Seriously...HOW???

jr726

I have been overweight the better part of my life but REALLY overweight for the last 30 years. About 3 years ago I just started with the small changes like portion control and severely restricting the "bad" foods. I didn't try to completely eliminate those things that I really enjoyed, just keep them as treats. I added water aerobics 4 days a week immediately after work and I lost 20 pounds over the course of about a year and managed to maintain that loss. Then about a year ago I made more changes. I reduced my carb intake even more and started using this program to help me keep track of what I was actually eating each day. It made me more aware of all of the little "bites" here and there. My rule was if you eat it, you have to log it. I can tell you this made me pass some things up because I simply didn't want to figure out how to log it! I have lost another 20 pounds and have kept if off for a year. I still have 80-90pounds to go and I don't use the program every day but if I finds the pounds creeping up again I start logging again. For me, the maintaining the weight loss is also a huge accomplishment and keeps me motivated. It took a long time to put the weight on, it will take a long time to take it off. Don't beat yourself up over it.

Pinkranger626

Here's the thing.... Yes, it may seem like it takes over your life AT FIRST. If you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll keep getting what you've been getting. So In order to get where you want to be (lose weight, build muscle, eat healthier, get off of medications etc. etc.) You need to make it a priority, you need to have a game plan and you need to focus on it. This is going to mean something different for everyone based on their own goals and their lifestyles.

For some people it may mean just shrinking portions, for others it could mean limiting sweets or sodas or chips, for others it could mean totally revamping their diet. Eventually the habits that you have been so focused on and seemingly crazy about become so much a part of your life that you don't even think about it, you just do it.

As for the workouts, it's important to find something that you LIKE to do and something that you can fit into your schedule. If you can realistically only workout for 30 minutes a day, planning a 2 hour workout is going to set you up for failure, Every. Time. Exercise is important for all sorts of things, cardiovascular health, bone density, energy, stress relief etc. BUT, it doesn't have to be something that you hate doing, it doesn't have to be something that takes away from your every day responsibilities and commitments. It may feel like it at first, but that too will become a part of your life and you and your family will adjust to it.

Instead of traditional exercise, maybe you find an activity that you and the whole family likes to do and get them involved. Play tag, play soccer, go for a hike, go for a family bike ride, challenge each other to a pushup contest whatever works for you.

Be patient with yourself and know that WHEN you can stick with it for threeish weeks it will start to feel so much more natural to you, and it won't feel like you're starting over every week.

One last thing, maybe for you it makes more sense to focus on diet OR fitness first, then once that stops feeling so forced and cumbersome then you focus on the next aspect. Sometimes trying to change everything all at once just ends in total overload and can make you give up completely. Hope this helps.

Meerataila

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?

Yes.

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.

Sometimes it's a little fun, once I started tracking nutrients and hunting down foods I could make that would let me meet RDA without supplementing everything. It feels like I'm learning a lot and doing the best thing I can for my health. So it really does have its enjoyable upside.

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.

No one likes how we look all the time. I've switched a lot (but not all!) of my focus from what I look like to what I can do. To run, to not be out of breath going upstairs, to how many push-ups I can do, etc. I'm really looking forward to some hiking this Fall and three years ago, I wasn't looking forward to going downstairs for another 2 liter of soda.

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?

Check with your doctor if in doubt. But everyone hates dealing with stress. Or at least the kind we define stress as. And a lot of us get lazy during that time of month, too. It's normal.

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"

You have to want it enough. It's not easy or everyone would be fit and thin. And if you don't want it that bad, it's okay. It's your decision. Or if you want to go halfway and stop when you get to reasonably healthy, that's fine, too. Again, it's your body and your health and your decision.

postrockandcats

The "how" for me is that I do "just do it;" It's become part of my lifestyle and I can't imagine living any other way. The important thing for me is why; I had a health scare that resulted from my lifestyle choices and my relationship with food, so it became a necessity for me to change things and be responsible for my health. What shocked me was how much I learned about myself and how freeing this was once I got into a good headspace with my new lifestyle. I don't feel this is any more restrictive than budgeting my paycheck for bills vs play. Most of the time I stick to my calorie budget, but I do allow myself splurges as well. I don't feel guilt over my food choices and I eat what I want to eat, including cake, pizza and ice cream when the mood strikes. Sometimes at the same time with a beer!

Baby steps. Don't concern yourself with the "right" steps, just making the steps to begin with. Log everything, even if it's not the epitome of healthy or even within your calorie budget and don't feel guilty about it. Just learn what you like and what your eating habits are. Once the logging becomes habit, then try budgeting. Experiment with subbing trigger foods out with alternatives. Try new foods. Try new cooking styles. Don't treat this as a thing you have to do to lose a few pounds, treat it as an adventure and a new way of living.

