Anyone who has lost weight, please give me advice!

meganmshope

I lost 30 pounds a year ago, but I wasn't eating enough, so I gained it all back once I ate normally again.
Now I'm trying to lose around 40 pounds. I'm 5'10" and I weight 190 at the moment; my goal weight is 145, or whenever I feel healthy and good about myself.

So, if you've had success in losing weight...how did you keep up the motivation?
I exercise daily, which is more then needed, but I have problems with eating and always have. I need some support and I'm grasping at straws here! Please tell me how you kept yourself from eating too much and eating when you're not hungry.

RockaholicMama

Honestly, once the scale began going down, that was all the motivation I needed. I wanted to see the needle keep dropping. It was my push to keep it up.

mgreen10

keeping it off is a challenge. When you say "Went back to eating normal again" that stood out like a red flag in my head. This is because "normal" for you is what caused the extra weight in the first place...keeping it off is a life-time commitment to change your eating habits, or it will keep on coming back. Just keep to your calorie limit and work out...then once you reach your goal you can go into maintenance mode. Never "go back to normal" again!

alexbowser

Feeling good is my motivation, feeling healthy and happy with how I'm treating my body. I got sick of feeling guilty and sad about my body. Also I have a dream Halloween costume that I plan to wear this year.

No one has noticed that I'm losing weight, but everyone at my family party yesterday was saying how good I look, pretty good motivation.

donicagalek

Simple: Don't require motivation for 100% of the journey.

And for the rest of the time, find motivation in the darkest of places. Who do you know that wants - would LOVE - to see you fail. Make it your goal to make them miserable. Being successful is part of that misery. :-D

JMYGA

I went into a depression during a week's vacation. When I went to put on my work clothes the Monday I went back to work, I was shocked that I didn't have to melt myself down and pour myself into them. They fit great. So now I am just watching what I eat. I don't recommend the depression part though ;-)

Bobbylk

Mrs Jazz.....I just started doing this, you have already motivated me! Thx!

patricepeop

Normal.....that's just trouble! Find a new healthy lifestyle. I gave up sugar which I thought was crazy but is actually very doable for me. Find something you can live with for the rest of your life. Eating healthy can be a fantastic experience, it just take commitment. you can splurge once in a while, but for me, normal meant I found a reason to splurge daily:)

TOYGRRRL

keeping it off is a challenge. When you say "Went back to eating normal again" that stood out like a red flag in my head. This is because "normal" for you is what caused the extra weight in the first place...keeping it off is a life-time commitment to change your eating habits, or it will keep on coming back. Just keep to your calorie limit and work out...then once you reach your goal you can go into maintenance mode. Never "go back to normal" again!

My thoughts exactly. It is a lifestyle change to keep it off forever. You can do it. Adjust your eating habits and I'm sure it will come off and stay off. No more junk food. Be healthy and have some fresh fruit, nuts or vegis instead of chips and water or tea instead of sodas. You don't need to give up everything you love, The key is you can enjoy anything in moderation.

TOYGRRRL

keeping it off is a challenge. When you say "Went back to eating normal again" that stood out like a red flag in my head. This is because "normal" for you is what caused the extra weight in the first place...keeping it off is a life-time commitment to change your eating habits, or it will keep on coming back. Just keep to your calorie limit and work out...then once you reach your goal you can go into maintenance mode. Never "go back to normal" again!

My thoughts exactly. It is a lifestyle change to keep it off forever. You can do it. Adjust your eating habits and I'm sure it will come off and stay off. No more junk food. Be healthy and have some fresh fruit, nuts or vegis instead of chips and water or tea instead of sodas. You don't need to give up everything you love, The key is you can enjoy anything in moderation.

veggeslady

Take pictures of what you look like in your workout clothes. That motivates me to not want to look like that. Take new pictures every 30 to 60 days so that you can see the changes!!

IrishChick71

That is something everyone struggles with and you gotta find it in yourself...ask yourself how bad do I want this cake? Enough to be okay with seeing a gain on the scale or no change when you have worked your butt off all week. It's different for everyone. I personally don't deprive myself but I'm also learning moderation and working off what I eat if I want it bad enough.

Also taking before pictures really does help. When I see where I started at and how far I've come I don't eat nearly as much.

Personally, I know I won't be able to stop exercising once I am done losing and start maintaining. I like my food too much but if I keep logging and keep exercising I am positive I will do great this time. I am totally honest with myself so i know it will work.

Hope that helps!
Good Luck!

meganmshope

mgreen10 = You're completely right. My dietitian helped me realize that since I wasn't eating enough when i lost the weight, I went crazy when I tried to eat healthy again. That's why diets don't work!
My dietitian didn't help me at all, by the way, and my mom thinks she scammed us a bit. Who knows.
My problem is the mental process I go through when eating, it has nothing to do with HOW to lose weight.

BOGmama2010

I keep lots of different teas in my cabinet so I can brew some when I am hungry. It takes care of my hunger and helps me to stay hydrated as well. Even when I am laid back and not counting my calories, I still don't gain because I have built enough of a muscle base that my metabolism is revved. So, make sure that daily exercising is not just cardio and that you are incorporating strength training in there as well (even just using bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc.)

Wolfena

You probably have to adjust your food habits to something you can live with ALL THE TIME...

Could be changing your styles of cooking some examples:

Instead of using butter or oil, use cooking spray. Instead of using whole milk, switch to low fat or skim. Instead of buying cookies to have as snacks buy fruit, popcorn (not pre-bagged!) or pretzels.

Only cook what you know you (and your family) will need to eat, for example - only make half the box of pasta instead of the whole thing, only cook 2 slices of bacon per person instead of the whole pound. If the food is not there, you will not eat it.

Read nutrition labels.... buy healthier cuts of meat, lower sodium or high fiber packaged products, etc

Drink water or unsweetened coffee or tea instead of juice and soda.

Again - these are all fairly simple things to do that will be easy to stick with for the rest of your life. Don't think of this as a diet, think of it as a healthier lifestyle change! (I'm sure you've heard this before)

Only YOU can decide which things you are ready to change, and when.... some people only give up soda, and eat smaller portions, other people go full fledged vegetarian organic, yada yada yada (which IMO is insane, but hey- whatever works and makes you happy, I just know I couldn't stick with something like that!)

One day and one thing at a time. & remember, just because you don't tell someone you ate it, just because nobody sees you eat it, just because you don't log it - doesn't mean it doesn't count.

I could go on, but that's where I'll leave it for now.

k2d4p

There should be nothing for you to "go back" to. Especially if if it means eating unhealthy all the time. For me, I look at my kids and I want to be able to play with them and be active. You need a new normal and just live. If you would like, you can read my success blog in my signature. It is exactly how I did it. Good luck.

Autumn1206

And most of all, if you get discouraged, your MFP pals are here to help!

concordancia

mgreen10 = You're completely right. My dietitian helped me realize that since I wasn't eating enough when i lost the weight, I went crazy when I tried to eat healthy again. That's why diets don't work!
My dietitian didn't help me at all, by the way, and my mom thinks she scammed us a bit. Who knows.
My problem is the mental process I go through when eating, it has nothing to do with HOW to lose weight.

You need to work on this mental process. There are a couple of workbooks available to help you, but it boils down to awareness. When you eat anything, don't just write it in the journal (which is about making you accountable), also write down how you feel. Are you eating out of boredom? sadness? happiness? Once you identify these feelings, you need to find ways of dealing with them besides food. Exercise is a good option, as it helps with any stress you may be feeling. However, there are certain emotions to be on high alert for. If you are eating out of helplessness, for example, you need to address the situation that is causing that!

mumma2boyz

Many have said ...this is a lifetime change, so be patient with the process. I started out with horrible habits. I would go all day until 7pm wihtout outting one morsel of food in my body. Eating was annoying. So I usually ate whatever I wanted from 7-10 and hardly exercised. I made slow changes, challenging myself to adapt a healthy habit. So week 1 I ate breakfast. Whatever it had to be: donut, muffin, cereal bar, oatmeal. Sometimes it made my stomach turn with each bite. Week 2, drink more water. Week 3, eat lunch. And so on until I got to this point. I now eat 6-7 times a day, mostly whole foods. I occaisionally eat whatever I want, but most of the time it makes mefeel terrible so the cravings have gone away. I exercise 6-7 times a week and its now a part of my day. I feel so strong and powerful, so that is my motivation. I love the feeling of pushing myself and seeing how far I can go. I see the direct impact my eating has on my body, so that also motivates me to make small changes. My eating habits are not perfect. I eat pudding, fudge pops, wendys chili, and bread. I just eat in moderation. If im hungry, ieat. And the healthier I eat, the more I can put in my mouth.