Weight loss stress!

It looks like you've made some good lifestyle changes so far. Are you getting in much cardio? Try adding a 20-40 minute jog/walk 3 times a week. And then some 10lb weights for muscle building. The toning will help you lose inches.

The good news is that you're aware of your stress eating. The bad news is that you have to resist the urge. You need to find a different coping skill for stress. Here is a list of 99 healthy coping skills. Try a few. If one doesn't work, try another. Keep trying until you find one that works. http://www.yourlifeyourvoice.org/pages/tip-99-coping-skills.aspx

Eating only 1000 calories a day won't help you.

Aspirations don't get you results. Effort gets you results.

Stop eating processed food. That alone will help you big time.

Prep and pack your food so that way when you're at work you can tell yourself: if you didn't bring it with you, you can't eat it

Create habits like instead of eating chocolate from your boss' desk, drink a glass of water and do a lap around the office.

Be patient and realistic with your body. You can't hate or stress yourself into losing weight. You just have to give your body adequate nutrition and get some movement in as much as possible and you will lose weight.

If it's only through your thighs that you need to lose some inches on, do stairs. When I started dieting, I started taking the stairs to my office on the 5th floor (twice a day) and I'm telling you, my legs/hips/rear started to noticeably slim within about 2 weeks. FH started commenting about it almost immediately.

Sneaking in any activity you can during the day helps a lot on top of hitting the gym. For example, I walk to the bathroom in the next building anytime I have to go. I, too, live next to a chocolate jar. I make sure I keep plenty of fruit and veggie snacks around to munch on when I feel snacky. I also allow myself one or two Hershey's Kisses per day I've been on weight watchers since December and it's been both successful and completely liveable. It's not a crash diet by any means, but it teaches you healthy eating habits while still living a normal life (wine and chocolate included)! It might be worth looking into.

Burning more than you eat is a big thing. I have to count my calories unless I'm doing meal replacements because it's easy to eat too much. I like the hungry girl reciepe books (meal are around 300-400 calories) and blogilates reciepes. They are easy, I just am not a fan of cooking. I also work a desk job so I sit all day so I try and do SOMETHING when I get out. Sometimes we go on walks during work, but if not I will do a home video, youtube workout or just walk in place watching TV. A pedometer will help you see how active..or inactive you are.

Stay motivated! You still have time to shed those extra pounds. You will amazing even if you don't get down to your goal weight.

Don't deprive yourself. When you feel deprived people tend to overdo it when they finally do let themselves have that cheat food or drink. Be patient with your body. Eating too little or eating food that lacks nutrition can make your body think its being starved and it will actually inhibit weight loss. Could you try a nutritionist or personal trainer?

I don't know if you did sports in high school, but I did, and I can tell you running "bleachers" will get you the legs/butt you want FAST. If you have a local track/football field or even a building with stairs nearby just running up and down. Up and down. Up and down. We used to do about 10 on a set of football field bleachers (that was from the left side, up and down all stairs inbetween all the way to the right side and back counting as 1)

I plan on starting this soon. But I can lose too much weight because my dress is already slightly too big and I don't want to to require major alterations close to my wedding date.

Stress hormones in your body will hinder weight loss and could contribute to weight gain. RELAX!

No calories from beverages is a good idea! Sick with water, green tea, coffee (try to keep your hot beverages BLACK - no cream or sugar)

Eat REAL foods. No "diet' cookies, lean cuisine, etc. Real ingredients. Lean proteins, lottsssss of veggies! Try to cut the carbs for faster weight loss

You need to find something else to turn to when you're stressed - not food, its not a crutch. Easier said than done but you can do it! Before you eat (Every time) stop and ask yourself WHY you're eating. Are you hungry? Maybe just thirstY? Bored? Stressed? do you really NEED that?

That being said, don't be too strict with your calories as sometimes weightloss can stop if you aren't eating enough!

You got this!

Thank you everyone! I try to walk my dog, but other than that, I don't work out much at all. Which I know that is part of the problem. Thank you for all of your encouragement! @Lauren, thank you for the stress coping website! I will try some of those for sure. I have pretty mush stopped eating processed stuff (except the chocolate). I will check out that hungry girl recipe book for sure, that sounds like a good thing! And I'm not a fan of cooking either! My FMIL is a personal trainer, and I am going to start meeting with her on Sundays as well for some work out tips. I have bad knees so a lot of lower body work outs and running for sure aggravate them!

Iirc, you shouldnt go under 1200 calories per day unless its under a doctor's strict supervision. so id reconsider the 1000 calorie plan.

I definitely feel you. The pp's are giving great advice. Have you thought about personal training? It can be expensive but having someone hold you accountable will turn aspirations into getting to the gym (and getting your ass kicked lol). Plus they know how to work with different body types. I did it and it was sooo worth it. Right now I'm on a slump, I am active (hitting the gym and get my step count up) and controlling my portions but this week I've been feeling fat and bloated. There are ups and downs to losing weight but just keep doing it. That's what I'm telling myself. Also, the way the body typically loses weight isn't by targeting a certain body part but throughout the body. Stress is the worst, relax.

Hey Alyssa,

Try changing what you eat: a calorie is not "a calorie." If you reduce your carb intake (this means grains, breads, fruits, sugar) and replace these items with high protein and fiber foods, you should see some progress--without necessarily going hungry.

Here's an option:

Breakfast:

- Eggs scrambled with spinach and feta in ghee or olive oil.

- Coffee (or tea) with cream--no sugar.

Snack: Beef (or turkey) jerky.

Lunch: Salad with grilled chicken, avocado, tomato, and a yogurt-based dressing.

Snack: One serving of almonds.

Dinner: Fish with sweet potatoes and grilled veggies.

Dessert: two squares of dark chocolate.

Samantha, thank you! That definitely sounds more filling that what I have been eating (breakfast has been an apple and almonds). And I haven't been eating snacks at all, so by the time my next meal comes around, I feel like I am starving. So that is part of the problem too with the candy bowl...

I hear ya, sister! I heard that you should eat like, every two hours to keep your metabolism guessing. I also, try to incorporate a strength exercise every hour on the hour while I'm at work. So in addition to getting up from my desk to run errands, use the bathroom (which I do a lot when I'm drinking water with the intention of losing weight) etc, I also will set an alarm on my phone to get up and do like 1 minute of incline push-ups, squats or calf raises. Any little bit of action will help and I think you'll find that you feel really good, doing these things! Good luck! I'm starting this "Battle of the Bulge" on Monday!

Alyssa, eating too little may be sabotaging you. Make sure your stomach is full: there are plenty of "free" foods--those that consume more calories to digest than they contain:

- Celery

- Romaine lettuce hearts.

- Cucumbers

Salsa makes a great dip

First off eating 1000 calories isn't enough food unless you're a small child. If you starve yourself your body is just going to go into freak out mode and try to store fat and burn less calories. Eat better and exercise.m. You say you have great aspirations of working out... so are you working out or not?

Thank you everyone! I started training yesterday with my FMIL and am feeling it for sure today! I did some meal prep over the weekend and have food ready and extra things for snacking when I need to. So far no candy. But I am looking forward to sticking to this plan and feeling great on my wedding day (and in Maui for our honeymoon!)

Are there any group fitness classes in your area? I know that I work out much harder in a group fitness class where I am being held accountable than just going to the gym myself. That may help. Also, meal prepping is a huge help. I like to snack a lot so I make sure to always have healthy snacks prepared and on me especially at work so that when I do get hungry and want to snack on something, I have a good option. You can still eat and snack just as long as you make better choices! Best of luck to you, I am right there with ya girl!