ETA: The Pizza, Cake and Ice Cream thing. This is important to me, so I'm going to mention it again. I realized that if I didn't have "the good stuff," I'd fail and fail miserably. So, I had to keep them around. Ergo, I eat foods that nurish me, but allow for the fun stuff. It keeps me sane. Also, life without Cake is not one I'd want to live in. But to each their own. Everyone's needs are different and you've got to find your own way.

valjanepal

I think it is easier to stay on track when you see progress to your goal, whether it is looser clothes or doing more exercise rep's - even if your progress is slower than you want. And when you do fall off the track for a day or a vacation or whatever, do NOT let that be a long term derailment. Just start gain NOW.

knitapeace

Just echoing the posts encouraging you to do things gradually. You sound a lot like my husband, who has a real "all or nothing" attitude about things and if he trips up on his diet he just throws his hands up and says "nope, can't do it." If you take it one new habit at a time, one day at a time, it becomes a lot less overwhelming and you don't end up kicking yourself every time you fall. You just get up and keep going from where you are. You aren't special...which is how we all know you can do it.

PS just looked at your profile and one more suggestion: don't give yourself a timeline. You may not know exactly how your body is going to adjust from week to week and you're putting more pressure on yourself (and more of that feeling of "failure") by saying you'll be in a certain place by a certain date. Just do what you gotta do, consistently, and it'll happen when it happens.

deearess

I'm far from having this right, but what seems different this time is I've found some things I love to do (and some things I still want to try) that I'll be much better at if I get the weight off. For example, I've recently picked up tennis and know that I'll be better at that if I'm in better physical condition/eat good fuel. I think the motivation just has to be the right one for *you*

FitCattitude

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"

From reading your post, it sounds like you really give yourself a hard time ... I'd take some breathing space to be a bit nicer to yourself, as if you're constantly giving yourself negative feedback, that's a very difficult place to work from. Being nicer to yourself means you'd be nicer to your body. If you're always criticising yourself and viewing yourself as a failure, you're never going to manage to sustain a new lifestyle that's about being good to yourself. I'd take a step back, let the negativity at yourself go, and instead focus your energy on enjoying tracking calories, learning new things, working out, sharing, and achieving steadily but surely, and instead praise yourself for doing those things and, when not exercising etc, enjoy the things you enjoy in life, while not worrying or giving yourself a hard time at all.

LoneWolfRunner

It's all a matter of priorities. We do the things that are most important to us. I can say I want to eat healthy, but if my car is littered with fast food wrappers, obviously, I don't. And I am not passing judgment on anyone's choices. We all choose to do things that are not good for us and we will continue to do them until something more important comes along. If you are not losing weight, then you have other things in your life that are more important.

MississippiMama87

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.

I'm a single mother of two children under the age of five. I work a full time job as a Paralegal for a very large firm. I am responsible for waking my children up, getting them fed and dressed, dropped off at school, picked up, bathed, fed and put in bed every single day. I log daily and exercise frequently. You just make it work. I wake up at 5 a.m. to run on the treadmill before I have to get ready for the day. I put on a strength training DVD at 9 p.m. after everyone is asleep. There is no such thing as too busy.

saynay18

I told my self that this time, I would do whatever it takes! I have had to be selfish and this has been my priority. Guess what....it's working! I've worked it into my lifetyle. You can too. Do it!

SezxyStef

You just do it. If you want it bad enough you make it happen.

^

x3..besides it doesn't take a lot of time...I prelog Mon-Thur takes maybe 15mins...then I log my weekend based on how my week went takes another 10mins...tweaks take 10mins a week.

If you have 45mins to sit on the sofa you have time to do this.

PMA140

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"

From reading your post, it sounds like you really give yourself a hard time ... I'd take some breathing space to be a bit nicer to yourself, as if you're constantly giving yourself negative feedback, that's a very difficult place to work from. Being nicer to yourself means you'd be nicer to your body. If you're always criticising yourself and viewing yourself as a failure, you're never going to manage to sustain a new lifestyle that's about being good to yourself. I'd take a step back, let the negativity at yourself go, and instead focus your energy on enjoying tracking calories, learning new things, working out, sharing, and achieving steadily but surely, and instead praise yourself for doing those things and, when not exercising etc, enjoy the things you enjoy in life, while not worrying or giving yourself a hard time at all.

