Small meals throughout the day just ain't gonna happen. Not at work, which I've been pulling 10hr shifts at (thats the most I'm gonna do). I haven't even been taking lunch breaks we've been so busy. Can't eat and talk on the phone, and if I do try it anyway it has to be shoveled in as fast as possible...I'd rather just skip.
Hunger and cravings are both awful, I can crave something for weeks until I finally give in.
If I drink more water than I already do, I'd be Niagara Falls, I'm constantly thirsty.
I know all the "right" ways to eat ect ect. My issue is, is that I need a plan. I'm too scattered and indecisive to make my own. Plus if I make my own I'll want to sneak in all of these cheats that will just add up. I need something tells me "this is what you can eat and how much of it and THATS IT!"
I can maintain my weight well most of the time, its losing it that is an issue. I do want to lose quickly, if I gained 50lbs in less than a year, than I need to lose it in less than a year. I'm not sure how much of a role my thyroid played, but I never had hypothyroidism. The HCG diet is tempting, I'm just worried about the possible dangers especially with my thyroid issue. I might call my endocrinologist on Monday and see what he recommends, he does deal with diabetics too and with my dad being diabetic (but in denial) then it might not be a bad idea for me to start eating like one.

If you really cannot fit in lunch, then buy a weightwatchers (or whatever it is called there) shake, the kind that come ready to drink in a can or bottle and taste of something innocuous like banana or vanilla. They're quite pleasant (I find), and if they're a decent brand they'll have a decent nutritional value. Much easier to just swig down a fairly small milkshake than fit in food if you're pulling nightmare shifts on the phone, and much better than just skipping altogether and locking into a hunger/full pattern.

Yeah, you're prob right. Here's the weird thing...if I don't eat (or have a shake)...I don't seem to get hungry as bad. So since I can't eat, and most shakes only work for about 2hrs with me...even the 4hr ones or w/e, I just skip entirely so I don't feel hunger. Then I get to my car and all of a sudden I'm starving and I'm tempted to run over a pedestrian for meat. Makes it really really hard not to stop on my way home for fast food. Although I have been doing a lot better about that.
I ate breakfast and lunch today, although they weren't great.

I'll talk about the diet later when I have more time. As for exercise, I've got plenty of exercise dvds that I can send copies for you. ;) I'll get into more of what kinds of exercise later. Just something for you to think about. Yeah, I understand the TX heat. That is why I jog at 6 or 6:30 in the morning. :p:

I've been avoiding this thread from the sheer guilt of being off the wagon diet-wise.

I've been on Alli - it does keep you honest. It's just so expensive over here.
Yes, the side effects are hideous, but I never encountered them - I stuck to a low fat diet, small meals and got on really well.

DON'T COME OFF BIRTH CONTROL!
The weight gain is negligible compared to factorslike fat intake and exercise. I've been down to 122 lbs (very skinny on my 5'8" frame) on contraception.
Giving up alcohol would have a far greater effect on your health all round.

I'm with Dani on the Slim-Fast shakes. Missing meals does NOT help you lose weight, until you have pared your calorie intake down to the level of a ballet dancer (ie one apple and a handful of beansprouts a day). I know. I've tried every diet known to man, and made up a few of my own. I've lost and gained enough weight to make a couple of other people by now. This does not make me successful, it just means I know a lot about weightloss. It's my mental approach to dieting that makes me gain it back every time, not the way I've lost it.

To do it healthily, it's not a bad idea to join a club. Just be aware it can cost a lot of money and many of them are really quite patronising. An intelligent woman might be better off doing it online.

And re exercise - LOTS you can do in your house!
I lack the drive, personally. But second hand exercise DVDs, stairs, like Dani says, or even just dancing or jogging on the spot. Toning exercises also burn calories and have a noticeable effect very quickly. Yoga too - you need very little space for that and it can make you a real hardbody if you get into it.

Good luck MTP.
You're very beautiful. If you feel you need to do this, it can only improve your appearance, because you will be happier inside.

I'm already at work by then :p:
And no, I'm not dragging myself out of bed any earlier to exercise...I don't like the dark as it is and early morning is the scariest.

Mpt....you have really boxed yourself in when it comes to solutions, you know that right?

Not sure that's completely fair, Pico.
Many people offered me diet advice over the years, and very little suited me/ my lifestyle.
MTP is asking for help BECAUSE she doesn't fit the standard diet lifestyle.

