help...this is hard

gracie97007

Okay...i try each day to eat a decent breakfast, do some exercise and then it just seems i do well for about a week and then i just fail! i have a horrible sweet tooth as well as i really need to work on control. Any help any ideas? I would appreciate anything. thanks!

ma66ie72

The best thing I ever did was to go on a vegan cleanse for 11 days. The one I used was called Standard Process, but you really don’t need to go buy that stuff... I just ate raw fruits and raw veggies and drank water for 11 days NOTHING ELSE. I was able to quit smoking by the third day and hadn’t intended to... You REALLY need to get rid of the refined sugar. It’s a gateway drug and unless you get it out of your diet you’ll continue to struggle. The first 2 days were hell but after that it got easier... good luck!

BTW< eat as much raw veggies and fruit as you want... the veggies you can’t eat raw you can steam lightly. The idea is to not feel hungry by filling yourself with good stuff.

Horseandcatlover

Well the thing is that watching your calorie works, like you I have the sweetest tooth and there is no way I even want to cut out sweet stuff..so if you eat good low calorie meals and then you have some left over from your daily allowance, then a sweet treat is possible...maple syrup on fruit n yoghurt....Lite sweetened condensed milk...... dark chocolate-just see how many cals it contains and eat the amount you are allowed, amazingly satisfying to be able to eat sweet stuff and not feel guilty :-))

Pebble321

Yes. It is hard!
Most of us are overweight because we have lots of bad habits relating to what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat.

I'm going to say completely the opposite to the previous poster and say don't go cold turkey on everything. To me, setting out to eat nothing but fruit and veggies for 11 days would be a recipe for failure, followed by bingeing (and I don't beleive it can be healthy for you unless medically advised and supervised).

Pick one goal you want to acheive and work on this for a week. Once you have got this down, add something else. There is no rule that says you have to do everything at once, and for me it's much more acheivable to know that this weeks goal is something like:
- log everything, good or bad.
- eat a healthy breakfast
- one unhealthy treat a day, plan other healthy snacks to keep me full
- if you drink soft drinks or alcohol, cut them down or cut them out.
- don't buy sweets if they are your downfall. Or buy them, eat one and throw the rest in the bin!

Don't expect it to be easy, but do expect that every time you make a good choice you have scored a victory and are one step closer to being healthy!

Nikkiairforcewife

Gracie-

First I recommend you set some goals like on your profile. Ask yourself some questions.

Why do I want to get in shape?

What are my motivations?

What are three little steps I can take to get me started in the right direction?

You've already joined MFP. That's a step in the right direction. Now make some friends to help motivate you and that you can motivate in return. Maybe someone the same age as you, or has the same weight goals, or lives in the same state/country, or has the same age children or interests. Find some way to relate-- even if all you have is WE BOTH WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT.

When I joined I had 1 goal: Log everything I eat for 100 days.

So no matter what, 2000 calories or 3500 calories, I was going to log it.

Shortly after joining I added the goal to eat "5 a day" of fruits and vegetables.

So I could still eat through the house as long as I was going to log it AND get my 5 a day. Easy peasy, right?

But then I got so enthused with the thing at the bottom of the diary that says, "If every day were like today, you'd weigh XXX in 5 weeks." ooh! Look at that! That would be AWESOME!

Within a couple weeks of joining I added the goal to drink 10+ glasses of water per day. I wanted to make that cup in the diary overflow!

Those are my only concrete rules I have right now. 1. Log every day for 100 days (I'm on day 46). 2. Eat my "5 a day." 3. Drink 10+ glasses of water.

You can do it.

CYNARIA

When I get desperate a Sainsburys meringue at 54 cals and some fruit does the trick )

ma66ie72

Yes. It is hard!
Most of us are overweight because we have lots of bad habits relating to what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat.

I'm going to say completely the opposite to the previous poster and say don't go cold turkey on everything. To me, setting out to eat nothing but fruit and veggies for 11 days would be a recipe for failure, followed by bingeing (and I don't beleive it can be healthy for you unless medically advised and supervised).

Pick one goal you want to acheive and work on this for a week. Once you have got this down, add something else. There is no rule that says you have to do everything at once, and for me it's much more acheivable to know that this weeks goal is something like:
- log everything, good or bad.
- eat a healthy breakfast
- one unhealthy treat a day, plan other healthy snacks to keep me full
- if you drink soft drinks or alcohol, cut them down or cut them out.
- don't buy sweets if they are your downfall. Or buy them, eat one and throw the rest in the bin!

