Seriously...HOW???
Options
Replies
-
yea this. it may have been a little tough to get into it at first but i dont even think about it anymore, its natural. the pros outweigh the cons one hundredfoldThe same way I brush my teeth or take a shower every day. It's just a daily habit, and I know that if I don't do them, there are consequences to be had. Are those consequences worth skipping to you?0 -
BABY STEPS!!! Make small consistent changes and watch it add up. I didn't start this process walking 2-3 miles a day....I didn't start by cutting massive calories immediately to get instant results...I just focused on what I needed to do....For me it was finding a way to get my newly diagnosed Diabetes under control. I had a reason to make it work, just had to put in the work to do so. Everyone is different and everyone needs to customize the process. I just started by taking a walk at lunch for 20 minutes and barely could get a mile in....I ate more veggies and less red meat....I kept focus on avoiding the things that got me to where I didn't want to be.
You will get there if you really desire it! So you have to ask yourself - HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT IT?!?!0 -
Making something a part of your daily routine does not necessitate that it be the most important part of your life. I make coffee every morning- doesn't mean that I worship the Keurig. (Okay, maybe a little...)
Eating healthy doesn't take anymore time than eating crap. It's just a choice you make. Like anything else, when it becomes routine, it's easy. Especially if you give up the negativity and excuses- it's amazing what a time suck those are.
And the best thing for stress in exercise. If it wasn't for my treadmill, I would spend a portion of every day throwing small objects at my husband's head.0 -
Maybe try involving your family in some of the workouts. Go for a walk, hike, bike ride, etc.0
-
It took me a looong time to really get into the habit of tracking my food with this app. I joined back in 2012! And I would do a week here and there and never really keep up with it. Honestly, what really hooked me into keeping up with this is how well it syncs with my fitbit device. I feel like I'm getting a more accurate estimate of how many calories I take in and burn with both of these apps. I've been doing this for almost 3 months now, and it still a slow process, but I've lost a few pounds (for the first time ever!) Changing bad eating habits instilled in us from our childhoods is not an easy feat. But I'm on track! And I think you can do it too!
Recommendations:
Invest in a Fitbit or some other activity tracker (jawbone's good too)
Friend people on here and on your activity tracker's app. Get into a competitive mindset and get moving!
Think of your calories like money (i.e. I can't afford to eat that cookie today, but I'll get a walk in tomorrow and eat one then)
Don't be so rigorous 100%, but don't low ball your estimates. What threw me off was having to record every ingredient. I did this when I started out (b/c I really didn't realize how much I actually ate), but now that I've gotten into the habit monitoring what I eat, I just search for the nearest thing already in the database.
A food scale is a necessity.
Just my thoughts. Stay positive!0 -
Someone once told me you should treat managing your health like a part time job. For some reason, thinking of it that way works for me. In the end, I get paid in energy, better health, and weight loss. It does become second nature after a while, and a worthwhile time investment.0
-
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"
Hmm...
For me it is just part of my life....
It is habitual at this point....
It is easy for things to work into your life and be part of your life, it is first a priority....
Kinda like children....until you have them, you don't concern yourself with them....so you go out and do as you wish, when you wish.
But when you have kids, they are important....so they become a priority and become part of daily life.
You begin to find out what works and how things fit, and it becomes 2nd nature.
Eating and exercising is gonna be no different..
Exercise is optional, and has to be important in order for you to want to take it serious.
Eating however is not optional, you have to do that....
what becomes optional is whether you eat right or not.....
So you can either take a bit to plan out and make it work...or not.
Like I try to prep food a few days ahead....then at night when I sit in bed, I try to fill out most if not all of my diary for the next day.
So if you look now, you will see my diary is filled out for today....I did that before I went to bed last night.
So today I don't think twice about it.....0 -
My secret:
I have a lot of really fun people on my friend list. They are truly entertaining. I show up just to see what they will do or say next. Then, I just log my food while I'm here.
I'm at 1,167 days in a row logged.
You have a pretty small friend list. Perhaps, if you expanded it, you would enjoy the site more, and logging in would just be an after-thought once you have perused your newsfeed.0 -
For me it is a matter of challenging myself on a weekly basis. At one point I discovered my body is capable of doing things I only thought people with good genetics or those who started training since they were kids could do. It takes reprogramming of the brain by repetition and acceptance. Your brain is programmed by many years of not caring and not paying attention to do whatever you get pleasure from doing. Eating whatever you want, not being physically active, etc. For most people it will take a long time to change this habits and reprogram your brain to not care for that anymore and enjoy what now you're questioning and wondering how can it be done.
Because fitness is something that doesn't happen overnight and it takes a lot of patience, you have to learn and look for ways to make this process a more enjoyable one. I'm not saying to not push yourself hard when working out and instead go walking on a treadmill at 2 mph for 1 hour. You will have to work hard if you want to see changes. What I'm saying is, focus on what you want to achieve, create weekly goals, whether it is to lose a reasonable amount of weight, increase weight on a certain exercise, do one more rep or set, burn more calories, things like that. That will keep you motivated to look forward to next week and do your best this one. And about eating, my best advice is, tweak your macros weekly not by a lot but instead with small changes so you can find what works best for you. Eat high in fiber and protein since those help you stay full longer instead of feeling hungry ever 30 minutes. Keep a healthy balance of macros. Go online, look up for different ways to figure out what could work for you (I don't like the way MFP distributes macros ratios), and you will find yourself starting to enjoy this process, especially as you start seeing changes in your body and great results.0 -
I've been at a low weight for years now but about 8 years ago I had about 30 pounds to lose. For me it really is a matter of breaking bad habits and developing new ones. Honestly I have been sober for about 15 years but the changes that I have made with food were and continue to be much much harder than letting go of substances. The first 6 months I worked out everyday and only lost 4 pounds. Then I realized that I couldn't keep finishing the kids fries...or ice cream.....or think it would be fine to sit down with the Halloween candy. It was a really long journey for me and yes it was really hard. I think it does depend how much you want it and how important it is to you - versus other things that might get put to the side in the meantime. Also I personally have had issues with food addictions/eating disorders which complicate losing weight - support groups make dealing with all of it a lot easier. Maybe relax your goals and start very small.....and see where that leads you?
