Am new and have absolutely no will power...help!!!

violetsue

Planning ahead is definitely key.

Shop smart.
Keep plenty of low cal snacks around so if you get a craving, you won't rack up a bunch of unhealthy calories.

Hang in there. It's hard for all of us.

cloud2011

Try to let go of the idea of willpower for now. Change one thing at a time. If you eat an unhealthy (or no) breakfast, then make it over until you have a good one that's nutritious and satisfying. It will help you the rest of the day.

Or if it's easier to start drinking water and tracking that, do that.

Don't take on too much at once. It's easier to incorporate new habits for a brief period than to give up all of your "bad" habits while trying to be "good."

So many people start with good intentions and overdo it, then end up giving up. Try to make small changes at first, see if it makes a difference.

Best of luck!

bellygoaway

First of all, stop trying to diet. You have to change your life style. For me, seeing the calorie total go up as I ate provided me the mental "ammo" to shut my mouth before putting more food in it. I am not trying to diet, I am trying to change the way I look at eating. Even if you don't "exercise" start taking short walks of 5 minutes or so to start. I try to spend at least 20 minutes of my lunch hour walking a few times a week.

If I can loose 9 pounds in under 4 weeks, so can you.

Good luck, & God speed!

vade43113

try this... create a list of all the reasons you don't want to fail again. and all the reasons you want to succeed.

when you got those two lists up, place a goal.... keep it simple, like lose five pounds, or walk a mile for five days.

when you succeed on a goal, celebrate with something non food related. equal too the work it took to complete the goal Go out to a movie, Dancing, buy a pair of jeans you like. Play put put golf... anything, the sky is the limit

cass0702

I can understand that. I have always fallen off of the wagon as well. Here's my tips:

1. Make it a numbers game and treat your calories like cash. I have taken all emotion out of the equation and have basically said It 'doesn't matter how much i want it, if I can't afford it then I can't have it, it's THAT simple. Let MFP keep you accountable and be proud of yourself when you come in under your calories. If you do exceed them either do some exercise or skim off a few calories over the next few days to balance it.

2. Check your calories BEFORE you eat something. I ate a vegetarian pastry at a party the other day thinking it would be a better choice than party pies and sausage rolls. When I went to log it on my phone (if you can use the phone app, you can log anywhere, anytime!) it was 380 calories! That's a whole meals worth in one pastry! I nearly cried but it made me aware of what I was eating and if I hadn't been making myself accountable I could have easily eaten over a days worth of calories in pastry! It turned me off majorly knowing how many calories I had just wasted on one product!

3. Save up your calories if you have an event coming up. I have a bridal shower today that I am going to so yesterday I saved myself about 300 cals in credit so I could use it today which means I can indulge a little more. Also at the other party I went to with the pastry I also ate one large cupcake but the difference was that I had already looked at all the desserts and picked one thing that I wanted the most and then allowed the calories for it. I didn't feel deprived at all and came home feeling much better than if I had pigged out. You also tend to appreciate the treats a lot more rather than just if you were just scoffing junk and hardly tasting it.

4. Drink lots of water!

5. Don't let yourself get starving because that's when you will crave high fat and high sugar products. Keep your body satisfied and the cravings will greatly reduce.

6. I like to remind myself of this saying..... 'In a years time, you'll have wished you started today.' A year will pass whether we lose our weight or not but it's not a long time and will come around quicker than we think!

7. Take pride in updating your ticker. I'm stoked to see mine slowly moving down towards my goal weight. I have a long way to go but it's so exciting!

You will find that there's no magic way to stop the cravings or temptations you simply have to ride out that short time where you really want it but for me treating it like cash has been the major game changer. We eat the crap to fill an emotional need.. take the emotion out and it becomes a lot easier. You will also find that you will want to get value for money and after a while you will want to choose lower cal options and will crave less junk. It's just about spending wisely the same way you'd budget your paycheck. Good luck!

Petskies101

yep its hard but you can do it.... the first day i joined MFP I logged every bit of junk I ate and I mean everything I then started calorie counting the next day. when I feel like I my will power is lacking I compare day 1 to day 2 and see how much more food I can actually eat rather then a bunch of empty calories..

mslfocused

Any idea WHY you have no will power. I am in the same boat too but I am an emotional eater and when my life does downhill, I find myself engaging in mindless eating.....I can graze and pop anything in my mouth and don't even recognize that I have done it until the deed is done.
I am finding that brushing my teeth is helping me and if i can't do that, chew gum....anything to stop to popping the bad stuff in your mouth.
Give it a try.....can't hurt.
And be prepared to write EVERYTHING you eat down....it can be a spoonful of peanut butter from the jar, count it....I find if I do that, the calories add up fast..seeing the calories disappear quickly can stop you fast too!
Don't give up...we've all done that before. Not worth it!