My own worst enemy

lewdyju

New and going to try online support I have never had success with online weightless tools, weight watchers or anything. Mainly because I give up and go back to my bad habits. So this is my weekly routine.
Monday sick of being fat, seeing my face in pictures thinking my god I don't even look like me.
Tuesday what should I do to start this diet and exercise routine
Wednesday Walk 3-6 miles, skip meals and eat everything I shouldn't because I skipped breakfast and lunch
Thursday Too busy at work to think about meal planning
Friday Work, happy hour, cocktails then snacks
Saturday Walk 3-6 miles, grocery shop, clean house, skipped meals again and then cocktails with the neighbors and swim with kids and snack.
Sunday Funday, cocktails, swim, lounge and eat!

Not what I want but my weekends are my escape from what I do wrong on a daily basis. I am spinning out of control and in 4 years have gained 30 pounds! This is just horrible and I don't know where to begin.

Lind5ay90

I'm so sorry that you are struggling to begin your weight loss journey. I know just what you mean by feeling confused as to how to even start. What I did was make little, easy to stick with changes. As opposed to skipping breakfast and choking down just a salad at lunch...I'd eat cereal for breakfast but make it a healthy cereal...I'd put tuna salad in a bell pepper instead of putting it on bread...I'd sprinkle ground flax seed into my yogurt instead of sugary granola.
Making small, easy changes is just the push you need to stick with it. Start by changing just one meal a day and gradually build up to changing your whole diet.
One healthy meal isn't going to yield weight loss...just as one bad meal isn't going to cause a gain. You'll get there. Just keep trying.

mominstands

New and going to try online support I have never had success with online weightless tools, weight watchers or anything. Mainly because I give up and go back to my bad habits. So this is my weekly routine.
Monday sick of being fat, seeing my face in pictures thinking my god I don't even look like me.
Tuesday what should I do to start this diet and exercise routine
Wednesday Walk 3-6 miles, skip meals and eat everything I shouldn't because I skipped breakfast and lunch
Thursday Too busy at work to think about meal planning
Friday Work, happy hour, cocktails then snacks
Saturday Walk 3-6 miles, grocery shop, clean house, skipped meals again and then cocktails with the neighbors and swim with kids and snack.
Sunday Funday, cocktails, swim, lounge and eat!

This sounds just like my week............except instead of cocktails its beer & forget the walking.

jzammetti

I was my own worst enemy too (and I think most of us were). Take small steps - don't be overly restrictive or force an unusual amount of exercise right away. Eat things you like just in smaller amounts (weighing food is best), eat a minimum of .8 grams of protein per pound of weight, track everything, and go for a walk each evening or morning. Once you make those changes (one at a time is perfect) then you work on changing something else. Remember, you are learning to be successful forever and overly restrictive food rules will set you up for failure.

The one thing you may have to do all the time is work on positive self-talk. Maybe it sounds dumb, but it was the deal maker for me. I kept a positive focus and worked really hard to beat down the ugly voice in my head that kept telling me it would never happen and I would fail. Well, after a year of really dealing with that voice, it is now the supportive loving friend I need it to be. It made a huge difference for my journey.

lewdyju

Thank you for replying, I always am on the go and skip meals so not that they are the best but I bought 2 cases of Slim Fast from Sams, one at work and one at home. This way I am at least putting something in me rather then skipping. I am not following their plan and have no intention of being on it but in a pinch I have something. I do love cooking when I have time. I love carbs and that is a downfall. Anything derived from a potato I am all in. I will cut portions by a third, intake more water and cut out my beloved cocktails but this will be hard. It is my escape from having to look at my real self.

Lonestar5775

Hey, you are at the right place. MyFitnessPal is perfect for us older folks. It gradually changes your eating habits and as time goes by your weight declines. As you begin to feel the effect, you get psyched to do even more and before long you have changed your old bad eating habits to healthier ones. The time it takes to make gains is going to pass anyway and by taking it slow, you don't feel restricted from everything you once liked to eat. It goes without saying, you have to really want it, and consistency in logging is key. Give it shot! I have dropped 20 pounds in my mid-50's over about 5 months. I can't recommend this method enough.

jlapey

This is good information for those just starting out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin

and when you've been here a while a things get confusing, this is a good group to join and ask questions:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

Good luck to you and remember, if you WANT it, you will find a way to make it happen. Do you want it???

JayeEJaye

cocktails are just empty calories, so that is the first change I would make. And start eating on a regular basis. Skipping meals then stuffing yourself just doesn't make any sense at all.

