I try to stay away from breads and bad carbs when eating out and I found a carbohydrate blocker that I absolutely love!! I never found one that works this well and ive lost 20 lbs the first 2 weeks. There are so many hidden sugars in all food these days.

Thanks! :) 

Hello!

For going out to eat my go to is a bunless burger and a side of veggies.  For breakfast - eggs and bacon or sausage

For unexpected guests... I'm not entirely sure.  I never have that happen.  I suppose if it were me I'd suggest we go out if I didn't have enough of what I planned for dinner to go around.  In which case - I revert back to my burger choice.  There are often other things at other restaurants I can do..  I like fish and other proteins too but worst case as far as "health" of restaurant choices you can usually get a burger.

Bad day eating.... I wish I had more of an insight for.  I come home from a stressful day and want to inhale food.  Maybe sit down and sip some tea and do some deep breathing first?

Overall - what makes or breaks my success most often is failure to plan.  I did very well when I was diligent about making dinner every night.  Then I got tired.  I don't want to make dinner every night.  I'm tired sometimes you know?  So it helps to have a couple 'easy options' for a night or two. We have scrambled eggs at least one night a week (cheap and very quick)...  I also employ the cook once and eat a couple times plan.  When I cook I don't make enough for just one meal - I prep enough for two and am ready to microwave leftovers. I like making soups/stews - big pieces of meat etc on Sunday afternoons for that reason.  Or stock the freezer with some ready made crock pot meals. 

Hi Amber! I'm new here too. I just wanted to share my story - I am losing weight successfully without surgery, after many failed attempts at dieting. No special products or anything, just plain old calorie counting. I have lost 25 kilos in a year (about 50 lbs I think?) so far. That seems slow but it is a healthy safe rate. I started at 145 kg (319 lb) and am now around 120 kg. Here is what I do:

1. Calculate my total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) with a reliable formula. There is a good calculator at a site called "Health-Calc". But you have to be really honest about your activity levels. The number fir your TDEE might seem surprisingly high, especially if like me you have always thought you had a "slow metabolism". I didn't really, I was, like most people, just seriously underestimating how much I was eating. 
2. Eat around 500 calories less than my TDEE. Sometimes it works out a bit less, sometimes more. For me this is 2300 to 3500 calories a day (!!) depending on how active I am. I never ever eat less than my basal metabolic rate (BMR, the smaller number that calculator will give you). My Fitness Pal and a lot of other trackers will give you a calorie level that is far too low to be sustainable. 
3. Count calories honestly. For me to start this meant measuring and weighing as much of my food as I could. I use the Fat Secret app to track. After a while I got pretty good at estimating but I still sometimes weigh/measure to make sure I'm getting it right. 
4. I only weigh myself once every 2-3 weeks. Every day and I get too frustrated I really the fluctuations! Eg water retention, hormones, etc causing non-fat weight gain. 
5. I aim for 100g of protein a day. It really helps with feeling full. So about 30g at each meal and a bit in snacks. I like fruits and vegetables a lot so I try to have at least one meal a day vegetarian and 2 serves at other meals which also helps keep me feeling full. I eat mostly wholegrain carbs but no food is banned. Around 10% of my calories are "discretionary" calories so I have a treat if I want. Yep, I've been losing weight even while eating chocolate, candy and chips - in moderation! 
6. I worked hard on getting out of bingeing habits by "feedbagging". I kept plenty of candy, desserts, energy-dense snacks, etc in my house and allowed myself to eat them whenever I wanted. Really. It's a leap of faith to trust yourself but it really works: they lose their novelty if you stop thinking of them as forbidden, naughty, junk, etc. I gained a little bit of weight at first but it was worth it to get rid of that disordered thinking. 
7. Strength training. Lift weights. Heavy weights. This will help you preserve lean mass and as we all know muscle is denser than fat. This is why taking body measurements is helpful, if the scale isn't going down as much as you hoped but measurements are smaller and clothes fitting better, you are definitely losing fat. (Pro tip: stay away from any personal trainer who tells women to avoid weight training because they'll "get big". What nonsense! Women, especially those of us who start out heavier, get slimmer with weight training. Female body builders have to put in years of deliberate effort and they're not even that big compared to the average buff guy.)
8. Aiming for 10,000 steps of activity a day is the ideal. But you really don't gave to spend hours doing cardio or exercise you hate. Any movement is good, whether it's walking or dancing around the house to your own music, or anything that gets your heart rate up a bit. I get about 7,000 a day plus strength workout every second day. But at the very least a short resistance/weights workout a few times a week will be super helpful. 
9. Nia Shanks has a great beginners and more advanced workout plans for women. Google her! So does Amber Rogers and Sean Flanagan. And the "Eat more to weigh less" site is also good. 
10. Moderation, moderation, moderation. Restrictive diets and punishing workouts are not sustainable. You need something you can go with for the rest of your life. 
11. Wow, this was longer than I thought it would be! 
12. Good luck with everything! :)

Hi,

How are you feeling since your last post? It is very common to focus on the food consumed and the amount of exercise we do as the tools to help with weight loss. I find that paying attention to your thoughts around how you view yourself and what you say to your self about your self plays a significant role towards accomplishing goals. This is something that helps the people I work with to make change.

Happy holidays,

Susanne Dorder,M.A.

Binge-Eating Disorder/Food Addiction Specialist