If you are a chocoholic, you might look at Fiber One's chocolate and oat bars. I am not sure how they nutritionally compare, but they do tend to eliminate a chocolate craving for me. Also, I have read many places that fiber is key to losing weight.

Each time you work out, add a few minutes more than the day before. The amount of calories you burn are key when you work out. I still eat chocolate every week or so and i've lost 15 pounds in the past few months. Be patient but try to push your exercise to the limits every day. Eventually it will become easy. Also think about how great you feel after a workout. The more you do it the faster your heart rate will be naturally and your muscles will grow. The less junk you eat the more weight you lose with this method too. Also, try to replace all your junk food cravings into healthy snacks or meals. If you get the munchies at night time, just go with a few strawberries or a bananna. Another thing I've done differently was eating those 'slimfast' bars or meal replacement bars. Above poster is also right, fibre helps.

When I first wanted to lose weight I was at 185 lbs I would work out for 20 minutes a day until I got used to it then went up to 30 mins. repeat, and now I'm doing 40 minutes at a time. Gonna push for an hour once I'm comfortable with it.. and I've been working out since October. I'm at 170 now. 15 pounds, it's a good amount but I'm definitely not satisfied w/ my weight yet

Best of luck!

My previous weight was 172 lb.But then I stopped eating carbs and started a high protein diet.and i exercised regularly.and i also took multivitamin supplements. After a year now I weigh 110 lb.You need to have a strong motivation to lose weight.Otherwise,you'll end up ruining your body.

count carbs dont go above 1,500...the first day u decide to do this drink water all day and if u need to eat then eat half a banaa to clean out your system. excercise by going walking do 5-10 sit ups in the morning and during commercial breaks. cut the food out to only 1,500 carbs atmost a day you should be fine =)

I would highly suggest the second statement. Start off in little bits. I didn't need to start working out in little bits, because I have been working since 04 and stopped this past year. I just started up again as a 2010 goal. I just got so tired of complaing about my body. I noticed that when I work out I eat less junk food/ greasy food naturally. Which makes it nice. Once you get into a good workout routine you will notice you will crave more healthy food then junk food with out really trying. Getting a membership also made me more motivated, I am paying 26.00 a month for my membership and I figure if I am paying that, I should use it fully. At the YMCA I go to I get 5 free appointments with a trainer to help me get to where I want to be. For me its to get toned more and loose most of the 26 of my body fat along with gaining more lean (muscle) fat. I hope this helps all the best to you!

i think that person means count calories not carbs...because 1500 is WAAAY too many carbs to have haha

hi
i was facing this problem a year back when i started putting on un necessary weights.....
and you wont belive me, i lost 20 kgs in 3 months just by drinking WATER
keep a bottle of water with you, every time, in school, on road, in bus, at home... whenever you feel like eating, just sip in some water..
it will do difference, trust me

I would suggest cutting back on sweets but dont compleatly cut it out of your diet. cutting out any food that you normally eat will almost always make you crave it. but if you are getting sugar cravings try eating some fruit
and to the water thing drinking alot of water can definatly help. first of all it helps fill your stomach so you eat less when you have a meal and secondly sometimes your brain will send messages that your hungry when your actually thirsty
other than that i would suggest that you makes sure that you eat enough fruit and veg, minimum 5 serves but its a recommended 7
other than that just try to exercise every day and make sure you do lots of aerobic exercise cos thats the biggest calorie burner
hope this helps :D

