on verge of quitting

HoneybearSue64

Hi, dear one! You don't know me, but I could be you! I have a very stressful job working about 9 hours per day supervisory, but not allowed overtime, so I try to keep it down by clocking out on time and staying a few minutes longer. I have daily work, supervision, reports, monthly tasks, etc. No time for exercise...I eat out the wrong foods a lot of the week. When I hit the door at home, I just crash and so much is piling up and not getting done. This is when you really need to hang in there and force yourself to do the exericse. If it means getting up 15 min earlier - DO IT! It will decrease your stress level, help you think more clearly on the things you need to be mentally alert for and decision making. I am new to this program, but not to exercise and being overweight, and stress, stress, STRESS. If i exercise for even 10 minutes either in the morning or the evening, I end up sitting less and doing more around the house, or being more organized at work and on an even keel throughout the day. I know this works! I just can't explain how. It changes the endorphins or something! I am pullling for you. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't stop. You do not have to spend extra money on this site, just keep your diary, chart your food and exercise. Don't worry so much about losing weight, think about it as staying healthy and in shape, becoming fitter. The pounds will eventually take care of themselves. Give your self a break by not feeling guilty if you eat the wrong thing at one meal or another, but just keep doing the exercise for your own well-being and confidence. I may not lose any weight, as I am in the last third of my life and metabolism is slower, but I will continue to improve my health and confidence - and SO WILL YOU!

CharityEaton

also stop calling this journey a diet...diets are destined to fail. call this a new lifestyle of eating right and good clean foods only.

^^^Totally this! make the commitment to make this a way of life! I HATE when people ask me what "diet" I did to lose my weight! I didn't go on a diet I just BALANCED my diet according to my activities each day! I still eat totally awful unhealthy food (on ocassions) but for the most part I balance it out.

geekymom57

You've had a lot of good comments and insights from others, and like many of them, and you, I've had similar periods of extremely high stress in my life. At my ripe old age of 55, I handle it better now than I used to, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard to stay positive, keep motivated, and stay with a healthy diet when life seems to suck all the energy from you.

It sounds as if you haven't gained even with all the stress/challenges you're facing at the moment, so try thinking about that as a success, rather than slow/no weight loss as a failure. I've been stuck at the same weight for more than 2 months--frustrating, but at least I'm not gaining, so I know that my logging everything that goes in my mouth and trying to figure out what I'm stuck is part of what I'll experience the rest of my life.

Also, if you haven't been to a physician you may want to consider that. I had a couple of years of tiredness, low energy, slow but steady weight gain, etc., and just thought it was "life"--lot of stress during that time. During an annual physical my MD decided to test my TSH levels and found that I had hypothyroidism. Within a couple of months I could feel my energy slowly come back and I realized then little energy I had had for quite a long time. Now I can often tell when my TSH levels are off and my meds need adjusting because I inexplicably have no energy for anything other than dragging through my day.

Hang in there!

tigerlily1817

Don't quit!!!! Everyone on here offers such great advise. I agree stress can make things so difficult. I try to do my workouts in the morning. This actually gives me an energy boost because my adrenaline gets going. Maybe you could get up early and workout then. Also, a few people mentioned organization. I think that organization is key. Back in the day when I was doing weight watchers I would plan and track my foods at the beginning of the day leaving additional room for an unexpected snack. I think that this kind of organization helped ease my day a bit because I had my food for the day, besides what I would be eating at home, tracked and packed with me so I didn't have to think about. I know it is tough when you have a lot going on but if you keep with it you will feel better than if you don't. Just remember, we should only expect to lose up to 2lbs per week at most. Some will lose more and some will lose less depending on our bodies and routines. I know it is tough right now but you should try and find time to fit in a workout. Poor your frustrations into your workout this can leaving you feeling much more relaxed. Good luck!!!! :flowerforyou:

giantsfaninvt

You say that no one cares about you (which is probably the negativity talking), but remember that the most important person that needs to care about you is YOU! Show yourself you care and don't give up.

fionarama

I think if you are talking about "quitting" you haven't quite got your head around the fact that losing weight is more about a permanent lifestyle change rather than a "diet" you go on only to go "off" (i.e. back to the ways that caused you to be in that situation in the first place). When you are thinking like that you will always gain the weight back.

My advice to anyone who is busy is to skip the exercise p;art and just focus on getting the food changes right. Go for a walk or a relaxing swim if you have some time but if you are busy trying to squeeze in gym visits etc are counterproductive anyway if your diet isn't right, diet is 80% of it.
op;en your diary and let people critique it, look at other people's diary's, make small changes even if its just one a week. But you can't "give up".
if you get your diet better you will probably find your energy levels start to go up and hten you can introduce exercise again.

smcesko

I agree with everyone's advice. DON'T GIVE UP!

