Can't seem to get "un" stuck from vicious cycle. Help!

kbean33

Hello all,

I have been on mfp for about a year. It is a great site. I have lost some weight, but nothing significant. I need to lose 30lbs. I think that I have a mental obsession with weight loss that hinders me from sticking to my plan and succeding. I see people who have lost over a hundred pounds, and I am just in awe. Then I think...why can't I lose 30?! I know that I have an emotional tie to food, and that night time is my enemy. I break the night time eating for a few days, and then go off for the next two. I am in sales, and have to go to lunches with clients, which throws me off. I am such a routine type of girl. I do exersize regularly, but because of my eating I stay in the same place. I have been doing this for so long (years!) that it is making me crazy! I am really at a loss (not weight ).I have so much discipline in other areas of my life, but when it comes to food it takes me to my knees. I have a big vacation coming up in April, and I would like to at least have lost 10lbs by then. Has anyone gone through this? Has anyone gone through this and broke the cycle? Thanks for letting me vent.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I think the best thing to do is to start with one change at a time. Instead of thinking "I need to only eat 1200 calories and work out 5 days a week and only eat fresh organic food, etc" just start with simple things. Swap white bread for whole wheat. Order the steamed veggies instead of the fries when you go out. Look up menus of restaurants you frequent and figure out healthier choices. Order the entree without the cream sauce. Order water or unsweet tea to drink. Exercise wise, start taking the stairs. Park farther from the building. Small changes will become habits over time and then they can lead to bigger changes. Good luck!

cabaray

I agree with Amber...baby steps. It gets overwhelming when you completely try and overhaul your routine at one time. I know it sounds hard, but you just have to tell yourself that you're going to do it this time. I went years starting "diets" and getting off track until I finally decided I was over it. I have lost 75 pounds (35 before MFP and 40 here). Using this site will work. It took a year to lose the first 35 pounds and 6 months to lose 40 on MFP. I do recommend making friends with supportive people here. There are days when I just feel like it's not worth it (I've been at a plateau for a month), but I just start talking to my friends here and seem to get my mojo back. Friend me if you want!

deksgrl

I think the best thing to do is to start with one change at a time. Instead of thinking "I need to only eat 1200 calories and work out 5 days a week and only eat fresh organic food, etc" just start with simple things. Swap white bread for whole wheat. Order the steamed veggies instead of the fries when you go out. Look up menus of restaurants you frequent and figure out healthier choices. Order the entree without the cream sauce. Order water or unsweet tea to drink. Exercise wise, start taking the stairs. Park farther from the building. Small changes will become habits over time and then they can lead to bigger changes. Good luck!

This ^^

I have struggled with a lot of the same thing. Fast food queen, every weekday for lunch. The first change I made was not getting fries or soda. Yeah, it was hard because it's the same price to just get the sandwich and an unsweetened iced tea instead of the "meal" that comes with the fries. But I had to get over that "have to get the best deal" and decided it is more important for my health than my wallet. I lost 15 pounds in a few months, just with that change.

MFP is really helping me with this because I can plug in what I think I want to eat ahead of time and see if there really is something else I could choose instead that would be better. My big thing now is sodium. Even the "healthier" choices a lot of places pack a huge amount of sodium. Yesterday I was going to have a Wendy's baked potato with chili for lunch, and we planned to have Chinese food for dinner, that would put me way over double or more the amount of sodium I should have. I had to cut sodium somewhere, so I decided no on the chili and had two Wendy's baked potato with sour cream and chive instead. At only $3, can't go wrong there. I would never in a million years would have eaten two baked potatoes with sour cream before. But the numbers looked fine in my food journal so why not?

So identify what is your biggest downfall, is it just too far over calorie goal in general? Is it portions? Is it snacks? Is it the meals out? And then think about ways you can reduce or make better choices in that one biggest problem area.

I am also changing the way I think about food. I started working out, which is also a huge change for me. And my attitude food is starting to change to thinking of it as fuel. What makes my body run better.

thepetiterunner

Here are some things I would suggest:

- Plan ahead for dine-out meals: check out the menu ahead of time, see the calories, make plans to have a healthy meal (steamed veggies, lean proteins, etc)
- Journal when you're feeling like you're emotionally eating: Write down the times of day you eat, how you felt at the time, etc. Analyze what triggers you
- Brush your teeth right after dinner to prevent snacking at night, drink water instead of grabbing a snack
- Write notes to yourself and leave them all over the house. These can be motivational, pictures of what you want to look like, pictures of what you do look like, encouragement, etc.
- Write post-it notes of the exercise equivalent of the snack on the snack box (i.e. 1 cookie = 40 minutes on the elliptical)
- Write notes with the name of your vacation destination and leave them all over the house - bathroom mirrors, door to pantry, on the fridge, etc

Stay in the moment. Make good decisions in the immediate situation. Don't worry about the next ten minutes. Worry about the now. Eventually these small changes will become habits. THINK before DOING.

Good luck!

JujiBean

I have an unusual suggestion: if you are prone to snacking at night, change your routine. If you are prone to munching while watching TV, sit in a different chair. Sometimes just shaking up your usual routine can make all the difference.

I have a friend who created a "go to" meal for whenever she eats in a restaurant. She told me that almost all restaurants have shrimp cocktail. She ONLY orders shrimp cocktail and a glass of white wine. And if they don't have shrimp cocktail, then they will most likely be able to do plain chicken wings. (My friend weighs 112 lbs)

kbean33

Thank you everyone for the support. I loved all of the suggestions. The post it notes are a great idea and shrimp are a great idea!

deksgrl

Another suggestion for restaurants is order the biggest salad you can but instead of regular or even "light" salad dressing, ask for oil & vinegar. You can carry a little shaker of Mrs. Dash no-sodium seasonings to give it some added flavor.