Don't diet!! Start out by making very small changes to your eating habits - ones that you can stick with from now on - like drinking water instead of soda; have an apple or carrot/celery sticks in stead of a candy bar; eat whole grain bread instead of white; switch to low fat or fat free dairy, etc.
Try making only one or two changes at a time and stick with them until it becomes a habit, then keep adding small changes, as you go.
For exercise - try parking further from the building at work or when you go shopping, so you have further to walk; take stairs instead of an elevator, whenever possible; leave your desk/work area whenever you can and take a walk and/or do some light. Take your children for a walk whenever you can, or play active games with them for exercise. You don't have to exercise vigorously, you just need to move as much as possible.
It takes longer to lose weight this way, but you're much more likely to keep it off than if you opt for pills or a diet that makes you give up all the things you like.
A diet is simple what you eat, so if you eat good healthy foods and keep your portions in control, you should be able to lose weight.
Have you been tested for hypothyroidism, insulin resistance or PCOS to make sure you don't have health issues causing weight gain or inability to lose?
Stick around; we'll help you!!
I have had my thyroid tested and came back fine, but as for the other two I dont think Ive been checked. I recently started drinking nothing but water and a few sports drink now and then and I quit buying white bread so I guess im on the right track. Thanks for the advice!!
I can only offer solidarity.
I'm 5'4" and never weighed over 100lbs 'til my 30s. (never exercised and ate whatever I wanted, but did lead an active lifestyle)
In my 30s, I gained about 20lbs, which really just brought me up to a weight most guidelines consider normal for my height.
In my 40s, I've gained another 20lbs, and it's time to act.
The thing is, the weight just won't come off.
When I was 97lbs and in my 20s, if I ever felt my belly was a bit puffy, I'd just do 20 sit-ups, and be perfectly flat again. I have never dieted.
I eat a really healthy diet, so there isn't much I need to cut out. Still, I cut back on the amounts, and started exercising every day.
I workout (hard) 1-2 hours every day, with few exceptions.
Soooooo...5 weeks later, one would think that I'd have lost at least a little weight. I mean, aside from my brutal workout pace, I'm eating maybe half the amount of food I normally eat, and no longer eat after 7pm.
But no... I have only GAINED weight and/or stayed the same. What I mean is, when I weighed myself this morning, I was the exact same weight, right down to the tenth of a pound, that I was when I began trying to lose weight 5 weeks ago. (140.7)
You're younger than I am, so hopefully your body will respond to caloric deficit. As far as I can tell, the only thing that could be happening to me is my metabolism is slowing down by the amount of caloric deficit...thus no weight loss.
It's extremely demoralizing that I'm working this hard, and eating so healthy and so little, and not losing even a tenth of a pound. I was so baffled, I even bought a new scale. But, it made no difference. I haven't lost even a tenth of a pound in 5 weeks.
Some days, I feel very defeated. Other days, like today, I have more resolve, and hope that if I just hang in there a little longer, I'll see some kind of progress. At the very least, I'm getting fitter, stronger, and more flexible.
I wish you the very best of luck. :-)