I need some hard core advice !!!

[Sparkle]

I have been on this diet from November last year. I have fruits and fruit juices(no added sugar) for breakfast, i alternate between proteins only or staples only along with salad for lunch and dinner something light like a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk(skimmed/low fat) and snack on granola bars,yogurt, nuts or fruits. The thing is, this diet does work, when i just started i lost between 2-3 pounds a week, and that felt great, i wasn't losing too much one time, I loved it. But i fell off it around December and have not been able to go back since. I avoid going on the scale for fear that i would see that i have gone back to where i was at. I've tried so hard to motivate myself but i simply can't. I've tried many things: journals, weekly visits to the nutritionist, self motivation and none of this works for a long enough time. I just keep going back to those things that i love. I've gotten advice before about my goals and thinking about what i really want and all that stuff but this does not help enough. I need some serious help, not the nitty gritty stuff some hard core stuff to motivate me or maybe another diet plan i really don't know. I really wanna lose some and I NEED TO START NOW.

Someone PLEASE HELP!!!

[sourpuss]

Do you exercise? You need to change your tastes to love healthy foods, then you crave those rather than junk food.

Do you keep a diary and write down what you eat, when and how you were feeling? Are you an emotional eater?

[Iseulda]

What works for me when trying to abstain is to actually allow myself a small amount of what I should not have once a week. I usually pick Friday as the day I can have 1 'naughty' thing - I call it the 'Friday rule'. That way I'm only not having a chocolate biscuit / icecream / whatever until Friday. It is important to only have a small amount of what you crave and to never, never allow yourself to move the day one forward. 'I'll have a bun on Thurdays and nothing on Friday' doees not work! And, for me, an entire day off from dieting would undo the entire week's effort - though I understand that's not the case for everyone.

The 'emotional eating' question is a big one too. I know I eat when I'm bored / lonely / upset - And of course there's always the 'oh my God, I've broken my diet, what the effin point I'll eat a tub of icecream' moment.

It is hard, Sparkle, especially if you are trying to do it alone. Can you find a diet-buddy? Going to the nutritionist weekly isn't really going to help - have you tried a weight loss group, like Weight Watchers? What kind of 'self-motivation' have you tried? Because, really, no one can motivate you but you. It has to come from inside. I don't know what hardcore advice I can offer other than you need to work out why you are unable to stop yourself eating these foods. You can't really treat the symptom without knowing the cause.

I live alone (well, no other adults, I mean) and I know I over eat because there is no one to be disgusted at me finishing the pack of biscuits - I had the same cravings when I shared a space with another adult but it was much harder to indulge them without being noticed. I'm having to address that now and try to be my own 'audience'.

I hope some of that is at least a little bit helpful - I wish you luck and courage, mainly courage

[Hopeless Dork]

I've found that I cannot indulge in foods that are not on plan, even in small amounts... I get the taste of it and thats it. I start to crave it much more so after indulging. And because I gave in once, I am more lax on doing it more and more and then it takes a lot of work to get that particular craving out of my system. Instead, I find safe, healthy alternatives that fit my plan for my cravings.

When craving chips, I grab a few whole wheat crackers, when craving ice cream, I pick up the diet variety , Weight Watchers has a great 130 cal one that I love. For chocolate cravings I go for a slimfast or atkins snackbar, ETC.

Some people can go off plan in moderation - some cannot.. and have a hard time getting back on plan. Like you experienced when it was working for you... once you are in the swing of things its easy to avoid bad foods and stick to plan because your body doesn't have the junk in it causing it to crave more bad junk.

You just have to force yourself to get back on the plan you prefer for a week at least, without going off - play tricks with your mind to keep you on track - pretend that donut was licked by the dog, or that your neighbor rubbed his butt on it.. etc lol gross yes - but whatever it takes to make you think icky of the bad things your craving just until you get yourself back in the habit of eating right... once you are back you'll find its easy to stay back!

[Hopeless Dork]

Just to add, the mind is so very powerful, as much as those cravings tug at you , you can defeat them with that same exact mind. I used so many tricks to get me to not want to eat something I was desiring.. it may sound stupid but you have to find what works for you, heres a few things I told my mind to make me stick to plan or to avoid a bad craving, some are real and true , some are rediculous but I could still convince myself they were real

*My diet is a medical prescription, any deviation of it will cause me health problems of (insert your biggest health fear here).

*I just have to stick through this one day, one day only - I only have to not eat that cake today , I can tomorrow just not today - then say the same thing tomorrow.

*There is rat poop in that second serving of spagetti, while I was eating my one allowed serving a rat went and pooped in the pan and I can not eat any more of that unless I don't mind the rat poop. Insert which ever poop grosses you out the most.

I can go on forever, each day pick a new reason you have to stick to your diet, can be silly or down right nuts but hey whatever it takes to get you through the day, the longer you last sticking to plan, the easier it is to stay that way once you are in the habit.