Born this way

vickysail

First, buy a digital food scale. Use it. Guesstimating calories is a great way to fail.

Second, I found alternate day dieting to be the best method for me, and I'm 52. It fools the body completely, and it can't adjust to the piston action the diet is doing to your body. The Brits have a 5:2 ratio, and I use the 4:3, which is the JUDDD (Johnson Up Day Down Day) method. You go to his web site, plug in your numbers, and you'll have an idea how to do it correctly.

Third, it will take a really long time. I lost an average of 3-4 lbs a month, and was extremely grateful not to be gaining. It took a year to go down around 45 lbs, but I went down. Without exercise.

Fourth, when you make changes, your body will throw out all sorts of hormones to trigger cravings. It will keep water in your system when you exercise (especially if you get sore), and for every sugar molecule in your system, something like 4 or 5 water molecules bind to it to bloat you up. So try to cut sugar out, including many simple carbs, which just turn to sugar in your system. You'll know you're doing it right when you just pee, and pee, and pee.

Are you drinking any calories? Juices, non-diet beverages, hell, even sugar in your coffee is sugar. Those sneak up on you.

Fifth, your attitude. Find your motivation, and run with it. If all you can say to yourself is "I'm a failure", well guess what? You've already defeated yourself. Everyone here will give you help, but only you can find your motivation and the willpower to stay true to the path you desire.

Good luck!

Mcgrawhaha

Ok It's only the 16th day into a new year and I'm fed up of logging and not losing a single pound of weight. I have gained 2lb. I'm frustrated that I need to log in my food and I am sick to death of hearing about TDEE and BMR! How can some calculation be accurate about my body? Plus my body seems to do whatever it wants whatever I do. I can stick to the TDEE and workout and lose NOTHING. It simply wants to fulfil its potential and what I am attempting to do is not nature's plan. Nature wants me to be fatter…my mind even plays tricks on me…TBH sometimes I look in the mirror and I think I look ok…..then I see myself in photos and I cringe and feel worthless. I can eat the same as everyone around me and they won't put on weight and I will pile on 7lb!
In December I was on holiday for 2 weeks and ate anything and everything and gained 4lb….then in the last 2 weeks I have been trying to log my food and all I have done is to gain 2lb whilst trying to restrict.

I can't connect with my body. It has so much fat yet it can't use it as an energy source. I even still have hunger pangs when I'm carrying around 80lb of fat! (my body fat is apparently about 41%).
Is my life going to be about logging every morsel of food that passes my lips???? Really????!!!! If I'm not prepared to do this for life then why bother??? Is this sustainable???

In the last 3 years I don't know who my body is because it's definitely not me. Well it is but I can't lose weight or my body doesn't want to lose weight.
Maybe I'm not giving it 100%….ok I'm not. I have to make a decision now…because I sure as hell am not going to be logging every bloody morsel and finding myself still fat in 3 months' time!!!!! I CAN'T!!!!
So I AM going to stop logging in pretend calories(who know?? the numbers and and weights all vary!) I am the queen of guestimating!!

To top it off I have just seen some amazing success stories…"pic only success thread"….Am I jealous?? No! I keep wondering HOW DID THEY DO IT????


Add me if you are in the same boat….or a different speed boat! I have been on MFP for 1 year and I have gained 20lb…..ENOUGH!
Rant over and 100% effort begins NOW!

sorry, not to be rude... BUT...

all i hear you say is...

"im lazy, i want to be lazy, i enjoy being lazy, and i dont want to have to put in the hard work that it would take to undue the damage i did to my body from all of my laziness."

yes, you need to log your food, because you obviously, like many of us, cant monitor your food intake naturally, thats how we got 80-100 pounds over weight, right?

yes, your going to put in a lot of work and sometimes see no loss... oh well, our bodies are not perfect, but eventually, it all works out...

do you think those of us that lost weight had fun 100% of the time, didnt sacrifice, and didnt feel defeated at times? do you think we didnt work our *kitten* off to shed the fat off of our bodies, that we piled on by being lazy?

the weight doesnt just fall off for you, you have to make it happen. 16 days in, and your ready to throw in the towell? maybe you dont want it as bad as many of us here... i think you do, but i also think you are lazy...

you know what that means? choose one or the other... choose to be lazy, and maybe pile on another 80 pounds over the next year, or choose to take control of your life and your body, and become the person you feel that you are inside.

thats it, we cant do it for you, its all up to you.

