5th day and already discouraged..

Havasufalls

I have 120 pounds to lose and I am so embarrassed to say that I am already discouraged and it's my 5th day!I feel like all I do is think about food and I so badly want to get healthy and reach my goal weight. How did you deal with food cravings, mind set etc when you first started?? Thanks

jenncornelsen

starting is hard. u will need to really focus. it takes three weeks to create a habit. remind yourself all the time why u are doing this. try and stick with foods that leave u satisfied. plan your meals. u can do it just keep going! i promise it gets easier

Mr_Knight

Sounds like you're not ready to do this. Don't beat yourself up, go live your life, when you're ready, you'll know.

Good luck!

:drinker:

BrownEyedSister

Hava,

I am trained in EFT which is an energy therapy. It has some cool techniques to help with cravings. If you're interested let me know and I can provide you some tips.

BrownEyes

rosebarnalice

Give yourself some slack. This is all about behaviour change. And that's hard! Behavior is all in our head. Cravings, guilt, obsession... Those are all brain Things! Brains are creatures of habit and they like the familiar. Accept that you're doing something unfamiliar for your brain. It's going to take awhile for it to adjust. Love yourself, keep blogging, and don't give up!

Lindy901

I've been on and off again due to many stressors in my life. However when I started this my mindset was not on how much weight there is to lose but just trying to eat healthier and learning as much as I can about portion sizes. Don't focus so much on the scale and it is just day to day. If you have a bad day, roll on to the next. One day isn't a killer when it comes to eating healthier.

Ninkyou

Start off simply.

Just begin with logging your food everyday and try to stay around your calorie goal.

It's okay to think about food. If it helps, try pre-logging your day. When I first began, I did this and then I'd look at my log and see all of the foods I could look forward to. It was actually pretty fun for me.

Bronty3

It gets easier. I used to feel like counting calories made me hungrier than when I wasn't but I found a groove. I found a good amount of foods that I love that fit well into my diet. I also sometimes pre enter my food the night before and eat that the next day. That way I'm not thinking about it I just grab what I planned and eat and move on with my day like I'm not counting. Besides that, I think small goals are good. I've been more successful this go around with MFP because I accidently bought a bridesmaid dress I couldn't return a size too small. I couldn've gotten it altered but I liked the challenge of seeing if I could do it. I decided to give it a couple of months and have enough time to let it out if I really had to so maybe find your motivator. Also, I find when I'm busy and distracted I don't think about eating at all. So, maybe find hobbies or things to do that help you forget you're on a diet. You can do it.! The first couple of weeks are always the hardest. But it gets easier once you keep seeing the scale going down.

scorpiophoenix

Knowing is half the battle. It is rough starting out. For those days when I felt like I just HAD to have something in my mouth I kept a ton of carrots in the fridge. Also, if you have the willpower, mini chocolate bars don't have a superton of calories. One to satisfy the craving. If you don't think you can do just one then maybe raisins? Just give it time. Once you get into the swing of things it gets much easier. Also, just starting out, don't stress too much if you go over a bit. It takes time to develop new habits. Keep your goal set at your weight loss, but also check what maintenance is for you as a secondary goal for off days. One foot in front of the other, one day at a time, all that good stuff. Good luck! You can do it!

juliet3455

My standard suggestion/tip is to do some reading and always use a scale to weigh your food!!!
Considering your struggles my first reading suggestion is to visit this link about building Habits. This is a multipart blog - Read all of them!!!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/the-power-of-habit-part-1-why-habits-matter-688130

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

I can't remember who said it but I Quote: " I log everything, good, bad or ugly, every day. The thing to remember is, your body logs all the food you eat, whether you choose to put it in your diary or not. So there is no reason not to log it. Your food diary is a tool to help you keep track of what you are eating, with an aim toward achieving your goal ( a calorie deficit if trying to lose weight vs. maintain or gain). The only way that this tool is useful is if you record everything you eat as completely and accurately as you possibly can.
The trick is to start...and then to continue."

