Anonymous wrote:
- Eat protein at every meal (don't eat carbs alone, preferably lean protein such as chicken, turkey, fish, eggs whites, protein powder, etc). You will see faster results from spending 2 hours/week buying/preparing healthy foods than from exercising so focus on this first.

- Eat at least 2 servings of green veggies a day, starting a veggie that you like (for example, canned green beans with a little butter or cheese is better than no vegetable at all if that is what makes it palatable)

-Drink 8+ glasses of plain water each day

-Sleep 8 hours/night

-Grocery list here if you need more help on what to buy/eat http://jillfit.com/2010/10/17/30-days-fall-fat-loss-day-7/

Good luck, OP! Let us know how you are doing.

This. You cannot out-exercise a poor diet. If you're tight on time, devote your time to shopping for and preparing the right foods. You can worry about becoming a gym rat later. And you might find that a big diet change + an increase in physical activity really ramps up your appetite. Adjust your eating habits first!

Good luck!

Start with a full checkup to make sure you have no medical issues like inactive thyroid, diabetes, hypertension, etc. Join a group where you are held accountable like weight watchers which also gives support. If you don't want to go out to meetings online.

Walk, walk, walk. You will be surprised out effective it is. For every one person that may laugh at you, there are 25 others who are cheering you on even though they don't say it to your face. Take a walking stick for support.

- Eat protein at every meal (don't eat carbs alone, preferably lean protein such as chicken, turkey, fish, eggs whites, protein powder, etc). You will see faster results from spending 2 hours/week buying/preparing healthy foods than from exercising so focus on this first.

- Eat at least 2 servings of green veggies a day, starting a veggie that you like (for example, canned green beans with a little butter or cheese is better than no vegetable at all if that is what makes it palatable)

-Drink 8+ glasses of plain water each day

-Sleep 8 hours/night

-Grocery list here if you need more help on what to buy/eat http://jillfit.com/2010/10/17/30-days-fall-fat-loss-day-7/

Good luck, OP! Let us know how you are doing.

All of this is good advice. Give yourself 1 day a week to cheat or you'll go crazy. Also, set goals and reward yourself in a non-food way for reaching them. I.E, at 20 lbs lost, you get a new pocketbook. At 50 lbs lost, you book a spa day. Things like that.

I was in your exact position 3 years ago. I then added a drinking problem. I joined Jazzercise and lost 40 pounds without hardly even trying. And had a blast doing it. This was without making any dietary changes. If you do something like that and cut the soda to start with you will see results. I then, little by little, would make other changes. Eliminate one thing (fake sugars) add in something else (sweet potatoes). I'm now about 100 pounds.

Make one change at a time. Try cutting out all soda first. Then substitute a healthy snack for an unhealthy one. And so on...

Walking is the way to go to get some exercise. I have the fitbit and love it because it motivates me to walk more and take the stairs more.

And don't give up if you eat something unhealthy or have a lapse in exercising. Get right back on the horse.

1. Forgive yourself and believe in yourself. It takes courage and strength to make changes.

2. This is a life-long journey. You can't expect yourself to wake up tomorrow and be 130lbs. Five pounds a month is probably a realistic and healthy goal. That means 60lbs in a year. Reward yourself for the small goals and keep the big goals in mind.

3. Once a week make a plan for all of your meals and do all of the shopping for those meals. Include two healthful snacks a day in that plan.

4. You don't have to "cook" per se, just put together.

Now, on to the calories part. It isn't quite as simple as calories in < calories burned. The type of calories do matter, although science is just starting to figure this out.

5. Start walking more than you do now. Park further away from the entrance. Take some stairs. If you work on the 4th floor, walk from 1 to 2 and take the elevator the rest of the way. Once you feel comfortable with that, add another floor. Take a walk before breakfast or after supper.

6. Figure out if you do better with cold turkey approaches (all new diet starting tomorrow) or baby steps (one change per week). Changes I'd make: beverages should be water, herbal tea, 1 caffeinated drink per day. Shop the perimeter of the store: produce, meats, dairy. Fill yourself up with produce, especially leafy greens.

