Time to act....but, What to Do?

Ditch the kids snacks. They don't need them either.

Have more fruit in the house. My son eats strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple, banana, etc. We do have some snacks, but not a lot. It definitely helps.

A couple of things helped me STOP gaining weight, and then I lost 5lbs.

Portion control.
Protein wins over carbs for snacks.
Water, lots of it.

I just saw my MIL and her husband for the first time since Christmas. Omg. WW has done wonders for them. I've been meaning to look into it for a while, and now the universe is slapping me in the face with it to pay attention. Good luck!

L.:

I feel your pain. I've gained weight too. I'm a carbo-holic. I should probably start a carboholic group! LOL!

You don't need a "diet" program. you need to change the way you eat. I love fruit - LOVE fruit - but it's a lot of carb - yes, natural sugar - but it's still sugar...so I have to cut back on the fruit I eat.

Get rid of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. I'm working on this myself and I cannot tell you just how hard it is. So I KNOW this is NOT easy. I love french toast for breakfast...I love hash browns for breakfast...

Bring your own lunch to work - while tortillas have carbs - find lower carb ones - and put chicken and lettuce in the wrap. Or make a salad and set some balsamic vinaigrette instead of Ranch or Thousand Island.

Try more lean foods - chicken, pork, fish and greens - broccoli, spinach, lettuce, artichokes, asparagus, etc. you don't need to fix separate meals for the family - you can give them the rice and pasta, etc. but you don't have to put it on your plate.

Drink MORE water.
Drink LESS carbonated drinks - work to cut them out. I'm working on cutting Coke out again. I've not had one in 24 hours!! YAHOO!! :)
Drink LESS processed drinks - no V8, no Sunny D, etc. still has TONS o' carbs in them!!

You CAN do this. I am working on it. It's not about buying food from some weight loss store - it's about making smarter choices for yourself.

I've had a lot of luck with the Reader's Digest diet.... I ordered the book through Amazon for about $15, and then ordered the extra cookbook for about that same price.

I love the recipes! I cook the recipes for my hubby, and he loves them, too.... They have a 4 day "fast release" that I lost 6 lbs with.... over the 3 week diet, I ended up losing about 15 lbs, and have kept it off by just staying with the concepts and mostly their recipes.

btw... I started that in the middle of January, and 4 months later, I'm still down about 15 lbs.... I start each day with a really yummy smoothie made from yogurt, frozen fruit, and other things.... (honey, peanut butter, strawberries, unsweetened cocoa, dry milk powder, coconut milk, ground flaxseed meal, vanilla)

I didn't really feel that hungry, too...

They emphasize lean proteins and lots of fresh veggies, and limiting carbs. They also encourage a lot of low-fat or fat-free dairy, too.

If there's one thing I've learned in my 10 years of fad diets and weight struggle is that there IS no quick fix - at least not one that is healthy and effective.

If WW works, then do it. I'm sure you could find a points chart online somewhere, plus you've done it before.

Other than that - eat whole, fresh food whenever possible (LOTS of veggies, fruit, lean protein and whole grains), drink only water (you can flavour it with slices of lemon or sprigs of mint to make it more palatable), get out and MOVE! Even just a 30 minute walk after dinner in the evenings will, at the very least, make you feel better. And if you can, do some weight lifting. That's the thing women usually skip, and we really shouldn't. Muscle burns more calories than fat.

Good luck!!

I lost 16 pounds the first week on the "6 Week Body Make-Over".

Its real easy and if you follow their instructions you will loose weight. You can do anything for 7 days, right?

I've used their diet several times when I wanted to jump start my weight loss.

Good luck to you and yours.

L.,

I don't know any quick 5lb loss strategies but if you have lost with WW before then you can do it again without paying. You know how the program works so just make up your mind that you are going to do it. Believe me, I don't say that flippantly, I have lost 82 lbs on WW with three kids who love typical junk food and a husband who needs to lose 50 lbs but just not there yet so I get to see him eat all the things I enjoy. Bottom line is, I feel better thinner and I've come to realize that the taste of food is not worth feeling less than by best. You can do it, just start counting pts again, you can weigh in at home :-)

No one needs kid snacks. Stick to fruits, veggies, and protein. My son is 4 and eats fruit, bell pepper strips, cheese, low sugar yogurt.