Visit the Eat-Train-Progress group and read the pinned topics. If you click on the little STAR in the top right you can bookmark the topic for future reference.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/10118-eat-train-progress

Read the information at these MFP post. They have links to multiple very good reads.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/categories/getting-started

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1069278/acronyms-and-terms-for-new-mfp-members-v-6/p1

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-next-step/

Some of these links will show up in the other Groups and discussions.
There are lots of other good groups and discussions with really good information and some with a more Social aspect.

navi_silva

jenncornelsen wrote: »

starting is hard. u will need to really focus. it takes three weeks to create a habit. remind yourself all the time why u are doing this. try and stick with foods that leave u satisfied. plan your meals. u can do it just keep going! i promise it gets easier

I completely agree. I'm in the same bandwagon as you are when it comes to cravings. I'm by no means an expert in nutrition or anything but I do have a few tips that have helped me a lot so far in my journey. First is WATER! Many times when we're "hungry" it's because we're not properly hydrated and our minds are mistaking this for hunger. Second, is gum. This works for me personally, it might help you. It satisfies my sweet tooth with little calorie intake and gives a feeling of actually eating. Third, remember that losing weight is not about changing your diet completely overnight. It's a gradual process to smaller portions and healthier alternatives (I've had to learn this the hard way). If you do a radical change you may very well rebound and lose your progress. All of this being said, it's all about going about your health and cravings in a comfortable and natural way and always keeping in mind what you're striving for. Maintaining a workout regiment is not easy. Especially at the beginning (take it from a guy who's started half a dozen times lol) the hardest day will be your first day. Same goes with the month in general, but afterward you learn to take it all a day at a time and it will be much less difficult. Best of luck!!

scookbey

Starting is always difficult because it feels like you are starving but you're not. Eat foods that you enjoy but just in moderation. Eat foods that are rich in fiber and protein to keep you full. You can eat your ice cream, brownies and chips but control the serving. You will be so happy and feel so victorious when you start losing! Keep going! The weather is warming, the birds are chirping and summer clothing is near!

FitOldMomma

You have to be ready for lifelong changes. Perhaps you're not quite ready to make the whole commitment yet.
It really is about making new habits, and these take about three to four weeks to feel normal.
Is there one bad habit you can work on eliminating? Or, think of one good habit you can adopt; something simple like drinking more water each day.
I put quite a lot of thought and research into how to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off well before I started this. I played around on the goals settings to see how many calories I could eat for specific weight loss per week and how exercising would allow more food each day.
The best thing I did at the beginning was to commit to log every single bite of food I ate. This makes you mindful, and you'll learn to make better choices.
I still have days (today!) when I just want to stuff my face with a big cheeseburger and fries, but I know now that those are temporary cravings.
When you're really ready to make the change to a healthier life, you'll do it. Don't be discouraged by doubts, just figure out how to fix them. Good luck.

NH_1970

If all you think about is food, then eat healthy food. Understand from the very start it easier to manage your expectations and commit to making small, piece by piece improvements, rather than pressuring yourself into thinking that you have to do it all at once.
Food cravings I crave fatty foods, have for a very long time. So I keep ice cream out of my home. I replaced it with healthier fats and foods like nuts & avocado and I stick to the recommended guided amount. So I guess figuring out what you have for food cravings? some people crave crunch - so avoid the chips and reach for the celery and unsalted nuts, air popped popcorn, etc. Some people like sweet - gravitate towards fruit or roasted veg's instead?
The mind set, it used to be emotional or bored eating, I rewarded my good and bad days with food, but food isn't a reward it's sustenance for our bodies to live, so I try to remember that now.
It took time for me to get where my mind is like holy crap woman, your clothes are getting too tight and you woke up feeling like absolute crap after one day after raking the lawn this spring -what is going on? Literally it took me doing tai chi, stretching and going for a one mile walk over the course of six hours for my body to feel like someone hadn't ridden over all of my joints and beaten up my muscles with a cement flattener, and then I prayed and said God help me because my whole life you know what struggles I have had, I am giving it over to you, please help me with this because it's only getting worse and I can't die like this. Please help me with food. I think that is called hitting bottom. Seriously when misery becomes the norm for my life, and it had, then something had to change within me.
If you don't believe in God then you can toss it up to the deity of your choice. If you're an atheist or agnostic then find what your inspiration is within yourself and focus on that to help you out.
Also I wrote very honestly on why I wanted to lose weight in a letter to myself which I keep in a visible place and I have a pic of me right where I can see it at my heaviest weight. I write to myself weekly on why I want to lose weight, sometimes those repeat themselves, but that's okay.

