Hello, I plan on starting on Feb. 1st, maybe earlier. I was wondering if it's any better when just beginning to go cold turkey on the sweets and such, or if it's better to do it gradually. Of course with some kind of exercising plan going on as well.

I'm just not sure if one way is any better than the other.

I've tried both ways at various times in my life with no luck. I have a hard time with cold turkey because after a couple days of eating food that I don't particularly like I get downright angry and think "If I can't enjoy a frickin' meal then I ain't enjoyin' life and I wanna enjoy life. Get me some pizza and a soda." And easing in to it makes it too easy to ease right back out. This time I've actually had digestive problems with the cold turkey route, but I'm back on the horse as of today. The difference for me this time is taking the daily photos- I won't give up now that I have hard evidence of what I look like.

It all depends on what works best for you. Cold turkey or easing into it may not be the deciding factor for you, it may be another aspect altogether. Most important is making a commitment to yourself.

I've tried to diet many times and failed.... This is the time that I been dieting and exercising the longest and I went cold turkey on all the bad crap.

i've tried dieting about 12 times in 2 years.. everything failed.

you have to make a choice. you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself, "is this what i really want to look like".

it finally clicked for me, its now or never, no more excuses.. and i also started this cold turkey and its working out great. the biggest problem with diets failing is because most people make them themselves and are unaware of the implications of food choices they have selected.

eating to few calories, the wrong types of carbs and fats etc.

its about a total lifestyle change, not something you do for 1 months and than eat like crap again, it just doesnt work like that

another main thing for me was.. im in this body for the rest of my life. why not build it to become what it was ment to be, a machine! why workout when you dont eat properly?

my gains since eating properly have been so tremendous i cant beleive it! this alone is keeping me going and helping others along the way

I just got the point where I didn't like the way I looked or felt anymore and decided to change. I used to drink pop and eat junk food daily with absolutely NO exercise. In the past couple of days, with watching what I eat, I already feel a little (I won't over-exaggerate) better than I did before I started. Quitting cold-turkey does suck, but I have found that I can eat some of the foods I used to enjoy (whole-wheat spaghetti instead of just ground) and I found a drink that I can have with meals that tastes just like Sprite but has no cals, carbs, or sugars (I drink water the rest of the time). Plus, once you get into the shape you want, you CAN still eat and enjoy life - just not binging (which is basically what I would do before this).

and I found a drink that I can have with meals that tastes just like Sprite but has no cals, carbs, or sugars (I drink water the rest of the time).

Interesting. While I realize I probably can't get it here, I'd still be glad if you could tell us what it is.

Interesting. While I realize I probably can't get it here, I'd still be glad if you could tell us what it is.

It's Sam's Choice Clear American, and comes in all kinds of flavors (the Sprite one I was talking about is Key Lime). It's a "sparkling flavored beverage" and if you can believe what the nutritional facts say (which is what I think we are supposed to do?) calories, total fat, sodium, carbs, sugars, and protein all equal zero.

While I understand this will add nothing to your diet as far as the three requirements goes, if you're the type of person who is addicted to pop (or just the taste of a nice carbonated beverage with a meal) this is the stuff. I cheated my first day with a Sprite, and now that I've found this stuff - I don't think I'll ever drink a pop again unless it's a cheat day (which, I could always bring one of these along).

Oh, yeah, for a 4-pack of 20 Oz. plastic bottles, it'll run you about $1.80 (which I don't find too terribly bad considering the help they'll be with my diet). Hope that helped! :)

I've seen those- I think they're just carbonated water flavored with different fruits

As for stopping the foods you love to eat (and which love to make you fat ;) ), only you know which ones you can live without. For instance, I like water, so getting rid of soda was a natural thing for me. On the other hand, I also like mexican food, so I had a "farewell meal" (taco, burrito and quesadilla) the night before I started cutting. I haven't had it for two weeks now, and have no cravings for it, either.

People who go on diets fail...its inevitable

What reason why diets fail is because most people use them as a short term solution to a long term problem.

I don't mean to bash on anyone in particular, but its funny, how on forums like these, people say, I've tried such as such diet, and I lost 5 lbs, or my friend used this fast, and she lost 10 lbs in 2 days, blah blah blah.

The question is a rather simple one. If these diets worked so well, how come they're still "trying" diets?

Another funny thing is diet gimmicks. I heard that drinking cold water helps you lose weight, because your body has to use energy to heat it up, or, I heard that such and such tea raises your metabolism by 5%. These people can drink all the diet tea and cold water that they want, yet at best they may get a fraction of the results that someone who actually got off there butt and started running, or swimming or whatever.

In general, the faster you lose weight, the faster it can come back on. If you are serious about losing weight, its about eating right and working out hard. If their are people who would rather have their pizza and soda, and sacrifice their health because of it, that's their priority. Everyone KNOWS what they should and should not eat. Don't eat burgers pizzas sodas and the like. It's just a matter of doing it.

I don't have time to cook for myself, I work too hard, I don't know how to get started. These are all excuses that you could use. Take a look at the site that this forum is hosted on. John Stone threw out all of those excuses, and decided that being fit was going to be a priority in his life, and look where he is now. There are no easy things when it comes to fitness, no shortcuts, nothing.

Being fit is a lifestyle change. By lifestyle, I mean something that you're probably going to dedicate 5+ hrs a week to for the rest of your life. I hate to be harsh, but this is the truth

I'd say Zamboni smoothed over some rough ice there....excellent post...

Not bad for a machine used for skating rinks!