when you make a food into a forbidden food, it only makes you want it more, so cutting out sweets completely just isnt going to work. when you get the sweet cravings, have a little peice of chocolate or whatever, but if you still want sweet stuff, have super-sweet fruit, like grapes, nectarines, plums or mangoes. this will give you the fibre, and other nutrients too. its also true that often when we feel hungry, we are actually thirsty. also, cut down on carbs - bread, pasta, cereal, etc. if youre still hungry, eat more fruit and veg - protein. as the poster above me wrote, 7 serves a day is optimal, and most people have no where near that, so dont stress if you feel youre overdoing the fruit&veg!
as for exercise, im terrible at making myself do situps/running/weights/etc, so i do stuff that will give me exercise without me even noticing, like digging in the garden, sweeping vigourously, scrubbing, kneading dough, etc. i dont feel like ive done any exercise as such, and i have a beautiful house that im proud of, as a result. that and because im growing and making as much food as i can myself, i know exactly what im putting in to my body. its grown organically, no preservatives or addatives, no pesticides or herbicides, it tastes so much better, and im proud to say, i grew/made this. go to the gym for an hour, then come home and do chores? pfft, i garden and clean instead. it still needs doing, and its the exercise i need.

are you running or swimming? Because those are the best exercises. Swimming is great for all around body toning, but running is an aerobic exercise, which essentially means your body doesn't get all the oxygen it wants, which means you work more, which translates to more weight loss. Just progressively work up the exercise. When I, like others have mentioned, exercise more, I want junk less. Also, doing little things like pushing yourself to take the stairs at a sprint on your way to class or work can help.
The key is to not make anything "taboo" to eat. Just know what's good for you and what's not. Exercise definitely will make you want the good stuff, but don't ever say that something is "off limits" because it will make you crave it. If you make a special treat or have a small dose, like one tiny candy bar or piece of chocolate, it won't be like giving it up all together. You appease your sweet tooth and can still feel good. Also, if pop is your weakness, try to cut back. Pop adds A LOT of unnecessary sugar to your diet. It's all around bad for you. When I cut back on my own pop intake, I find myself feeling a lot better, all around. Also, cutting back on that helps you not feel as bloated and makes periods a lot less painful. Water is essential, drink lots. If you try and place water in pop's place it's way healthier and will probably work better for calming the rumblies. Most of the time, when you're hungry, you're either bored or thirsty. Caffeinated beverages just make you thirstier, because they dehydrate you. Also, keep yourself on a schedule. It helps a lot! If you have dinner at the same time every night, then your body will tell you to eat at that time. Breakfast is also really important. Even if it's just a quick granola bar, it helps get your metabolism going in the morning, which means you won't be as tempted to grab as much at lunch because you won't be quite as hungry because it won't be your first meal of the day.

Like you my body used to flucuate in extreme amounts of weight in a short amount of time ALL the time.

I started loosing when i was at 215 lbs. I'm now 174, and still loosing consistantly. It's all because of this website: www.SparkPeople.com

I'll tell you it takes motivation, support, determination, patients, tears, the right tools, and knowledge.

I also struggle with a Compulsive Eating Disorder, and this website was the only reason i realized that and got help.

Add me if you give it a try: Fyestie.

Good luck girl!!

A simple suggestion is to get rid of the tempting food. Don't buy chips, get healthy crackers to snack on. Instead of pop try low sugar and natural juice. If it's not there to tempt you, you'll have a better time avoiding it.
You can research replacement foods. Ex: You're craving salt. Don't dig into the nachos or popcorn, eat some salted nuts or olives. Craving sugar? Eat fruit, the natural fruitos will solve the craving and is better or you!
Try simple changes, whole weat bread compaired to white. etc etc.
What worked for me especially was cutting out pop and treats. Allow yourself a reward on weekends, maybe some frozen yogurt (Instead of icecream) for sunday desert. So you still get that satisfied craving, but it wont effect your weight.

Aside from the food factor, take into consideration your stress level, actvity level and environment. Stress can make losing weight a B*tch! Like other suggestions, start slow. If you drop it completely you can put your body into shock. Whatever you do, DONT starve yourself. Its one of the worst things ever since your body goes into emergency mode and starts to reserve all it can, which can make you hold the weight and it can cause severe damage later down the road!

Good luck!

