I've logged in for 100 days straight but still not lost a pound!

Em_runs_away

I really need to lose 3 stone but I can't seem to eat less! I log my food honestly and it's depressing but I still can't motivate myself to change. What helps you?

myheartsabattleground

open your diary.

Cortneyrenee04

Sadly, logging in does not equal weight loss.

Look through your diary and see where you could cut back. Hamburgers? Take off the bun. Lots of restaurant meals? Go out a little less or eat less of your meal.

Em_runs_away

Far too embarrassed to open my diary, I'm only honest with it because nobody can see! I know why I'm not losing but I can't seem to stay motivated long enough. I suppose I'm after some moral support more than anything.

shmelzy

everyone starts somewhere. imagine how accomplished you'll feel after you complete this huge hurdle in your life - one that you seemingly want to complete! If you need support i got your back! add me.

Em_runs_away

Thank you.

999tigger

Well you are still logging and recording your food, which is a good start.

You do have to make some choices though.
Do you want to lose weight or not?
If you do then you have to commit and that means looking at and organising what you eat so that you are at a calorific deficit, You can either moderate the portion size or alternatively eat something else. What you eat may be too calorie dense and you dont know of alternatives that can keep you full? Its just ccommon sense and a bit of research.

You can also do a bit of exercise such as a walk each day.

Honestly its straightforward, but having the right mindset is important. Your focus should be on baby steps, which you cna achieve and you need to ignore all the fear and negativity that you are worried about. You can absolutely do it and you start by taking it one day at a time as long as you have a decent plan in place. get friends and they will help you sort it out. You still have to commit though.

areallycoolstory

Wow! Good for you for logging on for 100 days straight. That is totally impressive. I am such a newbie to my fitness pal. I have only logged on for 15 days. What has been helping me these last couple of weeks is to log all of my meals in the morning before putting any food in my mouth. I give myself permission to change or add a bit so long as all the numbers stay blue. For example, today I was going to have a homemade burger for lunch. This sounded delicious this morning. However, when it came time to eat, the burger sounded less fun. I added a bit of blue cheese to see what would happen to my totals, and they were still fine. I kept playing around adding this and deleting that, until it sounded really yummy. The result was that I spent time thinking about food rather than eating it. When I finally did eat lunch, I enjoyed it so much. And I feel really great right now.

I have been working out a bit recently and my trainer shared a couple of points that might help you. She pointed out that food that is lousy for your body usually excites you before eating it, but you feel lousy afterward. Conversely, food that is great for you doesn't usually excite you before you eat, but you feel great afterward. You just have to remember those before and after feelings. My trainer also set me a challenge of being mindful of what I eat for 21 days because that is how long it takes to create a habit. You have already established the important habit of logging your meals. You should be so proud of yourself. Maybe you could try staying within in your totals for just 21 days. I am only on day 15, as I said. But the time is flying by. I bet your 100 days did too.

I see the little one in your profile picture. It's hard when you are trying to feed your family as well. Good luck to you, and don't give up. You have come so far already. Give yourself a bit of credit.

Em_runs_away

Thank you for such a supportive reply. You're right, I need to make a choice. I'm ready to lose weight. I don't know how to dispel the negativity though.

remine

Maybe try reducing calories for just one meal a day & eat your usual for the others. Over time this could add up to a lot. I know you can do this & want to or you wouldn't be here! Good Luck!

w0den

A little at a time Try make better choices and substitutions where you can. My doctor always tells me to eat half of whatever I put on my plate

Lounmoun

Em_runs_away wrote: »

I really need to lose 3 stone but I can't seem to eat less! I log my food honestly and it's depressing but I still can't motivate myself to change. What helps you?

Are you gaining weight or have you stayed the same?
Maybe change your goal if it is too restrictive to begin with. Try to reset it for 1 lb or .5lb loss per week and see what that gives you for calories.
How much do you typically go over your calorie goal usually? Maybe take the number of calories you are eating and try to go below it by 100-200 calories for a week or two. Gradually work on reducing your calories.

