If you feel like you're ready to give up, please read this.

Ramberta · July 2013

Hi there.

I won't claim to know you, or your goals, or what brought you to MFP. I won't claim to know what's best for you, though if any of you reading this have questions you don't feel comfortable asking on the main forums, please send me a message and I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my ability or refer you to a source that can.

I'm not claiming to be an expert-- I'm actually just now pulling myself out of nearly a 3-week slump. I wasn't working out, stopped logging my food, started eating more and more, and what I did eat was terrible choices like fast food and way too much sugar. It's not that those foods are terrible in and of themselves, but I was indulging far too much in far too few food groups, instead of a balanced and healthy diet. I felt bloated, depressed, and ready to just give up and go back to the life I had before I started getting serious about losing weight. My size 18 jeans were getting tight again, and my size 20 jeans, that I was getting almost too small for, began to fit a bit too comfortably again.

And then it hit me--

Going back to my old eating habits would mean going back to my old size. I'd already put 5 pounds back on, and if I didn't stop soon I'd undo all the hard work I'd been doing since last September. I'd go back to having less energy, more stomach and intestinal upset, more problems sleeping and staying asleep, more problems with moodiness and anger, and more problems with my self-esteem.

And I did NOT want to let that happen.

So if you're reading this, ready to throw in the towel because you're frustrated, you can't seem to meet your goals, or you feel like at any moment you're just going to slip backwards and give up on this whole thing... think about how far you've already come. Even if you've just started here, think about the motivation it took to even make an account here and make the decision to get healthy, even if it's a harder one than you thought it would be. And if you've already lost weight, think about how horrible it would be to put that weight back on knowing how hard it was to lose it in the first place!!

Your body deserves to be treated with respect... if you do, it will make you happy. Happier than anyone else can make you, because this is something that is selfish in the best way-- it is created by YOU to benefit YOU! If you make good decisions, the effects of those decisions will last the rest of your life. The same can be said for bad decisions. So are you going to give up on yourself?! Give yourself some credit! You are stronger than you think. You are stronger than ANYONE thinks. And you are capable of ANYTHING you set your mind to, no matter how impossible it may seem.

You know what it takes. You know how to set small, achievable goals for yourself... and if you are shaking your head "no" to that part, then at least you know that you need to seek more knowledge on how to set achievable goals. You know the tools you need to succeed, you just need to place them in front of you, not keep them hidden away. You know the excuses you've been making for yourself... and you know they're bull****. Everyone has problems, and yours may be really, really tough right now... but this is your life!! There will NEVER be an easy or convenient time for you to get healthy, because life will always get in the way. You have to put yourself FIRST. Your physical (and mental) health should be the #1 priority in your life, above your SO, above your job, above your children-- because if you can't take care of yourself, how can you take care of anyone, or anything, else?

This is getting really long, so I will end with this: No matter how frustrating these changes in your life seem, you will look back on them one day and be so glad that you did it. Even if it didn't work out and you had to completely change your routine, your diet, your exercise patterns, etc... at least you had the courage to try and fail and NOT give up, but to try again from a different angle. Nothing is going to be easy, and nothing is going to magically happen overnight. Have patience, have trust in your body and what you are capable of, and NEVER GIVE UP!!

naturallyme36 · July 2013

thanks for posting this.

drmcglone · July 2013

THANK YOU!!!!!!

Yourdonis · July 2013

Very encouraging. Thank You!

caiconCristi · July 2013

Thanks!

sbrownallison · July 2013

Great post, and I found it inspiring. You sound as if you really know what you're looking for and why you're on this path to health. There will be slips along the way for all of us. It's important to move on and get back on track. You are so correct when you consider how healthy eating, exercise, and achieving a more normal weight makes us feel so much better. Those are the kinds of thoughts we need to keep close to our hearts.

queencat3 · July 2013

Thank you

ldnmaggie · July 2013

Bumping this for later :-)

Going4Great · July 2013

Perfect timing! Thanks!

JDHINAZ · July 2013

I don't know you, but I love you. You're awesome!

Trevorcook91 · July 2013

Thanks for posting this, I have been feeling this way for about a week. I need to find alot of motivation to get off the couch and get moving. But it is really hard.

