having such a hard time!

[liz.jewels]

The $60 fee for weight watchers is for the meetings and supplies. The point system is public and you can "do" weight watchers without the fee.

I recommend using some sort of system to track your calorie intake. Eating real foods doesn't help if you're consuming more calories than you were before. While you might be eating healthier food, I'm betting because the food is more appetizing and isn't pre-portioned, you're eating a lot more of it.

I have an iphone and love the free app called "Lose it" for tracking calories, but there's also web-based services like Sparkpeople that are great. Try tracking what you eat for a week and see how many calories it is. If you have to, actually measure things you make so you know how much you're eating and can get a good visual picture of how much is 4 oz of meat, a serving of walnuts, etc. One good very simple tip is to cut out the starch at dinner. So if you are having steak, don't have steak, rice, and broccoli. Cut out the rice and have the meal with just steak and broccoli.

[Supermomlb]

A common myth is that you don't have to eat much and you will lose but actually your body needs food so you have to ditch the frozen foods and eat 6 small meals a day to boost your metabolism.

Exercising is also important but what you are eating is going to be a bigger factor.

There are some healthier foods you can adjust to your budget that aren't frozen like more fruits and veggies, whole grain, and lots of more.

Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. If you need help learning the correct way to lose weight there are plenty of us on the board that can help you including myself.

Don't give up!

[liz.jewels]

Just thought I'd add - all of that stuff about skipping breakfast, or eating lots of small meals a day vs. a few larger ones is all behavioral based. There's no science supporting the idea that eating the same exact food/calories divided into a single meal or 6 makes any difference at all in weight loss. The so-called "thermal effect of food" is only good enough for about 20 extra calories per day.

Where it makes a difference is behaviorally. So, if you skip breakfast and then you get super-hungry and make poor choices at lunch, then skipping breakfast is bad. If skipping breakfast doesn't change how you eat the rest of the day, then it's a good way to cut 300 calories from your daily intake. If you find yourself tempted by unhealthy snacks between meals, then 6 small meals a day, might be a good idea. If you find that if you divide your daily calories across 6 meals, then none of them are remotely appetizing or satisfying, then maybe 3 larger meals will work better for you.

I know what I'm saying is likely controversial, but there's lots of research that actually supports what I'm saying, and I've seen evidence both personally when I incorporated intermittent fasting into my eating plans, and I've also seen it with others.