How do you get motivated diet -wise?
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Jankatherton
Posts: 70 Member
Hi just wondering if anyone can offer me any advice on how to get motivated diet wise?
I am super motivated with my fitness and am at the gym 5 days a week without fail over consistantly for the past year. However I just can't seem to stay motivated diet wise. I have not lost a single pound in this last year and feel I have wasted all my time at the gym because my diet sucks.
I do pretty good through the week but every weekend my husband and I go out for dinner at the pub ( so eat things like wings, pizza , beer) plus often go to Sunday brunch as well. I also enjoy a couple glasses of wine over the weekend ( I'm taking a wine course) and usually paired with some nice cheese. These are just things I enjoy so much in life and look forward to all week. I just don't know what to do or how to give this up or if I even want to! I am so torn! How can I enjoy life and reach my goals at the same time? Is that even possible?
Help!
I am super motivated with my fitness and am at the gym 5 days a week without fail over consistantly for the past year. However I just can't seem to stay motivated diet wise. I have not lost a single pound in this last year and feel I have wasted all my time at the gym because my diet sucks.
I do pretty good through the week but every weekend my husband and I go out for dinner at the pub ( so eat things like wings, pizza , beer) plus often go to Sunday brunch as well. I also enjoy a couple glasses of wine over the weekend ( I'm taking a wine course) and usually paired with some nice cheese. These are just things I enjoy so much in life and look forward to all week. I just don't know what to do or how to give this up or if I even want to! I am so torn! How can I enjoy life and reach my goals at the same time? Is that even possible?
Help!
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Replies
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^^^^This^^^^ For me losing the weight is more important than not eating whatever I want.herrspoons wrote: »Like everything else in life, sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it. In this case that's a literal statement.
Pick what your goal is - to have fun and stay as you are, or to take a sabbatical and change to what you want to be.
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Its not possible. Ugly truth. You can indulge once in a while, but not like you have been. Its no fun.
There are probably ways you could change most of your foods, like eat clean 90% of the time. So you have built in room to indulge a little. Maybe once a month?
All the time at the gym was not wasted. If you hadn't gone you'd probably be 20-30 pounds heavier right now. That's pay-off.
I want wings and wine every day... So good... But I think I'll pass so I can put my pants on... Just a concenquence of being female. Good luck finding your balance.0 -
herrspoons wrote: »Like everything else in life, sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it. In this case that's a literal statement.
Pick what your goal is - to have fun and stay as you are, or to take a sabbatical and change to what you want to be.
Good advice. I guess I really need to look at how badly I want to reach my goals.. I stick to pretty clean eating all week but just can't seem to control myself on the weekend. Any tips on how to keep motivated on the weekend?
My goal is to lose 10 pounds by July 1st. It's nothing too extreme and should be doable with some minor modifications...
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Oh I totally drink wine on the weekends. Love it. And I couldn't imagine a world where I couldn't have a glass of Malbec while I'm relaxing with friends, cooking, or eating a steak.
For me, it's all about finding stuff I love and planning ahead. I find that if I take the time on the weekends or when I get spare time during the week and make a list of the meals I want to make for the following week, and then grocery shop Saturday morning as well as do prep-work on Sunday, I'm a lot more ready and it takes the guesswork out of "what am I eating for dinner tonight?" I am too exhausted from coming home from work during the weeknights to spend a ton of time trying to figure out what to eat. Plus I go to the gym in the evenings. By planning ahead, it's so much easier to toss something that has been marinating on the flattop or have a homemade crock-pot meal already simmering in the Crock Pot.
A couple of other helpful things: I weigh everything I put in my mouth (bazing) so I know where I am calorie-wise.
And I still don't give up bar nachos, wings or beer (mmmm beer). I just make sure to plan ahead and cut back on calories in another area or spend a little extra time at the gym to make my lifestyle and my goals fit. And if I haven't made as much room as I should, I just order something that will fit. Instead of ordering waffles and bottomless Bloody Mary's at brunch, I'm having an egg white omelet. I think it's all about balance.
Hope that helped. Sorry if it was long-winded. This is what I get for trying to multitask at work
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I decided I want to be a fit mom not a fat@as. I make that decision daily when I do things like pre log my meals, moderate my portions and choose not fall back into old habits.