arditarose

I think about food all the time. But I make it fun, for the most part. I enjoy pre-logging, and if there's something I really want for dessert, I log it first and work my day around it. A lot of times it's like a puzzle and I love seeing what I can eat to fit my calorie needs and macros. The other day I got to add dark chocolate to help me meet my fats goal.

Relax! Eat the things you like. Weigh them on a food scale to be sure of the calories.

Havasufalls

Wow, thank you for your comments. Some very good advice here. Thank you so much!!! Now off to eat some chicken and veggies for dinner...something that I have noticed that helps me is putting in my dessert in the morning, like SF FF jello , so I can look forward to that and not veer off track

TheVirgoddess

Start small. Take a week and just log allll your food - good or bad. Then examine your day and see where you can change some things. Then think about going for walks, increasing your activity.

Don't approach it like you have 120 pounds to lose, approach like you have 20 pounds and two new habits to form. Then create new, small goals.

You can do it.

heathervazquez75

You got to hang in there! Tell yourself you are ready until you believe it. Start slow! Your body is not used to this massive change. Later on you can adjust once you feel strong! Drink lots of water! Like lots of water! When you get a craving snap your fingers and switch your thoughts, step away, call a friend, go for a stroll. Stop the thinking in its tracks and do something else. Chew some gum, drink some tea. One day at a time one step at a time you are going to get there! The time is now! Every day start anew! If you mess up put it behind you and move on! Get determined to change your life for good! No matter what happens just keep at it every day! No more excuses! Make a plan! Plan ahead every day! Don't leave yourself empty handed and hungry! Prep your food ahead of time so there will be convienience! Each time you have a craving ask your self "does this fit in with my goals?" (The answer is alyways going to be no). If you stress eat (or did) find another way to relax. Exercise usually does the trick. I do yoga every day! Track your weight and take photos even if you don't want to. Your weight will go up and down but you will see the trend. Keep a journal and share each day how you feel and how you are doing good and bad. Find some friends on the app to encourage you. Create a positive mantra and repeat it every day. You got this! Set your goals. I set small goals every week. Like lose 1 pound! Or eat within goal for certain # of days straight. Eat a cheat meal once a week and have something you really like. Don't give up!

sich30

I didn't lose any weight for 5 weeks. I'd eat healthy during the day, then undo my efforts once the kids were in bed. I did do 2 hours yoga and 80 min tae bo per week, so I was also gaining muscle and staying fit. I just started biking to work (25 min per day) and eating better snacks when I'm hungry, and have lost 0.6 lb. All that to say that it might take you a while to lose any, or even to feel motivated enough to want to avoid empty foods. I almost gave up last week. Don't put in your food if you don't feel like it, but put in your exercise. You'll be proud to see how many minutes you do week after week. Good luck!

GoPerfectHealth

Through trial and error you can find the foods that will keep you satisfied. Don't give up. It gets much easier. At first I had a very difficult time keeping my calories low, but I learned how to allocate my calories throughout the day to prevent binging. It's not always easy, but you keep working at it!

BethanyFrerichs

Newbie here. I'm at day 10 and it's gotten easier. The database is amazing and the realization of what I was eating really made me mad at first. It doesn't seem fair but I had to really put my tantrum aside and keep at it. The first three days I just sat and cried while entering information. Hubby said if it stressed me that much stop.

You can't cut everything out at once. I set myself up some reasonable goals (Sigh..wanting a Dr. Pepper right now) and that's really helped. I didn't want software to totally rule my life and I've made it so it hasn't. I don't mind logging stuff now. I FEEL better emotionally after making realistic changes in my life.