7. Brush your teeth after every meal or snack. The hassle of this will keep you from snacking as much between meals.

8. Familiarize yourself with Mediterranean meals and learn how to make some of those. Lots of fresh produce, grilled meats (and seafood), healthful oils, tasty dairy. These foods tend to rely on seasoning rather than sauces and aren't too heavy on the starches. And are so yummy.

You might find a group like Weight Watchers to be what you need for the mental and emotional support. These changes are hard and you will want support and encouragement.

Good luck!

good advice so far. I would add a mental component. You won't get it right and do all the things you're supposed to do every day. Nobody EVER does. You must forgive yourself for that and not use it as a reason to despair and give up the whole approach. You are trying to change a lot of life habits at once and changing habits is hard enough without beating yourself up over whether you're succeeding.

Dr. Oz had a detox show yesterday. I'm still doing research. http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/clean-detox-manual?page=4#copy

Anonymous wrote:I have always been overweight, and in fact am 280 at 5'3 and which is very disgustingly obese I know. I eat horribly - sweets, diet sodas, any breads, very little water, fruits and veggies pretty much never, etc. There is no set time that I eat, but anytime I'm hungry and feel like it. I also eat out 3-4 times a week because I shamefully don't know how to cook and haven't bothered to try to learn. Fortunately right now I don't have diabetes, but I know that many factors are probably due to my unhealthy lifestyle (suspected thyroid problem, sleeping problems, low energy). I used to always go on diets but quit a couple years ago because I never stuck with them for any length of time, except about 5 years ago when I was doing Slim Fast and lost about 20lbs....then went back to not caring anymore. I also find myself hungry and eating again after I already ate and I feel like this is part of the thyroid issue or because I don't eat foods that make me full longer.

I am very bitter about myself because I never want to socialize because of the way I look and I don't want to end up dying over an issue I could have prevented. For someone like me who always eats crappy, bad food, doesn't exercise, and eats out a lot, where do I even start to find a diet or type of food guideline for myself? I don't have insurance or otherwise I would go to a dietician to help me find a guideline that would personally fit me.

For any healthy eaters, health nuts, or anyone else, I would appreciate any advice or constructive criticism.

Okay. For starters.

1. Stop drinking soda, even diet soda. It is not good for you. I don't care if you "don't like water". Drink it. If you feel like you need to flavor it, do what the PP says and flavor it with fruit. You can also put chunks of cantaloupe in it, and cucumber, in addition to citrus. Do not buy soda. Do not order it when you're at a restaurant. The line you're looking for is "Water is fine for me, thanks".

2. Eat at set times. Have your meals at the same time every day. Commit to not eating past 8pm, ever. If you're hungry, drink a glass of water and go for a walk.

3. You eat again because your stomach expects you to feed it large quantities of food at regular intervals. It may also be because you are eating things that do not make you feel full for very long, but your stomach is expecting you to give it large quantities of unhealthy food. The only way to break that expectation is to stop giving it large quantities of unhealthy food.

4. I would actually advise against making any radical dietary changes (other than giving up soda, which you need to do starting right now). If you suddenly go vegan after living on burgers and fries for years, you are highly unlikely to stick to your diet plan (as you have probably learned over the years). I would start by changing one thing, and then one more thing. You could, for example, stop eating dessert.

5. Get some exercise. Walk everywhere you can. Invest in a good pair of shoes. Enlist a friend. Many people do not consider walking to be very meaningful exercise, but you said that you get NO exercise. Anything is better than nothing.

6. Learn to cook. Watch cooking shows. Read recipes and follow them. Figure out things you like at restaurants and learn how to make them.

7. Lastly, and structurally, get rid of your dinner plates. Eat your meals off of salad plates. I don't know what dishware you have, but my "dinner plates" are about 15" wide. They're enormous. I cannot imagine eating that much food in one sitting by myself. I use the salad plates, which are a more reasonable 8" across.