Pre-logging my food for the whole day helps me. I see how everything fits. I make better choices.
Eating food I like helps me. I haven't changed the type of food I eat much. I just eat smaller portions of higher calorie items. If I have pizza I might have 1 or 2 slices and a salad instead of half a pizza.
Drinking water and waiting an hour to see if I am really still hungry. I drink mostly water and unsweetened tea so I have more calories for food.
Exercising somehow about 30 minutes every day. Viewing it as something I do like brushing my teeth.

GaleHawkins

The doctor wanting to put me on Enbrel injections that are associated with Cancer when used long term worked in my case. When I understood if I did not change my eating lifestyle that I was going to knowing jack up my chance of dying from cancer I finally looked for and found an eating lifestyle to manage my arthritis plan. Losing some weight and the IBS going by by on a LCHF eating life style are both great secondary benefits. When one is 64 and already lost a ton of friends facing death becomes very real. I am going to die some day but am working to make the quality of the remaining time as high as possible.

999tigger

Em_runs_away wrote: »

Thank you for such a supportive reply. You're right, I need to make a choice. I'm ready to lose weight. I don't know how to dispel the negativity though.

Probably fear, low confidence, past experience, confusion. Maybe youve tried lots of times before and are bored with it going wrong? I have no idea. Understanding the negativity is your first step to dealing with it and making sure it doesnt drag you down.

To get rid of the negativity you need to identify what it is and then nail down how you will deal with each aspect by having the correct atitude and mindset to deal with it and preventing it from holding you back. Once you understand this and have the right mindset, then you just need a decent plan which you can slowly implement. the idea is that once you start to hit targets, then you will build some momentum and confidence that your actions will yield results. You have done great by logging your food and logging on for 100 days many people dont do that. Thats commitment.

Then you need a steady plan of how to control what you eat and moving a bit more.

Its just a case of rinse and repeat and watch the weight steadily fall off as long as you have done the math right and record your food accurately. The trend at least will be downwards.

You can lose 3 stone in about a year as a rough rule of thumb. The point is you also need to have in mind that it will take some time, but you will get there if you apply yourself. Progress will make it seem less like a chore.

cheshirecatastrophe

What's the negativity to dispel? How can you counter it?

Like:

"I'll never make it" (check the Success Stories forum)
"It'll take so long" (try one day. just one.)
"I'm not worth it" (the little girl in your avatar pic doesn't seem to think so)
"This sucks" (yeah, it does. that's why we're all on MFP changing it.)
"I don't know how" (this is why the MFP forums are here)

CaoimheMariexo

Add me if youd like, ill give you some tips on how to eat healthy and stay eating healthy.

palwithme

Part of what makes MFP work, for me at least, is the social aspect. Having an open diary is one way to be social through transparency and honesty. It may be a first step for you on your way to success. Get some friends and you will be AMAZED at the support you get on here. Even if you have a bad day your friends will set you straight.

areallycoolstory

Em_runs_away wrote: »

Thank you for such a supportive reply. You're right, I need to make a choice. I'm ready to lose weight. I don't know how to dispel the negativity though.

I wonder if after a few days staying within your limits, the negativity will begin to dissipate. I often feel so stressed when I procrastinate. I really whip myself about it. Then once I get started on the project or whatever, the stress goes away. The getting started part is easier said than done, I know. Maybe you need to just take a short break from berating yourself for what you think you should have accomplished, congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished and take the next step. Then hopefully you will feel pleased enough about those next steps to continue. At that point berating yourself won't seem necessary.

maschauer1

Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »

Sadly, logging in does not equal weight loss.

Look through your diary and see where you could cut back. Hamburgers? Take off the bun. Lots of restaurant meals? Go out a little less or eat less of your meal.

maschauer1

Absolutely eating out is not good. I have had to stop, or just get veggies or a salad with balsamic.

cheshirecatastrophe

maschauer1 wrote: »

Absolutely eating out is not good. I have had to stop, or just get veggies or a salad with balsamic.

What? Eating at restaurants from time to time can be just fine, and is pretty much a standard part of adult life, careers, and relationships. You just have to be conscious of portion size (often HUGE) and make good choices (ordering shrimp cocktail over fried calamari if possible, or just having a couple pieces of the calamari instead of polishing off the whole plate if you're craving squid).