Seriously...HOW???

newhealthykim

I didn't jump into this overnight. I made a new year's resolution to work out for 30 minutes 3x a week. I met that goal in July. JULY!!! Seven months. I'm still not doing it every single week either, but when I travel, my workout gear goes with me. No ifs, ands, or buts. Then I started tracking my food one meal. Then two meals. Then a whole day. Then a whole week. Then two weeks, then 3 days of no logging, then right back on track. Then I bought a scale and started using it. Then I started really using it to measure grams instead of ounces. At first, I wasn't meeting my goals. Then it got easier and easier. I started cutting back soda slowly. Now I'm down to less than 20 oz every 2-3 days rather than 40 oz in a day. I typically meet my calorie goals now, but I'm still working on the others. If I meet 3 of 4, I'm pretty happy.

I'll sum it up like this. Go slow. Stop torturing yourself with "I can't have that" and "I must do this". BS. You don't have to do anything. Seriously. If you want weight loss, then do things to help you get there, but don't try to be some nutrition/fitness guru all at once. For instance, I'm totally having a cupcake on my birthday, and it doesn't matter if I go over my plan that day. You know why? Because it's one day. Plus I'm probably going to watch what I eat the rest of the day anyway. If I get to the end of the day, and I'm over my goals that day, then so be it. I'll get right back on track, dust myself off, and remember that one cupcake does not undo months of tracking. Hang in there. You can do it if you really want it.

toughmudderMN

Either you want it or you don't. If you want it, toughen up and do the work. That's how.

hookilau

How do you do this every day?

Does it become the most important thing in your life? Do you put tracking your calories and finding healthy food and making time to exercise above everything else in your life?

I can do it for a week. Sometimes I can do it for a month. But I've never been able to continue for longer than that without putting the weight back on.

I cringe every time I look in the mirror. I say negative things to myself every time I try to put on a pair of jeans and find out they are too tight. I feel guilty when I eat anything I shouldn't. But no matter how bad I feel I can't make myself stay on track with this.

Do I have some kind of hormone problem that makes me incapable of dealing with stress? I don't think so, in fact I think I'm pretty normal. So how the heck do I make myself keep going when I'm having a bad day or I'm on my period or I just don't feel like it?
I'm fairly intelligent. I understand the mechanics of losing weight. Am I just lazy?

HOW????

How can I stay on track for more than a week at a time? How can I fit it into my life so I don't feel like I am taking away from my family?

I can see the responses now telling me "you're not a special snowflake, just do it"

By doing it until it's second nature.

pat770

I have found it does no good to look back and kick yourself. You can only look forward and try to do better today

fluffyasacat

HOW... Because we're wired to eat when there's food around. 100,000 years ago do you think humans wandered into a fertile valley with plenty of food and didn't eat? They ate. It's survival.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to think of dieting like you do interval training. Short extreme bursts followed by periods of rest. If you can't stay on a diet for the long term then don't: do it for the (very!) short term. One day on (500 calories which is practically light fasting) and one day off (eat anything you can fit into your now-shrunken stomach) has worked for me. 8 pounds in 2 weeks.

I fast on even numbered days, feast on odd numbered days. Nett calories are lower than TDEE over a week.

ParisRoses

I think you just said it best and may not realize it. You said you like to have control over things and this slips away. That was my big issue. I could maintain control over my weight for a week or two and then thinking about the fact that I needed to lose 50 pounds would seem to far away and too unachievable for my control in that moment so I would yo yo diet. I actually had to break my goals into smaller achievable ones. I give myself a set date to lose 10 pounds and only focus on that 10 pounds, not so bad. You can even break it down to 2 a week. I would think of a 1 pound deli container full of chicken fat and every pound lost was that container of fat gone from my body. Doing all this psychological helped me achieve the will to do the physical work to get there. First month I lost 10 pounds then I joined MFP for all this awesome support. You have to mentally get there first. Baby steps.

yxlr8

A serious health issue seems to have done it for me. Most my life my weight has gone up and down, but few years ago I was so unwell that I needed help just to get through the shower. It took me a long time to just be able to care for my own children on a day to day basis and be able to work part-time. I will never be 100% but eating well and exercise helps to keep my health problems stable. No Im not at my goal weight and it has been 2 years and I have had a back injury in the last 6 months that has set me back and I gained almost 10kgs but it does not mean I don't get back up and dust myself off or that I have given up. Rome wasn't built in a day, ensure you are changing things to healthier options that are sustainable for you. Good luck

psych101

At some point the want to change becomes the stronger than the want to put up with things as they are.

Time is going to pass regardless - in a years time, you'll wish you started today

salembambi

i was really really really pissed off thats how

it became routine and is now my norm

Camo_xxx

I am sure the OP has gotten plenty of reasonable advise and hopefully can find the answers within herself.

So I am just gonna leave one of my favorite sayings here.

The world is full of temptations, the only thing that stands between them and you is self control.

marysidneyherbert

Figure out how to make it convenient, then, after one day at a time, it becomes a habit.

love8383

I think once you have lost and gained the same 60+lbs a few times you start to realize sticking with it is the only thing that will work long term. ..It does just become habit eventually and the reward is watching the scale go down which is a constant motivator.

CorvusCorax77

you have to view it as a part of your life. Not a challenge. You make time to brush your teeth and shave your legs, right? You can also make time to exercise. You can make time to cook a healthy meal.

If you have kids, you can incorporate exercise into your family time. I hike with my kid. I surf with my kid. I rock climb...with my kid. No that's not pumping out weights, but it's exercise (I have another deal i make with him so i can lift weights). My point is: good parenting can involve exercise. Ride bikes with your kids. Wear a HRM to the play ground and don't just watch- participate!

