Just can't get a start

BombolinaM

So I started back on keeping track and trying to eat better. Well that only lasted a few day. I know I want to lose weight and feel better. But I am stuck n a rut. I see recent pictures of myself and I am disgusted. I wake up with no energy and feeling like a big blob. I am not trying to feel sorry for myself. But how and what can I do to change my mindset? I need a good push in the right direction. I see the success stories and photos and it gives me hope and inspiration. How do I begin again?

SlimmingSarah

You can restart at any time! You just have to stop and make the conscious decision that you dont want to be this way forever. That's what I did last time I dropped a tonne of weight! And that's what I have done this time. Do you have an iPhone? In which case log everything! And if you are honest with your counter you will think before eating things because you will have to face the calories afterwards.

EricInArlington

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!! find some good friend on here to get you going, if you dont hear from them in a week or two kickem out and find some more. 80% of mine get me ready for the week, day, hour. good luck and get out there and burn it up!!

jessicafreake

If you are having a hard time with getting started then start slow, a large change in diet to all healthy can trigger unhealthy cravings and binge eating, so try having a really good breakfast to stat off the day, and after a week change another meal in the day or your snacks to healthier ones, and you will notice a difference in your energy levels after a short period of doing this that will help you to get motivated to exercise and change bad habits to good ones.

Good luck

sarah44254

I dove right in. No more soda (I wasn't supposed to have it anyway, been caffiene free for years due to health troubles) is a great first step. Drinking as much water as you can possibly drink is a great step too!

Log all your food. Doesn't matter if you eat too much or too little or bad stuff for the first few days. LOG IT. be honest!!

After a week or so, you will see how poorly you eat (that is what happened to me, at least) and feel the need to change. DO IT :happy:

Choose a better breakfast, or a better snack, or a better lunch, dinner... OR ALL OF THEM.

It is UP TO YOU when to start, how to start. I hope today is the day

You will see these side effects:
happier
more energy
weight loss
clothes not fitting as tight
and in some cases, clearer skin

YOU CAN DO THIS :happy:

Startingover71

Just take it day by day, maybe set small goals for yourself, like lose 5 pounds by a certain date. Something that will not make you feel overwhelmed. Add some friends on here that can keep you positive and are there to listen to you when you have a bad day. Feel free to add me!

NoAdditives

You just have to do it. Start exercising and eating right again and you'll feel better right away. You'll have more energy and you'll be happier knowing you're making good progress. Just do it, don't make any excuses.

Skydancer80

I had the same problem wanted to do it wanted but never did started vitamins HELP sooo soo much with energy and well i am quite sick of going to walmart and trying to find a shirt thats not a moo moo ......I WILL PUSH YOU ON YOUR WAY YOU CAN DO IT!!!! ADD ME UP

josio

Start with something small at first. Try changing one thing about your diet this week like no sodas or no fries. Then try to do a small walk or something to get moving. It will not seem as bad if you don't just try to change everything all at once. Remember it's not how fast you get there it's the fact that you get ther at all. This should be a lifestyle change and eventually will not feel like "work".

WrenLynn

You will get your motivation when the pain to stay the same exceeds the pain to change. Losing weight can be hard but staying unfit is hard too. Choose your hard. Good luck!

twooliver

What helped me this time was two-fold;

1. Joining a local biggest loser contest - gave me a point of accountability for 8 weeks and guess what? I won first place!
2. Decided to take it one day at a time and every morning I asked myself - wonder what I can accomplish today? And then I seriously only focused on that day.

So nine weeks later and I'm totally committed to seeing just how far I can take this.

YOU DON'T KNOW YOURSELF WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE IT IN YOU TO GET MOVING - TO EAT HEALTHIER - TO BE MOTIVATED BEYOND YOUR WILDEST IMAGINATION!

JUST TAKE THE FIRST STEP AND DO IT!!!!

susanna3220

Hi I know what you mean losing weight is so hard for me because while food makes me fat my brain emotion and obsessive nature is the source of it all FOr me it helps to take a just for today mindset sometimes I have to take the day minutes at a time. Once I figured out my food plan ( I have to avoid certian foods that trigger overeating, protein at every meal) it helped reduced some cravings there are some supllements that help if you have carb cravings. Night is my WORST time I try to distract myself w a project and even keep some light weights in fron tof my tv so I can do some wt training ( not much 5 lbs ) but it makes me feel that I am breaking the cycle and building some muscle which burns cal even at rest Take Care SUsanna
PS please dont put yourself down you are beautiful ,you need to put your energy to small steos that will make big changes

lfafnis

If you are having a hard time with getting started then start slow, a large change in diet to all healthy can trigger unhealthy cravings and binge eating, so try having a really good breakfast to stat off the day, and after a week change another meal in the day or your snacks to healthier ones, and you will notice a difference in your energy levels after a short period of doing this that will help you to get motivated to exercise and change bad habits to good ones.

Good luck

This is really good advice. Rome wasn't built in a day, so don't expect to get on track all in a day. Start out slow and make small changes. And don't beat yourself up for falling off the wagon. Focus instead on those couple of good days. They still count towards having overall better health. Keep trying, never give up!

arewethereyet

You will get your motivation when the pain to stay the same exceeds the pain to change. Losing weight can be hard but staying unfit is hard too. Choose your hard. Good luck!

