Day 1 and struggling already :(

Javierho

Don't beat yourself up on the first day. It takes time. Just make today a little bit better than yesterday. Over time, you'll see what BIG changes you have made.

cateyes00

everything takes time. you have to remember that nothing happens over night. i am not with calorie counting at all. it will drive you crazy. i had started a weight loss journey back in 2009 my starting weight was 180, im only 5'2. my goal weight was 115 , i did make it down to 125, in that time period i never counted calories, i just ate small portions, very clean diet , and water water water and i exercised daily. i also work nights and have 2 kids. due to situations in my life i have gained back some weight,but i thought i would just give this a try, although what i was doing before was working. a CLEAN diet is the key. daily exercising is also very important.

emore4

Noooo!!!! this is totally fun! I sure hope you are not starving yourself You must eat your calories!!!! Do not skip meals. Eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. I love this program!!!

RadioactivePirate

My best advice after six months...

First, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Go slow. Seriously. It doesn't matter how fast you start out if you can't make it to the end that way. You're making a big life change, if you try to go super intense with it it's much more likely that you'll get burned out and fall apart. I started out just logging, and set my goal to something I could easily achieve (0.5 lbs per week). Eventually as I got better at eating healthy I tightened up the goal a little bit, but I still have it set to only about 0.8 pounds per week. I also waited several months after starting logging to start adding exercise. Everybody's different in what they can handle, but for me I have a rule that I don't take on anything I don't think I can keep up permanently. If your calories are so low that you're hungry and it's difficult for you to maintain the program, go for a slower weight loss. What's the rush? Thing is, almost everyone who loses a lot of weight gains it back, and I think that one of the primary reasons for that is they treat a diet like an isolated event, even if it's a long one. Whatever you are doing now, chances are you'll have to do it on a slightly less intense scale for the rest of your life, so keep that in mind when you make your choices.

And on top of that, don't beat yourself up over stuff. If you find you're hungry and you're out of calories for the day, eat a healthy snack and go over. SO WHAT? Heck if you're still under your maintenance calories, you're still doing good for the day anyway. Even if you go over your maintenance calories, well, you know what? That's how things go sometimes. It's not every day. It doesn't make you a failure or a bad person, and you don't deserve to feel guilty or weak because of it. Yeah if it happens all the time you may need to reevaluate whether your goals are reasonable, but if it's once in a while? Don't worry about it so much. Don't punish yourself by going hungry if you don't make your goal - making yourself miserable is counterproductive to being able to stay in for the long run. This may or may not even apply to you, I don't know your situation, but I know it helped me to remind myself of this, so I'm gonna put it out there just in case you or others might need to hear it.

ash190489

The first day/week is always the hardest!!!!! We were all in that boat! You just have to look at the reasons why you're doing this and what to achieve these goals and then ask yourself every time you go to put something in your mouth if it's worth it... will it help you to reach your goal? If not, put it down or only have a teeny tiny bit to get over the craving and throw the rest away.

In the first week I was craving sugar (predominately chocolate) like crazy. I asked my partner to hide the chocolates away in a place I wouldn't find them. He knew I was allowed two little squares of chocolate per day and he would give that to me for dessert. I am not going to lie... I raided our whole apartment looking for that after a couple of days! I even called him up and demanded he tell me! But he didn't and I am so thankful for that! I found a lot of my eating was stress related and then I joined a gym as well and went with my partner to learned to release my stress at the gym instead! Chocolate no longer needs to be hidden and I still eat it almost daily... just a teeny amount --- and I sometimes have 70 or 80% Cocoa dark chocolate instead! Much healthier & full of antioxidants.

You will soon learn alternative foods you can eat that are less calories but more filling and better for you... such as bread... I used to eat white bread... but I eventually swapped to multigrain 12 grains and seeds bread and found that it keeps me fuller for much longer && has way more nutrients in it (yes it is slightly higher in calories, but I figure if I am fuller for longer I won't be eating as often anyway). You will soon find and learn the little tricks that work for your own body.

A lot of people talk about 'clean eating' on here --- which is great but it doesn't work entirely for me. I also still have normal food... so if I am going over to a friends for a football and pizza night, I will still eat the pizza and join in, but I only have 2 slices instead of 5 or 6 and I allocate calories throughout the day for that! I think it's all about balance!!! You can't be perfect all the time... but don't cheat yourself and your goals... add all the calories into your diary and make healthy choices and changes where possible. We're all responsible for our own bodies --- treat it right!!!

Good luck!!!! You can do it!!!!

brjustice2000

Don't focus on weight, focus on inches. I started using MFP on 3-11-12 and have lost 1 3/4 inches of gut and 15 pounds as of 4-8-12. Don't just eat less, but exercise to include strength training (lift weights). My BP is down, blood glucose is down. I had hit a plateau before using MFP. This past week, I used the printable report to look at total sugars consumed and have gotten it down from over a hundred to 14 yesterday and 21 today. This isn't easy, most of us have years of getting too heavy, and it takes time and effort to work the fat off. I also use a body fat monitor to check my body fat percentage each week. I have had weeks where I gained weight but the body fat percentage decreased as well as the waist measurement. Again, don't focus on just the weight. Eat extra protein on the days you lift weights. I found a protein powder at Sams Club that doesn't have any cholesterol! Hang in there, good luck, and never ever give up.

1234terri

Wow, what great replies! I've been at this 6 months on MFP am making slow and steady progress, but learned new things in all of these posts, thanks for all the answers. I agree, you *can* do this!

-T