Seriously...HOW???

AglaeaC

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 do it because my health and well being is the most important thing in my life.
I do it because I've decided that I'm worth it.
I do it because I'm the only one to blame if I fail.
I do it because no one else is going to do it for me.
Sometimes, I have to wake up and make all of those decisions above again.
You just do it, or you don't... but if you do it, you have to do it every damn day.

See, OP, here is a list of Why?s well answered.

sarahf219

I made a rule for myself that after eating a meal, before I do anything else on my phone (i.e. pinterest, games, facebook, internet searching, etc.) I must enter my meal. I also made it a rule that before I eat anything else I must have entered my previous meal. So if I get busy during/after breakfast, before I start eating my lunch I take the few minutes to put in my breakfast. And the last catch all is that before I go to sleep I must have entered all of my food for the day. These rules ensure that I never get too far behind that it becomes impossible to catch up. However, we all have those days, if you get behind one day, start fresh the next day, practice makes perfect after all.

I also found that I needed to set some ground rules for myself as to my accuracy. I always would quit tracking after getting bogged down with the details. How much pepper did I just sprinkle into that chicken (who the hell knows)? So this time, I'm not tracking seasonings and spices and loosely estimating oils. I'm aware that this is not giving completely accurate numbers, but it is close enough. This takes a lot of stress out of it for me. I'm not tracking my unsweet ice tea drinking as I know that is low calorie. No gain to be had from the stress of tracking that beverage. I track sodas, coffee (b/c I do put sugar in it) and anything that isn't water/tea.

mmm_drop

One step at a time, one meal at a time, one day at a time.

For me I didn't become successful until I started following a deficit that was less restricting. I plan out my meals ahead of time, about 80% of the time, usually during the work week. I always leave a little room for snacks or surprises throughout the day. If I happen to eat more than my allotted calories for the day, I don't beat myself up!

As for exercise, I don't spend hours at the gym. Heck, I don't even go to the gym, because I've found I don't really enjoy going to the gym. Instead, I engage in activities I enjoy, like biking, walking, hiking, running and strength training. On the weekends I include my family and friends in my "workouts" by inviting them to join me on a walk, bike, hike, swimming, etc.

So, I suppose, it's a slowly, but surely, you'll get there. Change little things every week and continue those changes from week to week. The next thing you know you will have new habits and a new lifestyle.

fuelednfit

How can I fit it into my life so I don't feel like I am taking away from my family?

This struck me. In order to be there for my family I have to be healthy. Taking time for myself to exercise and taking 30minutes in the morning to plan what I will eat during the day, felt like I was taking away from my family. In fact I was not. I was simply taking some time for myself. How can you be there for your family if you are unhealthy?
I read that somewhere. Its like in the plane when they tell you put your oxygen mask first before you try to help anyone. How can you help anyone, love anyone, provide for anyone if you fail to do so for yourself. That's what helped take some time away from my family, to take care of myself.

SunofaBeach14

Drop the guilt. It's food not church. Forgive yourself when you screw up. Hell, forget forgive and screw up altogether and just do what you need to do.

Stop thinking you need to be x-treme, or shred your body, etc. Focus on building habits, and find exercise you genuinely enjoy.

Don't cut out foods you like. Instead, eat them in moderation. That means weigh everything and make sure it all stays in your calorie goals. Keep it simple.

JessMyOpinion

I struggled with this myself. It came down readjusting my expectations and finding something that worked for me personally. I kept following certain eating plans, ideas, etc. and not listening to myself and my body. I would spend hours meal planning and working out. All I was doing was obsessing and missing out on life. It's a process. Do what feels right to you. What works for one person and their lifestyle and goals might not work for you. Don't give up. Me telling you what I did isn't going to help you because we are different. All I can say is that I went through the same thing, it's possible to make it work, but it's not easy.

ClementineGeorg

I just do it.

Planning meals it's just a normal thing. Like palnning your work day or the cleaning of the house. Like planning a vacation or a cosmetic appoitment. Planning things in life it's normal.

Watching your health and making sure you take enough nutrients it's again normal. One should take care of his/hers health. Like brushing your teeth twice a day. It's necessary and you should do it.

