How do you do it, especially those who have lost so much
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This is what I've done that has been most helpful.
*Log everything, even when I really don't want to
*Measure and weigh my food so that I know that my macros are correct.
*Giving myself a lot of areas in which to see progress, for me it's running, lifting, etc. That way when the scale stalls or slows down I can see that I'm having success elsewhere.
*Don't be overly restrictive. It's much more difficult to stick with something that is too much too soon.
*Be patient. This takes time, and there will be bumps along the way. There will be times when you can't exercise, or you go over your calories, it's okay. The key is to get back to it.0 -
It is much easier being fat, eating whatever you want and being lazy.
And, this is the biggest myth out there. It was HARD being 400#. It hurt, it made me sad, angry, guilty, shamed, ill, etc.... It was not easy. It was the worst life I can imagine. I missed out on what I wanted, needed, and loved.
I have worked my tail off to get to where I am now -- even all the struggles, the pain, the workouts, the calorie counting, the choices, sacrifices, and everything else combined -- it's WORTH IT. Every single day I wake up being who I love and what I love.0 -
It is much easier being fat, eating whatever you want and being lazy.
I think it's about realizing that it's *not* easier being fat. It's hard, it's sad, it's frustrating. It leads you to dislike yourself. It can strip fun out of your life. Speaking for myself only, I avoided social events, hated shopping, didn't have the energy to enjoy my life and have fun with my family. I lived knowing that any day my health could fail, that my weight might catch up to me. I avoided going to the doctor to avoid stepping on the scale, so who knew when I'd develop diabetes or high blood pressure.
Losing weight was easy compared to all of that.
I made an inviolable deal with myself in the beginning: You will not quit until you've lost 40 pounds. I figured that would only take 4-5 months and I know I could do that. If I still decided being fat was preferable to counting calories and exercising, then I could quit. But not a day before 40 pounds gone.
It worked. By the time I'd lost 40 pounds, there was no chance I was quitting. I had more energy. I felt great. People complimented me. I was doing things in the gym I never dreamed possible. I was actually *happy*.
Other tips:
- Log on here every day. No exceptions. Even if you're not logging your food, log on here as a reminder that you are living a different life.
- Develop a support system. I still, 805 days later, love the cheers from friends when I log my exercise.
- Set tiny goals. If you have a lot to lose, seeing a ticker with 100 pounds to go is a buzzkill. I set my goal for that 40 pounds when I first started, then gradually changed my target weight whenever I hit a new goal. 20 pound increments worked well. I didn't think I could lose 120 pounds, but I knew I could lose 20 pounds 5 times
- Lose the all or nothing approach. Lose it NOW. So you slip up and eat chocolate for breakfast? Don't you dare let that be an excuse to binge all day and start new tomorrow. Log it, adjust your day, and move FORWARD. You have a family reunion and want to enjoy the food? FINE. Enjoy that one meal, or one day, but don't let it turn into two days. That has a tendency to turn into three, a week, a month. You are in charge, promise.
- Accept that weight fluctuates naturally. Accept that your hard work, your perfect week, will not always show up on the scale when you want it. But know this: hard work is always rewarded. You might not see it this week, but next week will be killer. I dealt with this by tracking my weekly losses over the long-term. Then if I worked my tail off and only lost .5 pounds, I could look back and see that my daily average was more than 2 pounds a week still, that my losses always show up, but they might take some time. If you enjoy a meal out and weigh yourself the next day, you might see a 4-5 pound gain, but remember that it's not fat, or better yet, don't weigh yourself for a few days.
- Exercise. I know you'll read all kinds of BS here about how exercise isn't necessary to weight loss, but in my opinion, if you truly want to change your life, it requires activity. Do what you enjoy...walking, weights, group classes. Just move. It will change your relationship with your body which will, in turn, change your relationship with food. Discovering my inner athlete is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I mean that seriously.
