Okay so tomorrow I am starting not a diet, but a healthier eating plan, and cutting back.
I've been overweight my whole life, so to be fat is what I am used to. So cutting back and saying No to myself will be the challenge .
When I moved to G****** 6years ago, I weighed in at 110/112kg and this additional weight has piled on over the years.
I work in a call center so sit on my bum all day. and have a habit of when feeling low i will buy a "pick me up" lollies or chocolate which is going to stop
So my starting weight will be roughly 130kg.
My friend is getting married in November and i will be a bridesmaid so want to slim down a bit for this.
Goal is to reach 100KG by September/Octoberish

So short of lap banding or stomach stapling which I can't afford, does any one have any hints or tips or low fat receipts.

(I dont want this topic to become a bag out/put down overweight people)

Little Miss Coco

You will get lots of feedback that worked for different people, so it is important to look at the options you are given and see which one you are likely to be able to keep doing and which one suits you and your lifestyle.

In November 2009 I weighed 100kg, I logged onto the Calorie King website and 9 months later I was 26kg lighter (some have done it faster and larger weights). Calorie King is a free resources, it has food diaries, support forums, information on nutrition, diet etc.

I started off with basic exercise (walking and the wii) but food was the most important part of my weightloss.

The reason it worked for me was because their were no real 'bad' foods. I just needed to stay below a certain calorie intake a day (if you exercise you can eat back your exercise calories). If I am restricted from eating certain types of foods I tend to binge, if I eat a very low calorie diet (like shakes) I tend to binge, when I calorie counted I found I wasn't inclined to binge and I could maintain it.

Some people do get tempted to try something 'quick' and fail and give up, this is a common trap, but if you find a sustainable way that suits you, you should do fine.

Good luck.

Thank-you Starbellied I was looking at a food journal from Calorie King, and was thinking that its something it is that I'm going to start doing.
Am going to take it slow, start walking have measured a route near home that is 3km each way so a total of 6km

Good for you littlemisscoco

as pp said you will be bombarded with tips...
my 2cents worth is:

*Avoid anything saying 'sugar free' or 'diet' as it will probably contain artificial sweetener, this will do you body NO good at all
*You will need to reduce your fat intake, make sure you include good fats such as extra virgin olive oil and avocado, nuts and seeds and oily fish such as salmon
*Your major challenge will be portion control, when you have a slip up don't panic just get back to your goal next meal

best of luck

Good for you for putting it out there!
I am starting a new weight loss attitude too.
I am learning about what to eat, calories, kjs etc.
The first things I have done are...
*went to my GP and talked about it, got a blood test for thyroid problems etc
*started on a weightloss drug for a kick start
*stopped drinking anything but water, sparkling mineral water (not soda), herbal teas, and an occasional fresh juice
*started eating green apples instead of anything sweet, usually having one for breakfast, you could try that instead of your chocolate.

We don't have any junk food in our house, so I can't eat it.
I am trying to be aware and plan ahead with our meals and shopping so that I am not stuck with no food looking for a quick option.

Take your lunch to work etc.
Have you thought about lite and easy or something like that to start with?

Hi LK1,
Currently take lunch to work (most days), have an appointment tomorrow to see doctor about a drug for a kick start. have had a thyroid test done already and that seems to be fine/normal (have an issue where I have irregular periods, so was tested for thyroids and polycystic ovarian syndrome.)

Have so far given up Mother enery drinks and am giving up pepsi max.
Am back at work on Wednesday so will buy myself a few apples.

have tried T.O.W.N in the past and for me the social aspect was great, but the support and motivation was lacking. (no offense to people currently at TOWN, the club i went to was very social just not right for me).

My suggestion would be to seek counselling on your journey - particularly from a professional with experience in this particular area.

Weightloss is all well and good, but often we're fat for a reason, and often it's something mental that's made us that way. Sounds like you emotional eat (me too!) so maybe figuring out WHY and better ways of dealing with this so you have less chance of slipping up again. It might help when you do end up losing your excess weight too - I found losing weight to be quite emotionally difficult for me... moreso the way everyone was treating me and reacting to me as opposed to how people had in the past when I was larger. It really did prove to me that my looks were all that mattered, and it really made me go a bit mental. Not saying it'll do the same for you, but I do know people IRL who ahve lost LOTS of weight (a male friend went from 150kg to about 75kg by diet and exercise) and they still have a fat person living inside them talking crap to them...

So I dunno, I figure everyone is going to give you food advice, but thought I'd offer something different.

Try making 2 different meals each night, giving you access to healthy food the next day. Divide them up into 100-200gram containers, make sure they contain some quality protein and avoid starchy carbs. 2 meals gives you some variety.

Aim for 1 cheat meal every 5 days - gives you a little focus if you are having cravings.

When you do have a planned cheat or just fall of the wagon, once you get up from that cheat meal, it is over - no need to come back and finish it off- you can throw it out. As Michelle Bridges said, the only waste will be your extra time burning off those extra calories.

Just like pp said, For me personally, I can't have bad food in the house or I eat It.

Good luck!

The thing that has worked for me is realising that it doesn't help to dwell on negative feelings about the past, or worry and stress about the future. The thing that I need to focus on is the next snack or meal, and choose something that is healthy, nutritous and filling.
So if I cave and have a chocolate bar, I now don't think 'My whole day is ruined, I might as well really screw it up'. Instead of starting again tomorrow, I start again at the next meal.
I really had to change my mind set, and stop negative thoughts in their tracks. If I start to dwell on how much I have to lose, it becomes overwhelming. Instead, I focus on each 5kg mini goal at a time.
The other thing that I have really noticed is changing my body shape is strength training (weights) which I hate while I'm doing them, but love the results after. I am working on regaining my pre-pregnancies weight, and have got down to this weight before with watching what I eat and walking, but I actually like my body shape better at this weight now I have been doing weights.
Good luck, I have lost 10 kilos so far and am finding the results are well worth the effort, even though i still have quite a bit to go.

Have several meals and drink heaps of water. If you feel full you are less likely to eat the wrong things. Everytime I felt hungary I would have a big glass of water and wait 15mins. Amazing how it tricks your body.

Also dish up your meals on a side plate. Our plate sizes are grown expanentially in the past 3 decades. On a big plate it may not look like much but on a small plate it looks like a huge amount and tricks your brains.

Have a snack cup of nuts and sultanas or similar at your desk. It is much easier to reach for these than get up and walk to the choccie or lollies.

And don't let minor set backs knock you off your game, set little goals each week so it doesn't seem so big.

i wouldnt recommend that unless you eat a very low fat diet already or are prepared for hours on the LOO.... because those tablets work by making you "expell" the excess fat before you metabolise it
so eat kfc and you'll be on the toilet for 4 hrs

its kinda just shock collar training for humans... bark = get shocked...... eat grease= hours on toilet

but hey if your prepared to do that.. go for it

i also second CK and the "9inch plate diet" which basically is as it sounds use a 9 inch plate ( like they did in the 40's) as a main instead of the standard 12 inches of nowdays

obviously you dont eat as much so therefore loose

3rdly current research states if you consume 30g of protien in the first 30 mins of waking you up your weight loss from about 5pounds a week to up to 18 pounds a week... eg.30g protein is a boiled egg and 100g of ham

Jorgo, I am not on those ones, there are others out there.
OP, do you have an iphone?
I have found this app to be great, it even has a barcode scanner.
http://www.mynetdiary.com/