Kudos for the exercising and healthy eating!
Even though the foods we eat are healthy it all comes down to one thing....you have to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight.
So even if the foods are healthy you maybe eating more than you need.
As for the starving...are you eating the correct healthy foods. How much protein are you eating. You should eat some protein + carbs at each meal.

i have no idea how to make a balanced meal, i have looked online and most of the websites are vague at best. so i just prepare the healthy meals and go from there thats all i know. i dont see how i can burn more then i eat because all i do is ride a exercise bike 30 minutes a day and according to the bike it tells me i only burn around 230 calories per session, even with interval training every 5 minutes. so i am at a loss here, i pray for some results soon or i will just quit and stay as the loser i am

The easiest way to approach balanced meals is to include the major food groups in moderate amounts: meat, vegetables, starch, fruit, etc. That can be as simple as chicken, salad (lettuce and some veggies, no dressing) a veggie portion, some rice or a small roll, and some fruit for desert.

From there you need to tune into some nutrition sites, or even find a nutrition class to go to.

If you have been eating a lot before, it will take time before you can get your diet changed. Don't worry about this. I had the same thing; people here suggested substitution. So instead of grabbing a handful of chips I went for a handful of carrots or other hard veggies I could eat raw.

Here is a calorie counter that tells you how many calories you need per day. These are approximations:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

If you eat too few calories your body goes into starvation mode and that is not good.

Habits take time to change, so give yourself that time!

Gentle hugs, I know you can do it

I count calories because it helps me stay on track.towards my goal. When I don't count calories, I tend to get off track and eat too much overall, or eat too much of foods that are high in calories. The act of keeping track what I eat helps me stay accountable to myself and helps me stay conscious about what I'm eating. When I don't do it, it is easy for me to be unconscious and oblivious, and then I go off track and go backwards away from my goal. So calorie counting works for me. It doesn't work for everybody. Some people hate it.

About feeling hungry all of the time: are you eating whole grains? Brown rice instead of white, whole wheat bread instead of white, whole wheat pasta instead of white? That simple change will help you a lot as whole grains stay with you longer and keep you feeling fuller longer. Also, are you eating a little healthy fat every day, like from olive oil, avocados, or nuts? Healthy fat will also help you feel full, but you have to consume it in moderation. A tablespoon of olive oil on your salad, a half of an avocado, a handful of nuts and no more.

We all burn calories just from our daily activities. Depending on how sedentary we are, I think we burn something like 1800 a day just by being alive. Every single thing we do burns calories, and that is how we get to the 1800 (or whatever the correct number is). Even sleeping burns some calories - not a lot, but some. Then if you exercise on top of being alive, you burn even more. That's one way you can create a deficit of calories, which is how we lose weight. The other way we create a deficit in calories is through what we eat. This is why the tried and true prescription for losing weight is diet and exercise.

K.i.s.39, Kudos to you for wanting to make these changes in your life.

The advice I would give to you, or to my brothers, if they asked, would be to find a website that is known for healthful and good tasting food. One that works for me is Cooking Light

http://www.cookinglight.com/

What I would do is first come up with a list of 5 key words of things I like to eat, like chicken, pork, beef, turkey, salads, etc. Then I would type those key words into the search box, and keep looking around for recipes with 5 ingredients or less. Those with fewer ingredients are better for where you are, till you are good at and comfortable with these.

If you're social, you can look for inexpensive cooking classes in your city, and go to one class and get good ideas. Or look for cook books or magazines in libraries or book stores. Or you can ask your family, friends, or DS friends for tips on which books and magazines feature simple, healthful recipes.

One thing at a time. Have success at that, and move on. Ease into this, giving yourself huge pats on the back for changing your diet to more whole foods like fruits and veggies.

Celebrate the small things. K?

I'm quite hungry as I write this and feel for you. Some of my go-to foods that fill me up are generic brand grape nuts, or oatmeal with blueberries on them.

Best wishes. Keep up the good choices!

I want to add - we all want instant or at least speedy results. Few of us get them. But for most of us, if we hang in there and keep working away on the diet and exercise, over time, we do get results. Hang in there and be patient. This is a journey, not a sprint.

i truly have the motivation to exercise and eat right, i have a couple of websites i goto that offer low calorie dishes from breakfast to dinner. i will not quit just because i dont feel thin, i am sure one day i will see a difference or maybe i should just buy a scale and see if i progress slowly, at least its progress?

That's right, it's progress no matter what the pace. And where weight loss is concerned, slow but steady progress is a good way to go. We didn't put on the weight over night, so we can't really expect to take it off over night. Some use their clothes to measure progress. Some take measurements with a tape measure from time to time. Some use a scale. Some only get on a scale at the doctor's office. Some notice they start feeling better when they start eating better. There's lots of different ways to gauge progress.

wooohh on the boooze and drugs kid!
you must burn more calories than you consume no matter what you're eating.
go on WebMd to enter your profile, track your food and exercise and it totally educates you on what you are doing and you'll see what works for you and the areas you need to tweak.
when i decided to become serious about my weight loss i changed what i ate, like you and did a lot of reading on the facts of weight loss.
my doc recommended the fullplatediet.com you can download the ebook and you'll find it works.... nothing is overnight except weight gain i learned. hang in there. the booze n drugs will just prolong the inevitable... gaining more weight. i know. ox

just wanna say thanks for everyone's positive advice and feedback, i really appreciate it. =)