Consistency

Jaidan4

I am always “starting over”. I do well a short time, then blow it a short time. I am just spinning my wheels.

Machka9

Stick with it for 5 weeks ... then assess what you want to do next. Just 5 weeks.

BuddhaBunnyFTW

Forgiveness and patience only come when you love what you are doing. I love eating healthy, I love it so much. I stick with it because I love it. Do what you love.

RelCanonical

I had to slow it down and ease into habits in order to stay consistent. First I just started logging, then I started eating in a deficit, then I started adding in walking, adding in vegetables and more nutritionally dense food. Now I'm adding strength training. This is over the course of a year and a half, so very slow.

magnusthenerd

How short a time? You might want to try two weeks of diet, two weeks of maintenance. It found rather good results in the Byrne study. Sure, it makes any given diet take longer, but would you rather take a diet that takes twice as long as expected, or one that takes forever because it doesn't work?

puffbrat

RelCanonical wrote: »

I had to slow it down and ease into habits in order to stay consistent. First I just started logging, then I started eating in a deficit, then I started adding in walking, adding in vegetables and more nutritionally dense food. Now I'm adding strength training. This is over the course of a year and a half, so very slow.

Exactly this. When I go all-in I give up quickly. This has only become sustainable for me by changing habits very slowly.

LyndaBSS

Jaidan4 wrote: »

I am always “starting over”. I do well a short time, then blow it a short time. I am just spinning my wheels.

Have you figured out what makes you quit?

Diatonic12

Consistency doesn't mean never messing up. Consistency means never giving up.

Remember why you started in the first place. Think waaaay down the road for long term weight stability. Don't think about weight loss in terms of short or giant month hunks. Think years down the road for long term weight stability. Continued thinking about it for only 10 days or 30 days is actually another disconnect for the brain. The brain will easily accommodate that thinking and see to it that you fall right back into old habits. Over and over and over again. Just give me 10 more days. No, just give me 10 more years.

Aim for the 2 year and the 5 year mark. After that, the body quits fighting so hard against you after a major or minor weight loss.

RelCanonical

Diatonic12 wrote: »

Consistency doesn't mean never messing up. Consistency means never giving up.

Remember why you started in the first place. Think waaaay down the road for long term weight stability. Don't think about weight loss in terms of short or giant month hunks. Think years down the road for long term weight stability. Continued thinking about it for only 10 days or 30 days is actually another disconnect for the brain. The brain will easily accommodate that thinking and see to it that you fall right back into old habits. Over and over and over again. Just give me 10 more days. No, just give me 10 more years.

Aim for the 2 year and the 5 year mark. After that, the body quits fighting so hard against you after a major or minor weight loss.

This is so true. My biggest ally this time around has been my ability to forgive myself, which allows me to never give up because I care about myself. I wouldn't dismiss a family member for messing up - I would encourage them to keep going - so I shouldn't dismiss myself either.

kristenmary70

Everyone fights the tendency to sabotage themselves. I have done it so often that I have begun to recognize a pattern. Now I fight to break that pattern - soon I will overcome a recent plateau if I just stick with it. Maybe you could try to recognize and break your harmful patterns...just don't give up!!! You are worth it!

NovusDies

f you're tired of starting over, stop giving up.

You don't have to lose weight everyday you just have to lose weight most days.

I once did what you are doing now. I had an all or nothing approach and thought perfection was needed to lose weight. I assumed I was weak and didn't have enough willpower which caused me to feel very negatively about everything. I was too strict and restrictive when I was trying to lose which eventually made me rebel and eat. When I ate "too much" I would assume I had blown it so it was an excuse to eat even more and restart my diet the next Monday. I guess I meant the next Monday months from then or years because that is what really happened.

My plan now is my life. My life is messy and imperfect. Everything I do is part of my plan even when I eat more food than I might have wanted to eat one day. Because it is part of my plan I never have to quit. I just accept that some days will not be as successful as others and that is absolutely okay.

I also make sure I get enough treats in my plan to keep me happy. I lose weight by being in a deficit not by the types of food I eat. I subscribe to an 80/20 approach to nutrition. If I make sure my nutritional needs are met (or exceeded) 80 percent of the time I can enjoy the other 20 with treat food. I do not actually do the math and figure it out because it is a mindset not a hard rule. Some weeks I will eat more treats than others. As long as my doctor is increasingly happier with my blood tests results I feel like I am doing all the right things.

Annie_01

Jaidan4 wrote: »

I am always “starting over”. I do well a short time, then blow it a short time. I am just spinning my wheels.

I read this quote last night...

"If you are tired of starting over,
STOP GIVING UP!"

I try to break my weight loss in to "short" goals or I couldn't last if I only concentrated on the "long" term goals. It doesn't matter how many times you quit before it only matters that you don't quit now.

kimny72

Just to echo what others are saying - you're problem is assuming that when you blow it, you have to start over. People who succeed aren't perfect, they just don't give up every time they fall down. They don't assume that one mistake negates all the progress they've made.

Pick a track that's easier to stay on, and when you still fall off (which you will) just shrug it off as normal (because it is) and get right back on track. :drinker:

oceangirl99

I've been focusing on my health for about 1.5 years now. I've realized that for me consistency (meaning only the odd treat here and there) = a good calorie deficit and weight loss. Being inconsistent (stuffing my face with chips every weekend and then eating at a deficit for the rest of the week) = maintenance. I've been inconsistent for months and realize that for weight loss it means making the right choice again and again and again, over and over. It also means that it I have a treat, I can't just throw in the towel. It means I need to get right back on track. THIS is the hard part for me because I have no "off switch".