I keep sabotaging myself ☹️ HELP...

mandalieth

I had a great start dieting and taking care of myself to lose weight (baby fat, and sedentary life).
What do you do to keep on track and don’t fall for every cookie you see on your way?

TavistockToad

You need to think about why you don't think you deserve to lose weight and be healthy?

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Following a weekly calorie goal keeps me on track as it allows me to fit in a meal out and drinks.

pogiguy05

Well being a person who has started and stopped so many times I can only say that it takes something within yourself to snap I guess.

I am 51yo and to this point in my life I have been pretty healthy although overweight by society standards. Then back in August this year I was out with family walking on a trail that was paved. Half way back to the car I stopped to use the porta potty and when I came out and started walking I had a weird feeling. Before I could say anything I passed out and my face broke my fall on the pavement. When I came to shortly after I realized what happened then two missing teeth and a hole in my bottom lip. A trip to the ER and they said it was Vasal Vagal Syncope or simply put the blood drained out of my head. The next month or so I also had a head concussion from the whole thing and could not remember some simple words and phrases. thank goodness it was temporary.

So for me I got the crap scared out of me. I am now going to the gym regularly and doing some strength training. I know building muscle will help me burn more calories. I started going back to the gym Oct 1st and for me I have gotten to the point where I like the way I feel. I also have started to notice and maybe I am just weird, but when I am shopping I look around and I see and say "holy cow look how much crap they try to sell us"

I guess there is no magic way and I have just come to say I am not going to work that hard in the gym and logging my foods to jeopardize my success that way this time. It does not matter take it one day at a time. no one is perfect and we all have bad days. Just pick yourself back up and start over.

I hope that you can overcome the temptations

Nemarto

Moderation is a big thing for people. You can restrict yourself and want it more. But if you fit it into your calorie goal of the day, it will satisfy you and keep you from going off the rail.

That being said. Eat fruits and veggies to keep you full, that can also help with satiety. But finding a nice medium without fully restricting yourself works wonders.

88olds

Like pogoguy05, I found fear provided certain energy to concentrate.

But let's stick to the face of your post. On track? What track are you on? If you are on a "diet" track, it's a bad place to start from. Looking for moderate, livable lifestyle changes is a better position to start from. Work on developing good habits. A food diary, where you record everything no matter what, is a good place to start.

Weigh and measure what you eat and drink at home. Study NI to make good faith calculations when out. A carefully monitored modest calorie deficit over time will get you what you want. Figure out how you will cope with the time issue. It wrecks a lot of people.

Cookies. Are you feeling deprived? I fought cookies, and sweet treats in general with this- ice cream. I calculated a satisfying portion of LF ice cream that I could eat everyday. About 100 cals was enough. But, eat the cookie at the office- no ice cream. I can gulp down 100cals in cookies in the blink of an eye. The ice cream was a much more rewarding experience.

Cookies part 2. I've put a lot of thought into the cookie and find it a particular problem. For me they are like potato chips, no such thing as 1. But a single chip is a couple of calories. 3,4 cookies can be 100s of calories. I just wasn't going to get to goal eating more than a rare cookie.

Urges. You didn't make the cookies, you didn't bring them to work or whatever. They are not part of your plan. Let's go back to your plan. WL is a process. Invest in the process. When you have some time and effort on the line, you may not want to give it up to someone else who decided it was cookie day. Yeah, I know they were trying to be nice, but it's not helpful to your goals. You deserve to get what you want for yourself.

Sorry this is so long. WL is complex.

JeromeBarry1

Who says I don't avail myself of opportunities to have a cookie? The understanding I have of myself and Willpower is such that I don't dare ask that fragile twit to do anything I don't want to do. It betrays me. So, I have a cookie or two, log it, and carry on with my day.

There are a few things I can't share a house with. Pecan pie is one. Nutella is the other. Cookies and ice cream and candy are things in the house and I know where they are, but if I can't see them I'm ok.

leggup

There will be SO MANY COOKIES in life. I get to decide how many of them I eat (I do eat cookies). If food doesn't fit into my day/week, (usually because I'm having other treats), I ask myself what I would enjoy more, having that treat or having a solid loss this week.

I calorie count, so I know whether I have lost weight before I get on the scale.

curiousgp

Goals. Calorie and movement goals.

Also - in regards to that cookie. I set personal standards. I'll eat home made baked goods- nothing store bought or that has preservatives in it. I'll allow good chocolate once in a while but pass by the easy to find, cheap stuff. I'll allow a cocktail while I'm making supper, but I don't have anything beyond that.

My personal nemesis is cheese. It is so easy for me to skip dinner and settle for cheese and crackers on a busy week night....I have to reign in this habit often and remind myself that a salad is just as quick and easy.

Also it is so much easier to track calories when you set out your day in front of you and record what you plan to eat. Have a plan and try to stick with it for the most part.

Nikion901

I have to abstain from having cookies in the house. Or candy. Or ice cream. Or chips of any sort. Even crackers. If they are in the house, even prepackaged into single servings, even hidden away from view, even hidden in places I don't store my every day food ... they will send their potent waves directly to the shadow brain and become a constant nag ... 'eat me, eat me; just one, eat me' .... However I can be out of my house, say at a party, ... and as long as I don't start on one of those before I've had my event meal I can usually stop at 3 or 4 before it's time to go home.

RachelElser

I'm a mini goal kind of person. Have a chart with your weekly goals- white board is great you can erase at the end and start again. Or you can do it janky method- print off whatever you use and cover it in clear packing tape.

I like this one - it's got fruits/veggies, exercise, water, etc. I took out the 'group activity' stuff as I live alone but other than that I really it.

https://nutritioneducationstore.com/products/reward-chart-poster

avjets

I agree, with most. Certain things in the house = out of control. For me it is peanut butter, crackers, chips, and ice cream. Oh sure I am very good when in public. But come late night by myself it could be trouble. What I have found is that acknowledge what happened and understand how you feel just after, guilty and bloated mostly. I think the part that will go the longest for me is realizing this is a marathon not a sprint, and a lifestyle change to last forever and not an end goal.

jasminebaggins

First of all, JUST start again. Don't beat yourself up if you had a cookie. Ask yourself if you enjoyed it and log the calories. THEN move on. I stopped and started my diet so many times for so many years. I finally started making steady progress by just sticking with it and logging even if I made a mistake. Funny thing about that, once logging became the habit I made less mistakes. I will reiterate what others have been saying too, don't keep triggers in the house and eat fruits, veggies and protein. For me a big thing is also water. I aim for 8 glasses a day and I constantly have water in my hand that I drink if I feel like snacking for no reason. Also exercise, helps in a million ways but also let's you "earn" a little cookie at the end of the night if you want it.

JillianRumrill

I pre-set my calories for the day, It helps having a "menu" to refer to. When something unexpected pops up (like last night hubby asking me if I want the last cinnamon roll) I give it a quick thought (do I have room in my calories for this? Do I really NEED it??) and usually turn it down. Side note: I already had a cinnamon roll as part of my dessert last night, so having a second one really wasn't wanted. The only thing that made me hesitate was the fear of missing out. Well, I "missed out" and nothing bad happened!

greenlizard72

I added some MFP friends and interact with them through the status updates on the homepage. I 'like' positive updates from them which results in them liking some of my updates. These likes and comments send alerts to my phone throughout the day. These alerts constantly remind me of my goal and keep me focused. Plus, interacting with others often gives me insight and hope.