Don't expect it to be easy, but do expect that every time you make a good choice you have scored a victory and are one step closer to being healthy!

Actually, it wasn’t a recipe for failure..it got me to this point and I’m doing so much better because I did it. I don’t crave sweets or nicotine. And not once have I binged on anything.

Not healthy?? I’m not even going to argue about this...LOL!

mbeatty10

Not the only solution but helpful is drink a lot of water. It really helps flush out so much. It controls appatite and significantly aids in weightloss. The earlier suggest of the vegan diet is very good. It can be a difficult change. Once you get through that 7-10 day mark your cravings will almost disappear. I have always found set goals and review them daily.

Good luck

Pebble321

Yes. It is hard!
Most of us are overweight because we have lots of bad habits relating to what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat.

I'm going to say completely the opposite to the previous poster and say don't go cold turkey on everything. To me, setting out to eat nothing but fruit and veggies for 11 days would be a recipe for failure, followed by bingeing (and I don't beleive it can be healthy for you unless medically advised and supervised).

Pick one goal you want to acheive and work on this for a week. Once you have got this down, add something else. There is no rule that says you have to do everything at once, and for me it's much more acheivable to know that this weeks goal is something like:
- log everything, good or bad.
- eat a healthy breakfast
- one unhealthy treat a day, plan other healthy snacks to keep me full
- if you drink soft drinks or alcohol, cut them down or cut them out.
- don't buy sweets if they are your downfall. Or buy them, eat one and throw the rest in the bin!

Don't expect it to be easy, but do expect that every time you make a good choice you have scored a victory and are one step closer to being healthy!

Actually, it wasn’t a recipe for failure..it got me to this point and I’m doing so much better because I did it. I don’t crave sweets or nicotine. And not once have I binged on anything.

Not healthy?? I’m not even going to argue about this...LOL!

Hey, it worked for you, that's great. I'm glad you're doing well.
FOR ME (as I said above) it would be a recipe for disaster.

alright_flower

Hi Gracie

I agree with Rubybelle, you shouldn't cut out the things you love! That's what's great about losing weight this way - it might not be as fast as some other ways, but it's about learning to eat in moderation, and that's something you can teach yourself.

If you're a planner, how about planning your meals for the week? That way, you could make sure that you've got a bit of room for something that isn't perhaps as healthy as you'd like! Unfortunately I couldn't buy a whole bag of sweets and throw them away - that's my downfall, I'd have to eat them all! So I don't buy them. Or, if I really really need a sugar hit, I try to buy small bags.

Or how about finding something that'll distract you from thinking about food? I don't know about you, but I eat when I'm bored, so I find my card-making distracts me and I'm not craving sweets, or anything I can find in the kitchen!

Perhaps too, at the end of each week, if you're pleased with how you've done, you could give yourself a small (non-food!) treat?

Good luck in any case, I hope the posts here help.

katharube

Sweet tooth is always my downfall. Basically you either just gotta fight it, or restrict yourself. I know some people do cheat meals or days. Personally I can't coz then every day would become a cheat day. I find ways round it though. Like for breakfast I have porridge with teaspoon of golden syrup on it - enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. Right now my go to is a pinch - not even a handful - of the cereal Honey, Oats & More. Sweet but not a choccie bar. Okay, so it's still a snack but at least I'm not guzzling down a whole chocolate fudge cake every other weekend coz I've denied myself chocolate and sugar for the past 2 weeks. Good luck and keep persevering!!

nsblue

having sweets will give you cravings for more, it is a vicious cycle. Trying to lose weight when old habits draw us back to eat what sets us up for failure. Many people who go on diets, lose that weight but once down go back to the old ways and bam...the weight goes back on. IF you are committed to losing weight and getting healthy to stay there, then you have to examine yourself and figure a behavioural modification plan to get you through. Changing old habits and the committment to stick with it will be the deciding factors if you make it and stay there.

Best of luck, it is hard work... but so worth it.

nsblue

geeesh I'm hick cuppin this am LOL... s'ques me

gracie97007

thank you everyone for the advice...i want to be healthier and feel good. i appreciate all your moral support!