I can't seem to stay focused

live2bgramma

Lots of stress these days. Just starting up again with fitness pal and need to stay focused - it seems every time I get stressed out I reach for unhealthy food, afterwards feeling quite guilty .. Is there any way to stay focused? My willpower has been very weak lately too and some of my family often making comments about my weight and how 'they thought I was working out, when will it start showing' - you would think at my age things like this wouldn't matter but it seems to matter. I'm over 60 - never a problem until 14 years ago with weight and can't seem to find the program that will work so I can live a long healthy life

tasaiar1

Meal planning!

cindytw

Stress is not your friend! It creates weakness and junk cravings and weight gain. First, how can you manage the stress??

skinnyinnotime

The food you decide to eat is down to your choices. Stress cannot make you eat food you don't want.

When you stop making excuses for what you eat you will be successful.

vivmom2014

Tune out those "helpful" family comments. It is inappropriate for anyone to needle someone else about weight.

The suggestions above to examine sources of stress are good, but what's also good is this: just starting.

Start logging your food. Take the time to weigh your food and keep an accurate record. It couldn't be more of a breeze with MFP, so utilize all aspects of this wonderful tool. Focus will follow when you see exactly what you're eating & how much. Knowledge is power.

Physical activity is great for stress. Can you fit in a brisk walk? Do you belong to a gym? Got any good workout DVDs?

Finally - age. Sometimes it's tempting to pin a bunch of excuses on age, but what's the point? You can lose weight at any age by creating a reasonable calorie goal and staying under it. There is no age limit for health - it is always important. Age shouldn't hold you back. Get started and keep going. You can do this!

kshama2001

I have successfully retrained my brain to want to exercise when I'm stressed rather than eating. I work from home and if work is stressing me out doing something as simple as going outside and picking up sticks in the yard will snap me out of it. Even better, I will prune, which I find very meditative in general and also quite satisfying when I'm stressed. If I were still at the office, I would walk around the building.

(I exercise regularly as well.)

a ps on age - my mom is 78 and is incredibly active. Due to recent low bone density scores, she has started working out with a trainer twice a week. She gardens extensively, walks, practices yoga, and swims in season. She also paints and otherwise maintains her 200+ year old house.

kasaz

Along with my food plan I use the strategies in the Beck Diet for Life book. You might want to look at one of Judith Beck's books from the library to see if it might be helpful for you. It is the cognitive behavioral therapy part of the plan so it works with any "diet" or "food plan" that you choose. Good luck to you.

Beth150Ann

What has finally helped me stay focused is a 180 day plan. I actually wrote down (used Microsoft Note) areas that I wanted to improve (weight, money, etc). I wrote down honestly where I am now (not very pretty let me tell you) and where I want to be in 180 days (which happens to be 1 April). While I'm not doing well in all areas, some areas I am really showing improvement and it helps, really helps motivate me and stay focused. I used Note to write down journal/diary entries. I post the 180 day plan on the refrigerator (and I have refocused them at least once to fine tune them). Perhaps you could post on your 180 day plan an area that addresses negative/unhelpful comments? Part of my 180 day plan was to lose some much weight by a certain time (I have always planned for years to lose so much weight by such-and such date). I have spent 3 months of the 6 not being successful in this area because I kept going back to the old ways then I found MFP. Easy and free to use and it keeps my honest. I think if you just journal it might help with focus.
Also talking about being honest, writing down when I really exercise and how much is an eye opening. I am so very out of shape but I am starting to stretch in the morning and walk in the afternoon. You do the best you can and remember you just have to never give up. AND when you get negative/not helpful comments ask them to help you. Can you go for a walk with me? Can you massage my hands/feet -- my muscles hurt? I betcha the comments will stop.

mylittlerainbow

Agree with so much of the above - plan ahead and prelog. Tell yourself that you will have to log every single bite that passes your mouth - how easy it is to resist "just a taste" of somebody's dessert when we go out for dinner if I know that I am going to have to work rather hard to figure out how many calories were in that bite and then write it down. Also, water really helps to give you something to swallow and keep you feeling more full.

Lounmoun

live2bgramma wrote: »

Lots of stress these days. Just starting up again with fitness pal and need to stay focused - it seems every time I get stressed out I reach for unhealthy food, afterwards feeling quite guilty .. Is there any way to stay focused? My willpower has been very weak lately too and some of my family often making comments about my weight and how 'they thought I was working out, when will it start showing' - you would think at my age things like this wouldn't matter but it seems to matter. I'm over 60 - never a problem until 14 years ago with weight and can't seem to find the program that will work so I can live a long healthy life

Is your goal weight loss? If so focus on calories and logging accurately as you can.
Do you have specific nutrition goals? Are you aiming for a certain amount of protein, servings of fruits or vegetables, lowering sodium, reducing sugar, eating less convenience foods? If you don't have specific goals maybe you need to define some. Healthy eating is vague.
Are you trying to manage your stress with other tools? Meditation, therapy, exercise, music, art, hobbies, writing, talking, etc.

I find it helpful to think of the nutrients in food rather than label things healthy or unhealthy. I prelog my day and look first at calories and then if I am getting enough protein. I try to get several servings of fruit of vegetables a day. Not too complicated.

Mzzlin

kshama2001 wrote: »

I have successfully retrained my brain to want to exercise when I'm stressed rather than eating. I work from home and if work is stressing me out doing something as simple as going outside and picking up sticks in the yard will snap me out of it. Even better, I will prune, which I find very meditative in general and also quite satisfying when I'm stressed. If I were still at the office, I would walk around the building.

(I exercise regularly as well.)

a ps on age - my mom is 78 and is incredibly active. Due to recent low bone density scores, she has started working out with a trainer twice a week. She gardens extensively, walks, practices yoga, and swims in season. She also paints and otherwise maintains her 200+ year old house.

Mzzlin

I need to retrain my brain too!!! Thanks for the reminder