hello everyone i just joined here and i need everyones help. i have tried diet after diet and i have not been able to lose weight. i start off doing good but i always get discouraged and end up weighing more than when i started. i have 2 kids...boys, ages 2 and 3. they are very hyper and i need to be able to keep up with them. its very hard. i weigh 270 and i am 5'7 and 24 yrs old. this is the most i have ever weighed and i feel like [censored] all the time. i joined a gym and i am goin 4 days a week, but it is useless unless i can stop eating like i do. i have gained about 40 lbs in the last 6 months. i am putting it on faster and faster and i need to stop. this is the first time i have ever reached out to anyone, so i hope u all can help me stay focused on whats important....me being there for my children. thank you all.

Hi jessie, I hear your pain! Have you tried the Atkins low carb diet? I have been on it for four weeks now. I have only lost seven pounds (6 pounds the first week) but it has been the easiest I have ever tried. Like you, I have tried almost all of them! I have spent so much money on gym memberships I could almost retire from my job!!! I have always been a major "sweets junkie." Not all because of candy,ice cream and pasteries....but also fruit and fruit juices.

The first two weeks of atkins was the hardest for me since you can no longer have these sweets. I never realized before how much food really did control my life! I want to lose a total of 30 pounds. I have heard so many times that it is a slower process to loss the weight if you need only to lose 30 or less. It seems that with this diet, the more you have to lose...the faster it comes off!! I am 46 but with the heart and soul of a 25 or 30 year old!! I want to enjoy myself and look & feel good to help boost my self esteem. It sound to me like you need this for your kids as well as for yourself. (and YOUR self esteem) I hope this helps in some small way. I just joined this web site about a week ago but have read alot of messages. There seems to be alot of caring people that you can relate to on this site. Good luck to you, and just know that there are alot of people you share your pain and frustrations.....no matter how much or how little weight they have to lose.

Jessie,

The Atkins diet has been whats helped me lose nearly 40 lbs these past 4 months or so. Come June, im going to be joining curves, I have heard so much about this place. Check it out. Do what I did, keep us posted, everyweek check in atleast once. Its encouraging to others to see your progress and it will be encouraging to you as well. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

thank yall so much for caring. and yes i have tried atkins but i can't stick to it. i think i am going to try eating much less for the firt couple of weeks before i just jump into a program. i need to stop feeling the need for food before i can take everything away. i am trying to learn how to say no. but with food it always seems to win. i am trying. and i will win this time

wow! i just got back from the gym and i feel great. i just did 40 min of cardio and my legs are on fire, but it is the best pain i have ever felt. i have a new outlook on this diet. i know i have ppl here to back me and it feels good. this is the first time i ever worked out on a sunday. i like it. im going to try and work my way up to an hour of cardio eventually. but we will see.

One of the benefits of atkins / low carb is that you're never hungry. You're eating fresh fish, poultry, veggies etc. so you are getting REALLY tasty food into you. But you are avoiding processed foods, sugars, starches, and other junk that we pour into ourselves.

Definitely keep up the exercise, that is a critical part of being healthy. But look into the first 2 weeks of induction to begin the low carb diet. That 'cleanses' your body of all the processed food and sugary junk that we get addicted to. Once you break that addiction, you can add grains and such back into your diet and find out how you react to them. Many people realize they are lactose intolerant or grain intolerant once they do this. Many people become intolerant to those things when they age.

Jessi,
My suggestion to you is check out the curves book. The last thing a woman like you, who has been on diet after diet, needs is to go low carb or low calorie. You need to stabilize your metabolism and the only way to do that is to eat a little more than what your body requires to in calories (especially since you are now exercising four times a week). Please don't starve yourself or go on another diet. Atkins is great for some people but nor for someone like you. My business partner and I train dozens of clients like you and we have helped people lose up to 15lb in two weeks just from eating more!!! We force people to eat and they lose weight. Here's the link to the book. Read the metabolism makeover part and DO IT along with your 4x/wk workouts. You won't regret it! If you want more specific advice email me at exercise@bellaonline.com

here's the link <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art13268.asp

Hi there I am new here also. I have been on another thread. ( Is ok to reply on this post.)
It is always good to have freash ideas.I have read and I am following The Loc Carb Bible.
Any help that I can get would be great.

Karla K :rolling:

Good luck sweetie.. I would suggest getting into a support group if you can or find some people you can keep in touch with that will encourage you.. Set aside time to pamper yourself as often as you can because sometimes you have to work from the inside out first. Also make sure you stay balanced.. don't over do on the dieting or exercise or you will run into a brick wall. I had two stomach surgeries to lose weight when I weighed over 300 lbs.. The first one I lost 100 lbs but the staples came out and I gained it all back. The second one corrected the problems of the first one but I am still 240 lbs.. so that is something I would not ever suggest considering the problems I had with them.. (I had to go back into OR twice on the last one).. It has to be a lifestyle change and I am still working on that myself.. I wish you luck and I will be here to talk to also if you wish to talk. You deserve to be taking care of yourself however you find works best for you.

Hi Jessi,

I agree with Monica. The problem with dieting is the body goes into starvation mode and is much more efficient with the food you eat. That's why people who yo-yo diet keep gaining weight even when they're eating less than they used to. Also, depriving yourself of food is highly stressful.

And stress is a major factor in eating. I wrote a book with Paul Rosch, MD, called De-Stress, Weigh Less and we developed a no-diet program that's helped a lot of people lose weight and keep it off.

All best wishes, :music:

Carolyn

Regardless of what diet or life plan you go with, the main thing is that you are reaching out. That's the first step, and sometimes the hardest! I applaud you at trying. I just had a baby, and had developed Gestational Diabetes...the diet that my doctor put me on was very similar with what Adkins and South Beach follows. I am still trying to follow the diet I maintained through my pregnancy, just because it made medical sence to me.

Good luck sweetie!