2 years (or a shorter time period preferred) so I'm skinny before graduation. I weigh 188lbe right now and I'm really worried. I can't control myself, I've been eating in excess every day and when I look at my body afterwards I think I'm going to be stuck like this forever. I use my fitness pal so it limits me to 1,340 calories a day but lately I have been going over that limit so I stopped logging foods completely. I'm so ready to just throw out all the unhealthy food in my house and only live off of water and fruits and veggies but I can't because I live with my family. I can't control my hunger anymore and after I eat I'm left feeling terrible.

 

Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong

[Envied]

my goal is to lose 80 pounds in 2 years (or a shorter time period preferred) so I'm skinny before graduation. I weigh 188lbe right now and I'm really worried. I can't control myself, I've been eating in excess every day and when I look at my body afterwards I think I'm going to be stuck like this forever. I use my fitness pal so it limits me to 1,340 calories a day but lately I have been going over that limit so I stopped logging foods completely. I'm so ready to just throw out all the unhealthy food in my house and only live off of water and fruits and veggies but I can't because I live with my family. I can't control my hunger anymore and after I eat I'm left feeling terrible.

 

Can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong

*smacks you upside the head* NO! Don't do that.

[Dovah Bitch]

Start logging your food in MFP again and after you hit 1340 calories, stop eating and just drink water the rest of the day

[skcebl]

Eat breakfast and drink water within 30 minutes of waking up. It should be a lot of protein and vegetables.

[Mystic]

I know the feeling. From experience, the best thing to do is to find yourself a friend who also wants to lose weight (preferably someone in real life vs. someone online) and towards the common goal together. Trying to do it on your own can be very difficult, especially if you have trouble sticking to a strict diet. Also, talk to your family about what you want to do. Even if they're not willing to completely cut out junk food from the house, they can help you reach your goal and encourage you.

 

Also, do some exercise! If you exercise, you might be less tempted to eat more because you just worked really hard and that would be throwing away all your hard work. One trick that I use is to drink water before a meal so you feel fuller, and eat a bit slower than you normally would (also helped you become fuller).

 

Oh and, don't try to live off water and veggies. Balanced diet is key.

[Tokki the Awkward Potato]

Not trying to promote my bias whatsoever, but Soyou has good tips to help someone trying to diet

 

 

 

I think it comes down to more than what you eat, and I think her most important tip was looking through pictures and not the scale.

Good luck! 

[Ginger91]

*smacks you upside the head* NO! Don't do that.

Why? Fitness blogs are always like "drink lots of water! Eat lots of fruits and vegetables!"

[night vale.]

Do you have anything causing stress or depression outside of your weight? It's common to overeat to cope with something, whether it's sadness, boredom, or stress. While keeping a food journal, try to keep a personal journal and record your feelings throughout the day.

 

Also, the body can convince itself that it's hungry when it actually is in need of water. Drink water when you think you're hungry first, then wait 30 minutes.

 

Lastly, going from 188 to 108 may not be a good starting goal, especially if you consider your height and age. I would say attempt to be 120-135. This way, you can feel accomplished and at a healthy state.

 

You have to believe that you can do it in order to make a change. You also have to love yourself to stop the cycle of depression/overeating/feeling guilty.

 

You can do it. Just pace yourself, make good decisions, and walk a lot. Little changes make big differences in the long run.

[Envied]

Why? Fitness blogs are always like "drink lots of water! Eat lots of fruits and vegetables!"

That can't be the only thing you eat though. Do you eat meat?

[E S H E]

I could write an essay tbh

 

Don't buy junk food, or else it will be available at home and you won't stop eating them

Before you buy/grab something, ask yourself if you really need it - most of the time you won't

If you're feeling hungry, drink a bottle of water first

Eat more proteins to feel fuller

Instead of having big meals, have more smaller one, in smaller plates/bowls

Drink a lot of water in general

Don't stay up late or you'll end up eating late before sleeping

Mostly an asian rule but don't have meals after 6/7PM

 

You need to be dedicated. It's gonna be hard, you're going to want to eat, but be patient and treat yourself with care, it's not gonna happen in a day, it's not happen in a week either mist likely

 

What I do sometimes is write down/take a picture of everything I eat, and then at the end of the day I analyse what I've consumed and cross out the things which were unnecessary

 

Also exercise; do some cardio, it's tiring but it's healthy

 

Again people could write you essays on what to do and how to do them, but it starts with you; if you give up, it's your loss, so don't cheat yourself

 

Once in a while eat something that you want too!

[Ginger91]

Do you have anything causing stress or depression outside of your weight? It's common to overeat to cope with something, whether it's sadness, boredom, or stress. While keeping a food journal, try to keep a personal journal and record your feelings throughout the day.

Also, the body can convince itself that it's hungry when it actually is in need of water. Drink water when you think you're hungry first, then wait 30 minutes.

