Major motivation loss

Rsrs35

Hey everyone. Just got congratulated for being with fitnesspal for 6 years. In that 6 years I have never reached or stuck at my goal. It’s not the app. I’ve used Noom. Trust me. It’s not the app!!!

I get bouts of energy and motivation. Obviously doesn’t usually last long enough to see a result - well until I plummeted and lost al motivation and added about 1 stone again. This time I feel heavier than the first time. Lethargic and I’m constantly eating or thinking of food.

Does anyone else get like this.


I feel like I know what I should do to help me get back on track but this time I’m struggling to start.

goal06082021

Motivation is the reward, not the impetus. The thing that gets you started, what "gets you back on track," is you choosing to do that thing. You know what you need to do: eat less, and if possible, move more. Whatever you need to do to accomplish at least the first one is fine, but nobody else can make that choice and take that step for you. You make the necessary changes and you will see results, and let that evidence of your hard work propel you forward.

Baby steps are still steps - if you need to break it down, here is one possible scaffolding you could use. These are steps to be completed one at a time, in order, not all at once, only adding the next step when the one you're on is easy to do.

1. Write down what you eat. Don't look at the calorie counts, you don't even need to look at serving sizes right now, the first habit we're cultivating is just awareness of food choices. Use the Notes app, or a pen and paper even, if that's easier than the MFP database for now. Do that until it's second nature to make a note of what you're eating. No value judgments, it's just data.
2. Measure your portions. Cups and spoons is fine if that's all you have, but a scale is better, they're not expensive. Once you're in the habit of making notes about what you're eating, now it's time to start paying attention to how much. Still not looking at calories, focusing on what "a serving" of X food looks like and how many of those you're eating in a given span of time. Still no value judgments, still just data. Do this until it's also second nature to measure/weigh your portions.
3. Start looking at calories. Now that you're in the habit of both measuring your portions and writing down your food choices, this is when you could start using the MFP database. The focus now is on seeing how much you're actually taking in in the course of a day. We're not aiming for a particular goal, we're still not making any value judgments, we are still just collecting data.* Do this long enough for it to be second nature, and also to build up your list of recent foods and fill it with accurate entries for the things you eat often. Make sure the entries match the nutrition label or the USDA, there's some wild stuff in there.
4. Find one small, easy change. You should have a good couple of weeks' worth of data to look at, now. (You could even go back and log the weeks when you were just measuring portions, to get that calorie data as well.) Unless you do something silly like start doing this in the middle of the holidays /s, those few weeks should be pretty representative of how you eat most of the time. So, what's one easy thing you could change about how you eat that would lower your calorie intake?** Pick ONE thing, try it for a week or two. It's OK if you pick something and it doesn't work; you can tweak it, you can pick something else to change. It's a process and nobody can make these choices for you. Once you've hit on a change that does work, pick a new thing, rinse and repeat.

(*If it would be upsetting to see the negative number at the top of the screen, go in and manually set your calorie goal to something outlandish like 9000 calories per day; conversely, if you don't think you could ignore the siren call of having 7000 calories left for the day, even intellectually knowing that you don't, set your calories to maintenance.)

(**Examples of "one small easy change" would be things like using less cream in your coffee; having chicken instead of beef; replacing one salty snack per day with a fresh fruit or vegetable; swapping out one soda per day for a glass of water; using alternative condiments, whether low-cal versions of your faves or different stuff entirely; having just one measured serving of something at a time if you're accustomed to multiple in one sitting. It is 100% valid to buy the "100-calorie"/individual-serving packs of things if you don't have the time or the wherewithal to break down bulk packages into individual servings or weigh/measure your servings as-needed. This includes things that aren't """healthy""" - if buying the big sack of many small bags of chips helps you eat one serving of chips at a time versus buying the family-size bag of chips and weighing out an ounce of them into a bowl, do that.)

Rsrs35

@goal06082021
This is exactly what I needed. The reminder - bite sized chunks & baby baby steps is fine. Also back to basics. I guess it’s a new day everyday… you start by doing the same things, get out of bed and brush your teeth etc. but once you set that foundation in place that’s that you do. It’s second Nature. You just know it’s the best start to your day. so I need to approach this first in a way that sets my good habits up so that it’s second Nature.
Thanks for this - you have really helped me out.

I will take another read later - and start slow as you listed. Let you know how I get on.

Thanks bud!

MaggieGirl135

Goal’s comments are spot on. To answer your question, yes, I think about food for much of the day. I plan, prep, and eat food throughout the day. I log my food for the day in the morning and then adjust it, as the day goes on. I am sometimes hungry, and yet, depending on the time, I may have to delay eating because otherwise, I would eat too many calories early in the day and be starving later and have too few calories left. What do I do at that time? Get busy! I get involved with tasks and stop thinking about food. Maybe I have less hunger than I’m thinking and have just more of a desire to eat!

Rsrs35

@MaggieGirl135 I feel you on the hunger pangs but agree more desire to eat for sure! Trying to place my hunger on a scale 0-10. I’m at zero straight after a good meal… and then now stick my timer on for 3 hours (especially if I hit zero!)
I set the timer according to how long my next meal will take to prepare and I’m trying to check in on my hunger levels before eating, I also think I’m Thirsty most of the time I feel hungry so trying to drink a glass of water… and wait and see how I feel.