RunFarLiveHappy · July 2013

I have a similar mantra in my head often. Being fat is hard, being fit is hard, choose your hard. I might slip but I won't fail.

jhalcomb57 · July 2013

Thank you for your encouraging words. Been there so many times, here to you!:drinker:

fancythat42 · July 2013

Thank you!!! Your words rang very true.

Ramberta · July 2013

Great post, and I found it inspiring. You sound as if you really know what you're looking for and why you're on this path to health. There will be slips along the way for all of us. It's important to move on and get back on track. You are so correct when you consider how healthy eating, exercise, and achieving a more normal weight makes us feel so much better. Those are the kinds of thoughts we need to keep close to our hearts.

The thing of it is, I always knew what I 'wanted' (to be at a lower, healthier weight), but I never thought about it in realistic terms. I set myself up for failure with my expectations that were too drastic for me to achieve in what I was willing to put out-- and I'd get frustrated, give up, and then wonder why I'd failed myself yet again. It wasn't until just last year that something finally 'clicked' and I realized that this isn't just something I 'want' to do... it's something I NEED to do! Because everyone deserves a healthy, happy life.

Ramberta · July 2013

Thanks for posting this, I have been feeling this way for about a week. I need to find alot of motivation to get off the couch and get moving. But it is really hard.

You've already lost more than 30 pounds, though, that's great!! You've come this far, you just need to remind yourself why this is all worth it.

Ramberta · July 2013

I have a similar mantra in my head often. Being fat is hard, being fit is hard, choose your hard. I might slip but I won't fail.

Absolutely. I may have hated exercising at first, and the cravings I had when I started to limit my calories and to NOT give in to my every indulgence, but, I also hated feeling crappy on a daily basis when I was at my highest weight of nearly 300 pounds, when simply getting out of bed was a huge chore! It wasn't easy to get to where I am but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

RunFarLiveHappy · July 2013

I have a similar mantra in my head often. Being fat is hard, being fit is hard, choose your hard. I might slip but I won't fail.

Absolutely. I may have hated exercising at first, and the cravings I had when I started to limit my calories and to NOT give in to my every indulgence, but, I also hated feeling crappy on a daily basis when I was at my highest weight of nearly 300 pounds, when simply getting out of bed was a huge chore! It wasn't easy to get to where I am but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

For sure. I'll take the "exhausted after working out hard for an hour" vs the "exhausted after a flight of stairs" any day of the week lol.

CeeBeeSlim · July 2013

Thank you! So eerily similar to my situation right now, so I just joined minutes ago and this is the first post I see. The stars must be aligned! A 3 week stressful family vacation led to too many trips to Dairy Queen, and a ten lb weight loss has been obliterated. Sigh. But it's a hiccup, I dusted myself off and was looking for some inspiration and found it. Thanks so much!

mpettey86 · July 2013

Thank you thank you thank you!! I've just started and I need this already!

faith2337 · July 2013

Thank you for posting this. This has been me for about 4 weeks now and I've noticed I have gained about 6lbs back of the 45 I have lost. I wanna hit that 50lb mark and this has just reassured me!!

prettykitty1963 · July 2013

Your posting is perfect timing for me as well....thank you!!!!!! I am so glad I read it

oceanblue6 · July 2013

great post!

kathleenjoyful · July 2013

Proud of you, for your positive mindset and realisations, and the courage to get back on track!

ReginaM49 · July 2013

Great timing! I've hit a plateau in the last month or so. This was the encouragement I needed. Thank you!

RoninLife · July 2013

Thanks for this post!

I fell off the wagon last week and didn't log in for 3 days. I was seriously considering never logging back on because I was embarrassed. I wasn't working out and I was eating crap everyday. Then one person messaged me with just one question. "Are you giving up already?" I felt so much shame because I knew where I was heading. MFP is NOT the first site I have signed up for to try to lose weight. And after a failure, I just give up... then days, weeks, months later, I'd kick myself for giving up. "Oh if only I had kept going in January, in March, In May", etc, until it's January again. It's a vicious cycle. So I did what I would never have done in the past. I came back. And confessed my failure. And I felt so much better and more motivated than ever.