I did this to myself, now I have to undo it....that's My motivation.0 -
Do you weigh your food? That might help you get there. Its really helped me.0
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Its not possible. Ugly truth. You can indulge once in a while, but not like you have been. Its no fun.
There are probably ways you could change most of your foods, like eat clean 90% of the time. So you have built in room to indulge a little. Maybe once a month?
All the time at the gym was not wasted. If you hadn't gone you'd probably be 20-30 pounds heavier right now. That's pay-off.
I want wings and wine every day... So good... But I think I'll pass so I can put my pants on... Just a concenquence of being female. Good luck finding your balance.
Thanks I guess I just really need to suck it up and be glad I am still in healthy weight range considering what I've been eating. I think part of the problem is that as a younger person I was really blessed with a fast metabolism and now that I'm 33 am realizing I can't just eat whatever I want anymore
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Jankatherton wrote: »Its not possible. Ugly truth. You can indulge once in a while, but not like you have been. Its no fun.
There are probably ways you could change most of your foods, like eat clean 90% of the time. So you have built in room to indulge a little. Maybe once a month?
All the time at the gym was not wasted. If you hadn't gone you'd probably be 20-30 pounds heavier right now. That's pay-off.
I want wings and wine every day... So good... But I think I'll pass so I can put my pants on... Just a concenquence of being female. Good luck finding your balance.
Thanks I guess I just really need to suck it up and be glad I am still in healthy weight range considering what I've been eating. I think part of the problem is that as a younger person I was really blessed with a fast metabolism and now that I'm 33 am realizing I can't just eat whatever I want anymore
LOL! Wait til your 44.. I started hormone replacement therapy this week. It just seems to get harder to do the right thing the older you get. I'll run to "earn" dinner. Its sad. 0 -
SconnieCat wrote: »Oh I totally drink wine on the weekends. Love it. And I couldn't imagine a world where I couldn't have a glass of Malbec while I'm relaxing with friends, cooking, or eating a steak.
For me, it's all about finding stuff I love and planning ahead. I find that if I take the time on the weekends or when I get spare time during the week and make a list of the meals I want to make for the following week, and then grocery shop Saturday morning as well as do prep-work on Sunday, I'm a lot more ready and it takes the guesswork out of "what am I eating for dinner tonight?" I am too exhausted from coming home from work during the weeknights to spend a ton of time trying to figure out what to eat. Plus I go to the gym in the evenings. By planning ahead, it's so much easier to toss something that has been marinating on the flattop or have a homemade crock-pot meal already simmering in the Crock Pot.
A couple of other helpful things: I weigh everything I put in my mouth (bazing) so I know where I am calorie-wise.
And I still don't give up bar nachos, wings or beer (mmmm beer). I just make sure to plan ahead and cut back on calories in another area or spend a little extra time at the gym to make my lifestyle and my goals fit. And if I haven't made as much room as I should, I just order something that will fit. Instead of ordering waffles and bottomless Bloody Mary's at brunch, I'm having an egg white omelet. I think it's all about balance.
Hope that helped. Sorry if it was long-winded. This is what I get for trying to multitask at work
Yeah I do pre plan my weekday meals as well but it's just those darn weekends where I fail! I like your idea of keeping those bar nights but just doing a little more planning around it.
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I have enough shorts that I like and that are comfortable to go to WDW every year for 8 days, plus a couple of spares for extra changes of clothes. I am not going through the headache and heartache of finding that many more shorts that I like. After we came back from WDW last Fall, I sluffed off, pure and simple. Ate what I liked when I liked it, didn't run regularly and gained 6lbs. . .
Went to pull on a pair of my shorts because the weather was nice and the inevitable happened.
So that's it. That's my bellwether. My WDW shorts collection has to fit and look nice. I will do whatever it takes to achieve this; I am NOT buying an entire shorts wardrobe just for 8 days once a year.0 -
herrspoons wrote: »Jankatherton wrote: »herrspoons wrote: »Like everything else in life, sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it. In this case that's a literal statement.
Pick what your goal is - to have fun and stay as you are, or to take a sabbatical and change to what you want to be.
Good advice. I guess I really need to look at how badly I want to reach my goals.. I stick to pretty clean eating all week but just can't seem to control myself on the weekend. Any tips on how to keep motivated on the weekend?
My goal is to lose 10 pounds by July 1st. It's nothing too extreme and should be doable with some minor modifications...
