Help Me - Chicago,IL

If you can stick to something for a few weeks, try the South Beach Diet. I has helped me lose 60 pounds, and once you start, it's easy to stick with after the first two weeks, and eliminates many of those munchies!
Hope the best for you!

J.-
Bob Greene wrote a wonderful book that helped me alot. Check out the best life diet. He talks about getting moving, also possible causes for being overweight. You can not just diet,you have to couple that with exercise. Exercise will help relieve stress that will help you bing eat less. Start walking,biking, etc. The thing that worked the best for me is weight training. The more lean muscle you gain the more calories you burn at rest. You don't have to be a body builder, you just need a little muscle. Weight training is great for your bones as well. Check it out. hope this helps. Invest in you, put yourself on the calender, just as you would a dr. appointment, or dinner with a girlfriend. I have three small children 6,4, 2. I had to mark my exercise on the calander otherwise things would come up and I wouldn't get to it. So now before I say yes to something, I check the calander. I can usually still do whatever it is that I wanted just later. Good luck and don't give up!

Please see a counselor and a M.D. Also, have you had your thyroid checked? Do you have dry skin, hair falling out, nails brittle, are you cold no matter what, tired all the time? Get your self to weight watchers or Over Eaters Anon. Works like AA only with overeating. A really great support group, totally Christian based. Take a deep breath, lots of them, try and relax a bit. S. D.

J.,
I know how you feel. I am not over weight, but I have serious body issues. Maybe if you have a partner to help you, that might motivate you! I would love to be your partner, we can chat about successes and failures, we can share thoughts, etc. We can motivate each other. I love to go out walking and biking, so maybe we can challenge each other to do it and check in with someone. I know having a partner has always helped me and someties it is nice to have someone you dont know, they are less likely to judge! I am a teacher and have a 3 and 6 year old, so we have things in common already! If you are interested, let me know, you can email me at ____@____.com
M.

J.,
I am so sorry to read about your problems. Losing weight is hard to do, for sure, but perhaps it doesn't have to be quite this difficult. Have you seen your doctor recently? You might want to have your thyroid function checked. Also, it sounds like you might be depressed. I really feel for yoou, J.. Please make sure that you see a doctor, if you have not done so already, to make sure any underlying medical issues can be addressed. If this is done, it should be easier for you to lose weight. Unfortunately, it is never easy, though.
Good luck.
Amy

There are many things going on here, while it would be too long to make any suggestions, following a "diet" program would not be for you. Slow and steady changes is going to be what will work for you. I am a Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant focusing on Women's Health and would be willing to work with you in greater depth. (I teach an online course in Women's Exercise Training and Wellness and speak nationally at health and wellness conferences). If you are interested in further, detailed help, feel free to contact me.

Best,

J., MPH, ACE-CPT

Try not to focus on the weight and all the negative. Focus more on being healthy, no fast food and making meals instead of buying packaged food. Find some type of physical activity that you enjoy riding bikes or swimming take a class through the YMCA,church or town.you can meet new friends who give you better self esteem.. A multivitamin inthe morning might give you a boost. Remember your in control of your body and mind it is up to you to make the changes in your life.

I agree with an earlier post, go to the doctor! Talk to her or him about your thyroid and you're thoughts and behavior that are bothering you, maybe you have a bit of depression?
It is such a vicious cycle, you just have to get the first step out of it. Good luck and know that there are others who feel just like you, you're never alone.

Weight Watchers is a great resource for education as well as support. I pay $40 a month to attend weekly in-person meetings and for use of WW's website. As another person suggested, small changes add up over time, and can be very effective. Some small changes that have worked for me are: 1) Never eating past 8 p.m. 2) Taking lunch to work instead of eating out - which has also been good for my pocketbook. 3) Always eating breakfast first thing in the morning; it helps that I wake up hungry, not having eaten since before 8 p.m. the night before. My personal take on overeating is that it is a form of addiction not that different from alcoholism or gambling or... (you name it). I believe that past talk therapy has assisted me in my current weight-loss success. I wish you the best.

Please make an appointment with your doctor right now, because your last line and your title tell me you are very depressed and need help with that before anything. When you start to feel better about life, you will be prepared to do positive things to change it -- it will all go hand in hand.

Also, I had great success with Weight Watchers, as did many friends.

But first, get professional help for the real issue. :) Good luck!

I can relate to you,I think you need a work out partner some one who will encourage you.Getting starting is always easy sticking to it can get harder.Leave the worrying about your husband to God and start taking care of your self.I believe i was in that same sitution what I did was pray and ask God to give me the strenght to go on, I needed to be healthy to take care of my family.I joined WWOW I work out 4 days a week.And you can do the same just talk to GOD as if you were talking to your husband or your girlfriend talk to GOD he will help you work it out.If you need some one to walk with or talk to you can eamil me ____@____.com care and PRAY

Do not beat yourself up about anything. We all go through our moments of self doubt, your daughter is proud that you are her mother. Remember you have to Let God and Let GO. Everyday you might not want to exercise, try ten minutes here and there, try every other day, slowly work up to a regular routine. Do not pressure yourself trying to meet some goals set by some book or video, you know your body and you will know when you are ready for the next level. As far as the eating try to stock your house with healthy snacks like fruit and yogurt. Instead of cookies try granola bars(they taste much better than those 100 calorie bags of cookies).

Yes, please see a counselor -- I think there is something that is "eating AT you" and causing you to turn to food as a medication for depression. Maybe it's ypur marriage, maybe it's something else in your life... Also, I like the book "Skinny Bitch" because it talks about how sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup (in sooo many foods!) are addictive and make us eat more. I also think they make us depressed!! It is a vicious cycle. I feel much happier (and eat less) when I don't eat "white" foods -- I'll eat brown rice, whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds -- good reminder for ME! Good luck!!!

This is a problem many women have so don't feel like you are alone.

I exercise 4/5 times a week and use the time as my own away from the children to destress. I never look forward to going but once I've finished I feel great. I'm not skinny but shapely and I love the way the exercise tones but also makes me feel more positive. Anyway, the one lesson I have learnt in life is to break down goals. If you give yourself a great big goal up front you'll just lose motivation in a very short time. To start with, why don't you just make a few small life adjustments. Maybe you could walk 20/30 minutes a day. Also, assess your diet and decide on high fat foods in your diet you can start cutting out - it might even be removing them completely or substituting them with lighter options. For instance, we used to order a very large pizza on Friday nights and split it between the three of us. Now we buy a standard one from the store (money saver) and serve it with salad. We eat a third of the pizza we used to and get a good healthy serving of vegetables at the same time. I serve a bowl of salad or vegetables with every meal and cut down on the other items that might be less healthy. Another tip is to eat a few mouthfuls of the salad before you start tucking into any of the other foods - you will fill up on the healthy stuff this way and eat less of the unhealthy. I buy all my vegetables from Stanleys - you don't get the nice packaging that you do from Dominicks or Jewell but you can buy a cart load for only 30 bucks. This serves my family for over a week. I did an assessment and if you bought the same amount from Dominicks or Jewell you'd spend nearer 100 bucks.

Don't cut out meals - eat three meals a day and if you are getting hungry between - eat a fruit item or a small amount of nuts. Fruit and nuts curb your appetite.

You could try this for the first month and then assess again and decide what other changes you could make. Maybe during your walk you start alternating between jogging and walking - and don't worry about people seeing you - people are too busy with their own lives.

Gosh, I could go on but I won't. Remember, small steps. If you try and change your habits over night you'll just get down on yourself and go straight back to the old ones.

Good luck.