OP, I honestly think you're not eating enough satiating foods. Dump the empty carbs (popcorn, pretzels, bread, etc), add in healthy fats, and you'll be satisfied longer.

Here's one way to look at your overall life and focus on your health:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/#axzz2Ea2WF41y

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP -thanks to everyone for the thoughtful suggestions and meal plans! Starting to think 1500 calories a day is a more reasonable goal to start with. To the snarky poster who dismissed this thread and said people have bigger problems- shame on you! You have no idea how the extra weight is affecting my life, marriage, health, etc. so don't assume this is a frivolous vanity driven thread. Also, isn't the purpose of this forum to support one another? It is very helpful/encouraging to hear what has worked for others and hear new ideas.

PP of "I won't help you eat 1,200 calories" here, and just don't worry about the idiots. There's always at least one at DCUM!

I think it's great that you're re-thinking your process. Just sit down and think about what your real danger points are, how you can handle them, and how you can make this work long-term. One of my danger points are the hours from 4-6 while I'm making dinner, dealing with homework, etc. So even though I'm generally not a meat-eater, I put a can of tuna as my 3 pm snack because I know it sits like LEAD in my stomach and I'm not hungry until at least 7 after the danger has passed.

I am DETERMINED to make this work. I won't give up any more years to my weight problem. I feel strong and in control. I hope you can get there too!

Good for you and thanks for the encouragement. I feel the same about not wanting to give up any more years to the weight problem but still working on the strong and in control part. This is a great tip. The afternoon is always a hard time for me as well. Do you alternate tuna with something else to avoid high mercury levels?

No, I don't - I just don't. Well, unless salmon counts - I do alternate with salmon but just because of taste. The mercury may be bad but the weight has got to be worse, and right now I just need to do what I need to do to take it off. OP, what are your biggest triggers? What are your most hairy reasons for having your weight problem in the first place? How do you think you can address them in a reasonable way?

OP here- I truly do feel physically hungry a lot. More than the average person, I believe. Beginning to think I have some kind of disorder. When it's not actual hunger, it's emotionally driven, often with bad food choices.

^ actually am 5'4 3/4 ....not that it matters but makes me feel better...

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before but I highly recommend Diet to Go for a couple of weeks at least. It's 1200 calories and gives you a really good sense of what 1200 calories looks like. Its very filling- i am rarely hungry. It's all fresh food that you can replicate at home. I do it periodically and it really helps. I find I am able to moderate myself now.

(Not OP) I would love to try Diet to Go but I'm not in U.S. and it's not available where I am.
5'4 and 161 pds.
My feet hurt from this extra weight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP -thanks to everyone for the thoughtful suggestions and meal plans! Starting to think 1500 calories a day is a more reasonable goal to start with. To the snarky poster who dismissed this thread and said people have bigger problems- shame on you! You have no idea how the extra weight is affecting my life, marriage, health, etc. so don't assume this is a frivolous vanity driven thread. Also, isn't the purpose of this forum to support one another? It is very helpful/encouraging to hear what has worked for others and hear new ideas.

PP of "I won't help you eat 1,200 calories" here, and just don't worry about the idiots. There's always at least one at DCUM!

I think it's great that you're re-thinking your process. Just sit down and think about what your real danger points are, how you can handle them, and how you can make this work long-term. One of my danger points are the hours from 4-6 while I'm making dinner, dealing with homework, etc. So even though I'm generally not a meat-eater, I put a can of tuna as my 3 pm snack because I know it sits like LEAD in my stomach and I'm not hungry until at least 7 after the danger has passed.

I am DETERMINED to make this work. I won't give up any more years to my weight problem. I feel strong and in control. I hope you can get there too!

Good for you and thanks for the encouragement. I feel the same about not wanting to give up any more years to the weight problem but still working on the strong and in control part. This is a great tip. The afternoon is always a hard time for me as well. Do you alternate tuna with something else to avoid high mercury levels?

