How do you make it a lifestyle change?

Ajinx1

Looking for advice here. I've been on MFP for a good long while. I get started, do well, and then get distracted. I have a thousand excuses.... I work full time. I have three children involved in all kinds of extra curricular activities. I don't have money for endless classes. I've tried to find workout buddies. I am completely unsuccessful at keeping a diet. I am overweight. Obese by the standards. I need ideas on how to manage the change because I KNOW it has to be a lifestyle change. I'm not currently diabetic but it's in my family history and I had gestation diabetes which leaves me predisposed to it even if I didn't have it in my family. I want to be there for my kids.

We are fairly active - we play tennis. I joined TaeKwonDo with my son for a year and a half. Ran 5Ks all summer last year and then just didn't have the money to pay entry fees this year and without a goal to work towards I fall flat on my face. We take walks with the kids. I have horses and if time allows I ride, but it's not frequent enough for exercise purposes or for my own emotional health.

So, please help!! Tell me how you managed and give me any tips you have.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Sounds like everything you outlined in your first paragraph, particularly the kiddos, should be reason enough. My motivation is so my kid doesn't have an out of shape douche for a dad.

Also, the beauty of running is that the roads are free and you don't need to pay entries to run 3.1 miles. Rather than running a bunch of 5Ks, why not pick one that is for a cause that hits close to home like... diabetes? Make your goals revolve around your likes and values, whether it be foods, workouts, kids, etc.

likitisplit

What if it's not a lifestyle change? What if you just set goals for the next 6 weeks and then see where you are then?

If you feel like it, at that point, you can take what worked and set goals for another six weeks.

dlbaron

It sounds like you are pretty active, so it may be that diet is your biggest challenge. Food is the hardest for me too. It is becoming a lifestyle for me more and more, maybe some of the things that worked for me can help you. My biggest issue is binge eating. One thing that helps me is with that is pre-portioning meals (for example, overnight oats weighed out and put in a jar the night before, prepping meals for the entire week and storing them in tupperware, weighing out servings of nuts/other snacks into small containers and eating out of that instead of the big bag). Portion control is key. If you don't have a food scale, get one. It is the best investment in weight loss I have ever made. When you are out and don't have a food scale available, use visual tricks to try and gauge a portion size. (Here's an image of what I mean: http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsw43aZ1rn1qgh9aoo1_500.jpg but its helpful to weigh it out yourself; the more you do so, the better you will get at estimating portions when you're eating out) Another lifestyle change for me was changing rules about what I eat on a daily basis. I do not buy foods that I will overeat so that they aren't in the house. Even if someone at work brings in a treat or buys lunch, if it isn't what I planned to eat that day or within my personal rules, I don't eat it. The key to making it a true change rather than a diet is removing the decision-making from it. If you have to debate with yourself over whether or not to eat that cookie, it takes a lot of willpower, and eventually you'll be tired or grumpy and willpower will buckle. Make it a habit. You just never eat cookies unless you pre-log it, or it's homemade, or a special occasion, etc. Create your own workable rules to live by. Find tricks that help you, and make them habits too (like always drink a glass of water before a meal, start meals with a salad and broth based soup (low calories, high volume, to fill you up before your main dish), pack up the leftovers before you sit down to eat your single portion).

In terms of exercise, find goals to work towards that are free. Do push ups every morning when you wake up, and track how many you can do, aiming to add 10 to your max. Try holding a plank or wall sit, aim to increase how long you can do it for. Find a place to hike (or just a big hill) and time how long it takes you to climb it, then do it each week and keep trying to break your record. Have you checked meetup.com to see if there are any active groups in your area?

It takes time, but eventually it does become second nature! Keep at it!

Artionis

Planning and organization. Start with calculating your BMR and TDEE, explained in this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

Clean out your pantry. Maintain a list of staples for both you and your family. My list (for just hubby and me) includes:
fresh fruit in season - apples, pears, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries
edamame
mixed nuts
whole wheat pasta
broccoli/cauliflower/tomatoes/carrots/onions/radishes/cucumbers/celery/
fresh spinach
oatmeal
eggs
protein bars
peanut butter
fish - fresh or frozen (Trader Joe's has great frozen fish)
chicken
quinoa
brown rice

Keep prepared veggies in the frig to make a quick meal or snack.