- Don't make any changes you're not willing to keep for a lifetime. For example: Don't exercise two hours a day unless you plan to do that forever. Don't cut carbs unless you're willing to live a life without cake and french fries (I'm not!). Don't restrict to 900 calories unless you'll be happy on celery and rice cakes forever. A series of small, permanent changes will make all the difference.
- Don't make the mistake of thinking that life that doesn't begin till you hit goal weight. I remember thinking, "I won't hit my goal weight for a year and a half! That is so long. Why even bother." What a silly thought. The entire journey to lose weight was a reward in itself. Along the way I had so much *fun* that hitting goal weight was fairly anticlimactic! I didn't feel like seeing that number on the scale was the end goal anymore, because it wasn't....the new life I had created for myself, THAT was the goal. It took 15 months, but you know what? Those 15 months would have passed regardless.
The week I started, I hung up a phrase on my computer at work:
"A year from now you will wish you had started today."
That phrase still hung there a year from my start date, except I was 120 pounds lighter.
Time passes whether we do something with it or not. I chose to do something. I hope you do too.
Good luck
Couldn't agree with the above advice more. I too had a mantra of sorts and it kept me going when the going got tough. "You wll soon gain something you have always desired" When I first posted it, I wasn't sure what that "something" was. Was it size 8 pants? Comfortable and healthy relationship with food? My body? However, over time, I realized I was gaining something MUCH better: self confidence in who I am, what I can accomplish and who I can inspire. The re-invention of ME was what I gained on my journey...the weight loss was just proverbial icing on the cake.0 -
I truly needed that for myself. I hate financial overdrafts - those fees are a killer - so why would I do it to my body!! Yes!!!0
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Just remember the sage advice of Jake Taylor as a metaphor for getting in shape.
When I need inspiration.
Lou Brown: I have something I think you all ought to know about. It seems Mrs. Phelps put this team together because she thought we'd be badd enough to finish dead last, knocking attendance down to the point where she could move the team to Miami... and get rid of all of us for better personnel.
Dorn: even me?
Lou: Even you dorn.
Harris: What if we don't finish last?
Lou: Then she'll replace you with somebody who WILL. After this season you'll be sent back to the minors or given your outright release.
Jake Taylor: Well then...I guess there's only one thing left to do.
Dorn: What's that?
Jake Taylor: Win the whole frackin thing.
When I need the threat of physical violence to stay on course
Jake Taylor: Ya know Dorn, I liked you so much better when you were just a ballplayer. If you wanna be an interior decorator now that's none of my business. But some of us still need this team. Now you listen to me! This is my last shot at a winner and for some of the younger guys it could be their only shot. I don't know what happened to you. But if you ever, ever tank another play like you did today, I'm gonna cut your nuts off and stuff em down your frackin throat!
Okay I know what movie I'm watching tonight.0 -
You have to break old habits and replace them with new ones.
You do that one day at a time.0 -
Just keep the goal in mind. I've lost a lot. I've been at this for years. I struggle often and have to force myself to stay motivated. But in the end, I just refuse to give up on that goal.0
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Why is it that starting a program and actually sticking with it can be so difficult? If you want something, such as losing weight, you would think that you would just be able to start a program and stick with it. Not me, I get annoyed with myself, discouraged, and disgusted. It is much easier being fat, eating whatever you want and being lazy. I need a kick in the *kitten*.
Well, I take it one day at a time....
Remembering that will make it seem like a less daunting task. I mean, after all, one day at a time is the only way they come... No need worrying so much about how far there is to go, or how long it will take to get there. One day at a time. They'll add up. The days are going to pass anyway, may as well let each single day take you a bit closer to where you want to be.0 -
Wow. Thank you so much everyone for the wonderful advice and great posts. You were all a huge help and have gotten me motivated to really do this, to become healthier and most of all happier. You are all such inspirations. You are all doing such a great job. Thank you again for all the encouragement. It means the world to me.
First thing, I'm changing my goal to a mini-goal. When I meet that I can change it again.
Thanks again.0 -
Mini-goals are definitely the way to go.
