Feeling frustrated.

MyEvolvingJourney

Today, I've been on myfitnesspal for 30 days. And I've lost 2.6 pounds. First week I lost 4, then gained 2. Then lost 3, then this week I'm up almost 2 pounds again. I can honestly admit that I had a few days that I didn't track very carefully this week.
I'm feeling like I need to sit down and really figure out my why I want to do this. I do want to lose weight. I'm feel like I need to get my mind on track with it. How do you get your mind prepared for losing weight? I would ask how to stay motivated, but I know from past experience that you can't rely just on motivation. Motivation is so fleeting. I think a lot of it is mental. Like maybe I need to decide that this is what I am going to do. Any tips would be appreciated!

kommodevaran

I accepted that I would have to eat less, not just through weightloss, but for the rest of my life, and found ways to make that liveable.

TavistockToad

Weight fluctuates, overall you're losing. If you want more consistent losses, be more consistent with your deficit.

mulecanter

Yeah, I think you are on to it. There is some sort of psychological "switch" that needs to be flipped to really commit to a weight loss regimen. I had a "hit bottom" moment years ago when my wife bought me 42 waist pants, it was then that the switch flipped in my head to lose the $^^$^#@ weight. Some "frank" pictures of your body (your "before" shots) might help you internalize your current state. Spending time reading the community threads like this will help you maintain focus. Joining a weight loss challenge will help you maintain focus. Daily scale visits will help you maintain focus. You just have to make the mental leap.

L1zardQueen

You could look at it like this. You need to eat, right? Shave off 100 calories from your maintenance calories, do this everyday. Or just eat your maintenance calories for a few months but keep tracking, see if you can any small changes to your intake at the end of two months.

NovusDies

For me it is stick and carrot. I am only in a deficit 6 days at a time. When I am at a low point I tell myself all I have to do is make it to Sunday. I work very hard to keep my hunger in check and really if I am not hungry it is just a normal day.

I used to be afraid of "off" days thinking they were doing some ridiculous amounts of harm. I have learned otherwise and the pounds still come off.

seska422

Log what you eat and use that data to craft a comfortable way of eating that puts you at a calorie deficit.

Weigh yourself just to gather data so that you can see what your weight does over the long term. Each individual weight is just a data point. Don't compare today's weight to yesterday's or last week's weight but look at the trend over months.

My goals revolve around compliance with my plan rather than when the results show. I can't control what the scale says today but I can control my calorie intake and output. As long as I have a calorie deficit (or balance for maintenance) over time, I'll see the results over time.

try2again

I can't speak to the motivation element, but I'm thinking you're doing better than you think. A woman really can't gauge her weekly weight loss with only a month's data- too many fluctuations due to hormones, among other things.

Edited to add: Also, if you are cutting carbs either purposely or incidentally as part of restricting your calories, and then suddenly have a day a little higher in carbs, you will see the scale spike. It's just water retention- no worries. Do try to commit to consistent, careful tracking every day, however.

Fitnessmom82

MyEvolvingJourney wrote: »

Today, I've been on myfitnesspal for 30 days. And I've lost 2.6 pounds. First week I lost 4, then gained 2. Then lost 3, then this week I'm up almost 2 pounds again. I can honestly admit that I had a few days that I didn't track very carefully this week.
I'm feeling like I need to sit down and really figure out my why I want to do this. I do want to lose weight. I'm feel like I need to get my mind on track with it. How do you get your mind prepared for losing weight? I would ask how to stay motivated, but I know from past experience that you can't rely just on motivation. Motivation is so fleeting. I think a lot of it is mental. Like maybe I need to decide that this is what I am going to do. Any tips would be appreciated!

I committed to using my fitness pal, dieting and working out for one month. I got a package of sessions with a trainer to help point me in the right direction (I was clueless to all of it). I really was very unhappy with myself at the time and knew things needed to change. But I didn't really want to make the changes. So I said, do it for one month. If there are no improvements or you still hate it, then stop. It's only a month. Turns out I had a pretty good month, found a groove that worked for me and I kept at it. Once I saw that change was possible it became easier every day. My confidence went up, I felt better. I won't lie, there were many days during that first month that I wanted to quit but I just talked myself through it every day, sometimes hour by hour! I still have days when I want to throw in the towel and just return to my old habits. If you can focus on the big picture it really helps. I tell myself that it might feel great to blow my calories for the day on junk or whatever, or skip my workout and sleep, and I have done that. But, I ask myself how I'll feel later. Will I be more proud of sticking with my plan or going off track for something temporary?
Good luck!! Being on these boards is very helpful too!

try2again

Maybe you could benefit from this post:

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

rj0150684

For me, I had been saying I was “working out” or “losing weight” for a couple of months. I’d hit the gym once every couple of weeks, have an orange with breakfast once a week, maybe have a salad (with a cheeseburger and fries) for lunch every now and then and tell myself I was finally doing something about my weight. Then I weighed myself and I had gained another 5 pounds.

It was a really comforting lie that these tiny things I was doing would make a difference but I just couldn’t lie to myself any more. The number was right there. That was when I decided I had to get serious and actually do something of substance. I haven’t been doing it as long or as well as a lot of people here, but I’m down about 15 pounds, down a belt loop and I have so much more energy. Instead of beating yourself up over your weight (which, even if not as much as you’d like, is lower than it was), are there any other things you like about the new way you’re living? Do you sleep better? Have more energy? Find any new foods you enjoy that you never thought of trying before? It can’t just be an end goal. You need to find some things to enjoy about the journey.

MyEvolvingJourney

seska422 wrote: »

Log what you eat and use that data to craft a comfortable way of eating that puts you at a calorie deficit.

Weigh yourself just to gather data so that you can see what your weight does over the long term. Each individual weight is just a data point. Don't compare today's weight to yesterday's or last week's weight but look at the trend over months.

My goals revolve around compliance with my plan rather than when the results show. I can't control what the scale says today but I can control my calorie intake and output. As long as I have a calorie deficit (or balance for maintenance) over time, I'll see the results over time.

Oh my gosh this is such a great perspective! Thank you!

MyEvolvingJourney

try2again wrote: »

I can't speak to the motivation element, but I'm thinking you're doing better than you think. A woman really can't gauge her weekly weight loss with only a month's data- too many fluctuations due to hormones, among other things.

Edited to add: Also, if you are cutting carbs either purposely or incidentally as part of restricting your calories, and then suddenly have a day a little higher in carbs, you will see the scale spike. It's just water retention- no worries. Do try to commit to consistent, careful tracking every day, however.

Thank you so much for your input! Really, thank you all! I appreciate it.

MyEvolvingJourney

try2again wrote: »

Maybe you could benefit from this post:

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

Thank you for sharing this! It was a really good read. I agree, it's not about motivation, but deciding.

rowlandsw

I have to admit I'm having frustration too but it's not so much from the calorie side but the exercise side as my hips and lower back have been keeping me down to a mile a day walking aside from rare times when i can manage an hour and i feel like it's going to stop the process. In the end we just have to work thru it as best we can whether it's the calorie watching or the workouts. If you go a bit over your daily calorie goal it's not going to be the end of the world but at the same time don't go way over. I figured if I'm between 1600-1800 a day I'm good. Holidays and my birthday I know I'll just have to accept those are cheat days.