How to keep going

kat_rose89

Hi community-

I have had this app since 2013 and not only have I *not* met my fitness goals, I've gained 30lbs since. This is motivating me to get back into the groove of the app and dieting-- but how do I stick with it? It's easy to maintain for a week and then forget..

Looking for any support, guidance, friends on this journey.

Thanks all,
k

Tblackdogs

My advice is to be active on the site so it becomes a regular part of your day like checking email or going on FB. Get some friends, write comments on their pages and your own. Read the forums and of course log! Also instead of planning on a week, why don't you challenge yourself to log for 30 days. Put it on your calendar! I started back up after the holidays and it seems like just days! I've lost 10 pounds! You can do it!

concordancia

Set reasonable goals.

Ie Try tracking for a week with tracking as your only goal. Get in the habit of weighing and measuring everything.

Ie Think of a reward for logging in for 30 days. Maybe put a dollar in a jar for every day you log in, but you can only spend it once you have a 30 day streak. If you don't achieve a 30 day streak within 90 days, the money gets donated to your local food bank.

Momepro

Break things down into individual behaviors and habits. Instead of looking at this as an all at once, or all or nothing proposition, find ways to break things down into smaller and more sustainable habits. That makes it much easier to pinpoint where something is not working, and fix it, rather than staring at the whole jumbled mess of NOT WORKING. Plus, when you do backslide, you are less likely to drop everything, just one or two habits, that can then be fixed again. Otherwise, trying to everything at once, means that you are likely to leave out something important (like weighing food), and pay excessive attention to things that aren't. (Like fiber drinks and vinegar)
Don't demonize foods that don't actually make you feel bad. Obviously if you have food sensitivities avoid those things, but don't cut out all your favorite goodies because they are not "healthy". Think of your calories as a type of currency. You should purchase the nutrient rich stuff first, budget for regular treats, and don't waste any calories on stuff you hate, even if it is theoretically good for you.
Log EVERYTHING.
Don't JUST weigh (with a scale is best) everything you eat, also write why you are eating it (i.e, lunchtime, hungry, kind of bored, out with friends, watching tv) and how you are feeling right before, right after and an hour after (hungry, comfortable, normal, full, very full bloated, drowsy, OMG I am so damn sick of this crap I want to throw the whole plate out a window, etc).
This gives you a baseline pattern for your normal habits and routine. From there, it's just a matter of experimenting. Are you very full after dinner? Cut back on a few things. Does lunch leave you bloated and gassy after an hour, try less or no mayo, and see if there's something you don't mind dropping each meal (fries, or cheese, or maybe only 2 tacos instead of 3).Are you starving an hour after dinner?Maybe more fats during.
It's amazing how quickly these small and easily sustainable changes will add up to big calorie cuts. Only cut one or two things at a time, until they become habit instead if trying to do everything at once. That way they become individual habits instead of one big "diet".

theabsentmindednurse

It depends on how badly you want it!
COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY is the key to weight loss.
Of course along with CICO.
Commit to logging in every morning. Set your alarm. Weigh, measures, log!
Make it a habit.
Before long you will see the results!

rainbow198

There's some great advice here!

What worked for me was to become a planner. I planned each meal and I planned my workouts. After a while it became a habit then I started seeing results which made me want to keep going.

Having a game plan takes the guess work out of things and knowing what I'm going to eat and the workout(s) I'm doing to do for the day keeps me in control.

Take things day by day, week by week. Stay consistent and don't be hard on yourself. Hopefully one day you can make it a habit, then results will come.

Good luck!

JeromeBarry1

While I was obese, I never forgot that I was obese. When I finally discovered myfitnesspal in 2016, I finally had the tool I needed, which was the food diary. By truthfully and accurately logging my food, I was able to remember what I had eaten, plan what I could eat, see when to stop eating, and observe what happened when I over-ate. Losing weight wasn't difficult at all. Remembering to log food wasn't difficult for me. For you, make sure to remember to log food. Simply having the app on your phone isn't enough. Use it.

Ron_in_NC

Tblackdogs wrote: »

My advice is to be active on the site so it becomes a regular part of your day like checking email or going on FB. Get some friends, write comments on their pages and your own. Read the forums and of course log! Also instead of planning on a week, why don't you challenge yourself to log for 30 days. Put it on your calendar! I started back up after the holidays and it seems like just days! I've lost 10 pounds! You can do it!

I agree. I, for the most part, keep the MFP tab open all the time. One of the first things I look at in the mornings, and add my coffee, eggs, etc. to my bkfast diary. It's a challenge for me, although I still love my beer and wine. That's my shortcoming I have pizzas in the freezer, but keep looking for something else. Also, one thing that helps me, even though I read pro and con comments on it, is that I step on the scale each morning before I put my clothes on, hoping for just a bit more gone than yesterday. If I weigh weekly, then I don't know if I'm actually gaining and not sure when to put the brakes on even more. And friends to root you on! Lost 6 lbs in the last 3 weeks.

kommodevaran

You forget to log your food? Do you forget to eat, too?

Gaining weight is easy and comfortable, losing weight takes a willful effort. You don't want to gain weight, but you don't want to eat less, either. If the unwanted weight gain is the only thing that motivates you to log your food intake, it kinda makes sense that you "forget".

I have lost and gained weight repeatedly. Composing a diet and exercise routine that creates weightloss if you stick to it, is easy. It's sticking to it that's the real challenge.

So how to fix it? Make your own diet and exercise routine, something that not only creates weightloss if you stick to it, but something you can see yourself keep up, five or ten years from now.

Skrib69

I struggled until I found this site and embraced the community. I also found a reason to lose the weight - for me it was that my T-shirt was the only thing holding my stomach in. It had to go!