I've said before that I keep a LOT of stats about my walking and running exercise. Mostly because I am a geek, but trust me - my strong subject is English, not Maths I have a spreadsheet with personal leaderboards of mile splits, total distance walked, total distance run, weekly average, monthly average, running-v- walking totals. An extra 2-3 minutes per workout to log them. Similar in terms of weight loss. A once-a-week MOT (Moment Of Truth) weigh-in, with Fat, Water and Muscle %ages, provides so much data With some elementary maths you can work out things like %bodyweight lost, which is always a good one between traditional scale milestones. And let's not forget BMI. With mini-goals you can claim a (significant) success frequently. And that keeps you going and spurs you on to the next achievement.
I'm also 'ghosting' a graph I set up to complete (only) 750 miles over the year, having to catch up with the fairly reasonable daily target because of a serious foot injury that stopped me from doing any walking, let alone running, for about 6 weeks. Photos are available, but you would vomit, lol. Yet now, I can see my blue line getting closer and closer to the red target line, and at some stage soon I will bloody well overtake it. Next year I will have two lines to follow - the 'ghost' 750-line at xx miles per day, and then my actual performance this year. I don't expect to go under either of those lines without some health issue. I might even add a 1,000 mile 'ghost' line - less than 3 miles a day, folks!
I am absolutely not interested in beating my next door neighbour - in the end, the race is long, and it's ONLY against yourself. So, I push myself to do better than I did yesterday. Or I aim this week/month to be better than the last. I completely respect other people with massive weight losses, but I don't compare. All they do is show me what is possible, not what I should do.
Involve other people that you trust. When I lost 22lb I took my sons to the local Tesco and we loaded that weight in sugar into a basket and all hefted it about. We were ALL gobsmacked at how much extra weight I'd been carrying about 6 months back. Their reaction spurred me on, I have to say. It didn't do them any harm to realise how we can all carry extra weight, either. They should have seen the difference in my energy and stamina at the park this summer ...
Someone else has very wisely said that this is about changing your life, not achieving a goal and then relaxing. So don't do anything you wouldn't like to be doing this time next year, be it cutting out foods or exercise. If it's unsustainable, it's pointless in the long term.
And, finally ... some other people have talked about personal mantras. Mine - for several years, not just on MFP - has simply been to ask myself "How much do you really want this?" whenever ANYTHING has been out of my comfort zone or too hard. It works for me.
How much DO you want this?0 -
I would often feel overwhelmed at the amount of weight I needed to lose. It seemed insurmountable. Finally I told myself time would pass one way or the other, so I might as well have it pass while I tried to lose weight. I planned this time. What I would eat, how I would achieve my goals. No fad diet for me, no low carb, no low fat, just simply eating less and moving more. Like so many posters above, I have been setting mini goals. Every one is right, it helps so much. I don't deny myself any food, I just make sure it fits in my calories. I don't beat my self up and indulge in self loathing if I fall off the wagon. I simply pick myself up and carry on.0
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What an incredibly motivating post!! Thanks Shannon:flowerforyou: OP... glad you started the thread, looking forward to reading the rest of the responses. Funny how sometimes you can read a thread and then later read a similar one and you're at a whole different place to actually 'hear' what is being said.:drinker: Perhaps that's what's happening to me today!It is much easier being fat, eating whatever you want and being lazy.
I think it's about realizing that it's *not* easier being fat. It's hard, it's sad, it's frustrating. It leads you to dislike yourself. It can strip fun out of your life. Speaking for myself only, I avoided social events, hated shopping, didn't have the energy to enjoy my life and have fun with my family. I lived knowing that any day my health could fail, that my weight might catch up to me. I avoided going to the doctor to avoid stepping on the scale, so who knew when I'd develop diabetes or high blood pressure.
Losing weight was easy compared to all of that.
I made an inviolable deal with myself in the beginning: You will not quit until you've lost 40 pounds. I figured that would only take 4-5 months and I know I could do that. If I still decided being fat was preferable to counting calories and exercising, then I could quit. But not a day before 40 pounds gone.