:flowerforyou: I am hard on myself. I hold myself and everyone around me to high standards. I don't know why really, I guess I just think people are capable of great things. That's why failing at this for so long is so hard on me.

Sugarbeat

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"

From reading your post, it sounds like you really give yourself a hard time ... I'd take some breathing space to be a bit nicer to yourself, as if you're constantly giving yourself negative feedback, that's a very difficult place to work from. Being nicer to yourself means you'd be nicer to your body. If you're always criticising yourself and viewing yourself as a failure, you're never going to manage to sustain a new lifestyle that's about being good to yourself. I'd take a step back, let the negativity at yourself go, and instead focus your energy on enjoying tracking calories, learning new things, working out, sharing, and achieving steadily but surely, and instead praise yourself for doing those things and, when not exercising etc, enjoy the things you enjoy in life, while not worrying or giving yourself a hard time at all.

:flowerforyou: I am hard on myself. I hold myself and everyone around me to high standards. I don't know why really, I guess I just think people are capable of great things. That's why failing at this for so long is so hard on me.

I'm the same way and it wasn't until I started being a little nicer to myself that I was able to stick with things. When you think negative things about your body ask yourself if you would say those things to a friend. Would you be okay with a friend saying them to you? Maybe work on that a little and see if things get a little easier. Also, I had some underlying issues that were making eating more of a compulsion thing. This came out in therapy for something else. Not saying you need therapy but perhaps you can do a little soul searching and come to a similar conclusion.

PaytraB

People are capable of great things but it takes time to make the great things happen. No one wakes up and says "I'll cure polio today". It takes years of hard work and concentration to do that. Weight loss is the same.

First, make sure your weight loss goals are reasonable. For 40-50 lbs of loss, aim for no more than a 1 lb a week loss. Getting too aggressive can lead to failure. Slow & steady is the key.
Next, spend a couple of weeks eating as usual, weighing and logging everything. Study your diary and see where you could improve. Should you add more veggies, protein, fat, etc? Should you cut back on fat, snacks, etc? How many calories would you need to decrease to reach your goal? Your diary will answer those sorts of questions.
Then set about making the changes you need to make to reach your goals. Your plan will be clearer than some vague "I've got to cut back".
Exercise when you can, aim for 3-4 times a week. You may need to work yourself up to that but get started with whatever you can do. Plan on 1 hour per session and see where it takes you. Find something you enjoy doing. If you log your exercise calories, be suspicious about MFP's calorie burns. You can manually decrease what MFP states to make it more reasonable (google your exercise and try to find a reasonable number of calories). Eat back 1/2-3/4 of your exercise calories. If you want, use these calories as your snack calories as an extra incentive to exercise and a reward.

One day at a time. Habits change slowly. You can do this.

highcarbveganzombie

I finally got tired of how I look, tired of being tired. For years I tried to lose weight for everyone else. Well, this time it's for ME and me only. That's how I do it everyday. It's the only thing I've ever done for myself and I won't give up on myself.

srouse2013

You are a special snowflake - we all are!! We all have our individual issues and it takes a lot of time to devise a workable strategy for your world. I'm a stress eater myself, so I know how that goes. When I start to feel the stress building and the desire to grab the nearest family size back of Chex-Mix; I reach for a big, cold glass of water instead and then take a few minutes to just breathe. I never really appreciated the art of meditation until I started this journey. Now if I get a little overwhelmed I just take a minute to center myself.

One thing that I have noticed lately is that since I got my Fitbit, it is easier for me to keep logging my meals and things. It's a good feeling when you hit a goal that you've set and a green happy face comes up on the dashboard screen (silly I know but true). I wish that MFP would add something like that....Anyway, it keeps me aware of where I'm at and since I sync it to MFP it really gives a greater understanding of the calories that I eat and what I burn.

As far as the exercising goes, any time I take a break at work I try to get in as many steps as possible. Then in the evening, my husband and I take our granddaughter out for a walk. Include your family, it doesn't matter if they need to loose weight or not; there is something very peaceful about a leisurely walk with the ones you love.

Lastly I will say this, feel free to add me. On this journey we need all of the support that we can get.

postrockandcats

PS-

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?

You are human. Stress happens to us all! You're hardly lazy, just a regular old person. One day of "eff this crap" doesn't do anything. Go back to what you were doing the next day.

JoRocka

If you can spend time on the internet- you can log you're food.

Seriously- it takes less time to log my ENTIRE day of planned food while I drink my coffee in the AM then it does to check facebook and my emails.

Just do it- plan you're food- you'll realize you do not eat THAT much different stuff week to week- and you just keep logging the same stuff and it becomes just the thing you do.