I also decided to tell myself, "Look what you haven't eaten today" and mentally list the stuff you walked away from or had less of. MFP doesn't let you do that but sometimes I think that would be a nice option.

Don't give up too soon and don't hate yourself when you have a bad day.

almondbutterbay

Sometimes distracting yourself works best. I sometimes find myself spending way too much time worrying or thinking about food or exercise or weight and that's when I know I have to go watch a movie or concentrate on my friends or other aspects of my life for a while. Also try eating things that are filling but low in calories (meat, nuts, veggies fill me up and veggies are low cal and I should eat more of them) cause if you're not hungry then you're less likely to spend time thinking about food.

Barbs2222

If I had it to do over again, I would just log it. Log everyday. Log every bite. Don't worry about the calories or what My Fitness Pal tells you what you can eat for calories. (It wasn't enough in the beginning.) Just log it. Learn about yourself. What makes it easier to restrict calories and what doesn't. I've been on again off again for 3 years. I now know that eating some meat makes my next day better. So just log for now and get to know you

Oldbitcollector

Another Newbie here.. I'm about to go into day 60.. I've lost 24 pounds and starting to feel great.

You'll discover foods that weren't worth the calorie expense in your day as you track, and replace them slowly with better alternatives. It gets easier with time. Hang in there.

gizmom19

arditarose wrote: »

I think about food all the time. But I make it fun, for the most part. I enjoy pre-logging, and if there's something I really want for dessert, I log it first and work my day around it. A lot of times it's like a puzzle and I love seeing what I can eat to fit my calorie needs and macros. The other day I got to add dark chocolate to help me meet my fats goal.

Relax! Eat the things you like. Weigh them on a food scale to be sure of the calories.

Really like this idea! Fairly new to MFP (50 days or so) and kind mentally did this mentally to plan Easter dinner but logged after. I think this would be helpful to put that certain item I want in first and go from there.

GWehsling

I started my time here by spring cleaning my house - I removed all distractions and temptations and focused on what I wanted long term. It took a few weeks to get into the habit and there are days I don't want to go to the gym, but it can only be done by me, so I eventually just go. I haven't missed a day logging or training so far, but there have been many days I have wondered off course and eaten poorly. I still keep chipping at it because that, to me, is part of life - you don't win every day, but you get to keep the right approach and attitude and all those little adjustments you make over time, add up.

Just keep swimming, even if the current pushes you back, just keep swimming.

maraq

The key is making sure you are eating enough so that you feel satisfied so you don't have to think about food all day long! That seems like an oxymoron because when we are trying to lose weight we feel we need to eat less - so we think it means we have to be hungry for weightloss to happen - but you don't need to be hungry. I'm not sure what types of foods you are eating but if you swap out anything that is typical diet food (low fat, low cal products) for real food - vegetables, fruit, avocados, high quality animal protein, beans, legumes, whole grains (actual grains like brown rice, quinoa etc - not products made with whole grain), nuts and seeds etc. you'll find you can eat a lot more good stuff for the same amount of calories. You'll feel satisfied by the food and you'll feel awesome about what you are putting in your body. Keep going - 5 days in is just the beginning and it can be easy to wish we could just snap our fingers and have the weight be gone! But it takes awhile to gain weight and it takes awhile to lose it. They say 21 days makes a habit - focus on eating well and getting some movement for that many days and I bet you will see and feel a difference and it will make you want to continue!

sheldak

Friend and I have set goals and rules to use along with MFP. Each time one screws up its 2 dollars in the others jar along with an encouraging pep talk. 3.5 weeks in and 11lbs down! I'm determined NOT to lose my money and I'm NOT buying her a new outfit. It has made it more of a fun bet than a diet but its working for both of us :-)

Havasufalls

Such great ideas. Thank you guys for your comments, seriously. Much love.

juliet3455

Havasufalls wrote: »

Now off to eat some chicken and veggies for dinner...something that I have noticed that helps me is putting in my dessert in the morning, like SF FF jello , so I can look forward to that and not veer off track

Good choices and a good start.

