Ivamae, I can only speak for myself, but I have tried every kind of weight loss program on the planet it seems. None work for the long haul.
So, I got mad !! Yep Mad as he!! and decided that I was going to drop the weight and do it my own way. I started (like a million others) on Jan. 1 this year. I decided to change not so much what I ate, but the amounts of what I was eating. I too take meds that cause one to have difficulties with weight loss. But that did not deter me. I was bound and determined to do this.
I eat whatever I want but in very limited amounts. I eat lots of salad and Fat Free and / or low cal dressings. I do not eat much in the line of starchy food. Very limited amounts of rice, potatos, beans, peas or food with sugar in it. If I crave something like a Root Beer Float, I will use diet Root beer and put some Fat Free Sugar Free Whipped topping in it. Voila got it. I don't indulge in Red Meat. Only on very rare occasions will I eat red meat. I eat lots of chicken and fish and lean pork. I eat vegetables and fruit, (fresh when I can get them). If I eat bread, it is whole grain bread. I stay away from peanut butter, but will have a bit on a cracker now and then. There is nothing I don't eat, but I do restrict the amounts and how often I indulge in the foods that I KNOW will put that extra inch on my hips. Next is very important. You have to MOVE !! No sitting in front of the tv or computer for hours on end. Go outside and walk. When sitting in front of the tv, grab a can of beans and use them as hand weights. Do some aerobics. Stair climbing is good.

This is what I do. Just use good old fashioned horse sense and you should see the pounds come off. It didn't get there in a month, so don't expect it all to come off in amonth either. It may take a few years. But that's okay !! Just start and commit. I still go to parties and indulge in what is there, but in tiny amounts. I get to enjoy all there is and not feel deprived. Common sense girl, common sense, that's my answer.

Good luck on your new journey. This group is small, but mighty !! Very supportive bunch of folks.

Glad to have you join us.

Helen

Ivamae, you'd be more than welcome to join our weigh-in.

For me, besides the weigh-in thread, I think the key is to keep track of everything I eat. I think by doing that, I eat less just by the fact of being aware of what I am eating. I bought a food scale to weigh my portions, also.

There are a lot of online tools that can help you track your meals. I prefer to use my own spreadsheet, but I think USDA site, mypyramid.gov is pretty good. I will go there once in a while and enter my meals for the day, and it will tell me how I am doing versus the recommendations for servings of the various food groups.

If you like to use Excel spreadsheets, I'd be glad to send you a copy of the one I made. Just click on my member page and send me an email.

Here is a link that might be useful: mypyramid

hi ivamae -

I'm also a newcomer. I feel like I'm cheating a bit. I started medifast on July 1 and have lost at least 18 pounds since then.
I'll have another weigh in by medifast personel this afternoon and plan to report that in the weigh in thread. I was 100 pounds overweight on July 1 so I've got a long way to go.

The good news is that prior to July 1st, I had stabilized my weight for at least 5 years. It is probably very presumptuous of me to offer advice but because I stabilized for so long, I am hoping my tools will help me stabilize when I actually get down to my destination weight.

My advice is to find those foods that are healthy and that you like and make your meal plans using those. For example I like yogurt (the goats milk kind) so I was having that for lunch every day. I am lucky that I like leafy greens so I was having a HUMONGOUS portion of kale every day. I'll report more later.

This is getting too long so I'll stop now but I do want to say GOOD LUCK!

(and also to the rest of the group, I REALLY enjoy your stories, I think we all have different methods (I call them tricks) that help and I REALLY want to hear about them.)

Thanks so much for the welcome. I'm going to study the forum some more and then hope to get started

harold, I would love to do the spread sheets but that is something I haven't learned to do, so will have to pass unless they are very simple. thanks for the offer.

ivamae

Ivamae,

My spreadsheet is not for the faint of heart. So if you are not familiar with Excel, you'd probably be better off using one of the online journals. I mentioned mypyramid.gov. There are others like Sparkpeople.com, Fitday.com, and my-calorie-counter.com.

Harold ~ I have excel and would love to try your spreadsheet. Would you send it to me?

Thanks bunches,
Helen

Helen, I didn't see an email address on your member page. Either you'll have edit your member page to put it there and make it visible to other members, or else you'll have to post your email address here.

Couldn't she just email you through your page, harold 14370?
ivamae

Or that.