This it's not the most important thing of my life. It's just a habbit, from the many one, I incorporated in my life. I don't make it my life, I just make time for cooking, making portions and exercising. Like I make time for washing myself. It's just everyday routine.

What it's been helping me is not going on a diet. I made myself a lifestyle I will try to follow for my life. When I finish losing, I will just eat a little more than now.
I don't always eat the right things, but I make sure that 90% of the time I'm doing the best thing for my body.

Sasssy69

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.

You need to give 100% to yourself, and the rest will fall into place. I work full time, and then some (as a high school teacher), I have two kids (think sports and activities) and a husband, and I belong to a plethora of committees. But what I have found is that in order for me to take care of everyone else, I MUST take care of myself first.

When I don't eat right or exercise, I become exhausted, irritable, impatient, and less-effective both at home and at my job. My own children suffer, my students suffer, and my husband hides.

When I exercise, eat right, get enough sleep, and yes, sometimes leave work on time (even though all those essays are ungraded), I am a better human being. My children comment on how much more relaxed I am, and my students comment on how I seem less stressed and "in a good mood".

I get up at 4:45 in the morning to get in a 3.5 mile walk. I make sure I'm in bed, and ready for sleep by 9:30 at the latest. I personally believe that when you make yourself a priority, you have more to give to other people. My health is important - why should I sacrifice that? What kind of a lesson am I teaching my children if I don't exercise and don't eat right?

logicalinks

My favorite quote that helps me almost every time I'm faced with a decision that threatens to derail me... "Don't give up what you want most for what you want right now." Sure enough, if I ask myself that when faced with a candy bar or soft drink, I answer it and an hour later, the thing I thought I wanted so much is usually forgotten. If I'm still thinking about it later, I might allow myself a small sample... but keep it in moderation.

Another thing is the awesome cycle that happens... I exercise, so I want to eat healthier (can't take eating fatty or heavy foods after a good workout). When I eat healthier, I have the energy to exercise. I start to feel different, and look different, and it all creates a desire to keep going forward.

What also helped me a lot was just deciding, this is not a diet, not even a goal... it's a new way of living. This new way involves planning ahead, making good choices, and deciding in every weak moment what really matters most.

Good luck!!

Deipneus

How do you do this every day?

After many years of wishing, one day I woke up angry. Angry at myself. When I catch myself slipping, I try to remember how angry I was that day and how much it will suck if I go back to where I was. Today is my 1,000th day-in-a-row on MFP.

BigLifter10

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

This is true for me. And on those days when I don't want it enough, I focus on TRYING to do the right thing each time I have a meal. It's a lot of trial and error. I never had a weight issue growing up, but, long story made very short.....an accident (hit from behind in the car) got me off of exercise for a few yrs. I finally got sick of feeling like crap and puttered around here and there until 2 1/2 yrs ago I started lifting. The weight started to drop almost seamlessly and the better I felt (because I just wasn't really trying to do anything specific), the more I wanted to do the right things with my nutrition. The cold, hard major fact though.....is that nutrition is close to everything. I thought I could exercise ANYTHING off. Lots of justifications and lots of hard work - and it does work - but only to a point. I finally hit my point where I want to be healthy and to do that I need to eat right and exercise. Period. Lots of shortcuts were tried....but nothing works like nutrition and exercise.

It's a different process for everyone. Just don't give up! That feels worse, emotionally, than sticking with healthy eating!

trogalicious

How do you do this every day?

After many years of wishing, one day I woke up angry. Angry at myself. When I catch myself slipping, I try to remember how angry I was that day and how much it will suck if I go back to where I was. Today is my 1,000th day-in-a-row on MFP.

920 here.
congrats on the 1000!

BigLifter10

Major Congrats!!!!

RachelSteeners

When you are 'ready' you will be able to continue your weight loss journey. Counting calories and working out will become a habit. Good luck!

1princesswarrior

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.

You've gotten a lot of good advice already as I haven't read through all the responses yet.

Are you a perfectionist?