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

Start small. Take a week and just log allll your food - good or bad. Then examine your day and see where you can change some things. Then think about going for walks, increasing your activity.

Don't approach it like you have 120 pounds to lose, approach like you have 20 pounds and two new habits to form. Then create new, small goals.

You can do it.

Yes log everything . A great point that don't look at the 120 lbs. make a small goal, 20 lbs-10lbs and work towards it. You didn't gain 120lbs in a month, so don't expect to lose it in a month. Small goals & small habit changes.

maraq wrote: »

The key is making sure you are eating enough so that you feel satisfied so you don't have to think about food all day long! Keep going - 5 days in is just the beginning and it can be easy to wish we could just snap our fingers and have the weight be gone! But it takes awhile to gain weight and it takes awhile to lose it. They say 21 days makes a habit - focus on eating well and getting some movement for that many days and I bet you will see and feel a difference and it will make you want to continue!

My favorite desert Dannone Greek yogurt - lime, coconut or pineapple, a tasty treat.

5 Days is only 1.4% of a year. Give yourself more time to work things out.
Not to discourage you but it took me a good 2 months to get a good grasp on everything and that is when my weight started to drop, so give yourself lots of time and be patient.

mwyvr

Havasufalls wrote: »

I have 120 pounds to lose and I am so embarrassed to say that I am already discouraged and it's my 5th day!I feel like all I do is think about food and I so badly want to get healthy and reach my goal weight. How did you deal with food cravings, mind set etc when you first started?? Thanks

Don't be embarrassed. You'll find you aren't the only one who has faced discouragement.

I was going to write a long story but changed my mind and will try to relate what worked for me, quite by accident, not by any design of mine.

When I started (Aug 2014) I didn't "diet". I didn't count calories in. I checked my weight once at a community pool and haven't done it again until just last week. Honestly... that first time made me afraid, and discouraged.

What I did do is identify my biggest single problem - I'd gone from a fit active life to quite a sedentary life. The reasons are not important. I ate healthy food, just a bit too much, and over 8 years following the sports injury at the start of my long decline, "just a bit too much" each day adds up to a lot of pounds.

Right or wrong I figured I first had to fix my fitness problem, so in August 2014 I set about working on that. I used to be a runner so naturally I wanted to use running as my tool of choice. This proved incredibly hard on me for both physical and emotional reasons as the delta between fit me and unfit me had grown so incredibly large I feared I'd never get anywhere near where I once was. I feared I might never improve meaningfully. Those early days were... awful. Fear of failure stopped me from going out some days, but somehow I kept on going.

A supportive wife helped, a lot. She'd run with me and patiently wait while I had to stop... so many times at first.

Long story short, I kept up with it, and by the time the horrible wet windy winter weather descended upon Vancouver, I'd made running a habit again. I even made a point of going out for runs on the absolute worst days of the year. It's too easy to say "tomorrow" when the weather is awful. I'd done that for years... but no more.

Fast forward, I've dropped about 50 pounds and have a little less than 50 more to go. I'm on notch 5 of my belt; I started on notch 1. The size 38's that were my wake up call were donated to the Sally Ann.

I still have a ways to go but now the outlook is nothing but positive. I know I'll get there, I know it will still take longer than I wish, but I'm ok with that. Just accepting that helps. A lot.

Could I have arrived at this point faster had I adopted at the very beginning a rigorous calorie in-calorie out regime of observation, combined with exercise? Yes, undoubtedly so, but I probably was not ready at the start to do all that.

Instead, putting the focus of my efforts at the start into exercise (and sleep) worked for me and got me to the point where everything else is now pretty easy given the huge motivation provided by visible results.

I'm not saying ignore your diet but if you find developing a total program for yourself is too overwhelming here at the start, maybe focussing on one thing at a time - just to get a firm foundation of improvement in place - can work for you.

Stick with whatever you decide to do. You'll find before long those first weeks pass, you've started to adopt new ways of living (eating / food / exercise / sleep / whatever you are adjusting) become habits. And one day you'll realise... wow, it's really working. From there it just gets easier.

Oops, I did write a long-ish story. Why say in 20 words what you can say in 500?