They make chocolate without sugar now! It's really good, but expensive, so maybe that will encourage you to eat less of it! It really isn't about cutting things out of your diet, but eating in moderation. I would strongly suggest cutting out soda thought. It's so simple and usually yields results. Don't drink lots of or wrong fruit juices, because they're nutritious, but contain TONS of sugar and don't help dieting!

okayy... try a low glycemic diet! It is the ONLY thing that helped for me along with avoiding all perservatives and eating pure, natural foods. Don't listen to any of this crap that says you should eat low fat. Low fat foods are chock full of refined carbs and sugar! Ditch the Lean Cuisine and Special K protien bars or w.e. However, I am not saying gorge yourself with butter, eggs, and red meat! You must eat the right kind of fat, such as almonds, pumpkin seeds, olive oil. Don't be afraid of it... Your brain is mostly made of fat and neeeds it! Nonetheless, good fats keep you full. Okayy, just keep in mind eating low glycemic (no white stuff, refined sugar, etc.), less red meat/dairy (try goat milk or UNSWEETENED soy milk), more plant protien. Believe me, once you make a habit of eating your veggies, it becomes noo big deal (you will train yourself to LOVE THEM!) Buckwheat, Quinoa, chickpeas, lentils, & sweet potatoes are fabulous (and yummy!) If you are pressed for time, check out Amy's Vegetarian meals or Eden Organic Foods. Just look up Insulin Resistance and Low Glycemic on the web. I lost 16 lbs by eating this way despite not really exercising as much as I should!

OK, I speak from a completely different place here - but since you have been trying and failing to lose the weight on your own - try going to your doctor - explaining the situation and he will likely prescribe a short term weight loss aid like phentermine along with a diet and exercise program. I don't advocate drugs, but I do recognize sometimes the will power to lose weight just doesn't come when we want to lose weight. Since the first 3-4 weeks of any diet/exercise program are the hardest - a drug like phentermine, duromine or dexadrine can help some people get into the right groove to lose weight. These are not long term solutions and can be addictive so like I said, a short term kick in the rear is all they should be used for. ALWAYS SEE YOUR DOCTOR - NEVER ORDER ONLINE.

First of all, I assume by "lose weight" you actually want to get thinner or leaner, right? Weight matters VERY little when it comes to health... its just generally a good marker for how healthy we are. We all know that muscles weighs more than fat though.

DO NOT cut out sweets completely. You need to listen to your cravings, but you also need to listen to your stomach. Why are you eating? Are you bored? Do you want the taste? Or are you actually hungry? Stop eating when you feel satisfied, not when you feel FULL.

What sort of exercise are you doing? Cardio or muscle building? You need both to lose weight/get thinner and keep it off. The body burns a lot of calories keeping your muscle and renewing it- just having it will help you get thinner. Cardio will tell your body to start using those fat stores because it needs the energy (assuming you aren't taking in enough to give your body the energy it requires). If you really want to get in GOOD shape, I would do cardio 5 times a week at least (probably 1 hour), and build your muscle 3 times a week. Don't work the same muscle group twice in a row though.

One of the best things to do when you start a diet is get rid of EVERYTHING you know you shouldn't eat. If its not in the house, you'll be a lot less tempted. Throw it AWAY.

Keep lots and lots of low calorie snacks around, any fruits and veggies that you love to eat are good too.

I've found one of the easiest diets to follow is an intermittent Fasting diet. Basically, you choose 1 day a week and don't eat or eat very very little (fast) and then for 2 or 3 or more days, you eat regularly (although making healthy choices on your food will help tremendously). Yes, I know fasting goes against what nearly every dietician will tell you, but it does work and it won't kill your metabolism. Just don't ever do it for more than 24 hours consecutively. By doing this, if you fast one day, you are lowering your caloric intake by 1/7 each week. If you fast two days (NOT IN A ROW) you lower it by 2/7, or nearly 30%. That's pretty huge. You don't even have to stop eating what you normally eat with this diet and still cut major calories. And 24 hours isn't that hard of a fast, especially when you'll be sleeping for 8+ hours of it. This diet is based on how hunter/gatherers used to eat. They didn't have a grocery store or fridge, food wasn't always at the ready and for some days they wouldn't eat.