It worked. By the time I'd lost 40 pounds, there was no chance I was quitting. I had more energy. I felt great. People complimented me. I was doing things in the gym I never dreamed possible. I was actually *happy*.
Other tips:
- Log on here every day. No exceptions. Even if you're not logging your food, log on here as a reminder that you are living a different life.
- Develop a support system. I still, 805 days later, love the cheers from friends when I log my exercise.
- Set tiny goals. If you have a lot to lose, seeing a ticker with 100 pounds to go is a buzzkill. I set my goal for that 40 pounds when I first started, then gradually changed my target weight whenever I hit a new goal. 20 pound increments worked well. I didn't think I could lose 120 pounds, but I knew I could lose 20 pounds 5 times
- Lose the all or nothing approach. Lose it NOW. So you slip up and eat chocolate for breakfast? Don't you dare let that be an excuse to binge all day and start new tomorrow. Log it, adjust your day, and move FORWARD. You have a family reunion and want to enjoy the food? FINE. Enjoy that one meal, or one day, but don't let it turn into two days. That has a tendency to turn into three, a week, a month. You are in charge, promise.
- Accept that weight fluctuates naturally. Accept that your hard work, your perfect week, will not always show up on the scale when you want it. But know this: hard work is always rewarded. You might not see it this week, but next week will be killer. I dealt with this by tracking my weekly losses over the long-term. Then if I worked my tail off and only lost .5 pounds, I could look back and see that my daily average was more than 2 pounds a week still, that my losses always show up, but they might take some time. If you enjoy a meal out and weigh yourself the next day, you might see a 4-5 pound gain, but remember that it's not fat, or better yet, don't weigh yourself for a few days.
- Exercise. I know you'll read all kinds of BS here about how exercise isn't necessary to weight loss, but in my opinion, if you truly want to change your life, it requires activity. Do what you enjoy...walking, weights, group classes. Just move. It will change your relationship with your body which will, in turn, change your relationship with food. Discovering my inner athlete is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I mean that seriously.
- Don't make any changes you're not willing to keep for a lifetime. For example: Don't exercise two hours a day unless you plan to do that forever. Don't cut carbs unless you're willing to live a life without cake and french fries (I'm not!). Don't restrict to 900 calories unless you'll be happy on celery and rice cakes forever. A series of small, permanent changes will make all the difference.
- Don't make the mistake of thinking that life that doesn't begin till you hit goal weight. I remember thinking, "I won't hit my goal weight for a year and a half! That is so long. Why even bother." What a silly thought. The entire journey to lose weight was a reward in itself. Along the way I had so much *fun* that hitting goal weight was fairly anticlimactic! I didn't feel like seeing that number on the scale was the end goal anymore, because it wasn't....the new life I had created for myself, THAT was the goal. It took 15 months, but you know what? Those 15 months would have passed regardless.
The week I started, I hung up a phrase on my computer at work:
"A year from now you will wish you had started today."
That phrase still hung there a year from my start date, except I was 120 pounds lighter.
Time passes whether we do something with it or not. I chose to do something. I hope you do too.
Good luck
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This is exactly what I needed to read today to keep me motivated! Thank you.0
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A few little tips that helped me in the beginning...
- Stick to serving sizes. Dieting doesnt work.. portion control DOES. Count out those pretzels... measure that cup of ice cream/cereal
- When eating cereal, just eat the cereal, dont drink the milk when youre done lol
- when eating a sandwhich or a burger...anything with a bun... toss half the bun (to avoid mess, i always toss the half that DOESNT have condiments stuck to it.
- like starbucks? Switch to Non fat milk. Im a pumpkin spice latte freak... but i started ordering them with Non fat milk and light whipped cream. cuts like 150 calories off the drink.
- LOG EVERYTHING. if you have a bad cheat day and chow down 3500 calories one day after two weeks of perfect deficits... LOG EVERYTHING. going over board doesnt mean you failed... youre a human lol and food is delicious. just start over again tomorrow...and LOG EVERYTHING. holding yourself accountable TO yourself is the only way to fully remove the blinders to what youve been doing to yourself.