Now start collecting recipes. You don't even need a recipe for a dish like sauteed edamame, carrots and broccoli thrown on top of quinoa or brown rice. Add some chicken for protein.

Get rid of trigger foods in your house. My trigger food is potato chips and they will never darken my door again. I will have a chip or two as a bar snack along with my gin martini. Notice that I have not given up life's pleasures, I just moderate and track.

Track. Track. Track your calories. Be brutally honest with yourself.

Be creative with both your food and your exercise. Run your own 5k around your neighborhood. There is always a way.

Good luck.

chadya07

make it a lifestyle change by setting reasonable goals you can attain. by eating foods you love. (you dont HAVE to eat diet food, i dont, but i do know what to avoid and what a serving size is) and doing exersizes you like. track even when you dont want to until it is second nature. get involved and make friends on here if you dont already have them, they will make you want to be better and help keep you focused. by experimenting and not being afraid to adjust your plan until you find one that suits you. by giving yourself a break without letting yourself fall off track.

remember that doing something off plan is not a failure unless you say "oh well, i failed, its over"

just say well, its done, and start again.

allow yourself treats and even days where you care a little less about your intake

always know what your TDEE is and if you go over at least try not to go over that.

fall in love with the feeling of health.

find out what it is that made you gain weight in the first place, and love yourself enough to work on it. it isnt about anyone else, it is about you taking care of you. and that is not only ok, but it is the only way you can take care of anyone else.


i want to add, i tried many times but it wasnt until i changed my thinking that i got to this point, and i know that i will succeed this time. because i stopped thinking i was on a diet, and that it was a chore. i decided just to be better and make it something i could live with and not be constantly feeling like i was compromising. nobody elses plan will make you happy. you just have to adjust yours until it suits you.

icrushit

For me, you make it a lifestyle change through small habits, one at a time, and as you are ready to make another one. They will drag you along with them, and before you know it, it will be natural and instinctual, and no longer an impossible struggle you might have envisaged before.

If you have to apply conscious focus all the time to keep you on track, you will inevitably falter and slip at some point. Instead make that healthier path part of your muscle memory, and you will never look back. In fact the way I see it, is a lifestyle, any lifestyle, is simply a collection of habits

quellybelly

Making it a habit, and finding something I really enjoyed doing good luck!

likitisplit

Also, one strategy I see almost all successful people on here using is prepping food for the week on Sunday. Making a pot of chili, boiling chicken breasts, prepping vegetables, bulk cooking freezer meals - whatever the strategy, it seems like we all do it.

meridianova

So, please help!! Tell me how you managed and give me any tips you have.

one day at a time. seriously. i have one goal to meet each day... stay on plan. that means eating my macros, getting to the gym and doing my workout for that day (whatever it happens to be), drinking my water. that's my goal for today, and it'll be my goal for tomorrow too.

making goals simple and daily (albeit repetitive) means that i'm only focusing on the now. i'm not trying to lose 30lbs by christmas, or fit into a specific outfit for a specific day. it's just about focusing on what i'm doing right this second.

if i don't meet that goal for whatever reason, then it's ok. it means i try twice as hard to meet my goal for tomorrow. but the nice thing is that by concentrating on what i'm doing today, i'm not overwhelmed by trying to stick to something FOR. EV. ER. after a while, i can look back and realize that i've been sticking to my goal for a month, or two, or 6.

fallenangel316

I am making lots of little changes one at a time.
For example i started by drinking more water.. so i set myself alarms just to go off and remind me to drink more water. i did that until it becomes habit..
Second is going to the gym (i have a busy lifestyle as well) so i set myself reminders to book into my calander the gym. I book the gym like i book my meetings or rehearsals.. if its in i better be really sick or busy to miss it.

I do this until it become a habit. My boyfriend is also doing this as well and its working wonders for him.

Next will be to cook more meals from scratch.. so i set days in my calendar to prepare meals.

The alarm and google calendar are my best friends.

Lots of little changes, getting reminders via calandar or alarm until the become a habit

dopeysmelly

So, please help!! Tell me how you managed and give me any tips you have.

one day at a time. seriously. i have one goal to meet each day... stay on plan. that means eating my macros, getting to the gym and doing my workout for that day (whatever it happens to be), drinking my water. that's my goal for today, and it'll be my goal for tomorrow too.

making goals simple and daily (albeit repetitive) means that i'm only focusing on the now. i'm not trying to lose 30lbs by christmas, or fit into a specific outfit for a specific day. it's just about focusing on what i'm doing right this second.

