Getting frustrated :/

jlabrum16

I do so well when I am in a good mood and life seems to be going along without any problems . BUT as soon as something happens or things go wrong my motivation disappears and I start making bad choices and eating things I know I shouldn't. Amy ideas to help me when I can't count on motivation ??

TeaBea

Just keep logging in. No one has to eat perfectly to lose weight. Just be consistent. Some weeks you make good progress...other weeks not so much. You just need to cut yourself some slack. Tell yourself it's not starting over.....you are just continuing on. 2 steps forward and 1 step back....is still forward progress.

Sangsterr

Get yourself a solid plan and regime to follow, note down exactly what your goals are and make a set date for them. Having clarity with this will help keep your head in the game, if you're really struggling to make yourself do the exercises then drop me an add/message and I'll give you a bit of guidance

Genome88

I agree with TeaBea. Just keep logging on. I've had many weeks in the past 6 months where I stopped eating below my calorie goal due to a lack of motivation, but still logged my food. I love the thing where when you finish a day, MFP tells you what you'll weigh in 5 weeks. Even on my worst days, it said if I ate like that every day I'd only gain about 2 pounds in 5 weeks, so I figured that's not so bad. And on days that I didn't really limit what I ate, but still did okay, it showed me losing a pound or two in the next 5 weeks. Continuing to log my food in this way helped keep me from completely losing my motivation on those off weeks so that I didn't feel nearly as discouraged when the motivation did come back.

It's okay to make bad choices about food sometimes. As long as you're honest with yourself and log it, you can see what happens when you eat that way. And the motivation will come back. The worst thing you could do is to just stop completely. Then, if you get motivated again in a few weeks or months you'll feel like you have to start all over, which can be much more discouraging.

LePetitGourmet

I just joined again. I had a bad day with food today, but I am going to try to eat healthy for dinner and do better tomorrow.

LePetitGourmet

I also eat a lot due to stress at work. There are usually a lot of sweets handy... I need to get reacquainted with healthy foods again.... so I hear ya. Just keep logging in and I will do the same.

gothicfires

You need to find a better way to handle these down moments. Food never fixes a problem. You may feel good while you eat but as soon as you are done you feel even worse because of your 'cure'. Go for a walk, make something, talk to a friend but find a different way to deal.

reeves45

Good advice everyone.

distinctlybeautiful

I think you should try to pay close attention to your thoughts when something goes wrong. If you can figure out what you're thinking, you may be able to figure out why you give up.

My guess - and this is a total guess- is that maybe you feel overwhelmed, so throwing your new healthy habits out the window is like taking something off your plate.. sorry, bad analogy, but you know what I mean.. it's like one less thing you have to worry about. But I think by sticking to your healthy habits, you'd actually gain a sense of power and control, which I think negates feelings of being overwhelmed.

So like I said that was a stab in the dark and may not apply to you, but I think in any case it helps explain what I mean by figuring out what you're thinking - and, in turn, feeling - in order to stay on track even when problems pop up, as they inevitably will.

Good luck!

sissypriss22

I completely understand ...it is sabotage I deal with when I've worked hard and didn't get the results on the scale...however big picture revelation non-scale victories are better and lasting ...a number on a scale is just that...make one promise to yourself at a time...for ex. I will track everything I eat or no sugar...or I will take the stairs from now on..Chris Powell wrote this in one of his books what an awesome way too look at it keep your head up we didn't get here over night and change won't happen like that either baby steps

jlabrum16

Thank u so much everyone! I appreciate all the great advice. I will definitely try these things and keep logging. Thank u Thank u

kthompson601

I have found that losing weight is mostly mental. When you get stressed or upset, it's pretty easy to mindlessly snack on chips or scoop up ice cream. You haven't realized it, but you're soothing yourself by eating. I am the same way!

Try to find other ways to "soothe" yourself. A cup of tea, some chewing gum, a walk, a hug, meditation, a phone call to a friend, checking out a favorite website, popping in a much-loved movie. So when things start to go wrong, you don't automatically say, "That's it, I need Cheetos, stat!" Recognize that you are stressed out and eating is a stress response. If you still eat--and I definitely do sometimes--be sure to log it, recognize that you ate it, and move on. Pretty soon you'll start catching your stress signals earlier and will develop other habits to calm yourself.