Eat just a few less carbs. If you're hungry for toast only have one slice. If you have mac and cheese only eat 1/2 cup of it and eat some other item that has less carbs to fill up. You can cut out 100's of carbs by just choosing one veggie over another. Go to the local library and check out some books that are for low carb eating. Then just pick a few items that have lower carbs. It's pretty easy.

If you do want something high carbs then look at that food. Look very closely then imagine just rubbing it on your hiney.....lol. That might make you decide that a much smaller piece of it will be enough.

My cousin went to the Schick (Might be something close to this, it was years and years ago) center when she wanted to learn how to lose weight. When she came out she ate totally different. I asked her why.

She told me they had them think about the foods in a different way. Ice cream looks like frozen puss, chocolate looks like runny pooh, and so forth. Getting that visual picture in your head will make you see that each time you're looking at that item and you won't be able to eat it.

My mom is on a no carb/high protein diet and lost 100 pounds over the course of the first year! She looks great :)

Here is what she told me that she does:

No pasta, no bread, no fruit except for berries, some vegetables (romaine lettuce, broccoli) no salad dressings except for casear or ranch. Basically looking at labels and making a commitment to eat only 15-20 carb grams per day only. It's tough but obviously doable. Meat (hamburger, pork, chicken, etc) has no carbs. YEH! Processed meat (hot dogs, salami, summer sausage,etc) have some. You have to look at the labels. Cheeses are very low in carbs as are eggs. Atkins offers a free carb counting book. Just go to their website. Hope this helps.

I know what you mean, but you can do it!!! And, I'm sorry, and I'm not trying to sound mean, but you do not have to buy into these weight-loss programs to lose weight!

Cut out as many carbs as you can; eat lots of fruits and vegetables; eat a little bit at a time instead of three (or more) large meals; drink lots of water; if you need a snack, pop some popcorn - not microwave, but in the pot. AND for gosh sakes - if you don't bring the snacks into the house, then you won't be tempted to eat them. And your children don't need them either!!! If they need to snack, get some baby carrots and low-fat ranch dip - yummy!!

As for moving, just get started by walking around your house - whether inside or out; if you have a dog, take him/her for a walk - increase your distance every couple of days. Do you have a bike to ride? Whatever you do, start slowly otherwise you'll burn out in a hurry!!

Also, get weighed in the morning - not at night!!!

Good luck!!!

I did weight watchers for a long time. it works for me til I stop doing it. and I like you don't have the money to go to the meetings right now. But my son sent me a link to my fitness pal I am including the link at the bottom. it is very similar to weight watchers in that you write down your food every day. but it counts calories not pts. I have actually found it easier to do than weight watchers. no messing with figuring out points just put the food in and it does it for you. and best thing is that it is free. good luck.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

I was listening to a science show on the radio to some university researchers investigating the 5-2 diet (actually, their subjects were doing the 4-3 diet). Their subjects fasted for two or three days per week. On fasting days they ate breakfast (no more than 500 calories) before 8am, and then take a consommé style broth in the evening. They are encouraged to drink plenty of water. They do not fast for more than one day at a time. On the non-fasting days they ate their normal diet. The researchers reported that they lost an average on 1kg per week, with good health benefits. It sounds like something that could be doable.

There is a website called Spark People that is very similar to the Weight Watchers concept, but it is free.

See if you have some friends who want to be your work out buddies. It can help if you hold each other accountable.

Also, see if you have friends who want to have a "biggest loser" competition. Everyone pays a set, one-time fee (often somewhere around $50-100, but you can do less if that's what you can afford) and then you set a time limit. Whoever loses the highest percentage of weight wins all the money.

Next time you get a virus & don't feel like eating a lot, try to keep those habits of not snacking as you are getting better. If a cold stays with you for 9 days, at the end of that period you probably brought less food into the house & drank more water. It's crazy but I look forward to a cold to allow me to reset any bad habits I might have started and I usually am already down a couple of pounds, which motivates me, I'm just doing walking exercises then because I don't feel great, so i think about starting sometginf else but lightly as i get my energy back & want to do more. It's a do over for me. Good luck!