BeachIron

This is my two cents on the subject:

1. Commit. You have to want to lose weight and be willing to change your current behavior to accomplish that. The world is full of quick weight loss gimmicks because many people do not want to commit. They want the success but aren't willing to put in the work. You have made the right first step in identifying yourself as your own worst enemy. The good news is that you can also be your own best friend.

2. Spend time calculating your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and working out a reasonable deficit to achieve a steady and MODERATE weight loss. This needs to be a an amount that you can actually achieve day in and day out for a long time. There is no sense in setting it low only to find yourself suffering through it for a few days and then binging next week. Most people here will tell you 1 pound a weeks is right, and I agree.

3. Buy a digital kitchen scale and a good variety of measuring cups and spoons. Weigh all solids and measure any liquids that have any calories and that go into your body. And record it all.

4. Find an exercise program that you can stick with consistently over time. If it's only walking right now, then okay. But make sure you do it every day then but do not think that it every needs to be more than 1 hour a day. I sometimes hit 2 hours (split between weights and cardio) but I'm well into this and am not risking burn out by doing so. As you increase your physical capacity then increase your exercise until you are strength training at least 3 times a week and doing some sort of cardio 2 or 3 times a week (again, walking is fine). Cardio is not strictly necessary to lose weight but it will improve your cardiovascular health and it will help you by allowing you to eat a bit more. Strength training also is not strictly necessary to lose weight but it will help you retain what muscle mass you have. You won't notice the difference immediately but as you get close to your goal weight you will be very happy you did it.

5. And speaking of goal weight, don't worry about this so much. It will change as the weight comes off anyway. If it motivates you though, then have one but definitely be open to moving it down, reasonably, as the weight comes off and your view of things change.

6. BE CONSISTENT. No plan is worth a damn thing if you don't stick with it.

7. Be Patient. Weight loss isn't linear and you will have weeks where you do everything right and nothing happens. You're not alone here. It's happened to all of us.

8. Be willing to reevaluate if you do hit a plateau for a couple of months. The problem could be any one of the above issues. If it's not then talk to your M.D.

9. Have fun. Find ways to get your exercise in that you really enjoy. If you hate getting out of bed in the morning then that morning run is going to suck. Don't do this to yourself.

10. Dont' be unreasonable with your diet. Allow yourself to eat some of the foods that you always have, just in true 1 serving size portions. Some people are better than others with this. If you do have a true "trigger food" then you need to avoid it, at least for a while, but if you constantly deny your cravings, by eating yogurt rather than ice cream for example, you're going to eventually binge. At least most people will. The idea here isn't to punish yourself but to teach yourself how to eat proper portions and balance your diet. Many of us find success while still eating pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, beer, french fries, donuts and pop tarts. We just don't eat them all the time and when we do we have a portion. Not a box or a carton.

11. Forgive yourself for bad days. You will have them. We all do. Just make sure that you get right back on track rather than beating yourself up for a week and then releasing your stress about it in a box of donuts.

RunningSwede

Small changes over time lead to big results. I would invest in a pedometer. I"m using one. It keeps track of your steps. I keep a log, and I work on adding a few everyday. You end up looking for ways to walk more like I park the car at the far end of the parking lot so you can get a few more steps in. I also found that what is working for me (and maybe recommend for you) is to not skip meals because for me that's not a workable longterm solution. Now a meal may be dry toast and OJ, but it builds a routine, and I'm eating on a regular basis.

VorJoshigan

You are also your own best ally.

You will struggle to make any progress until you realize that you CAN do this.

terrieleeb

Number one thing for me is love yourself! If you cant love yourself the way you are the pounds will come back no matter how much you lose. all the tips above are great! I have lost and gained my whole life but have recently decided. I can live with myself the way I am, no matter what anyone else thinks. Yes I could stand to release this weight, but I have to love me to see the authentic me that is here and always has been. I love the groups on here. I am new/old here as well. this site has the easiest food and exercise calculators that I have found and wonderful people for support. As was said above. You will have weak moments, forgive yourself and give yourself permission to start again. Write out your goals to tell yourself you are committed! if it is just in your head you wont stick to it as well. Plan your meals the day or night before. Fail to plan, plan to fail...Hope this helps

twybeme

Thank you for the pointers and reminders. It was what helped me do it the first time, but I didn't keep with and gained most of it back. I'm trying again and it is good to see everything that worked before outlined so well by someone else!

ohnstadk

This is good information for those just starting out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin

and when you've been here a while a things get confusing, this is a good group to join and ask questions:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

Good luck to you and remember, if you WANT it, you will find a way to make it happen. Do you want it???

[25]testing a font thing i learned at this link, so bear with me everyone[/25]

okay, didnt work but was worth a shot