New to My fitness pal but not dieting

JamieMacCloskey

Hello- Chronic (sometimes successful but currently in a rut) dieter here. I'm 170 and I have 40 lbs to lose and I start today on 1,300 calories a day. My main barrier is the mental aspect. I would love to hear from other dieters about their mental toughness and staying in the game. I look forward to adding some friends and meeting some like minded friends. Happy almost New Year!

AnnPT77

Personally, my suggestion (from experience) is to pick an approach that doesn't require extreme mental toughness, discipline, motivation, willpower, etc.

Maybe some people can sustain those long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight (then ideally stay at a healthy weight permanently). I can't . . . yet I lost 50-some pounds, class 1 obese to a healthy weight in just under a year, and have stayed at a healthy weight for 7+ years since.

Choose fun exercise (or at least something tolerable and practical that you'll actually do). Look critically at your current eating habits - the routine day in and day out habits - and tweak them to feel reasonably full and happy (most of the time) on fewer calories, while eating affordable, practical foods you enjoy. To lose the weight, think about finding an easy approach, not a fast one.

A moderate approach can sometimes get us to goal weight in less calendar time than some extreme restrictive diet or punitive exercise routine that results in deprivation-triggered over-eating bouts, breaks in the action, or even giving up altogether. The goal is to find and practice routine habits that make staying at healthy weight be possible almost on autopilot when other parts of life get demanding . . . because they will.

Extreme measures aren't fun, often aren't sustainable long term, and - happily - aren't essential for success. The majority of our days determine the majority of our outcomes, so it's routine daily habits that matter, not that one day when we ate too much cake (or whatever).

So far (getting close to year 8), I'm staying in the game because it's a pretty easy game, with huge quality of life rewards.

Exactly which tactics are "pretty easy" will vary from one person to the next, because we all have different preferences, strengths, challenges, etc. But I think most people can experiment, and find their own best path. Other people can give suggestions, but I'd advise caution about anyone who says they have the universal right solution. (I don't think there is one.)

Best wishes!

frhaberl

I agree with AnnPT77. It’s not that there isn’t mental work and mindset shifting involved in this process, but I’ve found it much easier to make meaningful progress when I aim for diet and activity changes I can see myself wanting to maintain for the rest of my life. I try to give most chances two weeks of mental energy to start forming a habit, but if it still requires significant motivation after two weeks, I give myself permission to find something else that I enjoy more.
I have found that routine is my best friend. I tend to eat the same rotations of meals that are not too time consuming to prepare and that I enjoy. I walk around the same time each day, listening to the same rotation of podcasts, so it’s started to feel odd if I miss my walk (and my dogs give me lots of motivating sad looks, because it’s part of their routine too). When I’m having a hard time finding a new health habit that “sticks” for me, I come here to see what others have found enjoyable that I can try out.
Best wishes. Feel free to drop me a friend request if you want some daily support.

AnnPT77

P.S. 1300 is a fairly low calorie goal. If you're truly sedentary, and older, it might be appropriate. With 40 pounds to lose at 170, I wouldn't suggest shooting for 2 pounds a week. Certainly, if you're doing a meaningful amount of exercise, I'd suggest eating a fair fraction of the exercise calories, too.

Fast loss is less sustainable, and can increase health risks; low calories limit nutrition, can lead to unnecessarily much lean tissue loss alongside fat loss.