- DONT PICK AT LEFT OVERS after your not hungry anymore/full. put them away immediatly before the "food coma" kicks in.. if its not sitting in front of your face, you wont need to "pick" at it.
-Never miss more than 2 work outs in a row. its REALLY hard to get motivated enough to stay on track if you let yourself slack too many days.
I agree with the statment above... dont hold yourself to some crazy restriction or workout plan that you cant do every week of every month... be realistic and make smart cuts.
You can do this!!0 -
I follow a very good lifestyle plan IMO but even more importantly is being able to self motivate, I do this by having a favourite quote in several places that I can easily see when I feel like giving up, I might add this works not only for weight loss but I use it to motivate myself for any goal.
The next thing is to take little steps and make sure that you actually enjoy the process, lets face it who does something they don't enjoy for any length of time.
So find a good program, find some motivation whatever that maybe and then just start, pretty soon things will start to change for you and once that happens you have gone a long way to winning the battle.
A good program BTW is one that provides support , a community and leaves as little as possible to chance, I personally love Primal Blueprint but that's just me everyone is different so all I can do is say look at it as well as others. http://organicblueprint.net/0 -
i had tried to lose weight so many times in the past, id lose 20lbs feel better with myself and before i know it the diet and exercise had been phased out, and i had gained the weight i had lost, and then more. I would always say "this is my last takeaway" "ill start the diet tomorrow" but surprise surprise it never happened. it was only after visiting friends that i realised that everywhere i looked and everywhere i went i was always the largest person in the room, it was after the trip i went home brought Slim in 6 and reinstalled myfitnesspal and i havent looked back. i still have the occasional takeaway as a treat and log it as best as i can. i havent denied myself anything as if i stop myself from eating it thats all i can think of. so instead of a large chocolate bar, i have one or two squares so i get the taste and get it out of my system while counting the calories. for me its all been about moving more and paying more attention to my portion sizes. When i started, i didnt think i would get this far take it one day at a time and set small mini goals so they are easier to achieve and so you always have mini victories.0
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i had tried to lose weight so many times in the past, id lose 20lbs feel better with myself and before i know it the diet and exercise had been phased out, and i had gained the weight i had lost, and then more. I would always say "this is my last takeaway" "ill start the diet tomorrow" but surprise surprise it never happened. it was only after visiting friends that i realised that everywhere i looked and everywhere i went i was always the largest person in the room, it was after the trip i went home brought Slim in 6 and reinstalled myfitnesspal and i havent looked back. i still have the occasional takeaway as a treat and log it as best as i can. i havent denied myself anything as if i stop myself from eating it thats all i can think of. so instead of a large chocolate bar, i have one or two squares so i get the taste and get it out of my system while counting the calories. for me its all been about moving more and paying more attention to my portion sizes. When i started, i didnt think i would get this far take it one day at a time and set small mini goals so they are easier to achieve and so you always have mini victories.
Agreed. I wasn't even trying to lose when it started. I was going to the gym and doing a lot of long walks (8 miles min) to deal with a stressful period I was going through. People started complimenting and noticing. Clothes started getting looser. Now my mid is so flipped around that I starting getting antsy when I don't workout any day. It was hard for me to even become comfortable with the concept of a rest day.0 -
I'm sure we've all heard someone say, "you have to be ready to make the change." To quit smoking, give up alcohol, overcome a drug addiction... all of these require the person to really be ready to change.
I always thought that was kind of a stupid saying. I'd say to myself, "I want to lose weight! I'll do the next fad diet and then I'll be thin!" For some reason, this never worked (sarcasm).
Then, I reached a point at the beginning of September where I was going to change my habits, darn it. Suddenly, I was READY to lose weight. And my goodness, is the weight coming off steadily and consistently (and healthily).
