Frustrations~

InsidiousFlair

Hi! Just starting up here. Recently I've found that I have begun to gain weight- and not in places I'd like it. I have a problem with eating junk foods (in particular, sweets), being in a household that will not hide/stop buying. I just love the things that aren't good. My meals are fine, and actually generally healthy, but I snack in between them because I looove sweets (dark chocolate is nice, too, but never really sweet enough). Whenever I try to eat better, or less of it, I end up binging or losing motivation.

Also, because of my size, activity level(a student with work outside of class- I often am working on projects from when I get home to when I go to bed) and weight (I want to lose around ten pounds) my calorie count is 1,200 and that feels really difficult to obtain. I almost always am over it, staying around 2,000.

I feel like I'm not doing any of this well already, and motivation/discipline is my weakpoint- help?

kimny72

There's nothing wrong with a little treat food as long as it doesn't make you overeat. Do you enjoy the food you're eating for your meals? If not, your snacking might be to make up for that. Make sure you are including some of the foods you love!

Is your weekly loss goal too aggressive? 2 lbs per week is only realistic for those who have a lot of weight to lose, so if that's not you, lower your goal to 1 lb and give yourself a little wiggle room. Honestly with only 10 lbs to go, half a lb per week is sometimes necessary.

If you find you are snacking for no reason, find other ways to occupy your mouth, like chewing gum or drinking tea or a diet soda.

And if you eat more than you intended to, don't beat yourself up and decide since you blew it for the day you might as well eat Everything. Recognize it, stop, learn from it, and get right back on track.

The small weekly losses you can expect with so little to lose can be easily hidden in normal weight fluctuations. Patience, faith in the process, and very accurate logging will be necessary. Read the stickie posts, they'll help too. Good luck!

sriley721

i feel your pain. Sweets are my downfall. There was a time that my motivation for going out of the house was the chocolate ( i felt I deserved) in the trip. I would buy Tastycakes that I would keep to myself out of the kitchen so binging was easy. Reese cups were always in my night stand and I baked cakes weekly. The good news is that the sweet driven binging will stop if you can't stick with it long enough to break the cycle. For me it took 2 weeks. I still want to stress eat but it doesn't have to be cake or chocolate. It gets easier!

Meghanebk

Your calorie goal may be too low. You're a student and you work - lots of walking? If yes, increase your calories.

Personally, at 1200 I spend all my time focusing on food and often crave sweets or salty snacks and eat way over the limit. It's FAR easier for me to stick to a 1650 calorie level. I work my favorite treats into that. I almost never binge when my daily calories are higher - I lose faster at 1650 than 1200 because I do not slip and way overeat.

Mithridites

I initially set a 2lbs per week goal and MFP gave me a daily 1200 that was really hard to stick to.
Much more successful with 1lb per week goal - now I get to eat 1380 per day.
It also helps to pick one's snacks carefully and educate oneself about portion sizes.

KateA2017

Nothing wrong with a treat here and there just not everyday and when you do add a little more activity