I too have struggled. It has taken me a year to lose 28lbs!! Stress is a huge factor in not loosing weight for one. I go through it. Last year was horrible for me. The biggest thing for me was making small changes. As soon as I got used to one small change I would make another. I still do that to this day. I tried to do it all at once and crashed every time.

You need to focus on you. Taking time for yourself will also help your motivation. Even if you just sit and read a book for a few hours. It turns into other things eventually. Again small changes.

As for the housework. This is my advice. Tackle one room a night or morning. I had to learn how to do this when I was going to school full time, working full time and taking care of my family. Believe me my life sucked for awhile. But I lived through it.

Small changes may not get every thing done right now and you may not see immediate results but you WILL get results. So... NO QUITTING!! Just take it SLOW! And remember we are all here for you!

sparklehips

My weight is coming off very slowly too but what I notice is that my clothes feel a little better and I feel better. I am wondering if you can check in with your doctor about your fatigue? I went through a time of having endless fatigue and found out that I was anemic. My suggestion to you is not to quit this. It does give you hope for better health and I think a lot of our being down on ourselves is when we ARE NOT trying. Good luck to you and I say STAY IN!

Jenilein

I'm so sorry you are struggling! I totally feel your pain! I've been at it for almost 8 weeks and have actually GAINED weight. It hurts to work so hard and not get any measurable (i.e. weight loss) validation for it. My friends stress that I must focus on how I FEEL and use that for motivation.

They may be on to something for us here! Keep on with the healthy changes and lifestyle, but don't track the weight just yet. I'm on an 8-week weight-loss program at my job and the weekly weigh-ins have seemed to only validate that I'm some sort of weight-gaining freak. Ah yes, the scale is inaccruate. Brilliant! I've wanted to throw that 40year old 5-ft tall analog doctors' scale through the window many times (...can I write that down as "strength training"????) My last weigh in is this Friday and after that, I'll continue logging food on MFP and keeping up my exercise and training programs, but I'm not weighing myself for a very long time.

When I get frustrated like this, a part of me even fears that my body is incapable of loosing weight (age, damaged metabolism, bad genes, falling out of favor with the "Skinny Chick" Goddesses, etc. ) and I may need to resort to bariatric surgery, but I'm going to give myself a year of hard work trying to loose the weight "naturally" like other "normal" people before I make that decision.

I hope that in a year...or even months from now...you and I can have a different story to tell and can share our motivation of finally being rewarded for our hard work! For that to happen you CAN'T QUIT! We aren't finished writing our stories yet!

Mar14me

All of these posts are great motivators! Go one day, one hour, the next 5 min if you need. Sometimes I actually have to walk out of the kitchen to keep from grazing. Go brush your teeth, pluck eyebrows,walk, do SOMETHING to distract yourself from eating junk Always go exercise! I work late as a nurse many nights, but know if I just get up and go, I'll feel better in every way than if I sleep. Keep it up. I have 4 kids and look good and its all due to exercise!!

R_is_for_Rachel

thanks for all the replies, it's been helpful

i don't see this as a diet tho (ive never 'dieted' in my life), it is a lifestyle change -but change can be hard work. It's hard to not just shove food in your mouth sometimes-even if you don;t want it.
When i'm depressed or lethargic i want to eat to give me energy-which for me is sugary stuff like chocolate,etc
I've always eaten healthily, just too much plus the chocolate on top!
so MFP is there to help me reduce my portions and also stop me from eating sweets

but thanks for the support

dyannajoy

I encourage you not to quit. I obviously don't know your lifestyle, but may I make a suggestion? Can you carve out an hour some day just for you. Make an appointment for a massage. (no kidding!) Let them pamper you. Totally relax and let your mind drift away and let go of that stress. If this is not possible perhaps you can find 15 minutes or so to just sit quietly with your eyes closed and force yourself not to think about all you have to do. Make yourself relax.

It sounds to me like you just need to recharge your batteries. You need some "me" time. Just tell everyone you're in a time out and you can't come out and play right now. Your physical and mental health is at stake and you need to take care of YOU.

Please don't quit.

This.......take care of yourself. You cannot give from an empty cup and yours sounds completely empty and then some. I promise you if you will take care of you......and let others take care of themselves......it will all work out! Take GENTLE care of you TODAY dear. Hugs and much caring, Dyanna