ScientificExplorerGirl

Lots of good advice here. I would only add: don't think about tracking calories and exercise for the rest of your life. Just do it today. And do it honestly and accurately.

bajoyba

You said yourself that you're the queen of guestimating. That may very well be your problem.

Weight loss is simple, but it all comes down to the numbers. If your numbers are off, you're going to have problems. As others have mentioned, accuracy and consistency are KEY. You have to make sure that the calories you enter are the calories you're eating, and you have to enter the correct calories every day in order to know what your eating really looks like and whether or not you're in a deficit.

Does it take time and effort? Yes. Is it worth it? That's up to you.

I used to think I was meant to be fat, and I spent most of my life believing that. But when I hit 235 pounds, I decided to test that belief. As it turned out, I was wrong. I was simply eating too much and not moving enough. It has taken some time and effort to shed that extra weight (and I'm still working on it), but it is very worth it to me. Before, I was investing most of my spare time and effort in sitting on the couch. Now I'm making myself a priority, and I'm very happy with the results so far.

Rhozelyn

16 days? No I have been doing this dieting thing for more than a decade. I'm no spring chicken. Thank you all for your replies. I read the boards and the same messages keep coming through. My post was a half rant at my self and a kick up the backside because I am trying to find my peace with food , weight, body image and realistic expectations. I have been dieting for years and was largely successful except for the last 2 years when I put on weight. So forgive my rant and "negative" attitude which really wasn't the essence of the entire post. I have all the gizmos and gadgets to do things right….but I am not a machine. I have emotions, hormones, genes, life and all the rest and these factors ultimately sometimes take over.

I want to lose weight and I don't need to open my diary because I KNOW it's not accurate. What I really need is motivation and support hence why I'm here. Some people may identify with me and others only read black and white.
I will keep this thread going as a reminder of my journey. I will get there.

beautifulwarrior18

My guess is you don't measure your food.

Measure everything you put in your body and get a heart rate monitor for calories expended and you'll start losing weight before you know it. You can't guess and be successful.

Jkn921

I used to feel the same way - I had always felt before that I was just born a fat person and could never shift it. The thing I changed was my habits. I got sick of junk food and the way food in general was making me feel so I first stopped my snacking completely for about a month and the next week from when I started to add in a 10 minute exercise each day - it killed me. I was sore but I kept persistent and 5 months later, 20lbs came off and now I'm in the best shape of my life and honestly it isn't THAT hard as people make it out to be. The main thing that's really difficult is the patience. But if you're willing to be extremely persistent with it, you WILL make changes as other people here have done.

Educate yourself on what it takes, adjust your attitude to becoming successful and build your character up by strengthening your levels of persistence and perserverance. Change one thing at a time and they'll add up.

I also never notice any weight loss till after 2-3 weeks if I gain a bit, it's a long wait but as I know it takes that long, it doesn't worry me.

Good luck

jimmmer

16 days? No I have been doing this dieting thing for more than a decade.

I humbly submit that you're doing it wrong then.

If you've got no appreciable results in 10 years, I would look to ironing out the kinks in your approach.

speedy740

Sorry to be blunt but... PUT AN EFFORT INTO IT. Wow not even a whopping month and your attitude towards your "new lifestyle" sucks. I'm not gonna sugar coat it like u are a child. You want results be prepared to work for them. I think u need to turn around your attitude and say you can do this. Don't be lazy, weigh and measure, take two TINY minutes three times a day to actually record what's going in your stomach. There I said what everyone was holding back, no sugar coating. Good luck in your journey ????

jonnythan

Well congratulations on doing it wrong, finding limited success, and being unwilling to alter your methods.

rockmama72

You CAN do this. I too am 16 days into tracking, 20 days into this "lifestyle change" and yesterday the little voice inside said to quit. I'm done detoxing, I'm not craving anything I just wanted to quit. For no real reason.... I got my up and completed a workout instead.