Ok, don't know your stats, but let's say that you target 0.75 pounds over the next 16 weeks. That means you should achieve your goal with enough room for a few 'whoopsies!' along the way. So that's 375 calories you have to reduce daily to do that.
Were it me, I'd go for a 500 deficit during the week so I have a few bonus calories at the weekend. That way I can still enjoy a glass of wine or two.
I like this!! I'll maybe work in giving myself more of a deficit during the week so I have a little more room for weekend indulgences.
I'm 5"7 and about 148 lbs. I've been aiming for about 1500 calories during the week.
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Two things, first ^^ no. Well, half no. You can have your cake and eat it too. Just not the whole cake. Everything in moderation. Of course, if you are having chicken wings and alcohol, cheeses and pizza clearly, you are putting yourself well beyond the calorie limit.
You have to create a deficit. Pick and choose the foods you want to eat. Everyone has a "cheat" now and again, but if you're saying you've been at it a year without any success even with the gym 5 days, you're most definitely not creating a deficit.
Maybe try not to go to the pub EVERY weekend and opt for some delicious home-cooked meals instead. Experiment with flavors and seasonings. There are delicious things are not pizza and chicken wings. Alcohol is wasted calories, drink in moderation. Cheese, 1oz. Every cheese has different caloric intake, so choose the cheeses with discretion.
If your husband isn't on this journey with you, have a conversation with him about what your goals are and tell him that you need his support and encouragement to stay on track. Its difficult when you are watching everyone eat pizza and you're stuck with a salad, but that's the moment you have to decide is enjoying the pizza the goal or not?
I started this, super difficult. I love food, various flavors, textures, I love to cook. Cooking food of all kinds was my hobby. Now, I modified my hobby to be "healthier" foods so I can still enjoy cooking and eating, but in moderation and low calorie.
Lastly, remember that this is a lifestyle change, not just a physical and mental challenge. You need to decide if you're ready to make the change and commit, otherwise its fruitless. Good luck!0 -
Jankatherton wrote: »Its not possible. Ugly truth. You can indulge once in a while, but not like you have been. Its no fun.
There are probably ways you could change most of your foods, like eat clean 90% of the time. So you have built in room to indulge a little. Maybe once a month?
All the time at the gym was not wasted. If you hadn't gone you'd probably be 20-30 pounds heavier right now. That's pay-off.
I want wings and wine every day... So good... But I think I'll pass so I can put my pants on... Just a concenquence of being female. Good luck finding your balance.
Thanks I guess I just really need to suck it up and be glad I am still in healthy weight range considering what I've been eating. I think part of the problem is that as a younger person I was really blessed with a fast metabolism and now that I'm 33 am realizing I can't just eat whatever I want anymore
LOL! Wait til your 44.. I started hormone replacement therapy this week. It just seems to get harder to do the right thing the older you get. I'll run to "earn" dinner. Its sad.
Ugg so not fair
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Log consistently every day. When you can see in black and white what and how much you're eating, you might be able to cut back a bit and still enjoy yourself.0
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Laurend224 wrote: »I decided I want to be a fit mom not a fat@as. I make that decision daily when I do things like pre log my meals, moderate my portions and choose not fall back into old habits.
I did this to myself, now I have to undo it....that's My motivation.
This is pretty much it. Every day I have to make a decision about what I want more: to eat/drink the treat(s) or to get fit. I still indulge on occasion and I absolutely still eat all my favorite things but now I just eat less of them/smaller portion and/or they are not every day occurrences.
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Are you logging your weekend indulgences? Basically, you seem to be eating at maintenance, so you'll want to cut either some portion of them or more calories the rest of the week to cover them. If you want to make it easy on yourself, say 250/day or 1750/week. If you make sure you log everything, you can look at what might be cut-worthy. For example, changing your pub order or going to a different restaurant or just eating low cal the rest of that day could help. Keep the wine but cut it down a little. Seeing if there are some wasted calories or things you could switch up without pain at other places in the week. Stuff like that.0
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JessicaP327 wrote: »Two things, first ^^ no. Well, half no. You can have your cake and eat it too. Just not the whole cake. Everything in moderation. Of course, if you are having chicken wings and alcohol, cheeses and pizza clearly, you are putting yourself well beyond the calorie limit.