No, I don't - I just don't. Well, unless salmon counts - I do alternate with salmon but just because of taste. The mercury may be bad but the weight has got to be worse, and right now I just need to do what I need to do to take it off. OP, what are your biggest triggers? What are your most hairy reasons for having your weight problem in the first place? How do you think you can address them in a reasonable way?

1500 sounds way more reasonable. I'd also try to add in exercise - can you try walking if you aren't already regularly exercising? I highly recommend getting a pedometer and trying to move at least 10,000 steps a day- it really helps me realize that I don't necessarily have to exercise to have an "active" day and I get a better visual on housework etc. I also love the lose it app on my iphone. it's better than the online WW and online lose it.
My final personal secret is to get rid of the addictive snack food in my house BUT I buy snack foods I don't really love. So, for instance, I love ice cream but am so so on pretzels. So I keep pretzels in the house, so if I really am having a between meal snack craving I eat the pretzels b/c they aren't tempting, but are a treat if I feel in need of a treat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP -thanks to everyone for the thoughtful suggestions and meal plans! Starting to think 1500 calories a day is a more reasonable goal to start with. To the snarky poster who dismissed this thread and said people have bigger problems- shame on you! You have no idea how the extra weight is affecting my life, marriage, health, etc. so don't assume this is a frivolous vanity driven thread. Also, isn't the purpose of this forum to support one another? It is very helpful/encouraging to hear what has worked for others and hear new ideas.

PP of "I won't help you eat 1,200 calories" here, and just don't worry about the idiots. There's always at least one at DCUM!

I think it's great that you're re-thinking your process. Just sit down and think about what your real danger points are, how you can handle them, and how you can make this work long-term. One of my danger points are the hours from 4-6 while I'm making dinner, dealing with homework, etc. So even though I'm generally not a meat-eater, I put a can of tuna as my 3 pm snack because I know it sits like LEAD in my stomach and I'm not hungry until at least 7 after the danger has passed.

I am DETERMINED to make this work. I won't give up any more years to my weight problem. I feel strong and in control. I hope you can get there too!

Good for you and thanks for the encouragement. I feel the same about not wanting to give up any more years to the weight problem but still working on the strong and in control part. This is a great tip. The afternoon is always a hard time for me as well. Do you alternate tuna with something else to avoid high mercury levels?

Anonymous wrote:OP -thanks to everyone for the thoughtful suggestions and meal plans! Starting to think 1500 calories a day is a more reasonable goal to start with. To the snarky poster who dismissed this thread and said people have bigger problems- shame on you! You have no idea how the extra weight is affecting my life, marriage, health, etc. so don't assume this is a frivolous vanity driven thread. Also, isn't the purpose of this forum to support one another? It is very helpful/encouraging to hear what has worked for others and hear new ideas.

PP of "I won't help you eat 1,200 calories" here, and just don't worry about the idiots. There's always at least one at DCUM!

I think it's great that you're re-thinking your process. Just sit down and think about what your real danger points are, how you can handle them, and how you can make this work long-term. One of my danger points are the hours from 4-6 while I'm making dinner, dealing with homework, etc. So even though I'm generally not a meat-eater, I put a can of tuna as my 3 pm snack because I know it sits like LEAD in my stomach and I'm not hungry until at least 7 after the danger has passed.

I am DETERMINED to make this work. I won't give up any more years to my weight problem. I feel strong and in control. I hope you can get there too!

Another 1,500 calorie a week poster. I just started my diet, and you always lose more the first week, so take this with a grain of salt. But I lost 7 pounds eating 1500 calories a day and only walking at lunch.

When you are heavier to begin with, you need a few more calories.

Anonymous wrote:This is great for Weight Watchers and similar programs because it keeps you subscribing, but not great for your health or the long term.