What has kept me motivated is weighing myself every day. I know, I know, I know, everyone says not to do this. I get it. This works FOR ME. I have a spreadsheet with my weight for every single day since September 2. I then have graphs for September, October, and November as well as a big one for September through December (as the days pass, I just enter the number and it goes right into the graph).
This is so helpful to me because my weight fluctuates daily. Yup. I might be up half a pound from yesterday, but I can SEE from my graph that a loss is just around the corner. I have lots of little ups and downs, but the weight is always going down, ultimately. I've lost approx. 34 pounds since September 2.0 -
I honestly can not really say what it was that made me stick with it this time. What made this time different from all the other times? Part of it, I know, is my age and knowing that I do not have that much time left to me to keep putting it off until "tomorrow". It "clicked" for me this time and I will NEVER go back. A big part of it for me is MFP. It is a system that really works for me, just what I needed.
If there was a single secret that keeps us motivated and successful, we could make a fortune.
I know this for sure, you have to find what works for you. Take advice and tips from anywhere, or from anyone, that could help you succeed. Customize to fit your life, and make it your new way of living.
Best of luck to everyone that wants to change their lives!0 -
I don't think I'm in the 'lost so much' category... yet... but I can relate to how you're feeling. I need to remind myself on a daily (hourly..., minutely..., secondly!) basis why I want to lose weight/get healthy. Lots of the time I listen to myself... Sometimes I don't. What others say may help inspire me and keep me going or get me back on track, but it's me who has to do the hard work of making good choices. And it is hard. But the more often I listen to my own good advice and the good advice of others, the better results I see and the better I feel. And that helps me to persevere.
Lessons I'm constantly reminding myself of in my daily challenge of getting healthier (and hopefully thinner):
~ It's a damned slow process. But I didn't get this way overnight so shouldn't expect to undo it all over night. 1-2lbs per week is a reasonable expectation for me. If that means I only lose 5lbs in a month, I have to be okay with that, and pleased with my achievements. There is no such things as a magic pill.
~ Whatever I do has to be sustainable forever. If I 'diet' by cutting all sugar, or all baked goods, or if I live on just white and green foods, I will lose weight. But as soon as I re-introduce the no-no foods, I'll gain the weight back. And probably a few extra lbs too as my body's way of saying "Take that for depriving me!". My new normal way of eating (reasonable portion sizes, lots of water, much lower amounts of 'junk food', a lot more healthy foods, within a specific daily calorie limit) has to be something I can do for the rest of my life.
~ Tracking my food and exercise makes me a lot more aware of what (and how much) I'm eating. It also makes me think twice about how I'm going to spend my calories. Yes, I think of my daily allotment like an account with limited funds in it that I need to make last for the whole day! Being accurate is very important. Overdrafts are costly (to my goals and my self esteem). For me, no foods are off limits, but if my goal is to be healthier, I will reach that faster by making better food choices. I'm more likely to make bad choices on days I don't track my food and exercise (or more likely to not track if I eat poorly or don't exercise). So tracking is important.
~ While weight loss is 90% about what I eat, exercise will help make me feel better. And if I feel better, I'm more likely to make better choices. But, again, the activity I do has to be something I enjoy, something I can do easily. Otherwise it's too easy to talk myself out of it. It's nice to exercise with a friend, but I can't rely on friends for my motivation. I have to motivate me and make a commitment to myself in order to reach my goals. If I can help friends at the same time, yeh!
~ While I'm entitled to have a stern word with myself when I mess up, I can't beat myself up and use it as an excuse to give up. I have to do my best to learn from my mistakes and then put them behind me and start over again.
Persevering to achieve a weight loss goal is difficult because it's hard work. Change is almost always hard. Even change for the better. But when that hard work starts to pay off, and your changes are paying dividends, it's sooo worth it!
This.
My god. I could have written this word for word. How did you read my thoughts?
Hang in there OP. Figure out what works for you and stick to it. Some days are good days, others not so much. One quote that I think of often is, "There are enough obstacles in your way. Don't let yourself become one of them." :flowerforyou:0
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