Another Tip? Don't eat meals. Snack. Its SO easy to over flow your plate with food or order more than you need when getting a meal. Snacking you are much more likely to stop sooner.

If you really would like something clear cut to follow, get any work out from beachbody.com. They're REALLY good. 10 minute trainer will kick your butt hard and really does take only 10 minutes (if you can actually get through the workout without hitting pause 10 times-they're REALLY rough starting out). p90X is for someone in good shape who wants to, seriously, get in the best shape of your life. Those programs are amazing. And though its illegal and I totally don't condone it, I believe you can torrent them.

Watch your portions when eating. Remember, a serving of meat should be the same size as a deck of cards, high carb foods like bread and pasta should be the smallest mound on your plate. Lots of greens, celery, brocolli, lettuce. Limit carb intake, DO NOT ever completely cut out carbs because after you go off that diet you'll gain it all right back. Instead, count carbs. Breakfast have 35-45 carb. grams, lunch do 35-50, and dinner do 55-60. Eat protien with every meal, also opt for salad instead of fries. By the way, I count carbs. I'm a diabetic, i've been doing it since 2001 and I have stayed at the same weight since I started it.

I cut out Wheat and Dairy products and lost a TON of weight. I hear the best way to get toned and lose weight is to exercise 5 days in a row for a hour and then take two days off.

honestly you have to find out what works for you! If you love chocolate don't cut it out cuz then you'll crave it.

When you're at a meal take half the portion you'd normally eat, and give yourself permission if you are still hungry (don't eat too fast) then you'll get some more. (This is also a great way to be able to eat things that aren't the healthiest... take a little bit of it. You'll get your fill but not gorge yourself on bad stuff)

I think one of the biggest problems in america with weight gain is portion size. I'm not sure if it was china or japan but over there (where most tend to be thin) one steak usually is enough for the whole family, compared to america where one steak is only enough for one person. Try eating half and then eating other good stuff like veggies to fill up that extra space. (and then you also have steak for tomorrow too! Two for the price of one :) )

If you are craving chocolate, eat half a bar... put the rest away for the next time you crave it. You won't feel bad that you broke your rule since you only ate half and you will have had chocolate :) Never try to cut out anything you know you will crave!

Definitely keep working out. But the best diet, by far, FOR ME, I tried last summer... was low-carb/high protein diet! I felt like I wasn't missing out on hardly anything. And like once a week or if I felt like it, I'd throw in a fiber chocolate bar, or a mini candy bar, because dude you can't ditch the cravings. Google low carb dieting. But I'd have like, steak, ribs, chicken, eggs, lots to snack on, it was really cool. And I dropped 20 pounds in a month and I wasn't working out...

When it comes to food, all things in MODERATION. That's the part people get confused on when dieting. It's alright to eat sweets, fats, sugary foods, ect... just in moderation. Drink plenty of water, often when you think you're hungry your body is actually attempting to get you to ingest liquids.

I'd also suggest talking to your doctor. Perhaps part of the reason you keep gaining this weight is because your body needs it to be healthy. We aren't meant to be skin and bones like the media tries to tell us - it's important to have a little bit of muscle and meat going on! Your doctor will be able to tell you if you truly need to lose the weight or if you're worried over nothing. :)

Yeah, I agree with Nichole right above this answer... Everything in moderation. Don't tell yourself you can't have something. Just don't overdue anything. If you want ice cream, go get some. It's like this: you crave it, you eat it. If you crave it and crave it and crave it... when you finally eat it you'll probably overindulge... leaving you guilty and bummed that you ate that which you had told yourself you wouldn't eat.