If you work a serious job (I do), take a walk on your lunch break. Destress. I actually do yoga in my office when I have time. Destress. Get up early and get in a ten minute run before the day starts. Ten minutes is one mile is 100 calories is a great way to start a day (ok, i haven't done this in a while, but i will tmorrow).

MystifiedFluff

I was there, believe me. I thought 'how can I squeeze even 10 minutes into my schedule'? I suffer from anxiety, insomnia, and worst of all I'm lazy. This January I decided to just force myself to exercise and try to lose weight I gained from pregnancy, depression, and inactivity. I've had good days and bad, still do, but this month I have exercised EVERY SINGLE DAY! I'm doing 60 minutes of either walking (outside or treadmill) or recumbent bike on good days with Wii Fit U yoga on Sundays. Less on bad days, but I do something for a little while and tell myself it is enough.

I eat healthy, or at least try to, but still go out to restaurants and don't say 'geez this is too many calories, etc.'. I eat slowly, enjoying the fact I'm not cooking or doing dishes, and stop when I'm full. I doggy bag the rest and if I'm hungry later, well, I have a bit more then. I don't get guilty about it, but I'm mindful and do track as best I can just to keep tabs on my intake/deficit amounts. I've still managed to lose over 15 pounds so far so I must be doing something right.

It's not easy, you'll slip and beat yourself up about it, but keep at it. Be flexible and understanding with yourself. Nobody is perfect, nobody loses weight the exact same way regardless of what formulas you see. For some it's cutting calories or walking around the neighborhood or hitting the gym or a mix of things. Do what works for you and most of all keep trying each day. Every day is a new chance to have a good day!

FortWildernessLoopy

Everyone's a special snowflake...that's the problem. I used to get resentful of my friends who can eat everything and burp off 5 lbs. That's not me. My family is heavy. Genetics have a lot to do with it right along with a hysterectomy and multiple surgeries plus being 41 and spending over half my life overweight. While every one of those things is true, it doesn't mean they aren't also excuses. Excuses why I couldn't workout, excuses why I was heavy, excuses why I was never going to be thin so why try? Like an alcoholic going cold turkey, YOU have to want it bad enough to work for it. You ask if it becomes the most important thing in your life? In a word, YES. If you do not prioritize your health, who will?
I still get sighs and eye rolling when I decline an invitation to a restaurant without light options that fit in my calorie goals. I don't give myself 'free days' because my *kitten* fat doesn't take a day off. I try not to talk about it to others who aren't on the same journey, but you know what? Once people start to notice, THEY initiate the weight loss conversation. They want to know what you're doing to be so successful. Imagine their shock when they hear "eating right and exercising". It isn't rocket science, it's just being more stubborn, selfish and willful than you've ever been before. It's time to concentrat4e on you. Find some people on here to add as friends, make your diary open to them and let the knowledge that you are being honest with yourself and others keep you accountable. This is the most successful I've ever been because I put my foot down and said "NO MORE!!"
I refuse to be identified by my waistline anymore. I refuse to hide from mirrors or just start crying when I catch a glimpse of myself in a window reflection. I'm still morbidly obese, but I know I will never again be at my heaviest weight. I smile because I know that my reflection (and clothing size) is ever changing and getting smaller every day.

No one is more special than you. Everyone who is successful at changing their life did it because it was their time to stand up and do it. (on that note, feel free to add me and stalk my diary, lol)

NewTnme

How do you do this every day?

Does it become the most important thing in your life? Do you put tracking your calories and finding healthy food and making time to exercise above everything else in your life?

I can do it for a week. Sometimes I can do it for a month. But I've never been able to continue for longer than that without putting the weight back on.

I cringe every time I look in the mirror. I say negative things to myself every time I try to put on a pair of jeans and find out they are too tight. I feel guilty when I eat anything I shouldn't. But no matter how bad I feel I can't make myself stay on track with this.

Do I have some kind of hormone problem that makes me incapable of dealing with stress? I don't think so, in fact I think I'm pretty normal. So how the heck do I make myself keep going when I'm having a bad day or I'm on my period or I just don't feel like it?
I'm fairly intelligent. I understand the mechanics of losing weight. Am I just lazy?

HOW????

How can I stay on track for more than a week at a time? How can I fit it into my life so I don't feel like I am taking away from my family?

I can see the responses now telling me "you're not a special snowflake, just do it"

OMG!!!!! if you are not me!!! I don't know what to do. I am sooooooo tired. Why can I not get on track and stay on track? Anymore I feel like some type of nut. Is it really supposed to be this hard.:sad:

cmm7303

If I do it, and make it important, then yeah, I focus and it becomes easier. I plan meals ahead of time, too.

RHachicho

You would be surprised how quickly it becomes a habit and how little time it actually takes.

loribethrice

I had to get to the point where I was ready to dedicate myself to it. Once that happened I was able to use MFP the way I was supposed to. Then after 8 months of only counting calories and losing 46lbs, I finally decided to go to the gym and start working out. I go 3-5 times a week and have been for the past 6 weeks. I haven't lost weight in almost 2 months and I am getting frustrated, but I know at some point I'll start losing again so I continue following my calories and my exercising.

kristinhowell

Honestly, I just do it. It's not an obsession, and it's certainly not the most important part of my day. But it's a tool that is helping me with the most important part of myself - my health. I don't always feel like it, but I know I have to do it or I will start regressing instead of progressing, and I won't allow myself to do that, because my health is important to me and it is important to my family and my future family. If you're busy or know you won't feel like logging later, 10 minutes out of the day, and you can have your entire day's worth of food logged. A minute here and there through the day to tweak and edit. It doesn't have to be rocket science. Just figure out what works for you and stick to it.