On off, on off, on again!

xxxericaxxx

Hi everyone!

I've been "trying," to loose weight forever. I've been successful and shifted most of my target weight in the past, but as I'm an emotional eater something would happen and I'd gain it back.

I'm here again, and I have high hopes. My life is changing for the better and I really want to do this for myself.

I have about 6 stone to loose (84lbs) to reach my lifetime target goal. I'll be doing this through planned healthy eating and a rigorous exercise routine, researching along the way on how to tone target areas I.e. my stomach, upper arms and thighs, etc

I really hope that this place will be a tool to keep me motivated and on track. I look forward to getting to know some of you!

cameliamam

Hi

Don't get me started on emotional eating....It got me to an awful weight the past years, everytime something came up, I turned to food.

Since then, I lost a lot of weight and ive been keeping it off for quite a while now, I wish I coul say emotional eating is ancient history for me but I still struggle sometimes. i just try to find other ways to channel my emotions. Working out is what works best for me, that's kind of my new addiction!

I'm sure you can lose the weight (you already did it) the challenge is going to be to stop that emotinal eating pattern, maybe we can motivate and give each other tips on that!

Welcome to the journey

cadkins32672

Hello,
I as you two struggle with emotional eating, i do as well, mostly from boredom in the evenings. My days are so packed full of stuff to do I eat like i should. then in the evenings i binge on what ever i can find while doing nothing. Over a year ago i started trying to control and started exercising. I was in the military so I know what to do, its just getting the motivation to get your butt off the couch and move. After reading your initial post, i saw you used the word "rigorous". For me when i use power words it can be the death of a great idea. When you are thinking of working out your mind tells you "rigorous" and you then have to get yourself mentally prepar ed for doing "rigorous" work. (which no one wants to do") LOL. My Emotional channel that i have found is finding something that i enjoy and for me to date has been biking. Low intensity but you can do it for long distances and it gets the job done as far as burning calories. Now, i have not lost a lot of weight. My heaviest weight was 336lbs at that time is when i started HBP meds and felt like doodoo every day. I have achieved the weight of 294 now and would like to take 20 more off this year but we will see. Suggestions or motivation...................Find something that you like to do outside, Hiking, Biking, Walking etc. and do it. The most simple way to break it down is this. Move More Eat Less! I am trying to do that and as it is not easy but its simple. When you feel the binge coming on, get away from the fridge, take the kids out and play basketball or something. this is my philosophy to reach my goals. Oh and also, work on the weight first then worry about the individual areas to improve on, it will all come together at the same time in the end. Best of Luck to you in all of your goals!!

JesterMFP

As you've been on and off and on again so much, I'll tell you what's worked for me to get off a similar amount of weight, and keep it off for a year (so far).

1. not being overly restrictive with the amount I eat. Not cutting calories to drastically, keeping them at a level I could sustain long-term.

2. not cutting out any particular foods. I still eat all the foods I enjoy, and in fact have things like chocolate, bread & (real) butter, cheese etc every day. If this is truly for life, only make the changes that you think you can sustain for life. Personally, I didn't see myself permanently giving up any of the foods I like, so I didn't.

3. Related to this: only doing exercise I enjoy. I started off walking, and that was my only exercise for several months. Gradually I've added in running, weight lifting, and went back to yoga that I did years ago. I don't do things I hate though, so I don't do exercise videos, and I try to avoid the treadmill (although I am using i a bit more in the winter when it's harder to run outside). Don't make exercise a chore, or something that's only about weight loss. Make it about fitness, strength, health, feeling good, learning new things, having fun, achieving new goals etc.

4. sorting out the emotional eating. Seriously, this is key if you're going to be successful long-term. I've put a lot of work into this. I'm still an emotional eater, and I still struggle with it, but I've changed a lot about how I respond to negative emotions with respect to food. Calorie counting's a great way to work around emotional eating problems, and I think for a while I was lulled into a false sense of security, but you really do need to deal with that stuff or it will cause problems down the line.

To sum up: this is for life, not just a short period of time while you get the weight off, so only make small changes that you can live with, and be consistent until you have formed new habits. You won't always feel motivated to do this, and it will get boring, so you have to make it all a genuine part of your life like going to work, or cooking dinner, or showering in the morning.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

PS. Sadly, you can't target fat loss from certain areas, you just have to keep losing fat and be patient until it comes off from those "trouble" spots.