^^This, although I did have an ambitious weight loss target even though it wasn't time-limited. After a while a habit becomes so ingrained that you forget what you did before and then it's a lifestyle change, but I think it still needs eternal vigilance.

Oh and don't kick yourself for past might-have-beens, or what-I-did-last-years. Remember you're only human. Focus on today, it's a lot easier to manage.

noor_v

I started and stopped many times too, but this time is different - and I think the biggest reason is that I'm not doing it alone, my husband is supportive and is working-out regularly and eats the same foods that I do. We both have a healthy competition between ourselves, and we challenge and motivate each other.

If I was eating salads while my husband ate burgers and pizzas, then I wouldn't even think about trying to do this.

cwolfman13

How do you make it a lifestyle change?

One bad habit at a time...

It is unrealistic and unreasonable to assume wholesale change overnight...but this is what most people try to do. Most people also seem to forget the "life" part of "lifestyle"...betterment of one's self is a life long endeavor...you're really never done. This is why, in my estimation, you have to get out of the mindset of "starting over" or whatever when you fall...you just continue on your path..no need to start over.

You have to understand that your path is going to have many twists and turns and ups and downs and bumps and pitfalls..you have to get out of the mindset that you're going to be 100% perfect all of the time...you're not...you're going to have good days and bad days and good weeks and bad weeks...hell, I have whole months that go into the ****ter because life happens. But you get yourself back up and continue on.

I would also suggest sitting down and doing some real research on proper nutrition as well. So many people seem to think that to be "healthy" food can't taste good...I'm a foodie...all of my food tastes good and most of it is pretty healthy. Also, contrary to popular belief you don't have to live on salads and celery sticks...when it comes to matters of nutrition, context and dosage are very important. There is no reason that you can't, for example, have some pizza or a burger or whatever within the context of a well balanced and varied diet. Your food doesn't have to taste like cardboard.

setaylor86080

I change one thing a month. So my life style change has taken a little longer than most of my friends on here. I change the things that I know I can do and I have not given up anything that I love so for example i love sour cream and butter on my potatoes so I went to light on both of those. I also took a month a only bought whole wheat pasta. About a year ago we would always get a ton of junk food. I would be getting 3-4 bags of chips a week. so I took a month and bought 3 and a bag of apples and then the next month I bought 2 bags and then my apples and a thing of bananas. LOL all of that to say it took a while. Now some months I had other challenges and it spend the process up just a bit but that was the way that I could do it.

Then I started finding DVD's that I like to work out with. I am in love with Zumba. I have 2 kids and about 2 months ago I made that my goal and do it after I put my kids to bed. I hope this helps just a little. This is YOUR journey so do things that you can handle. So people can just throw out all the bad stuff and are fine. I wish I was more like them sometimes lol.

Good luck on your goals

k8blujay2

Baby steps. Start with one thing... the next day (or even two or three later) do something else. Don't let the excuses get to you. Be intentional until it because natural and intuitive.

pplastics

I stopped letting the excuses win.

RavenLibra

work out a schedule... you have al sorts of commitments.. mostly to your children... BUT you need to make some commitments to yourself... you take time to eat.. time to watch TV??? THEN YOU should not have a problem making time to commit to an exercise plan for yourself.. the BIGGEST change you need to make... is to begin thinking of food as fuel...and paying strict attention to your macros... I was recently (within the last 2 weeks) diagnosed with type II Diabetes... BOTH my parents developed type II... and at the moment I am suffering through some major loss of eyesight... a month ago I could see perfectly fine... NOW I am wearing 2.5 x magnifying reading glasses just to see my computer monitor... on 2 pills... and have eliminated as much sugar from my diet as I possibly can... THIS even after deciding to make lifestyle changes myself more than 2 years ago... of course you never think that a soda pop once in a while isn't going to hurt... or that you'll have time to make up for the exercise you're not doing today... tomorrow...

and now my biggest challenge is trying to convince my teenage daughter that she should start making the changes I should have made the day she was born... because she now thinks the odd soda pop isn't going to hurt either... AM I too late to set an example for her??? I Hope not...

gothchiq

This may not sound 100% healthy but it works. If you get somewhat addicted to the whole thing, you won't be able to let yourself slide. Don't let yourself stay away from the MFP site.... log at least once a day. Spend time on other health and diet related web sites. Think often about planning healthy foods, exercise, etc and look in the mirror a lot. Feel areas like your stomach and hips with your hands to gauge whether you feel mostly soft fat or hard muscle, and measure your waist, hips, bust, upper arms, and thighs regularly. If your mind gets used to running on this track, when you start to move away from it, you'll miss it and won't feel right without sticking to your weight loss and fitness behaviors.

