Watch “What’s the right diet for you”. It’s either on Netflix or Amazon. The show split a hundred or so dieters into three groups and gave them different diets according to why they overate. Very interesting and based on science.

Good luck!

Seriously try the Noom app. I am just getting back into shape after having my last baby and i have lost 20lbs. I am currently the same height and weight as you. They use a moderation psychological approach which has served me well so far. Good luck on your journey.

Hi OP,

Some things that worked for me:
(1) Meal planning that included one cheat day a week. Meaning that on that day, I ate whatever I wanted.
(2) Getting rid of all things (like unhealthy snacks) that I no longer wanted to eat. Just throw them in the trash.
(3) Internalizing that I will have set-backs and don't consider them (or myself) a failure.
(4) I am sure other people do it differently, but I find it hard to both change my eating habits and my exercise habits at the same time. I changed my eating habits first and then added in exercise, which helped me maintain my weight

Good luck, OP! You can do it!

Everyone is different, but for me there are tons of foods that I don't really enjoy that I was still eating because they were there: donuts, french fries, sodas, high calorie additions to sandwiches, etc. It was amazing the difference giving up things I didn't really miss made and I immediately lost 20 pounds, which provided motivation to make additional changes.

I grew up poor, so clearing my plate and eating everything available (especially once it beca,e "free" through work meetings/meals) took time for me to re-think my relationship to food, but it was worth it.

Bright Line Eating - If you are really serious about losing. BLE is not easy - but it is fast and with maintenance it is manageable.

I lost 50lbs in 9 months. I’ve maintained goal for a year. And I am smaller than you, so your loss would be faster.

Anonymous wrote:Are you me? I have put off having a second child for multiple years because I don't want to have a child until I lose 50 pounds.

FWIW, this is a lot of why I don't have a second kid. I'm 40 now and if anything I'm heavier than I was 3 years ago. Finally decided to just TTC anyway but had 2 miscarriages this year -- wish I hadn't waited. Just a perspective.

Good for you for taking care of your health, OP. I’m 5’5” and was about 195, and I’m on this journey as well. I had gestational diabetes with my second, and that really shook me. I want to be healthy.

Since late May, I’ve gotten a FitBit and committed to taking a 30-45 minute walk every day and getting to 10,000 steps. I am also watching portion sizes and intermittent fasting (I just have coffee with half and half until lunch, and I don’t snack after 8pm). I don’t really restrict what I eat, but I’m mindful that if I have pasta for lunch, I shouldn’t have bread for dinner! I have already lost nearly 6 pounds and I am feeling really heartened by the progress.

I wish you so much luck and fortitude!

Anonymous wrote:Me too! 75 lbs . I’m an emotional and binge eater so I need to get the mental health part fixed. I mean, I know about calories and healthy fats and nutrition and walking and swimming and whatnot, but it goes out the window when I am sad, anxious, mad. Seeing a therapist. Good luck everyone.

This is me, too. I’m not trying to get pregnant but I need to lose 75 (or more) though I’d be happy with 50 or 60, too. And I’m an emotional eater. Ugh. Have lost 13 since stay at home started and for me it has been 90% exercise. I walk a ton but also do some more intense cardio most days.

I am 5”3, 163 and probably lost eight-ten pounds over the last month. I know we’re a ways apart weight wise, but I am also looking to lose 30-40 lbs to get back to my healthy weight and start trying to conceive along the way. Happy to check in and be accountability buddies. Let me know and we can post “names” for us to check in with!

Congratulations, OP, for taking the first step by asking for support! I would first identify what areas are working on improving: quality of food, overeating, snacking late at night, lack of exercise, etc. Then you can set some small micro goals as you head towards the macro goals of improving each of those areas and ultimately losing 50 pounds.

For instance, if you drink lots of soda, a small goal could be to drink 3 liters of water per day but with no soda restriction, then to have one soda at the end of the day, then one soda on Friday night, then no soda but just sparkling water with fruit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As things open up, if you can afford it, invest in a personal trainer

I did this after giving birth to my first and what a waste of time and money. You don't need a professional to teach you how to burn calories/gain muscle. But you might need a professional for whatever is causing you to overeat.

A good Personal Trainer will help you be more accountable for your exercise and the effort you are putting into getting healthy.

OP: I would start tracking food on something like MyFitnessPal. Set it for a 500 a day caloric loss and record everything. That means looking at labels and figuring out what a portion size of each food you eat is. It is an eye opener when you realize that 2 Oreos is 150 calories or a serving of chips is 14 chips. Take some time to measure your food, most cereals say that a serving is 1 cup of cereal so get out a measuring cup and use that to see how many servings you are eating.

Then reduce one thing. I was about 210 when I decided I really needed to lose weight, I had a year before my wedding and I wanted to look good in my dress. And I knew I had totally slacked on my health. I love Five Guys and burgers and Fries. I was eating at Five Guys 2-3 times a week, a double burger and large fries. When I started to lose weight I joined Curves, it was all the rage at the time and the circuit training was great for me to start, and I cut back to eating once a week at Five Guys. That one food change saved me close to 3,000 calories a week, almost a full pound in itself. A few months into my journey, I cut back to once every other week and eventually once a month.

I made other changes, I kept more fruit at the house and stopped buying as many chips and cookies. I was exercising more. But just fixing my Five Guys habit was a huge change. Each month a choose a new food habit that I needed to break and focused on that. One bag of potato chips in the house for a week. One small thing of ice cream in the house for a week.

But it took time and reminding myself that these specific habits were not good for my body or health. At the same time, I didn't get rid of them in totality or all at once. I gave myself time to build good habits. That got me to 175 and I hovered around 170-180 for about 10 years. I am currently working on getting healthier as I enter into menopause because I know that it is even harder to lose weight after menopause. I am pretty much following the same patterns but exercising a good deal more then I was 11 years ago.

It is not easy but if you allow yourself the time and space you can change the habits that will help you be healthier. And I think that the focus really needs to be on learnng new habits that are good for you and less negativity about what a person is not doing.

I need to lose 30. I’ve gained 10 in just the last 3 months of quarantine. I’m so angry at myself for doing that.

Me too! 75 lbs . I’m an emotional and binge eater so I need to get the mental health part fixed. I mean, I know about calories and healthy fats and nutrition and walking and swimming and whatnot, but it goes out the window when I am sad, anxious, mad. Seeing a therapist. Good luck everyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As things open up, if you can afford it, invest in a personal trainer

This is one of the great mistakes. Diet is 98% of weight loss. Fitness is 2%. Working out burns very few calories. Obviously, it’s great for health and strength, but it’s NOT going to help you lose weight.

Try this - it’s all doable: No snacking after dinner. No snacking during the day. No soda ever. No chips. No French fries. Avoid refined foods. No deserts.

Here’s where I’ll get criticized - skip breakfast every day. Just eat lunch and dinner.

Make all this a routine and you should be all good.

Eat good healthy foods! Fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, eggs, whole grains.

Regular, recommended levels of exercise contribute more like 20% of weight loss if someone is eating healthy.

Oh! Another few things. Meal planning and snack planning.