Why is it SOOO hard to stay on track????

Natihilator

Thanks! I think I must have adult ADD! LOL! I get bored and ready to give up too soon!! I did not get this way overnight, and I keep trying to remind myself that I will not get fit overnight! My trainer said if "you have a bad day... that day is gone and start fresh tomorrow!"
I guess I am just stressing that vacation is in 31 days and I wanted to be at a certain point and I feel like I will never get there!!

A word of advice from experience: don't datestamp your weightloss goals, it could set you up for disappointment and frustration. Your body doesn't work on a schedule, and having a goal to lose weight by a certain date doesn't allow for the slip-ups and bumps along the way. It's better to have ability goals (run for 20 minutes straight) or clothing goals - take a dress or pair of pants that are a little bit too small for you right now, and try them on every week, let them motivate you by vowing to fit into them before summer, WEAR them when you are tempted to slack off or eat something you shouldnt.

Good luck!

sammniamii

You've spent your whole life eating as you were, it takes time for anything new to become second nature. Plus the harder you push, sometimes the hard it fights back. Things like changing your lifestyle ) what you eat, how you eat and learning new habit, plus starting physical activity) takes time to become habit, in the beginning it's hard - people are creatures of habit. Instinctivly, you don't want what's hard & takes alot of change or effort, plus if you don't remember to just go with the flow, go eat that cake or chocolate, take a day off from the gym, spend a day at the spa taking care of you over everyone else, it can start to feel like a punishment and you'll not want to keep it up and make your changes.

So relax, calm down, keep going at it and stop fighting to stay so "true" to the diet, live a little (within reason) and think of this as a lifestyle change that in 5 years time (hopefully a lot less time - lol) will be second nature AND you'll wonder why you didn't start eariler.

kyle4jem

I've followed every DIET... well a good fair few in my time... and the main thing I found is like you I got bored of following a regime that didn't really fit into my life. I spent the best part of 10 years yo-yo-ing.

Then I discovered MFP. Ok, so it's not a miraculous magic formula, but what I found here was I was eating ok... just WAY TOO MUCH.

I'd a good idea of what you need to do to follow a calorie-controlled food plan, but I'd no idea of the calorie content of the food I was eating nor of the portion sizes. After a week of "normal" eating I was horrified as how much I was eating without thinking about it - and that was excluding the chocolate, biscuits and other treats I used to enjoy (which I'd given up temporarily as a pledge to a friend to do without for 8 weeks before we went to our friends' wedding).

Thanks to MFP I've gained a better understanding of calorie consumption, as well as the ability to accurately log what I eat. I started to plan meals, cut out snacking between meals, and most importantly found foods I enjoy that fit into my calorie goals, but don't leave me feeling like I'm missing out. This helped silence the cravings that I used to get when following other proscribed DIETS.

Next, I discovered the pleasure of exercise. I had my newly acquired push bike and I started going out for bike rides. Then as winter approached, I joined a gym, not to workout on the machines, but because they had a pool. I reawakened my love of swimming and the buzz I got from swimming was fantastic. I went from being able to barely manage swimming 20 lengths to swimming 50, then 100 and last weekend I swam 5km (200 x 25m) for a charity Swimathon.

What keeps me on track. Looking at my fat pictures and thinking I don't want to be that size ever again. Looking in the mirror and seeing my flabby belly and moobs and wanting to get rid of them so that I look as good naked as I do clothed. And clothed now I feel fantastic. I've lost 10" from my belly and can shop in regular stores. I'm now an L and the XXXs are a thing of the past. I feel fantastic and I never tire of the compliments I get from family and friends and colleagues.

But I want to be an M, so I shall continue eating well, swimming, cycling, walking and enjoying life :happy:

Because if you don't enjoy life, it will seem like a chore and you will be more inclined to give up.

So, if you're still with me... don't give up... find the foods you love and build them into your calorie goals... find exercise that you actually enjoy doing rather than feel you have to do... and learn to love life again. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

fitforlife34

Have you tried planning your meals a day ahead? It's a good way to make sure you stick to them and never fall off.

This is a great idea~ I'm the kind of person that needs structure, that's why I love htis site, it gives you that structure and stabiltlty. Thanks for the reminder to all of us.

YummyTpn

BUMP

em9371

what is your loss goal set to?
based on what you have to lose it should be 1-1.5lbs. If you have done what most people do and gone for 2 as you want to lose as fast as possible, the deficit will be too high for you which makes you feel deprived and its very hard to stick to long term.

By going with a smaller deficit and slower loss, it is more of a permanent lifestyle change than a quick fix diet, and it makes it a hell of a lot easier. Ive been up and down between 150-250lbs for the last 15 years on low cal 'diets', and every time the weight goes back on. This is the first time EVER I have actually felt like I am in control of my eating and I could keep it up forever :-)

Planning meals out the day before is a huge help - choose the largest meal first (usually dinner), see what macros you have left and then add other meals and snacks to suit - eg if i am having pasta for tea i know that is high in carbs, so i wouldnt have bread with lunch, you soon learn which combinations of meals work best to suit your goals.