Seriously...HOW???

PMA140

You guys were right. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that I KNEW this was a long term commitment, I always kept in the back of my mind the idea that I could do it quickly, lose the weight, and then not have to worry about it anymore.

It took 150 post from strangers for me to admit to myself that I was still thinking about this wrong.

That's why I've tried this at 1200 cal, 1350 cal, 1500 cal at various times over the past 3 years and though I did well for a while each time I ultimately failed because I wanted a quick fix and tried for too much too fast.

My goal is set for 1700 calories a day now and I will try to start with 30 min of exercise 3 days a week. I doubt I'll see much of a loss at that rate. Maybe 1/2 pound per week. But if I'm not hungry and I'm not tired I don't see any reason why I can't sustain that long term.

Thanks for helping me see what was right in front of me :-)

MityMax96

Good luck

JCLondonUK

Thanks! Those are sweet and positive answers. Honestly, I just feel like I'm whining. I know I'm the only one who can figure it out but I've tried so many times and never gotten it right. I am so frustrated and feel like a failure. I like to have control over things and this keeps getting away from me.
Maybe I need a psychiatrist or something.

My goal is only set to 20 pounds but ultimately I'd like to lose somewhere between 40-50 for my ideal weight.

It helps sometimes to think of the alternative, I've found. If you're overweight, then the way you are and have been living - if you continue the same way - will ensure that you continue to gain more weight, and more, and more .... At some point, you will have to do something about it, and the heavier you have become the harder that will be. I'm inspired by the success stories here of people who have focused over long periods of time to lose 100lbs or more, but I'm so glad I caught my weight gain before I had such an enormous task before me. It's taken me since Christmas to achieve a healthy weight, and I have learned to eat better and enjoy exercise and lifting along the way. You have a similar amount to lose, and could achieve your goal in six months without too much hardship ... Or you can continue to gain weight and make things more difficult for yourself at a later date. I don't mean to be unkind - that's just a way of thinking that's worked for me.

Good luck!

1peanutandapumpkin

It's new routines, new habits and for me it was "What do I want more?" I'm just starting out too (again) and the how drives me nuts but so doesn't calorie counting and looking in the mirror. I am a giant control freak so you would think counting calories would be high on the agenda, but it isn't. What I want more than to eat like I always do is to get smaller. So I guess you need to figure out what you want more. Then work on your own "how". Keep trying to figure out what works for you. Everyone is different.

7elizamae

Thanks! Those are sweet and positive answers. Honestly, I just feel like I'm whining. I know I'm the only one who can figure it out but I've tried so many times and never gotten it right. I am so frustrated and feel like a failure. I like to have control over things and this keeps getting away from me.
Maybe I need a psychiatrist or something.

My goal is only set to 20 pounds but ultimately I'd like to lose somewhere between 40-50 for my ideal weight.

Almost everyone feels like whining sometimes!

Just start again and try to take it one day at a time. You know you can do it for one day. So just do that. That's all the rest of us are doing, really. The reason is feels endless to you is because it is! It's a decision to make every day at every meal. But those decisions because more automatic over time, and then it's easier.

Don't give up!

jorninsmama

I too have the same problem.....get fed up, start a new diet/program, stick to it for a week or 2 and then just "forget" about tracking, planning etc and fall back in to my old ways. I've never stuck with anything long enough to change my habits or lose any more than water weight.....until recently. What worked for me was to surround myself with quotes, sayings, pictures and plans. I have them on my desktop on my computer....on post it notes on my computer and cubicle walls, on my phone and on my fridge. Anywhere that I may need a reminder so that eventually it became a habit. I also surrounded myself with people who are in the same boat as I....I don't post on MFP usually however, I read posts and blogs religiously. I have MFP up on my computer all day long so tracking my food is right in front of me (or on my phone if I'm not at work).

I haven't reached my goals but I've noticed that "shift" in my thinking so exercise and eating healthy always seems to be on my radar.

Find what works for you to change your habits and then stick with it!!

scubakat67

Stay the course! That's my motto. I have often called myself the Queen of too much to do and not enough time to do it. For the last several years, I've started more times than a care to even think about. I couldn't even keep on track for one day ... one single day! This time was different. I chose ONE thing to make a new habit - for me it was breakfast. I am a creature of routines - routines help keep me sane - routines (or habits) are what you fall back on when you're too tired, stressed, or overwhelmed to handle even the simplest of hiccups. But my routine blueberry bagel (or jalapeno if on vacation), cream cheese, and bacon just wasn't helping me. And as I progressed further into my 40s, even though I worked out 3x a week with a personal trainer, the weight just kept creeping on. I hit my highest weight of 177.8 - I had to do something, and it wasn't going to involve having to buy yet another batch of bigger clothes.

