I know this works but it's getting hard. :(

Evelynolga

I know that I didn't login for 2 weeks. I was doing so good and then I just got tired of always typing in what I ate. I really haven't gained anything back, but I know if I stop tracking, then I'm going to gain weight. Any advice? I was going to the gym 3 days a week and now it's getting less and less. I really want to go 5 days a week. I need to be more motivated. Help! : (

cmriverside

You are the only one who can motivate you. How bad do you want it?

music_lover_103

just do it. don't think about it so hard; you need to do this, so do it. don't give yourself an option, this should be as mandatory as sleeping and breathing. you want a better life? it's not gonna change on its own.

that's how i had to do it, anyway. after a couple weeks of just making myself exercise and eat right, its started to be what i WANT to do. you'll get there, but not without working, working, working. you can do this!

kelsue35

just remember why you are doing this. you want to be able to say you are at the healtiest you have ever been. if you stop logging in and not tracking food / exercise you could lose focus and gain it back, or even gain back more than you have lost. it only takes a few minutes to log in what you ate and what your workouts were. i know you can get back to this and not feel like its a job but more like a link to a healthier you

Plumpqt

If you have foods you regularly eat already saved you dont really have to type anything. As for being motivated come on here look at others sucsess and talk to people you can manke it so its fun, start a friendly competition with someone. See who can lose x amount of lbs first

millerll

C'mon....it's not that hard, now. Just go into your Recent tab and click on the item. Voila! Done. If you do a little pre-planning of your menus, you can load an entire day's worth of meals the night before, then edit any changes real-time. That's how I do it most days. Takes about 5 minutes in the evening, and I already know how many calories I have to play with the next day.

As for exercise, yeah, you just gotta will yourself to do it. Keep in mind, the more you do it, the easier (and more fun) it gets, and then it doesn't feel like a chore anymore, just something you do every day like brushing your teeth. Good luck!

DieselGrrl

One thing that helps me workout every day is to make myself go. Once I'm there, I'm fine. The key is for me to go, whether I have 30 minutes or an hour to workout, I go! Variety keeps me excited about working out. I've always been a "loner" so-to-speak when it comes to exercising, but i've found recently that classes and working out with others forces me to challenge myself and push harder. No matter what, just don't give up and don't be too hard on yourself. This is a process that takes time to get used to and to establish a "routine." I try not to think of this as dieting but as a life style change, something I want to keep up with for the rest of my life.

bmmadden

I think the best thing to do is to start off slow maybe for now make it a goal to just go gym 3x a week and work your way up to 5 or 6 x until it doesnt feel like a chore.. As for tracking if you eat alot of the same things or plan your meals ahead you can just do it all in the morning and use alot of your recent items to make it easier, after awhile it will be habit and will be quick and easy, just keep at it and make sure you reward yourself to keep you motivated with new exercise clothes etc,you will get there it takes 6 weeks to make things habit and the weight didnt come on overnight and it definitely wont come off that way either, find out what works best for you...

chattychick

Maybe outside exercise will be easier for you to do and enjoy? I hate the gym, and prefer to run outside (if you are not a runner then walk, roller blade, whatever). I bought the People issue of people who lost half their weight and have it on my fridge so that whenever I go to eat that is what I see. It has helped a bit.

alina323

well the easiest way that i did that for me is i got a heart rate/ calorie counter watch. Im a college student so expensive wasnt an option lol. I keep wanting to use it so i do and it also shows you how much calories your really burning it makes you want to do it more often. Just shopping and walking around for an hour and a half is like 1,000 calories or more!!! and then your like WOAH!!!!!! i should do that more often and you start integrating exercise into everything im just saying it cause it works for me!!!!!! wish you the bst of luck!!!

A_New_Horizon

You are the only one that can do it. You just have to do it. Why did you start this to begin with? To lose weight and feel good, so why would you give all that up. You have come so far. If you don't feel like going to the gym, do a workout dvd at home. I don't go to the gym because I don't have the money/time. I do workout dvds at home once my babies are in bed. I have done 30-day shred and had great results. Now, I am doing Turbojam; Chalene is amazing with high energy. Determination and will power will get you very far, trust me!!!

bcpie

I have a bad habit of getting sick of logging in..I'll log in consistently for a week and then not log back in for another three. BUT for whatever reason, I've started coming back daily and I now actually /enjoy/ tracking my progress. I seriously look forward to logging everything. I wish I could tell you what motivated me to change and come back every day, but I have no idea. I think looking at success stories helped me quite a bit...but I really do wish I could tell you what changed in me.
Best of luck and I hope the same thing happens for you!

superjae5

Don't worry about falling off track and losing motivation because it happens to all of us. I've given up on MFP a couple of times. It's okay to take a little break, the important thing is that you come right back. So if you slip every once in awhile, remember that weight loss is a long term thing. Just start again, no worries.

Maybe you can look up what you will probably eat at the beginning of the week and just know how much of a serving will cost you in calories and do it that way for awhile, without logging it all every day. If you use MFP long enough, you get an idea of what foods to avoid and what foods are low cal but fill you up.

And constantly remind yourself you have a goal and you're determined to meet it. I also try and make sure to exercise enough at least one of the days of the week so I have spare calories for a treat. I wouldn't be able to do this if I had to quit all sweets and treats cold turkey. I still have ice cream and cookies (my favorite treats).

And by the way, often those break and bake choco chip cookies are like 85 cal/cookie. They're little, but if having a little treat helps (as it does for me) then sometimes I think it's worth it. But don't give up! You can do this!

Evelynolga

Thanks everyone so much for your encouragement. It's nice to know that there's people out there who can relate to what you're going through. I will try this again and see what works for me and I won't give up. Motivation is key!

Debinapril

Motivation and support. Get a group of like minded friends with similar goals together, it'll really help you through the rough patches.

TMLPatrick

I find it to be much easier if I set my goal to 1.5 lb a week or 1lb a week, rather than try to do 2 or 2.5... it makes the lifestyle change a lot easier, and doesn't disrupt my entire life like trying to restrict my calories to an intolerable level.... and makes me a lot more likely to stick with it when I don't see it as a daily burden.