Having trouble staying on track with MFP

mb1883

The last few weeks have been really rough (diet-wise) and I'm finding myself falling off the wagon. I haven't logged my food consistently and I've been craving (and then eating) a lot of junk. Any advice on how to stay motivated would be greatly appreciated. I'm scared I'm going to fall of the diet wagon completely...

clw_888

When I am feeling unmotivated it really seems to help to make sure I track all the calories I eat...ESPECIALLY on a bad day. Then when I click my 'complete the day' button on the bottom of the food page and it shows me what I will weigh if I continue..well that can be enough to get me back on track.

Other things...pull out the fat pants and put them on. Do you really want to go back there? I also like to review my goals and imagine why I started on this journey in the first place.

Finally, remeasure yourself or do your initial measurements. Those numbers don't lie! When you see how many inches you are down that can be really motivating!

If you are looking for additional support, add me as a friend! Good luck and stick with it. You have such a great start going! And look at it this way...what would it feel like now if you had to carry an additional 25 lbs with you everywhere you go!?! Grab some weights and try it. It is really exhausting!

Syreeta6

One thing that has really helped me is planning my meals. If I know I want a sweet treat, I plan my other meals around the snack so that it still falls within my calorie/fat/etc ranges. I have my meals planned up to Friday right now!
Also, if you have a smart phone please install the app it is really convenient and will help you plan/adjust on the go.
You can do this! Don't get discouraged depend on your MFPs for support!!

clw_888

Sorry...read your ticker wrong. Thought it said 24 lbs lost. :blushing:

Newfiedan

We all start out being addicted to junk food and make no mistake, the body does gets addicted to it. When we start to log and be aware of what we eat we start to try and make better choices, the cravings are to be expected. It takes a few weeks of being consistent to really get the body off that track and to commit to a better lifestyle. Its no different than any other drug, I had made the choice 4 months ago and am now on a clean eating diet and 27 pounds lighter. It really takes commitment and consistency and please log everything, it will show you in plain view where and when your weak points are and occur. My advice start with small steps each week, within a month they will snowball into more and more changes, within 2 months you will see your changes grow. My first week was off all added sugar (use honey in place of it much better choice), week 2 was off salt (yep it was hard), so on and so forth.

epj78

I agree with the others. I FORCE myself to log on my bad days - it's too easy to keep having bad days otherwise. Heck, I just had one yesterday. Recognize that a higher calorie day is not the end of the world and won't hurt you. Having 7 of them in a row, well, that might do a little more damage.

I have to step on the scale everyday also. Otherwise I'm like an ostrich with my head in the sand thinking things couldn't be that bad.

Oh, cards!! get index cards. Write on each one a different reason why you want to lose weight (I have like 5 that say "look good" - not all of them have to be "to be healthy" - lol) and read those when the going gets tough. Sometimes its easy to forget why we want to lose weight and focus on what we are giving up in that moment in time - this helps keep me focused.

knittygirl52

Planning ahead really does help--sometimes things happen that mean you can't do what you planned, but it really does help to have an idea of the direction you are going. And, if you know you are going out you can plan ahead. And you can plan so that you are sure to allow time for exercise--easy to let that go south.

Another helpful thing is to have an accountability partner. It needs to be someone you can trust, who won't beat you up, will pat you on the back when you deserve it, but who will gently remind you that you aren't quite doing it when you're not. Oh, and definitely pat yourself on the back for everything you do that puts you on the right path--no matter how little that thing is!

girlofsun26

I've actually made a friend on here that we keep up with each other almost every day...If I don't hear from her or vice versa our emails start blowing up and even our phones..Its really nice having someone who is keeping me accountable for my actions and helping me stay on track, and support me on my roughest days. I say find someone...someone who will go to the next level of support then just the usual "way to go" or "good job".. Its kept me from giving up.. good luck!!

ehlertmartha

I understand how your feeling i felt the same way when starting this. The main thing for me that kept me on track was to set a goal for yourself and wake up and remind your self about it hang a pick on your wall or on your mirror what ever you think it takes for you to remember your goal . Were all here for the same thing instead of going it alone, were all here and were all here to give you support

annacataldo

Try eating healthier versions of what you crave.
Try eating portion sizes of what you crave.
Dont cut urself off completely of everything all at once. I still go out for dinner and such which i enjoy with my boyfriend, but I just order differently then i did before. To many changes at once make it easier to fall off the wagon, little changes at a time, and eventually ull be eating perfect wihtout even thinking out it.
Imagine yourself weighing even more weight than your heaviest weight and imagine how ur body will look.
Look up pictures of morbidly obese people and say i dont want to look like that.
Look at your own self in the mirror and tell urself u dont like the extra rolls u see.
Work what u eat around what u want... so have a low cal breakfast/lunch to have a higher calorie dinner.

I had steak and mashed potatoes last night with Wendys for lunch, and a second lunch had a sandwich with veggies. and snacks & candy & beer. I cheated a little bit, but I stayed under my calories and still made pretty healthy choices minus the 2light beers and a piece of easter candy.

If you want french fries, make home fries, lay ur taters on a baking sheet that is greased with 0cal olive oil spray then spray ur taters with it too, and season with garlic and pepper, onion, red pepper flakes maybe, parsely or other seasonings, 350degrees for like 20minutes, flipping over half way... and then one potatoe worth is 100calories, filling, and not deep fried in oil making it fattening or salted increasing ur sodium.

If you want a cheeseburger, make it urself with lean burger, a small amount of cheese or a low cal cheese, no mayo, lettuce, and whatever other veggies u want, on a wheat bun/bread..

Fried chicken---portion of chicken breast dipped in egg white and no yolk then instead of bread crumbs or whatever, use ground up fiber cereal.

Whatever u want, create a lower cal, healthier version of it.

Or if u just have to have that mcdonalds burger and there isnt any other option for u, order it plain or without mayo, eat half the bun, half the cheese, and only single patty, and instead of fries have the salad.

When u go out for coffee, order it sugar free fat free, even the 20oz at that point r only 100cal cuz of the milk instead of 500 or whatever.

Be accountable for everything u eat, and enter it, u cant make progress if u cant see that ur doing badly right in front of u.

mb1883

Thank you everyone for the great advice. :bigsmile:

PlanetVelma

I've actually made a friend on here that we keep up with each other almost every day...If I don't hear from her or vice versa our emails start blowing up and even our phones..Its really nice having someone who is keeping me accountable for my actions and helping me stay on track, and support me on my roughest days. I say find someone...someone who will go to the next level of support then just the usual "way to go" or "good job".. Its kept me from giving up.. good luck!!

That's a really great idea - sort of like a stalker, but in a good way!