Good luck.
This is a good post!
OP - when you're staring something down that seems overwhelming, just break it down into manageable bits. As the poster I've quoted has stated, focus on breaking one bad habit. Once you feel that you've been successful making that one small change, you'll have broken that feeling of powerlessness and you'll start looking for other things you can change.
It's amazing, but the little changes can make the biggest difference.
Good luck!0 -
You don't want it bad enough yet. Think about the olympics. They train like maniacs and have one goal, to get the gold medal. Nothing gets in their way by trying to achieve this. Strong mind is what it takes and where many people struggle with.0
-
Once you get your regular food in your recent foods list it's not a big deal to count calories anymore because it's all there, you just have to edit how much of it you ate. You learn pretty quickly which foods get you the most nutrition and fill you up for the least calories as well, but it's a lot of trial and error at the beginning and each time restarting. I take about 15 minutes in the morning planning my meals and logging them. At night I take another 15 minutes or so adding extra things I ate or deleting things I planned to eat but didn't. The rest of the time I spend talking with MFP friends. If you're able to go on Facebook at some point during the day then there's no reason why you can't go on MFP.
As for working out and being healthier in general, it doesn't take over your life, but it can alter it. Instead of watching tv with the family at night you'll be out for a walk with the family at night. Family time doesn't disappear, it just changes.0 -
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?
Most important thing? Are you serious?
Important things - my health being foremost of them - deserve a higher priority than watching TV. There's no conflict at all. If this bothers other people, that's just too bad.
I've put my health on the back-burner before, and it never ends well.I can see the responses now telling me "you're not a special snowflake, just do it"
Well, I'll save that for later. You do lack discipline, and focus. Don't look for motivation - look to create habits.0 -
And I'll add this as well--
I hate fitspo or motivation quotes, but this much is true: Someone more busy than you is getting a workout in. I'm busy, my friends are busy, my family is busy, but I'm the one making time for exercise instead The Kardashians. Yes, if your day is chock full of activity, something is going to have to give. But as someone else said:You just do it. If you want it bad enough you make it happen.0 -
a year from now, you'll wish you started today.
this quote is what works for me every time I feel overwhelmed. and guess what? I committed a year ago and I have not ever been happier. still gonna keep going on it and can't wait to see my results in another year0 -
Support
Patience
More Patience
Support
I added a good group of friends who have similar goals and enjoy interacting frequently. My support system at home is very small. My online newsfeed is anything but small. It is full of encouragement. There are usually comments from kind friends and discussions to join. On busy days I read a few diaries and exercise entries. There is always something to motivate me to stay on track.
Patience
Accepting that I am going to make mistakes and not letting those mistakes derail the entire process. If I overate for one day, that is not cause to give up. I log the food honestly and get back on track the next day.
More Patience
Healthy habits take time to form. Like allbarrett said above, pick one habit to change instead of 10. Don't beat yourself up if you don't get it right immediately.
All the best on your journey
0 -
Yeah, you just do it.
Finding food to put in your tummy is already a part of your daily life, you just now start finding foods that fit your goals instead of grabbing whatever.
Showering and washing are already part of your routine, you just now start putting in a workout beforehand.
You already do a million things in the interest of your own good health.
You brush your teeth, you take any medications that you need, you wear sunscreen, you wash your hands after the restroom, you get adequate sleep each night, you wear your seat belt in the car, you walk on the sidewalk, you avoid dark alleys at night, etc.
You already have a lot of good health and safety habits well-established in your daily life. Now you're simply adding exercise and better food choices.0 -
You don't want it bad enough yet. Think about the olympics. They train like maniacs and have one goal, to get the gold medal. Nothing gets in their way by trying to achieve this. Strong mind is what it takes and where many people struggle with.
Yeah, I don't want to win the Olympics. I want to find a way to make this PART of my life but not make it my life if that makes sense. Finding balance is always a problem with me. Wanting to give 100% to my job, my family, and my health but there's not enough time, energy, and focus to give each the attention it deserves.0 -
Also, please don't think you have to do it all at once. Huge changes are always going to be difficult. So doing that. Don't change up your entire diet and think you have to exercise daily. That's not going to happen.
Try adding in two exercise days each week, and adding a vegetable to every meal. When that starts to feel more natural, add in one more day of exercise, and maybe try adjusting some portion sizes (while still keeping the vegetables). Something like that, but do it that way that works best for you.
Yes, you have to put some effort into it. You have to take time to think about it, and work to make it happen. But don't overload yourself or you'll end up feeling resentful and throw it all out the window.0 -
a year from now, you'll wish you started today.
this quote is what works for me every time I feel overwhelmed. and guess what? I committed a year ago and I have not ever been happier. still gonna keep going on it and can't wait to see my results in another year
I started today, I started last week, I started last year, I started 10 years ago. What I haven't done is finished what I started.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.5K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 392 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 926 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions