What is wrong with me?

elphie754

What is wrong with me that I keep losing motivation? I'll be good for part of a day and then blow it all at night. No, it is not because I am undereating and my body wants more food, it's more like once I take that extra bite, I end up saying "oh well" and won't stop eating (if that makes sense).

Tl;dr. How do you stay motivated?

Unknown

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toxikon

Find ways to keep yourself accountable and practice sustainable eating habits.

- Don't be too aggressive with your calorie deficit. It's easy to give into cravings when you're ravenous. Try a modest deficit instead - something you can stick to.

- Add more high-volume, low-calorie foods to your diet to keep you full. Fresh fruit and veggies and lean proteins tend to work nicely. Limit high-calorie, low-volume foods like peanut butter, chips, cookies, french fries.

- Find a meal-timing strategy that works for you. I enjoy having a large dinner and going to bed with a full belly, so I save lots of calories for the evening by skipping breakfast and having a light lunch.

- Consider meal-prepping. Always having meals ready to pop in the microwave when you get home from work can help stave off the temptation to get fast food on the way home. Plus your wallet will thank you.

- Consider pre-logging. Plan your whole day's worth of calories first thing in the morning and stick to it.

It's all about finding strategies that work for YOU. Motivation wanes, but habits persist.

Christine_72

I try and remember that feeling of immense disappointment in myself when i wake up the next morning after a dismal eating day, I kick myself and regret it each and every time!!

I am also sick of having a fat belly, I will never, ever get rid of it if I eat to my hearts content and say Yes more times than no.

Good_Morning_Glory

Now this might sound crazy, but I was going down the same road last year. I took a break. Well I didn’t REALLY take a break, I just kept logging, kept bingeing, kept trying, kept logging, gained twenty pounds, kept logging, completely lost it and deleted my WHOLE ACCOUNT, started over, kept logging, added back my key support group, kept eating over, kept logging and EVENTUALLY everything started to make more sense to me and I’ve fallen into a really good place.

I stopped eating breakfast and also started eating a bigger dinner. I have good days, I have not so good days. But I haven’t given up. I keep right in trying. I’ve been at this for five years. This is like, my fourth account lol. I JUST KEEP TRYING. I don’t know how to give up on myself.

Creating a new habit is hard. I tried to create too many at once, along with having NO patience and was really mean to myself.

I’d go with changing ONE habit.

Did I sound loopy?

RAinWA

I totally get the "oh well, I blew it for today, might as well keep going" thing. I've managed to "unmotivate" myself to the point that I need to go back to trying to lose about 15 pounds again.

You've had a lot of challenges. Maybe you should try relaxing your mindset a bit. Figure any day you have a deficit is a win. Eventually you may find it easier and less stressful to create a bigger deficit on a regular basis. I threw myself a pity party for awhile after "stuff" happened. I have given up on relying on motivation and am just trying to be consistent and get back to making better choices.

Mostly be kind to yourself and keep going.

MichelleSilverleaf

If your changes aren't something you enjoy, you're not likely to stick to them. Like if you hate the gym but go because you think you have to you'll easily start making excuses not to go. Or if you're trying a particular eating style that makes you unhappy you'll fall off of it. Or you could be trying to do too much too soon.

InAPairOfChucks

MistressSara wrote: »

I can only analyze my own stuff and hope it might be helpful so... when I'm happy and engaged in the rest of my life, when I'm well rested, having interesting conversations and meaningful connections with other adults regularly - that's when self-control becomes easier. I'm working on it.

I heard something very similar to this on the radio earlier. A Catholic Priest stated that self-control becomes much easier when we become more charitable and focus on others needs above our own. Needless to say, self-control is easier when we are not so self-focused.

Nikion901

Nothing is wrong with you ... you are quite natural ... and perhaps somewhat perfectionistic or black/white in your thinking about food. Give yourself some space, a little wiggle room ... so that one a day when you do eat that extra bite it's all-ok because it's within your allowance.

