Hi, I'm not necessarily new but....

Karizi

... trying to motivate myself (again) to use MFP. and this whole weight loss. My weight has been up and down since I graduated college and at one point I almost hit 170. I was extremely devastated after taking one look at myself and realized that none of my clothes fit anymore (I used to wear scrubs). I let life get at me in a real bad way and took it out on food.

I know I want to change, I really do. This past year, I kept a log almost daily of what I ate and gradually started changing out the bad stuff. By the end of the school year (I'm a teacher), I had lost the 8lbs that I had gained since being on MFP but as I started to aggressively workout during the summer, I gain it all back. I know people say don't look at the numbers but I had nothing else to go by: my clothes don't fit any better and my face hasn't really changed. It really crushed my motivation. More so, because I had gained weight before (not this much ever but still) and had been able to drop it within months with proper eating and crazy workouts. The main differences between then and now are that I have a pretty stressful job and I'm about 5 years older.

::breathes::

So, I guess what I am ultimately asking is what has helped you past these times of just wanting to give up and what are some things you've done to keep yourself on track? Forgive me for this crazy long rant; it's been a tough couple of weeks.

jeep1lover

5 3 myself, willing to give support and encouragement. Looking to loose the last 5-10 in my journey. Look at my journal. I eat fresh lean meats, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. I have cut out most processed foods and concentrated sugars. If you have questions I am willing to answer and give support. I have been where you are. Jen

itsscottwilder

Write down your goals and post them somewhere you can see.

Not weight loss goals. Life goals. Who cares about losing 10, 20, 30 or 40 pounds. My dad died at 64, his dad died at 62. i want to live longer than that.

I want to see my son beyond his 30th birthday.

Losing weight is too abstract. Why do you really want to do this?

The other thing I do is remind myself that there are harder things than losing weight. Working an oil rig is hard. Or a coal mine. Or being a cancer doctor.

Losing weight is different. It takes focus, consistency, commitment. But it's not hard.

I can't save people with cancer, but I can eat less, move more and lift something heavy once in a while.

The last thing is I remind myself that I put a good amount of effort into getting heavy. So I deserve the effort it's gonna take to get fit.

You can do this!
1. learn to love water
2. Learn to love salad
3. learn to love chicken and turkey
4. get a pedometer and don't go to bed until you've walked 10,000 steps.
5. Figure out your BMR and make that your max amount of calories every day.

You can do this!!!

Karizi

Thanks! I try keep this in mind and not let the stress get to me.

Another question: how do you accurately calculate your BMR?