That said, definitely avoid ED behaviors like skipping meals, binging and/or purging, ridiculous bony thinspo pictures, punishing yourself with too much exercise, etc. You don't want to tip over that edge.

mike_ny

You make it a habit so it feels natural. That goes for food choices, activity level, getting used to feeling satisfied but not totally full after eating, etc...

My diet and routines all feel very natural to me. I eat foods I enjoy that are also healthy and stay active and exercise because that also makes me feel good about myself. When I do eat out or overdo it, I'm back to my regular diet and routine the next day, so it's no big deal.

The only time I do feel a little strange is when I go grocery shopping and it seems that 90% or more of what most people have in their carts is stuff I simply don't buy or eat. I buy a lot of fresh produce, naturally raised meats, cage free eggs, and very basic food stapless, and although it seems like that would cost more, my total is always a fraction of what the people in front of me end up paying with a cart full of soft drinks, cereal, snacks, and convenience foods.

newgirl512

So, please help!! Tell me how you managed and give me any tips you have.

one day at a time. seriously. i have one goal to meet each day... stay on plan. that means eating my macros, getting to the gym and doing my workout for that day (whatever it happens to be), drinking my water. that's my goal for today, and it'll be my goal for tomorrow too.

making goals simple and daily (albeit repetitive) means that i'm only focusing on the now. i'm not trying to lose 30lbs by christmas, or fit into a specific outfit for a specific day. it's just about focusing on what i'm doing right this second.

if i don't meet that goal for whatever reason, then it's ok. it means i try twice as hard to meet my goal for tomorrow. but the nice thing is that by concentrating on what i'm doing today, i'm not overwhelmed by trying to stick to something FOR. EV. ER. after a while, i can look back and realize that i've been sticking to my goal for a month, or two, or 6.

Can I just say that this is probably the best piece of advise I have ever read on MFP!

PokeyBug

Here's a tip that will only work for someone as OCD as I am: Get over-organized. With your hectic schedule, it might make things easier in the long run.

I plan 7 days of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including planned fast food type stuff) on Saturday morning, buy my groceries that afternoon, and just cross out the planned meal after I fix it. I also have a workout calendar. I downloaded one of those free Microsoft calendars to print each month, and I plan what I'll do on what day. It's typed on the calendar in INK; I have no choice whether to work out or not. Some days, I'm so busy with kids' stuff that I don't end up working out until 9:00 pm. Sometimes, I have to make up a workout on a planned day off, but... It's on the calendar, so it has to be done. Did I mention I was OCD?

Fast food tips, because sometimes you've got to eat on the run: Little Caesar's makes the best wings (560 or 580 calories for plain wings; less than 600, anyway) of all the pizza places, for only $6. McDonald's makes awesome grilled chicken salads (Bacon Ranch with Low Fat Italian) for about 300 calories. I'm not sure about the calorie count for Chik-fil-a's grilled chicken salads, but I'm sure it's pretty similar. Fresco tacos at Taco Bell are all in the 150 calorie range. Just explore the online menu of your favorite places, so you've got a plan in place for those nights you've got to grab something on the run.

acorsaut89

So, please help!! Tell me how you managed and give me any tips you have.

one day at a time. seriously. i have one goal to meet each day... stay on plan. that means eating my macros, getting to the gym and doing my workout for that day (whatever it happens to be), drinking my water. that's my goal for today, and it'll be my goal for tomorrow too.

making goals simple and daily (albeit repetitive) means that i'm only focusing on the now. i'm not trying to lose 30lbs by christmas, or fit into a specific outfit for a specific day. it's just about focusing on what i'm doing right this second.

if i don't meet that goal for whatever reason, then it's ok. it means i try twice as hard to meet my goal for tomorrow. but the nice thing is that by concentrating on what i'm doing today, i'm not overwhelmed by trying to stick to something FOR. EV. ER. after a while, i can look back and realize that i've been sticking to my goal for a month, or two, or 6.