Unknown

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PAT2210511

What is wrong? You already know what is wrong is that you eat too much, and you have a self-defeating process where you allow yourself that extra bite. Its called discipline, i'm not being mean, i'm being brutally honest.

Machka9

elphie754 wrote: »

What is wrong with me that I keep losing motivation? I'll be good for part of a day and then blow it all at night. No, it is not because I am undereating and my body wants more food, it's more like once I take that extra bite, I end up saying "oh well" and won't stop eating (if that makes sense).

Tl;dr. How do you stay motivated?

I have goals.

For example, if I want to cycle up our local mountain again, and I do, I'd better drop a few lbs or it is going to be really difficult.

Machka9

Try this ...

Good article:

How to Cultivate Mental Toughness
What can we learn about mental toughness from the world's top athletes?
https://www.verywell.com/how-to-cultivate-mental-toughness-4134660

brightresolve

Nikion901 wrote: »

Nothing is wrong with you ... you are quite natural ... and perhaps somewhat perfectionistic or black/white in your thinking about food. Give yourself some space, a little wiggle room ... so that one a day when you do eat that extra bite it's all-ok because it's within your allowance.

^^^ SO MUCH THIS.

Nothing is wrong with you. I can certainly relate to losing discipline and focus after that first (delicious, right?) bite, especially of something I have tried to put completely out of bounds ...

A number of misquoted people have said that success comes from rising again every time we fall. They're not wrong! Best to you - go easy on yourself.

kissedbythesunlight

I agree with the comments above. The only thing I would say is to also try to pre log the “oh just forget it” calories. Sometimes just seeing the extra calories logged can cause you to give it a second thought.

oolou

I find that watching TV late at night is a bad time for me with regards to ruining my day. So I try to limit how much I watch and when I do sit down to watch a film or something that will last for an hour or more - I have now started to take a few pieces of fruit with me to the living room, so that I don't get up and fetch the chocolate/crackers/biscuits that I know are lurking in the kitchen cupboards instead. It's still extra calories but at least it's got some nutritional value.

lulalacroix

For me it's not about motivation. I know that I like to snack at night, so I save calories for the end of the night. I often eat only 2 meals a day, so that helps.

I also try to eat satiating foods, which for me are proteins and fats. If I start the day with a carb heavy meal then I will crave carbs and all foods all day.

My point is that maybe you should experiment with different food timings and/or figure out which foods are most satiating to you. Motivation can be very limited, figuring out habits that help you be successful can get you through those low motivation moments.

kommodevaran

Nothing is wrong with you, you're just aiming for the wrong things (stay motivated and be good) and you don't understand how your body and mind works. I get that you want to do it right and that is commendable; you might be feeding your body with what it needs physically, but you're also a living creature with desires and wants that you need fulfilled. When you think that you can ignore your wants and desires, and then realize you can't, you feel like you're losing control, and then you do lose control.

My tips would be to get in some kinds of friendly boundaries - schedule truly enjoyable meals and snacks, teach yourself to wait, and to be moderate, but also to trust that you can choose freely, and that you will have some of what you desire.

Wolfger

elphie754 wrote: »

What is wrong with me that I keep losing motivation?

I've been there and done that, and now that I've become successful, please accept this little bit of wisdom that I have finally learned:
You are *ALWAYS* motivated. The question is, what are you motivated to do? You have to decide that you want the thing you wish you had (a skinnier body?) more than you want the thing that's getting in your way (food?). It really does all boil down to deciding what you want, and for years my answer was always that I wanted food and booze more than I really wanted to lose weight. It took me until age 47 (and approaching 300 pounds for a second time) to finally reach the tipping point where a lighter, healthier body became the thing I really wanted. And I've learned to successfully work beer and pizza into my diet, as well, so I still enjoy the things I like - only less frequently and in smaller quantities.

TavistockToad

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/40735688#Comment_40735688