WW does not require minimal calories or drastic weight loss, just the opposite. I think its the best program out there precisely because it takes a gradual approach and teaches you to make changes in your diet that you can sustain over your lifetime. I did WW 7 years ago and have not put the weight back on -- I feel at this point that it set me up for a healthy weight for the rest of my life. There aren't many diets that do this.

Try targeting your problem foods -- the ones that got you into the weight problem in the first place, then try saying goodbye to them. For me ice cream, have not had it in a year. Then chips, not in months. When you bulid up healthy styles it helps in the keep it off phase. Too much emphasis on starving only makes you need to "break-fast" ie, eat like crazy. Good luck.

OP -thanks to everyone for the thoughtful suggestions and meal plans! Starting to think 1500 calories a day is a more reasonable goal to start with. To the snarky poster who dismissed this thread and said people have bigger problems- shame on you! You have no idea how the extra weight is affecting my life, marriage, health, etc. so don't assume this is a frivolous vanity driven thread. Also, isn't the purpose of this forum to support one another? It is very helpful/encouraging to hear what has worked for others and hear new ideas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before but I highly recommend Diet to Go for a couple of weeks at least. It's 1200 calories and gives you a really good sense of what 1200 calories looks like. Its very filling- i am rarely hungry. It's all fresh food that you can replicate at home. I do it periodically and it really helps. I find I am able to moderate myself now.

Hi PP have you lost weight using Diet to Go? Do you mind sharing how much and how long it took? I've always wondered about that program. It sounds pretty easy and convenient. Thanks

Yes. I've lost 30 lbs in 6 months. I did DTG for about 4 weeks in the beginning and another 3 weeks after 2 months off it. I plan to do it again for a few weeks in January. The food is good and I am not hungry on it. I like not having to make any decisions about what to eat. There's no cheating that way! And as I mentioned it's a good reminder of the amounts I should be eating. You do have to pick it up twice a week but there is a pickup place close to me so it was fine. It's worth a try!

i also found loseit.com to be helpful when i was trying to lose weight for a wedding. i will say, though, that the only way i was ever able to have a 1200 calorie day was if i ran in the morning. so, the exercise earned me enough extra food calories that I could eat enough to feell full and satisfied during the day. i also found that cutting bread and focusing on high protein really helped. so cheese and turkey on crackers, instead of two pieces of bread, for example. and a hard boiled egg instead of a cereal bar.

i'll also say 1200 is not sustainable over the long term.

good luck!

I won't help you eat 1,200 a day. I'm 5'3, 194, and going with 1,500 calories a day. I think even THAT is on the low side. I think 1,200 is crazy. If your goal is to really lose the weight, to stick with this, I can almost GUARANTEE you that you will cave with being hungry all the time. You didn't put it on quickly, you can't take it off quickly. I really feel for you OP. Please think about doing this in a way that promotes health and wellness and is something you can stick with. Even if you do a 1,800 calorie/day diet, you will lose weight, just more slowly - but you're much more likely to stick with it!

If it helps, here's my 1,500/day:

* Breakfast: 1/4 cup steel cut oatmeal, dried strawberries, 1 tbsp pb, blueberries - 320 calories
* Lunch: 3 cups romaine, 15 almonds, 1/2 cup kidney beans, 2 tbsp goddess dressing - 355 calories
* Snack: can of tuna/salmon, 1 wedge laughing cow cheese, mustard, apple on the side - 360 calories
* Dinner: can of soup (260), 4 oz sweet potato - 360 calories
* Snack at night: popcorn (260)

It took about 3 days for the hunger to subside, and now I feel very little hunger between meals. I drink crystal light ALL DAY (it's tucked next to me in my recliner right now). My goal is to lose 1.5 per week. I am determined to do this long-term so I'm using a CBT book and have teamed up with a few friends to support each other. I'm organizing a Biggest Loser competition at work starting in January.

Please don't make this a short-lived fad. Figure out what you need to do to stick with this long-term. I really hope you find a good path.