Definitely this! It sounds like you're making it out to be this big goal at the very end instead of small goals which all add up. When I lost my first 50lbs, I bought myself a coach wallet - which is what I really, really wanted. I am not saying you have to have goals like this, but having the small attainable goals makes it seem much more realistic than looking at it like one overall goal.

Just take it one day at a time and break your end-goal (IE - your goal weight, goal size, whatever) into smaller bits. If you want to lose 60 lbs over all, break it into smaller chunks. Or if you don't know how much you want to lose, then similar to the post above have daily goals to ensure you work out and hit calorie goals.

Good luck

ThomasGinter

I agree with everything that @chadya07 said about attitude. I have also found that it is a LOT easier this time as I am also doing a few things that help me to be more successful.

1. Find an activity you love, your "exercise" should be based primarily around things you like to do as an incentive to doing them. For me this is hiking on mountain trails. All my strength training, HIIT training, etc. are mere appendages to my hikes and are completed with the goal of allowing me to hike further in less time.
2. Break bad habits with good ones. For example, perhaps you have a habit of grabbing a donut at work for breakfast because for some reason your office provides them every day. Some good habits that would overcome this challenge would be to prepare your breakfast the night before, have easy to prepare breakfast items ready to grab, waking up 20 minutes early to give more time for breakfast before arriving at work. All of the habits have the same overall goal of allowing you to arrive at work satiated instead of starving.
3. To make good habits start with small changes. For example, instead of trying to cut out soda all at once you could try cutting down from a 6 pack of soda to 5 cans of soda per day. Once you have only drunk 5 cans a day for a couple of weeks then drop down to 4 cans, etc.
4. Log accurately and often. Preferably log a meal or snack before you eat it.
5. Life is like a game. Think of each success as leveling up and each setback as temporary.

gmoneycole

It's really all about self motivation and building habits that will stick in the long run.

I decided a year ago that I wasn't going to let any more excuses get in the way of me getting fit and healthy. Here are some of the things I did...

Exercise:
I bought a cheap elliptical that I used almost every day until it broke
walked, jogged and then ran outside as I built up stamina
found a circuit training routine that I could do at home and did it nearly every day
invested in some dumbells and pull up bar that I can workout with at home
after the elliptical broke I joined an inexpensive gym

Diet:
cut portions in half
Made healthier choices
eat small portions / meals / snacks throughout the day

MFP:
logged diet and exercise almost every day
built a great list of friends who supported me and I support them

You can do it. Just find things that work for you and fit within your budget. Diet is huge and takes discipline but if you are committed you can have success with it. I still struggle with it some but get myself back on track through the logging and will power. When you exercise make it count, whether it be a 20 minute circuit training session, a 45 minute spinning class or an hour and a half doing strength training at home or in the gym. Push yourself within your limits, raise the heartrate and really get great burns and you will have more success. I see people at the gym that spend a good bit of time socializing or not really maximizing effort and just going through the motions. This will not generate the positive results you are looking for. Make it count! It's like anything in life, you typically get out what you put into something. If you maximize the effort you will get better results.

Good luck!

georgiaTRIs

we have been in your shoes. The kids should be your inspiration. You can get moving by walking, running, aroebics, yogo whatever. Keep looking for that workout buddy. But just remember -- it's up to you. You are a special person and can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

MinnieInMaine

Discalimer - didn't read any othe replies. I feel our pain with not having races to motivate - had the same trouble myself this year.

I'm blessed that one of my best friends is a personal trainer. While some of her advice leans towards whatever is trending, she has shared some amazing thoughts that have stuck with me. And one of them is - if you can't do it for the rest of your life (or at least not for several years), it's not a lifestyle change. This basically applies to fad diets, extreme diets, weight loss pills and anything else involving completely unrealistic expectations.

This along with a similar conversation helped me realize that all my previous attempts failed because I tried to cut out the foods that I love (very low fat, very low calorie, very low carb diets). They also failed because I tried to do everything at once -while that usually works pretty well initially because you're excited, after a month or so, it gets overwhelming and you get to the point where it's easier to quit than keep trying. Sound familiar?