So I focused on breakfast - yes, I eat the same thing for breakfast almost every day, but again, routine - you don't have to think about it. Once I got breakfast down and was comfortable that I had my routine, I started a new routine - walking/running at lunch. My lunchtime walking/running, out of necessity at the end of May (I live in the South - exercising in humidity and business clothes just don't work well together) my lunchtime "wogging" turned in to the new early-morning routine. Getting up at 5:15 was difficult, but by then, I had one foot in the zone. I was on the course. Along the way, I started logging on MFP. And then you see that "streak" starting to rack up and you think, WOW, I'm actually doing this. There will be bumps in the road - that streak made it to 21 days, but then, I missed checking in while on vacation and I lost it. But hey, it's just a bump in the road, you Stay the Course and keep going.

You can do it. Stay the course and you will conquer that mountain - one step at a time!

savinoca

Maybe I need a psychiatrist or something.

I think you were joking, but I started seeing a psychiatrist/psychologist last year for anxiety-related issues, and he really helped push me into dieting and a healthy lifestyle. I lost 30 pounds while seeing him, and the dieting/exercise really helped with my anxiety issues.

Then I stopped seeing him because I felt like I had more control of my problems, and subsequently gained 15 pounds. So yeah, maybe there's something to it, hah.

baleighcakes

I've just barely skimmed through these posts because there's so many, but I was wondering if anyone has addressed obsessiveness/disordered eating here?

Of course everyone's different, but I read an article somewhere else that really hit home for me about counting calories...it can become your life and it SUCKS.

What am I going to eat for breakfast? Do I want to eat a lot and less later on? Hm, If I eat x amount of calories now, I can eat x amount for lunch and then x amount for dinner...but what if I want such and such for dinner...I better not eat that much for breakfast then...I can only eat 10 peanuts, damn...better not eat those nuts, too many calories...let me just look up how many grapes I can eat for x amount of calories...no, for the last time, I can't go to any local restaurants because they don't post their calories...tell your mom I can't eat her food unless she gives me a recipe so I can break it down and figure out the calorie count...I'm not sure, I wish I had my food scale with me...I'm hungry, but I can't take in any more calories...well, if I jog for x amount of time, then I can eat more...how many calories have I burned so far...it's almost midnight, I need to get that extra burn in quick if I want to eat anything else today...this is the millionth time I've calculated my TDEE, am I doing this right...I'm not hungry but I need to eat more in order to reach my calorie goal...

And then you say screw it and quit for the umpteenth time just so you can focus on something that's not a number.

sofiachohdary

For me it's a routine now.

For exercise, I wake up an hour earlier in the morning, so it doesn't interfere with the rest of my day or family time.

For logging the food I eat, I log it same time as I eat it, takes nearly 2 seconds, especially if it's a frequent meal such as breakfast. Multitasking!

In beginning it might be hard until you figure out how you can fit cooking healthy food into your schedule (wasn't for me, but just sayin'), and what to cook, what to have for breakfast, what is healthy food and bad food, but once I figured out what I want and what my body needs to do the job, and saw the difference between one chocolate chip cookie and 5 apricots, it's all routine now.

Breakfast is as easy as waking up, lunch is always vegetables first as they will go bad in few days, legumes next 1-2 times a week, then lean meat once a week, and fish once a week. Found and learned the recipes that make even the most yucky vegetable delicious, included lots of fruits in my diet, don't say no to fast food and deserts once in a while as long as it's in moderation.

Grocery shopping is done online now, and they come home, I don't go the stores and don't even click on the snack categories on their website so I don't see all the junk, just buy whatever I need for the week. Costs less, and it's healthier.

Been doing this for 2 years, which have lost steadily 30 kg overall, and I'm 2 kg away from my goal. And will keep on doing this for maintenance, as it has become part of my life and doesn't take up much of my time. And I eat practically anything I want without starving myself or overeating either.

silentKayak

Hey, so I'm like you. I don't have time to exercise consistently. I start, then I get busy with other things I care about more, like my kids, taking care of aging parents, my job, and stuff I actually enjoy. Or my childcare situation changes, and I can't get out of the house because there's no one to watch the kids. I'm very on and off with exercise, so it can't be the core of my weight loss program.

For me, the key was realizing that I can do this by logging everything I eat, putting myself on a budget, and trying to stick to it. It shuts up that voice in my head that says, you're a bad person if you eat that sandwich. Now I know exactly what I can and can't afford, and dumb advice like "just eat less" is actually do-able because you're not letting your lizard brain take control of your habits.

Don't commit to dieting or exercising. Just commit to tracking and logging every day. Once you do, you'll see easy choices you can make to get where you want.

savinoca

I've just barely skimmed through these posts because there's so many, but I was wondering if anyone has addressed obsessiveness/disordered eating here?

