Struggling

msmarilyn12

i need to get my eating and journaling back down. I'm struggling. Why must I love food so much. Help? Advice?

Redbeard333

It is TOUGH!!! Food is an addiction for many, and necessary for life; that makes it so difficult to keep on track! You have to use small goals to keep yourself going. For me I just started making small changes: no more soda, for instance. No more cream and sugar in my coffee. Small steps makes the who battle much easier to win. You can do this!!

tackemar

Most of the time, the food that you eat isn't the problem. If you are refusing to go to a restaurant because "you can't eat anything there", you are dieting wrong. Obviously there are some types of food that you should never eat, like fast food, but losing weight is more about portions. If you want a cookie have ONE. If you want delicious spaghetti, find a recipe that is low fat. Don't tell yourself that you can't have something, it'll make you want to eat it more. Just tell yourself you can have a bite, and then walk away from it.

mimil55

I agree with Redbeard333, it helps to make small changes, little by little. Every time I've tried to do a complete overhaul, it never works, and I end up in a worse position than I was at the start.

Small changes that have helped me -

*I went from 2 sugars down to 1 then finally zero in my coffee and tea.
*I stopped drinking soda and cut back on the amount of fruit juice & cordial that I was drinking. Just water or water with some unsweetened lemon juice has become my drink of choice.
*I made sure my desserts were a piece of fruit, some yoghurt or something else that's healthy that can satisfy the sweet craving but not go overboard with sugar and fat.
*I made lunch my main meal instead of dinner & switched to soups / salads / other light meals (e.g. no carb heavy meals like pasta) in the evening.
*I drink a glass of water 5-10 minutes before I eat my lunch and dinner to help me stop overeating.
*Instead of having milk chocolate as a treat, I switched to dark chocolate because the taste is richer and makes me eat much less (1-2 squares instead of sometimes a 1/4 block!)
*Instead of aiming to do one hour of exercise every day (unattainable for me to start with), I started with 1 exercise session a week, then built it up once I was sure I would stick to it.
*I write down everything I eat with MyFitnessPal to make sure I'm mindful of what's going into my mouth. Before I didn't even realise how many calories I was consuming through snacking, sugary drinks or oversized portions.

And finally I completely agree with what tackemar said, don't tell yourself that you can't have something, it'll never work. Just try and balance out what you're eating throughout the week.

Good luck!

kristen6350

For me, it was deciding what I loved more. Unlimited food/booze, or fitting into my goal pants. For me, feeling good (or feeling like me, not all big and bloated and fat) wins out over food every time. I was having this conversation with a woman my age at a baby shower I attended last weekend. She said "it's so hard to lose weight, I just love food". I basically said, pretty bluntly, "You have to decide what you love more". Her excuse and the big pile of food on her plate pretty much told me she wasn't ready. Didn't want it bad enough. And that's fine.

You have to want to be a goal more than you want food.