If so, you are like me. Here's what I've learned about trying to be a perfectionist: is you spend so much time trying to do everything perfect that what you end up doing is everything half-*kitten*. This is what I've experienced in life, not meant to be mean in any way. My riding instructor said something yesterday when I told her my knees were so sore from running that I couldn't do more than walk my horse during my ride. Here's what she said: "Then it's time to stop running and just walk more. Do you want to ride an upper level horse in two years or do you want to run? You need to figure out your priorities." Now my riding instructor is very blunt, and usually right. She's already got my next horse picked out for me because she sees a talent in me that I don't see yet. Her point was that I need to slow down and figure out what I want more. At age 40, I still need to learn how to ride and jump because in two years I'm investing a lot of money in a horse. So I need to be able to ride that horse. My point is I can't give 100% to both riding and running right now, I have to make a difficult choice because I love both. So running is going to take a backseat.

I'm not saying to put your family, work, etc. on hold so you can log and exercise. But you do need to re-prioritize some things. Maybe you start with just logging food and don't worry about exercising for now. Make logging food accurately a part of your daily routine until it is a habit. Do you plan your meals ahead of time? Log the food then. Do you have a smartphone? Download the app and log while you are eating (that's what I do most of the time). If that is too much focus on substituting water for other drinks right now, do that for a month and then start logging food. Or don't worry about losing weight right now, just get in the habit of logging.

The reason that pushed me to get serious was chronic migraines. I just got tired of being laid up on the couch most of the time getting fatter and fatter and decided it was time for a change. The best thing you can do for your family is to get and stay healthy, they deserve that so think of it as a gift to them. However you need to think of it when you get tired of logging and exercising. Or like many have said, take baby steps.

Good luck

dubird

The' how' for me was starting one thing at a time. I started with the calorie counting. I'm not exact, but I get as close as I can. And it's a habit I had to make myself do. I still miss finishing my diary every night sometimes, but I'll fill it in next day. I haven't added exercise back in because of all the moving we're doing, but that will be next once I get back in the habit of MFP logging. Changing one thing at a time is slow, but that works for me because it's not EVERYTHING at once. Changing everything at once makes me anxious and I end up getting burned out, fall back on old habits, and then I'm back where I started. So start small, maybe change out one meal a day for something healthier and once you get used to that, change something else. I don't know if it'll work for you, but it's something to try anyways.

What also works for me is bribing myself. For instance, right now, if I fill out all my days for the rest of the month of August, I'll take myself out to a nice steak dinner. It's simple, won't crash my calories for day, and very very tasty! If you don't want to use food, promise yourself a different treat if you fill out MFP for a full month. You have to be willing to be honest with yourself about it, but that works for me.

wolverine66

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"

cringing and talking negatively about yourself is probably not going to make you stick with this. it is more likely a contributor to your inability to stick with it. I've been there: "why do you even try? it's not like it's going to make a difference. You are going to be fat forever...." and so on.

it's hard to get rid of those thoughts, and, they haven't completely gone away for me. but it has lessened.

Those have to change to something more positive: "you can do this. it's just entering info on a website. you go to facebook every day, why not this too? this will help you make yourself better. you are finally taking ownership...." and so on.

AmyRhubarb

I logged my 1082nd straght day on MFP this morning.

Logging, mindful eating and exercise has just become part of what I do - like brushing my teeth every day, eating well and staying active is what I do.

I wasn't always like this - I started and stopped, and lost and gained, and restarted and stopped again, and lost and gained again - I finally got tired of it, and the last time I started I decided I wasn't going to go through the stopping and starting again, because it sucks!

Mostly what keeps me on track now is having reasonable goals, a reasonable calorie deficit that fits into my lifestyle and still allows the foods I love, and reasonable exercise - around 60 minutes of quality work a day, 5-6 days a week, always at least one rest day. I've reached goal weight, lost fat and inches and dropped several sizes, and kept it off for over two years now.

My diary is open, and my info is on my profile page - feel free to check it out!

klkarlen

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.

Love this.

I started slow, and the logging is just another thing I do each day, like checking email.

I don't have time to join a gym, so I do what I can to increase my normal daily activities, like parking further away from the building at work, taking walk breaks, take the stairs instead of the elevator, got a standing desk. Do leg lifts while drying my hair. Walk laps around the kitchen island while watching the dinner cook.....it all adds up.

Schtroumpfkin

Make it a habit. The more habit it becomes, the less time and effort it takes to track.

This.

And find out the things you enjoy which help you to your goal. They are the easiest to keep doing with less effort. Which exercises are your favourite? Which low calorie snacks seem to always hit the spot?