Jornal de Ashley Sewards, 28 set 16

Hi Ashley, I can totally relate to your struggle. I just started my own journey a few weeks ago. If you would like advice, I would be happy to help. This is my second time losing weight after hitting the 300 lb mark. Last time I got down to 220. Let me know if you're interested in knowing more .... we can stay on this public forum or do personal email. rjsluman@hotmail.com  

im struggling to restart to .. just take it one day at a time. the old you will be back soon.. Cut out breads and starchy veggies. thats a good start  

I agree with Red. One day at a time. Cut out the starches and bread. I have found for me, bread is bad for my brain. I just do not think properly. For my husband, it hurts his joints. He volunteered this info over the weekend. For him to say that out loud and loving bread the way he does, is a biggie. 

When I was trying to figure out HOW to lose my weight I really thought about the reasons I had "failed" in the past. For ME, it is hunger. I get too hungry I binge and ended up giving up. After a lot of research I began low carb. I logged EVERYTHING and tried to keep my net carbs under 20. I started out eating 3 meals a day and have progressed to Intermittent Fasting. It is amazing how my cravings have gone way down. When I ate breads and pastas and sugar I was always so hungry an hour later. And tired and grumpy. I also watch calories. I asked lots of questions on here and read lots of others experiences, what worked and what didn't for others. There is great support here, and many people in the same boat, experiencing the same feelings as I am, helps me to not feel alone in the struggle.... 

Don't feel like the "Lone Ranger" Ashley... there's a FS website FULL of people with the same struggles you are facing... Keep the faith, and never give up. 

Thanks so much everyone!  

Good comments and advice given. You mentioned you love cheese, I'm also one who loves cheese, but if I'm not careful with it and indulge too much it's a problem for me. So I would suggest being careful with portion control of it and always measure out what you eat of it. It's easy to overindulge with it. 

Technically, I wouldn't skip breakfast, important part of the nutrition day. Metabolism needs to be boosted, putting yourself on a slow starvation by skipping meals only slows metabolism. Salads, vegetables and fruits will fill and are slower to digest, your body will expend energy just to breakdown the plant material. Just watch the high sugar fruits which can be problematic if you are diabetic. 

Ashley, super comments and advice above, so some of this will just be an echo. It is important what you eat and for sure it is equally important HOW you eat & how much you eat. Calorie dense food (sweets, fats, etc) and liquids that have calories (sodas, fruit juices, etc) are more dangerous to weight (fat) loss than low calorie foods and liquids that have no calories. The trouble with calorie dense foods and liquids is it is very easy to exceed our daily requirements without satisfying our hunger or reaching a "stop eating" trigger...couple that with insulin resistance or other metabolic tendancies and some foods and drink become very dangerous to any sustained weight loss effort. Also, I would (like some above), encourage you to log EXACTLY the calories you consume in a day, week or month...you may have to invest in a small digital scale ($20, well spent!) to get a handle on portion size to truly get an accurate log. This information may be eye opening to you, I know it was to me!! Finally, besides the calorie counting function here on FS (which is awesome) there are lots of great resources, support, encouragement and help to keep things going in the right direction. Good luck finding a path that works for you!!  

Hi Ashley. I am about right where you are now weighing in at 216.6 lbs. I started to totally change my relationship with food and eating in June of this year at my highest weight ever of 256 lbs. I agree with both of the previous posters -- not skipping meals, eating for nutrition, and portion control are all keys to success. As someone that has tried a lot of diet plans out there I am going to cautiously suggest to you to check out The Complete Beck Diet for Life book. I credit this with helping me get on a totally different path as far as eating and food and I found it at the Dollar store to boot! The plan isn't just about the food but also about the relationship with food and self which was a critical part of my continued failure to succeed at weight loss. I have not cut anything out of my diet. I just eat a whole lot smarter which makes me feel a whole lot better. I won't lie as it has been a lot of work to get where I am now but each day it gets easier as it turns into new healthy habits that just come naturally without much thought at all. I don't stress about the weight because I know if I just continue to eat smart and for nutrition it will come off slowly but steadily. Best of luck to you and if the book I recommended isn't the way to go for you just keep looking for what works for you because your worth it!  

I wouldn't just be cutting out foods or food groups (aside from full sugar sodas, that stuff is terrible for you). There's no 'magic bullet' arrangement of foods to take in or not take in. If you have the time rummage through this :http://rippedbody.com/complete-diet-nutrition-set-up-guide/ Its the best Intro guide to diet I've ever seen. Its 67 pages long but you can download it as a PDF.  

I found that cutting carbs left me really weak so I changed my bread to whole wheat or oat and whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Apples and cucumbers make good snacks to curb my hunger. I buy chicken breasts and bake them with Mrs dash on them and slice them to use for lunch meat. My husband and I have finally started losing weight doing this.  

I love what draglist says here.. do your research and trial and error will help you narrow out whats best for you bc we are all different. Im learning that what worked for me last year may not be whats right for me right now so listen to your body..My 'one day at a time" mantra helps me "reset" when I drop the ball.. Im on day 4 of not dropping it (happy hour on saturday lol).. Small goals help me accomplish big things..  

I started out at 214, too, and lost about 20 lbs. in the first month here at FS. How? By drastically shrinking my food portions. Three meals, no snacks/seconds/dessert, and the entire meal must fit on a little saucer or dessert plate (8-9" diameter). Aim for 1-2 gallons of water, tea/coffee a day (fat is passed through urine), and walk or exercise for at least 45 min./day. I promise you'll drop mad pounds! 

I did what many others suggested. I was doing low carb with some cheats. Then I came across some other ideas and slowly changed. To find a winning combination, it was more of a gradual process that took several months to figure out rather than a quick fix. The most important thing is you don't give up and keep reading and learning about what you can try until you hit what is good for your body.  

Shelly wrote words of wisdom that spoke to me. Thank you. 

Everybody has been a huge help! Thank you! And something that soonsoonsoon said, that I did not know, is that fat is passed through urine...I have never heard that before, very interesting! 

[quote] I did not know, is that fat is passed through urine...I have never heard that before, very interesting! [/quote] Thats only partially true. The overwhelming majority of it is turned into co2 and exhaled. That other person might be thinking of water weight drops. That does include a lot of peeing. http://www.livescience.com/491... [quote]The researchers showed that during weight loss, 84 percent of the fat that is lost turns into carbon dioxide and leaves the body through the lungs, whereas the remaining 16 percent becomes water, according to the study published today (Dec. 16) in a special Christmas issue of the medical journal BMJ.[/quote] 

Keep the calories low and create a caloric deficit and the result will come.  

Cutting food completely out is tough, I couldn't do it. Eating in moderation and keeping a leash on portion control is what I'm focusing on. One day at a time is my current focus. But if it's easier for you to cut foods out, I would think carbs and gluten would be more effective than meat.