Of course everyone's different, but I read an article somewhere else that really hit home for me about counting calories...it can become your life and it SUCKS.

What am I going to eat for breakfast? Do I want to eat a lot and less later on? Hm, If I eat x amount of calories now, I can eat x amount for lunch and then x amount for dinner...but what if I want such and such for dinner...I better not eat that much for breakfast then...I can only eat 10 peanuts, damn...better not eat those nuts, too many calories...let me just look up how many grapes I can eat for x amount of calories...no, for the last time, I can't go to any local restaurants because they don't post their calories...tell your mom I can't eat her food unless she gives me a recipe so I can break it down and figure out the calorie count...I'm not sure, I wish I had my food scale with me...I'm hungry, but I can't take in any more calories...well, if I jog for x amount of time, then I can eat more...how many calories have I burned so far...it's almost midnight, I need to get that extra burn in quick if I want to eat anything else today...this is the millionth time I've calculated my TDEE, am I doing this right...I'm not hungry but I need to eat more in order to reach my calorie goal...

And then you say screw it and quit for the umpteenth time just so you can focus on something that's not a number.

I can definitely relate to everything you've said here. It definitely can become an obsession, and that is super difficult to maintain.

cherrilovee

Yeah I know it sounds like really complicated, but once you are determined enough to lose the weight, even you can do it. Honestly, anyone with an internet connection can do it, you just need to have the determination. We're all here to influence you & motivate you, but the determination is all on you. We're here to be your backbone & your support, whenever you need us, & sometimes when you don't need us. You just need to take the first step and start logging in daily.

47Jacqueline

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 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"

Yeah, "just do it" lol. I think it's a process. If you hang around you get to the point where it's the most important thing in your life, but you don't think about that all the time, you focus more on living a healthy life with this in the background.

I was a yo yo dieter for my whole life until I finally settled down and began to make changes I could live with on an ongoing way. Now I don't even need to log all the time and instead of watching what I eat, I watch what I eat. ;-) That is, now I can see the choices I make and they make me feel happy.

As others have said, it starts with logging daily and being honest.

minhy

Basically, if you want it bad enough, you'll go get it. If you don't want it bad enough, then who cares? You only have one life, so live it however you want. You may not be healthy, or skinny, but those who are healthy sacrificed other things in their life to achieve what they wanted. Just because you weren't willing to sacrifice doesn't make you any less of a person. On a more literal note, to do this every day it needs to become a habit, not a 2-4 week burst of passion, but a life time of passion. You hear this everywhere, start slow. Because that's the best way. It needs to be part of YOUR daily life, not an intrusion or a drag on it. I don't even notice that I'm eating healthy anymore, I just do it because it was slowly integrated into my life.

nicola8989

I was/am in a similar situation.

For me, the easiest way to do it was to make little changes. I used to drink fizzy pop all day every day and no water. So I switched to fizzy flavoured water, then in a few weeks to still flavoured water, next week I'm going to swap to just water.

I used to eat loads of chocolate, so I stopped myself eating it in a morning, then stopped myself eating it at work, soon I'm just going to limit it to a weekend.

I also let myself have a weekend "off" - where I still make healthy choices but I can eat cake or have wine or whatever.

I think it's just lifestyle changes - now I always carry nuts in my bag so I can nibble on them rather than on chocolate - and make sure you're going for healthy stuff you enjoy rather than forcing yourself to eat something you don't like,.

Beanogirl

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

Very true!

Firefly0606

'Rome wasn't built in a day' as the saying goes. Try making gradual changes. If you make mini goals you will gradually make them habits.
I set myself a mini goal of eating no more than 300 cal at breakfast. I could go for a single muffin, or a bowl of oats topped with a large banana, skim milk, and yoghurt to finish off. It hasn't taken me long to want option 2, its more satisfying and I get the same score!
I found that I now look for more satisfying options at all meals and snacks - and those options are naturally better for me.

Take it easy on yourself, one step at a time and you will get there. A lifetime is a long time to think about keeping up a 'diet', so get through making better choices for today and then worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

the_summer_belle

How?

You need to succeed has to be greater than your excuses.

That's it, when you want it more than you want to stay the weight you are, you will move heaven and earth to stick to your goals, come rain or shine.

GatorDeb1

5'4", 230 lbs -> 121.5 lbs.

I don't even try. This is my normal now. I looooove working out, running, swimming, biking, Spin, Zumba, TurboKick, BodyCombat, BodyPump, it's FUN, I can't WAIT to get to the gym or to a run group, etc.

And I love lean meats, vegetables, nuts, fruit, oatmeal, eggs, etc.