You will get your motivation when the pain to stay the same exceeds the pain to change

Great quote!

fteale

Don't think of it as "starting" anything. Just cut out the stuff you don't want to be eating. It's not a challenge or a hardship or something to surmount. You are just giving yourself a healthier lifestyle.

slapshotgolf

I was there for longest time....like 3 years. Then I got tired of it all. Tired of not feeling right in my clothes. Tired of people drawing conclusions based on my appearance. Tired of not feeling energy. I was sick of where I was, and I knew that I was the only person that could change it. Are you there? If so, that's the first step. Its going to take some dedication, some sacrifices, some changes in how you do things, but its so worth it. The success becomes contagious - a force on its own. You will not fail. And it can start now if you want it to. Stick to your calories - make good food choices - get used to being a little bit hungry - and exercise, however you can, even if starts with just going for a walk a couple of times a day. You can do this. SSG

Heather75

Just start. Seriously. You know what you have to do so just do it. This website is full of support. Now start making better choices.

Shrinking_Xtina

Start with something small at first. Try changing one thing about your diet this week like no sodas or no fries. Then try to do a small walk or something to get moving. It will not seem as bad if you don't just try to change everything all at once. Remember it's not how fast you get there it's the fact that you get ther at all. This should be a lifestyle change and eventually will not feel like "work".

I agree, some people can dive right in but others need to start off slowly until they start to become more accustomed. I for one started cutting down portions and exercising twice a week. Then after I saw that little effort give me some results its motivated me to cut out more and exercise more. I still have a long way to go so I know how you feel. Some days will be better than others, some days you'll be over your calorie goal and not feel like working out. The point is you cannot give up, you'll trip but don't let yourself fall.

lalilalu

I think (as someone else already mentioned) that logging your food could be a great place to start. At the start just put it all in, the good and the bad, and once you start seeing where all the extra calories and sugar and fat is, you might decide to make some changes. For me it's really helpful to have it all in front of me, and to have a number limit, because it makes me make decisions based on the fact that I don't want to blow out my numbers....

yvonne0526

I think you took the most important step and that was being brutally honest with yourself...that you want to change. It's okay to make mistakes, we're all human. Some of us may have children, stressful jobs and in the midst of all this, trying to find time for ourselves. You have to first invision how you want to see yourself. You have to consider, what weight or body type would make you happy. Be realistic. Take it step by step and if you happen to fall off your regimine because you ate something unhealthy or missed a workout, don't get discouraged. It's not that one cheat meal or missed day at the gym that's going to ruin your whole weightloss, it's the continued pattern of "oh I failed" that will leave anyone to keep habitually falling into a negative rut. As dumb as this may sound, I would right down my goals and read them every morning. I would cut out a few pictures of female fitness models in magazines and put a picture of my face on it. I would post these pictures on my bathroom mirror, my refridgerator, to make me remember why I was doing all this, to reach my goals. Also, I would have a pair of jeans that I was determined to fit into...my goal size. I would attempt to put them on every morning, to just keep me in check. I would put the jeans on a hanger and where I could see them, like my bedroom door. Don't give up!!! As silly as some of these things may sound, it helped me get back to my pre-pregnancy weight after having two babies. Best of luck!! You definently can do it!!

Pebble321

Start by logging. Perhaps commit to a week where you log everything, don't change your regular eating but log it.
This is what got me going, just by logging I am more concious of what I'm eating.

BombolinaM

Thank you everyone for your comments. I know I can do it! I like the way of thinking that it's not a diet but eating better. The junk food or fast food I eat doesn't even taste good. I crave unhealthy foods and then after I eat it. I feel guilty and think it didn't even taste good and it wasn't worth it. I love MFP and all the great people on here...

Newfiedan

make it small changes at first, remember that bad choices did not happen overnight it took time so if you want it to stick then start small, every small change for the better will result in another and another and will eventually snowball into a major lifestyle change. Make your health and happiness less of an option and more of a must have for yourself, until you set that as a priority then all the preaching in the world and all the "pat you on the back" advice will not get you to make the changes for yourself.

LurayneMarie

Found this other thread it might inspire you to get started :flowerforyou:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/197222-first-day-of-spring?page=1#posts-2609618

ocsurfmama

As someone mentioned, try exercise to jump your energy. I started with just a walk around the block. Each day I was able to add a bit more time and walk a bit faster. You will be amazed how much further you can go each week.

As far as foods go, I cut out one "bad" food at a time.
First to go was all soda.

Next step was to cut out bread. I used to use bread for sandwiches every day. Now I eat my lunch meats with some spicy mustard and then roll it up like a cigar. I get the benefits of the protein, without the bread. I save the intake of bread now for that "special dinner" once a month. That way I'm not totally depriving myself.

The next thing to go was the amount of sugar intake. I am do dessert catering and I love my desserts. Now when I bake I cut brownies, cake, cheese cake, etc into single size servings and freeze them. I just pull one serving out of the freezer to thaw when I need that sugar fix. I allow myself one treat every three weeks. It is a lot better than having a full cake or full pan of baked goods sitting around in sight for me to grab or justify eating it by saying, "I don't want it to go bad and waste it."

I actually lost 20 lbs in a three month period by making the above changes .

Two weeks ago I felt ready to join a gym and searched until I found one that I could afford (30 bucks a month and no year contract) It's a month to month membership. The gym told me about this site so I joined here the same time (two weeks ago).

I have now lost 7 more pounds as of today. My gym routine started out as a 30 minute workout and now I am up to an hour or more a day!

You can do this! Baby steps are good. My thinking is I am better than I was yesterday, and I will be better tomorrow than I am today!

Good luck and feel free to friend me if you like!

BombolinaM

Found this other thread it might inspire you to get started :flowerforyou:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/197222-first-day-of-spring?page=1#posts-2609618

Thank you...She said it perfectly...Exactly how I feel and what I want to accomplish.