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  

HOW  DID YOU ACQUIRE THE SHOT??

I'm posting this question on several different boards to not only try and get some idea's but also to try and get some action going on OH again :D Here are a few of my challenges, any idea's on how others deal with them? And please feel free to list some of your challenges and I will try to offer some suggestions on what works for me.

GOING OUT TO EAT: I admit I did not go out to eat for the first year and a half after my surgery. Mostly because I did not know what to order. Either what I would like or if the food fit into my recommended 'diet plan'. How do you handle eating out? Is there certain 'go to' meals you look for?

UNEXPECTED DINNER GUESTS: When I plan out my dinners I make just enough for my husband and I because our children are all grown. But on the occasions unexpected guest do show up for dinner I am completely unprepared. I am sad to admit I usually fall back on old bad habits such as ordering pizza etc. What idea's might you have and how do you handle this when it happens?

BAD DAY EATING: This is when I have either a bad day at work or end up working VERY late and honestly don't have time to make what I had planned for dinner! I once again fall back to the old habit of fast food!! Ugh. I tell myself the day was so bad I 'deserve' this! Now I know how wrong that is and am working on looking at it with a better point of view, but as for the day being so late I really need some idea's on what others might do differently.

Any idea's or tips would be greatly appreciated!! Wishing us all the best of luck :D

Being busy and broke is normal for most people! haha But really these are things everyone deals with and it's important for you to be able to get and stay healthy despite of them. We make time for what is important just as a previous poster stated. Try to plan your meals a head of time (the night before). It will help so you don't just grab a quick fast food meal on way home from work/school. Use your lunch hour for walking around the office. Wear ankle weights and do leg lifts under your desk. It may seem odd at first to do some things like this but you will be surprised when your co-workers either are inspired by your efforts to get fit or ask to join in with you! You can do this if you set your mind to it! I  wish you the best of luc****ep us posted and come back for support :D