You have to create a deficit. Pick and choose the foods you want to eat. Everyone has a "cheat" now and again, but if you're saying you've been at it a year without any success even with the gym 5 days, you're most definitely not creating a deficit.
Maybe try not to go to the pub EVERY weekend and opt for some delicious home-cooked meals instead. Experiment with flavors and seasonings. There are delicious things are not pizza and chicken wings. Alcohol is wasted calories, drink in moderation. Cheese, 1oz. Every cheese has different caloric intake, so choose the cheeses with discretion.
If your husband isn't on this journey with you, have a conversation with him about what your goals are and tell him that you need his support and encouragement to stay on track. Its difficult when you are watching everyone eat pizza and you're stuck with a salad, but that's the moment you have to decide is enjoying the pizza the goal or not?
I started this, super difficult. I love food, various flavors, textures, I love to cook. Cooking food of all kinds was my hobby. Now, I modified my hobby to be "healthier" foods so I can still enjoy cooking and eating, but in moderation and low calorie.
Lastly, remember that this is a lifestyle change, not just a physical and mental challenge. You need to decide if you're ready to make the change and commit, otherwise its fruitless. Good luck!
Yes it definitely makes it difficult that my husband does not have the same goals. Do you have any tasty weekend meal ideas?
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SconnieCat wrote: »Oh I totally drink wine on the weekends. Love it. And I couldn't imagine a world where I couldn't have a glass of Malbec while I'm relaxing with friends, cooking, or eating a steak.
For me, it's all about finding stuff I love and planning ahead. I find that if I take the time on the weekends or when I get spare time during the week and make a list of the meals I want to make for the following week, and then grocery shop Saturday morning as well as do prep-work on Sunday, I'm a lot more ready and it takes the guesswork out of "what am I eating for dinner tonight?" I am too exhausted from coming home from work during the weeknights to spend a ton of time trying to figure out what to eat. Plus I go to the gym in the evenings. By planning ahead, it's so much easier to toss something that has been marinating on the flattop or have a homemade crock-pot meal already simmering in the Crock Pot.
A couple of other helpful things: I weigh everything I put in my mouth (bazing) so I know where I am calorie-wise.
And I still don't give up bar nachos, wings or beer (mmmm beer). I just make sure to plan ahead and cut back on calories in another area or spend a little extra time at the gym to make my lifestyle and my goals fit. And if I haven't made as much room as I should, I just order something that will fit. Instead of ordering waffles and bottomless Bloody Mary's at brunch, I'm having an egg white omelet. I think it's all about balance.
Hope that helped. Sorry if it was long-winded. This is what I get for trying to multitask at work
This!!!
Log everything. And make choices. When I know I am going out for dinner and would like a glass of wine with it, I eat a smaller breakfast and lunch and cut out snacks. Same for food celebrations like holidays or birthdays.
And if I know I REALLY need some extra calories for a special occaision, I add extra minutes to my run, or add in a run on a day where I wouldn't normally run.
Sometimes, you can even eat lightly for a couple of days and "bank" the extra calories.
I am very motivated, but I am not perfect every day. The problem comes when I have several special occaisions too close together!
It really is all about choices and there is never just one way to handle it!
This is my mantra: Mostly healthy choices. Most of the time!0 -
I find making small changes over the weekend has helped me, for instance.. instead of usually drinking one bottle of wine over a weekend, cut back by one glass. If you know that chicken wings and chips will be your go to, maybe try a new restaurant and order something different - break the pattern. And lastly.....I know its a drag but do something....visit a friend, take a walk, go for a swim, visit a gallery, take up a hobby, just get busy :-) These strategies have helped me and yet there are days that I've reverted because depriving myself only makes me feel resentful and unhappy. However on the good days, I feel strong, in control and one step closer to my goal.0
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Instead of cheat days I occasionally have "cheat meals" usually Saturday evening and Monday evening, although I tend to find that I am choosing healthy options but having a small bit of something I really could die for. For me it's not about depriving myself, it's about controlling those cravings, tonight for instance I've just returned from the gym, had my home cooked low cal pasta and now tucking in to a small slice of chocolate cake I've had my eye on since it came out the oven
as long as it's all logged I tend to find that it's "not as bad as you think" when looking back at what you have consumed, remove the guilt and just see it as a journey.
So basically cake occasionally keeps me going!0
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