The tips that fit helped me enormously, but that was not a large percentage.
For example I was advised not to spend 30 mins on an exercise bike every day, but to go out on a real bike. I did not have one. I could not afford one. I lived in London - not an ideal environment for cyclists, especially not those with confidence issues. The exercise bike sessions did make a significant impact on my weight loss.

On the other hand I was advised if I couldn't stomach breakfast, to have a chilled can of meal replacement or a pint of skimmed milk. Both worked wonders and stopped me having a high fat lunch.

Horses for courses.

I know. I'm just trying to get her out of it. I suffer from the same thing. I have so many "I cants'" in my way that I stifle myself from doing anything...until I start overcoming them.

Changing dietary habits for the better is really hard to do. Sorry if I was harsh mpt....:o

I kinda agree with Pico. It isn't going to happen without some unpleasantness and effort. If getting slim were easy, there would be no fatties.

You have to make time to exercise and make it work and you have to make time to put more thought into your diet. So it's dark outside if you get up early -work out inside..... You gotta stop saying no can do, that won't work.... and start looking for ways to make it work.

The fact that I'm even trying to diet/exercise more/lose weight is kinda a big step in of itself. I usually don't try, I just deal with being me. No, I'm not getting up at 3am to exercise in the dark, I cannot do any more than walk anyway, I have a fucked up knee and the doc said "no running." Thats the doctor's orders. I need access to an elliptical, but I don't. So light walking it is. I CAN do that.
I CAN diet, but I cannot make my own plan. Its not just about time, its about talent, and planning meals is something I sorely lack talent for. Add in trying to make them healthy? Not gonna happen. If I could do that, I wouldn't be asking for diet plans now would I?
I'm not you.
If you've used a specific diet plan that helped you out, then please comment. If you're gonna analyze my attitude about it, you can comment all you want to, but you're wrong.

This is exactly what you shouldn't do. You are putting your body into "starvation mode" by skipping meals, which means that it's going to retain even more fat when you do eat. Are you allowed to have food at your desk? What if you got a big bag of granola (the kind that includes lots of dried fruits, and oats that will fill you up,) and just ate bits with your fingers throughout your whole shift in between calls? You could even get away with skipping lunch this way, because as far as your body would be concerned, it would be like eating 15 tiny meals.

Yeah but I feel like I need every bit of help I can get. Plus I don't feel like spending the money on it since I don't foresee much of that activity going on the near future.

Giving up soda drinks and alcohol I expect to help a lot, I suspect they were the biggest factors in my weight gain as it is. This week though I come to realize how much my family gets together to eat...OMG! Thats actually probably gonna be the toughest is giving up eating out with them. I don't really trust myself to go and choose something low-fat, most of the places we go are Tex-Mex.

Alright, get some sort of meal replacement for work. Does coffee with cream count? :blush:

That is one of the draws of Weight Watchers. Times more of an issue probably than money, it would give me a group to be accountable too. Too bad I'm not big enough for that "Biggest Loser" weight loss reality show. Living with my sister and bro in law will give me a conscience too. BIL is trying to lose also and I've always been real needy for my sis's approval.

I would love to do yoga, I've done a bit. I tried to get my sister to take a class with me, she can only do certain types and due to her RA she has to have an instructor to make sure she does it right and doesn't hurt herself. She just doesn't think she'll have time since she'll be trying to get a different job over the summer. I'm like you though, I don't really have the drive to exercise inside, its soooo boring. I love taking Della on walks and to the park, just the heat is too much and the sun goes down too late during the summer. I do my best to do so anyway at times. I'll be hassling my sis to get out and exercise with me, its good for her RA.

Thank you. Hopefully I'll feel healthier too. This past year has been rough.

We're not allowed to eat at our desk technically. Technically we aren't even allowed to have open drinks, so they are supposed to have a top. We generally only follow such rules when we have VIP visitors though. I still have my braces though, so I tend to stay away from harder foods like granola and nuts. The meal drink might work OK. I used to eat fruit bars until I got sick and tired of them. I'm not convinced they're very good for you either. Sometimes I eat an apple (sliced up before) and dole out the slices slowly...

Go to the library and take out some diet books. They all have diet plans, and most of them kind of follow the same formula nowadays. My favorite was the Zone and 'Mastering the Zone' gives excellent ideas for healthy meals and snacks.

ETA - the Zone can be really intimidating because it divides portions into blocks, like the way weight watchers does points, sort of. Just KISS and only pay attention to the food choices. If you have the time, though, you can really learn a lot about how what you eat affects your insulin levels, metabolism and moods. Its a great education.