You can do this. You just need to stick to it. Some people like Weight Watchers for this reason. It provides structure and accountability. I've never done it, but a lot of women at my office are really into it and seem to be getting good results.

One ore - do not buy frozen lean cuisine and weight watcher meals. They are heavily processed and won't help with weight loss like you think. Better to do real food instead.

If its only you, don't bother with cooking recipes.

Limited menu - eat the same things for a few weeks at every meal. Decide a routine of healthy foods in advance on a menu planner and stick with it.

No Slim Fast. Way too much sugar. If you want to do a liquid diet to jump start try products from diet direct. More protien, less sugar.

Ditch the diet soda completely.

Do not eat out for a couple months. The restaurants will still be there then and a few months of not going out wont kill you.

Consider if you are depressed and seek help if needed.

Make sure to write down every single thing you eat and review it at the end of each week.

Do start walking and get a pedometer. Increase your distance every 3 to 4 weeks.

Do get rid of the sodas. I secon someone else's idea to dirnk lots of water. Someone suggested oatmeal. That works and so does Greek yogurt with chopped up fruits. Don't skip breakfast so you don't get hungry.

You just have to say "no" to junk food and stop buying it. Try cut up veges instead and home popped popcorn from an air popper with no oil (it's great when you get the munchies).

Good luck!

Step 1 - stop drinking all soda. Learn to like water. Slice lemons, limes, grapefruit and garnish water with it to add interest. It may take a while to learn to like it after drinking other things for so long. This alone will make a HUGE difference.

Step 2- Check out the skinnytaste website. Her recipes are pretty easy and taste good. Its Friday, so pick two recipes to make this weekend for dinners. Anytime you make a recipe you like, print it or bookmark it in a folder. Soon you will have a list of things you know how to make.

Step 3 - Walk after dinner every night. Its something to do besides eating more. Start with a 20 minute walk until you are building up to more time.

Step 4- After your walk, have a pan of what you are going to do - are you going to read, knit, etc? It should be an activity that requires your hands - not tv or computer. It makes it a little harder to sit and eat.

Just take one day at a time. If you screw up, just start over the next day.

Oatmeal is a great breakfast, very filling. So are egg whites with one yolk mixed in and some vegetables, maybe whole grain toast.

Weight watchers online is pretty cheap too- I'm relatively fit and have used that before to guide my eating. The one caution about that is you will be going from one extreme to another - its not that WW is extreme, but if your eating habits are as you describe them, you might not be able to transition immediately to the WW recs - you might have to gradually ramp up to them.

Focus on adding good habits instead of removing bad ones.

I have always been overweight, and in fact am 280 at 5'3 and which is very disgustingly obese I know. I eat horribly - sweets, diet sodas, any breads, very little water, fruits and veggies pretty much never, etc. There is no set time that I eat, but anytime I'm hungry and feel like it. I also eat out 3-4 times a week because I shamefully don't know how to cook and haven't bothered to try to learn. Fortunately right now I don't have diabetes, but I know that many factors are probably due to my unhealthy lifestyle (suspected thyroid problem, sleeping problems, low energy). I used to always go on diets but quit a couple years ago because I never stuck with them for any length of time, except about 5 years ago when I was doing Slim Fast and lost about 20lbs....then went back to not caring anymore. I also find myself hungry and eating again after I already ate and I feel like this is part of the thyroid issue or because I don't eat foods that make me full longer.

I am very bitter about myself because I never want to socialize because of the way I look and I don't want to end up dying over an issue I could have prevented. For someone like me who always eats crappy, bad food, doesn't exercise, and eats out a lot, where do I even start to find a diet or type of food guideline for myself? I don't have insurance or otherwise I would go to a dietician to help me find a guideline that would personally fit me.

For any healthy eaters, health nuts, or anyone else, I would appreciate any advice or constructive criticism.