Dieting Club: 10 - 25 Lbs Community

Tools here at WebMD that can help you lose weight:

Food and Fitness Planner - Does a quick calculation of your target daily intake and allows you to plan your meals and exercise for the day. Be brutal when estimating physical activity. Unless you work a physical job or workout at high intensity every day-choose sedentary. Then if you are losing too fast, you can always add some calories back in.

Diet Health Check Find your target calorie intake, get suggestions on how to lose weight, identify your weight loss pitfalls and get tips for overcoming them

BMI Plus Calculator This health and weight calculator that gives personal results on 6 different weight and fitness measurements. Whether you're just getting started or have already begun your journey, this calculator will help you understand your body's needs as your body changes for optimal personal success! Again, be brutal when estimating your activity level.

Portion Size Plate We all think we can "eyeball" a portion but studies show that most people underestimate their portion size but more than half. That can add up when it comes to trying to lose weight.

1. Calories count-no matter what the diet you follow says-the only way to lose weight involves calories. Consume fewer calories than you need for activities of daily living in order to lose weight.
   
   Unless you have a super physical job-choose sedentary on the calorie calculator. That hour at the gym every day likely isn't burning as many calories as the machine says you burn. If you are losing too much weight eating at the sedentary calorie level-then add calories.
   
   
2. Measure portions. A scale and measuring cups can tell you amazing things. Most people underestimate their portion size.
   
   
3. Make changes slowly-Don't decide that you want to lose weight so you won't eat anything you like until you lose all of the weight. Very few people stick to that type of diet and if they do-when they hit the magic number-the pounds fly back on with extra calories.
   
   
4. Accountability-Post your DFJ (Daily Food Journal). Confess your slips, falls off the wagon, decision that dessert tasted better than healthy choices, and your success.
   
   The bravest, strongest, most beautiful people in this community share not only their ups but their downs. Make it a habit to post daily or at least several times a week-even if you are having a horrible week or are super busy.
   

Newcomer FAQs

How do I join a diet club?: There is nothing to "joining a diet club". Just introduce yourself and start posting.

Do I need to follow a certain diet? No-We have members who follow a variety of approaches to shedding weight.

You can learn the pros and cons of many diets by checking out the diets that interest you on the Diets A to Z page . Each diet listed has been evaluated by multiple health professionals.

Most members follow a plan that simply controls calories, increases activity and changes the ways they think about food, exercise and healthy lifestyle.

How do I find a buddy? Every member of the diet club is your buddy! All members lend each other support and accountability. Ask for help. Lend an ear. Encourage others and ask for encouragement.

If you want to email with someone from the community-get to know us first. Then share an email address where someone can contact you off the diet club group. We recommend you use a "disposable" or junk email address. (There are services for this or you can get a gmail, yahoo or hotmail account for this purpose.) for this purpose-not your home or work email address. This keeps those email addresses from being gathered by spammers or by people you may not wish to have off the community contact with and if your home or work email address contains your full name-it may help protect your privacy.

Who are the experts? There are no health professionals on the WebMD Diet Clubs. That said-every member of these communities knows the ins and outs of shedding weight.

That said-related communities do have experts:

Diet - Dr. Pam Peeke - an expert on diet and fitness and author of numerous books including Body for Life and Fit to Live.

Fitness and Exercise - Rich Weil Rich Weil can answer all your fitness and exercise questions (though he will send you here for diet questions.)

Food and Cooking - Elaine Magee , Dietitian- The Recipe Doctor. Elaine Magee can answer all of your questions about special diets, about how to substitute healthier foods in your diet, how to get your kids to eat healthy, how to find healthy fast food, restaurant portions and best of all-if you share a family favorite recipe-she can analyze it and help you "lighten" the recipe so that you can have your favorites and still eat healthy.

She has written may books including "Tell me what to eat if I have IBS", "Tell Me What to Eat if I have Acid Reflux" and "Food Synergy" as well as cookbooks like "Comfort Food Makeover

Getting Started with Weight Loss

So you're gearing up to eat better and lose some weight. Good for you. But how do you get started? With the hundreds and hundreds of diets out there, how do you choose the best approach?


To find out, WebMD turned to James O. Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado in Denver. Much of Hill's research has focused on the habits of people who manage to achieve what we all want: stable and sustained weight loss. So how do these people lose weight and how do they keep it off? Hill has some answers.
Getting Started with Weight Loss

Related articles: 7 Ways to Get Your Diet Off to a Good Start

4 Ways to Kick-Start Your Diet

A favorite series from Dr. Pam Peeke-our Diet Expert:

Week 1: For Lasting Change, Start with a Power Mind
Week 2: The Secret to Dropping Real Weight is to Eat Real Food
Week 3: The Next Step is the Big Step
Week 4: The Lifestyle Rx for Muffin Tops and Menopots
Week 5: Don't Self-Destruct! Adapt and Adjust!
Week 6: Shoot for Progress, Not Perfection
Week 7: Find the Motivation That Sticks
Week 8: There Is No Finish Line