The tools work. They are sustainable. However, you have to find what works for you. The nerd in me LOVES to calculate every calorie eaten and every calorie burned as closely as possible. Those are not guesses. I am guaranteed results as long as I track accurately (If you "cheat"- log it anyway)- you have to be honest with yourself.

Don't quit now. It takes 21 days to START forming a habit. Let's form new habits together. I saved the picture that made me say ENOUGH as the wall paper on my phone. I don't like the girl in the pic, so everyday I work to become better.

Also, get a measuring tape. Sometimes the scale doesn't move but the measurements do.

This is a very kind and wise response.

To the OP, you should--no you must!--explore what makes you tick. I can tell you that in the 25 or so years I've been trying to control my weight, my best method has changed with my personality and lifestyle. When I was a young mother, calorie counting wouldn't have worked for me... And this is the first time I've ever put any effort into calorie counting. There was one time (when I got my fittest EVER) where I had the time to focus on exercise, and didn't put any thought into food except learning to cook healthier.

The ONLY thing that's going to make you lose weight is YOU. You have to want it, and you have to commit to the work--again, you can find the best method for YOU--but you've got to be consistent and dedicated.

_Zardoz_

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I want to lose weight and I don't need to open my diary because I KNOW it's not accurate. What I really need is motivation and support hence why I'm here. Some people may identify with me and others only read black and white.
I will keep this thread going as a reminder of my journey. I will get there.

You answer your own question as to why you've gained 2 pounds you don't log accurately. Do it properly and it'll work it's that simple. As for motivation the only person who can motivate you is yourself. Others can encourage and inspire but motivation comes from within. From your posts and the attitude your putting across it feels like you want others to do it for you they can't only you can make a change it comes down do you really want to do it or are you just playing at it? You will get lots of support and encouragement from people if you yourself put something. Good luck

Gwen_B

I didn't see anything about exercise on there!! If you do the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight (and give it your all) or Run on a regular basis, you WILL see a difference!!

rockmama72

I didn't see anything about exercise on there!! If you do the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight (and give it your all) or Run on a regular basis, you WILL see a difference!!

This is true! And if that's too much to start, commit to walking for 20 minutes each day this week. Anyone with two working legs and a pair of sneakers can manage that.

ninerbuff

For every client I've ever helped who claims they're doing everything they can, the one thing they kept doing wrong was being inconsistent. Funny that when they became consistent, things went the right way for them.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

MorgueBabe

I want to lose weight and I don't need to open my diary because I KNOW it's not accurate. What I really need is motivation and support hence why I'm here. Some people may identify with me and others only read black and white.
I will keep this thread going as a reminder of my journey. I will get there.

No what you need is a food scale and to stop guessing so much.

jonnythan

I didn't see anything about exercise on there!! If you do the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight (and give it your all) or Run on a regular basis, you WILL see a difference!!

You can do all the exercise in the world and still get fat.

twixlepennie

I didn't see anything about exercise on there!! If you do the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight (and give it your all) or Run on a regular basis, you WILL see a difference!!

Not necessarily. Weight loss is about calories. You don't need to do any exercise and can still lose weight, as long as you're eating at a calorie deficit. I have two friends who exercise like crazy and they're both still overweight. But, neither them count calories/focus on their diets.

rondaj05

I haven't read the responses, only your post. It doesn't sound like you're ready yet. When you're ready, you'll have a more positive outlook and be willing to commit yourself. Committing yourself means you'll make the time to accurately log your food as well as getting in some exercise at least a few days a week.

Just my .02

BigGuy47

I don't need to open my diary because I KNOW it's not accurate.

You don't need to open your diary. If you want to reach your goals you should start by making more of an effort with keeping an accurate log. For yourself, not for anyone else.