Lastly, going from 188 to 108 may not be a good starting goal, especially if you consider your height and age. I would say attempt to be 120-135. This way, you can feel accomplished and at a healthy state.

You have to believe that you can do it in order to make a change. You also have to love yourself to stop the cycle of depression/overeating/feeling guilty.

You can do it. Just pace yourself, make good decisions, and walk a lot. Little changes make big differences in the long run.

Thank you for the advice, especially how the body may be thirsty but not hungry.

And it may be stress for my binging because of school related stress

 

And MFP is always on my ass about my goals by telling me to aim for 125 which is healthy for my height.

[Ginger91]

That can't be the only thing you eat though. Do you eat meat?

Yes but I'm trying to get away from that, just because the meat industry grosses me out

[Tokki the Awkward Potato]

Yes but I'm trying to get away from that, just because the meat industry grosses me out

Might I ask, are you exercising on a weekly basis? 

or are you just dieting 

[iKonBrat]

You're going too fast

Everything happens in increments, not all at once

First you need to log how many calories you take in normally

Then shave that down by a reasonable amount

For example if you're eating 3000 shoot for 2500

Don't go straight to 1340 because clearly you won't be able to maintain that

The stomach has to literally shrink for you to be comfortable with a lower intake of food

You need to give that time

Then when you're eating 2500 for a bit and you're not feeling like you're starving head down to 2000

Then 1500

Until you reach your 1340 or whatever it is that will keep you thin

 

Do it by eating normal meals but in smaller portions and by cutting out the extremely fattening things in your diet first, like dairy (unless its lowfat), cake, sugar, candy, soda, etc. Fried foods. Watch foods that are high in simple carbs like rice and pasta.

Add lots of veggies fruits and water

Keep dumping bad food until your diet is leaner and cleaner

[Ginger91]

Might I ask, are you exercising on a weekly basis? 

or are you just dieting

 

I am. I exercise for 70 minutes on Fridays and random times the rest of the week.

[hyotmess]

You gotta eat every 3 hours. NOT full on meals tho. Like an apple, or ceral bar, or yougurt something like that. You gotta organize your meals so you can fit some snacks every 3 hours. For example if you usually eat breakfast at 7am then eat an apple at 10am then have lunch at 1pm then eat something again 3 hours later and goes on. If you don't eat for too much time your body stocks fat and you lose muscle, if you eat (healthy) every 3 hours it actually helps on your metabolism and you can lose weight a bit faster. Doing excercise ofc helps. Jump some rope, walk around your neighborhood etc. You can also search for natural teas that help you lose weight (some of them actually work)

 

Dieting is pretty much a mental excercise tho, you gotta train your mind to achieve what you want. I never managed to follow a diet but I cut some things that I didnt feel the need to eat but ate anyways bc was there. Like soda, candy, junk food during the week etc it helped a lot

[Tokki the Awkward Potato]

I am. I exercise for 70 minutes on Fridays and random times the rest of the week.

Make sure the ones that increase metabolism, like jumping jacks, are included 

[Ginger91]

Make sure the ones that increase metabolism, like jumping jacks, are included

 

That 70 minutes of exercise is in an army like class (if you're from the US it's JROTC, idk if other countries have it) so we do typical exercises from military physical training

[Envied]

Yes but I'm trying to get away from that, just because the meat industry grosses me out

Okay look up lists of good carbs, good fats, and good protein. Don't eat huge meals, take in a lot of water and cardio. You can also lift weights.

[wiz109]

If you go to one extreme of eating junk to another of just fruits and salads you are setting yourself up to fail.  Trust me I have been there and I still struggle with it.  

 

Most people have covered what you should do pretty well, like making sure you drink water, especially before meals so that you know if you actually are hungry.

 

eat protein, it will keep you filled more longer,

 

Exercise.

 

But don't cut out everything or you'll get tired and fed up with yourself and your strict diet pretty quickly and binge.  I know that's what I do.

 

For me personally, I give myself a goal that if I am good I allow myself a cheat, that seems to work for me.

[Caridee]

Same

[Suzy Quatro]

The basic idea for losing weight is to consume less calories than the ones you burn, and if you are struggling to eat less you could try to also do exercise to increase the calories you're burning. It's not as simple as that though and you would be needing to eat certain types of food while avoiding others.

 

Some good tips people have already suggested here is to make more meals a day instead of a few, even if you're eating the same amount of calories, splitting them in more meals should accelerate your metabolism (you're going to burn calories faster), because starving yourself until you can't hold has the opposite effect. You would reach a point where you can't hold it anymore and you would be so hungry you're going to eat like crazy and because your body is trying to adapt it's now going to cling to calories and fat like there's no tomorrow, so restrain yourself from doing that.

 

Also you should check this with a nutritionist and talk with your family about this and ask for their support because you will need it if your parents are the ones who buy food and cook your meals. If you stop eating junk food and sodas should also make a noticeable improvement, I know it's hard to change eating habits like this and that's why you should ask for support of people around you.