Try setting small goals. One a week, or even one every two weeks. Just get used to logging your food and then try staying in your calories a few times a week, then 5-7 a week, then start eating more fruits and veggies, etc etc. Same with fitness goals. Don't try to be too gung ho. Just keep doing your walks and maybe get back to running when you feel ready.

And don't be too hard on yourself. Have a bad day or even a bad week? Ok, put it in the past, think about what you can do to make it better and move on.

Planning, and packing are my big helps. Every weekend, I make my grocery list around the dinners, lunches and snacks I'll be making that week. Every morning I pack lunch and snacks. Both of these can really do away with temptations - if I've got a nice lunch packed, I'm not going to go down to the cafeteria and get some huge deli sandwich with chips and a cookie. And if I've got chicken thawed in the fridge, I won't waste it by ordering pizza. Prepping helps too - I've gotten out of the habit this summer but need to start donig things like making up a batch of oatmeal for the week or boiling some eggs for breakfast/snack.

Best of luck!

DarbiB

I agree with everything that @chadya07 said about attitude. I have also found that it is a LOT easier this time as I am also doing a few things that help me to be more successful.

1. Find an activity you love, your "exercise" should be based primarily around things you like to do as an incentive to doing them. For me this is hiking on mountain trails. All my strength training, HIIT training, etc. are mere appendages to my hikes and are completed with the goal of allowing me to hike further in less time.
2. Break bad habits with good ones. For example, perhaps you have a habit of grabbing a donut at work for breakfast because for some reason your office provides them every day. Some good habits that would overcome this challenge would be to prepare your breakfast the night before, have easy to prepare breakfast items ready to grab, waking up 20 minutes early to give more time for breakfast before arriving at work. All of the habits have the same overall goal of allowing you to arrive at work satiated instead of starving.
3. To make good habits start with small changes. For example, instead of trying to cut out soda all at once you could try cutting down from a 6 pack of soda to 5 cans of soda per day. Once you have only drunk 5 cans a day for a couple of weeks then drop down to 4 cans, etc.
4. Log accurately and often. Preferably log a meal or snack before you eat it.
5. Life is like a game. Think of each success as leveling up and each setback as temporary.

THIS! Everything about this.

Double cosign the pre-prepared food stuff. It really helps me escape the trap of the breakfast pastry. #3 incremental changes are where its at. Plus it gives you little victories to feel good about when you're plateauing.


Also:

The best advice I ever heard was "forgive yourself." You said in your OP something to the tune of "I'm unsuccessful at keeping up diets." You know what? Its okay when you fall off of the wagon! Forgive yourself, move on, get back on the wagon! Everyday you eat well is another day you got healthier.

Blueseraphchaos

One tiny step at a time. The first thing i did, before even setting a weight loss goal, was cut out soda and juice so that i wasn't drinking any calories. Then, when i got that down, i set a goal to lose 5 lbs. I also set a goal to do at least 5 minutes of cardio per day (no days off)..only 5 because i was a seriously sedentary person. Once that became a habit, i raised my time and gave myself a day or 2 off per week if i really want it, need it, or don't have time to do it (REALLY don't have time, no excuses).

Once the first 5 lbs was off, i made a goal of 5 more lbs. I have a meal plan for the week, and i pre-log everything, so as someone said, there's not much decision making in it and my willpower doesn't crash and burn. And keep trigger foods out of the house.

Everything adds up, and before you know it, you've made a lifestyle change, not a temporary mindset change.

cherishe1

Well said

kimny72

This is just me pretty much agreeing with all the great tips you have already gotten!

Instead of looking at it as one giant process, make small changes and choose small goals. Set yourself up with a goal of 1/2 lb per week so you have as many calories as possible to start out with. Maybe even change your total goal to lose 10 pounds. Then when you get to 10 lbs lost, you might think - wow, I really can do this! Then make your next goal 20 lbs at 1 pound per week. Or heck, stay ay 1/2 lb per week if it works for you. With smaller goals, you can always see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Pre-prepping some food for the week is a huge plus.

Pick one area in your diet where you feel you are sabotaging yourself, and focus on fixing that one thing. Then once you have that won, pick another one.

Ask your family to help. The people who love you will want you to be healthy! And since they know you better than we do, maybe they can see where you start to go off the rails and give you suggestions for how to stay on track.

Good luck, you can do this :drinker: