help losing interest

ukgray

I am begining to get bored with counting calories before every meal , sometimes I just want to pick something up and eat it !
I do miss that .
I seem to be stuck weight wise slightly more this week than last ,or maybe its the scales MMMMmmmm ? that's the first time its gone up Sigh !
Yes I admit to having a few more beers than normal but it was a holiday weekend ,
There as to be more to life than this.................. help I need motivation

_hi_hat3r_

Motivation? Sounds to me like you're falling back into old habits. Its simple...either you want to lose the weight or you don't. Motivation comes from within you not on a message board.

wrat5

Put the reason you wanted to lose weight in the forefront of your mind. If you like to cook then use this as an opportunity to experiment with new foods & new recipes. You don't have to give up favorite foods...just make a healthier version of it. Stay strong & don't give up.

Diane_SK

Please stay with it!! think of how far you've come. To be honest...sometimes I have a binge, just because I used to binge everyday and yep, I still have that impulse... No matter what, I keep working on it as soon as I can return. I know I am doing so much better than I was last year at this time.
I have only joined this site/app two days ago, but have been counting calories since Feb.

hongruss

Motivation? Sounds to me like you're falling back into old habits. Its simple...either you want to lose the weight or you don't. Motivation comes from within you not on a message board.

I sadly have to agree BUT why not allow yourself a meal or day off from counting & see what happens?

Russ

lizzynewm

Motivation? Sounds to me like you're falling back into old habits. Its simple...either you want to lose the weight or you don't. Motivation comes from within you not on a message board.

pffffhaha, so helpful. support and pushing from others can certainly help to reignite the flame of motivation within, at least.


remember your goal! and always treat yourself from time to time. pick something up and eat it with reckless abandon every so often - as long as it's not how you eat regularly, you'll be fine. find fitness/health blogs or books, go to the gym more and ogle at the fit people, add more friends here, look back at the progress you've already made - or whatever! do what it takes to keep your eyes on the prize. you know you'll be thankful in the long run!

Diane_SK

Disagree with last poster...don't feel you have to 'do it alone'... That is the best thing about message boards...the good, the bad, the ugly...truth of what we are facing. Maybe some people can always pull themselves up by their own boot straps...the rest of us can step out in courage and humility and ask for support if we need it. I am most thrilled by the honesty...you are trying to keep going...Way to go!!

shellsie_j

My trick is to do my diary in the morning. Then I know exactly what I have to eat/drink for the day and I don't have to think about it all of the time. If you want a beer then allow for it but not to the expense of healthy food. Yes, you will have to break old habits and this will be hard and will take a while, but not forever. And then before you know it you are doing everything right and losing weight and getting healthy. Everyone that is giving you advice is telling you from experience. It's in your mind and that is what needs to change. This is not easy, but it will get easier and the rewards are great. My last words are, treat it one day at a time and you'll get there you just have to be strong and believe in yourself.

RedefiningMe

I know the frustration of wanting something else more than wanting to accomplish my goal...even when it is not a conscious choice. I have had those kind of days for the past 3 days and all I can do is say tomorrow I get to start over.

I agree with the above sentiments, I have to want this for me and it has to come from within me or else I will always backtrack once the external motivaiton factor is gone.

Kaiser Permenante has a great commercial regarding motivation and it basically provides some solid advice, but still ends with the message that it is an inward commitment. Check it out at...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV4gfuxJEqs&feature=relmfu

notnormallyacaloriecounter

for me, personally, counting and considering my calories has become habit, even on days when i just say f!ck it. for the most part i do eat what i want, i just make sure I'm eating just ONE portion, which honestly, portion control, i think, is what gets most of us. eat only when you're hungry, i always stop and listen to my body when i WANT to eat, to see if I'm actually hungry. you can do it. stick with it, and it will be worth it.

cdpm

It is hard to break the old habits of ' I want to eat this because I can' especially if you have started to plateau or aren't losing as quickly.
As tough as it sounds you need to keep on at it. You are more likely to say to yourself that you regret the extra beers when the scales don't move more than if you know you did every right choice that you could have done to move closer to your goals.

You can power through and feel better at the end of it!

vjohn82

I am begining to get bored with counting calories before every meal , sometimes I just want to pick something up and eat it !
I do miss that .
I seem to be stuck weight wise slightly more this week than last ,or maybe its the scales MMMMmmmm ? that's the first time its gone up Sigh !
Yes I admit to having a few more beers than normal but it was a holiday weekend ,
There as to be more to life than this.................. help I need motivation

Do strength training and eat whatever you want. Check out people like Donny Thompson, Jim Wendler... these guys are big but muscular. And they eat the kitchen sink every day. But they train hard too.

hailzp

Just say to yourself: Losing weight is more important to me that picking at food. I need to control this habit in order to lose weight. Do I want to nit pick or do I want to be thinner?

I do this with every sabotaging thought and write it in a little book. What would you rather do?

munkey418

I also do my diary in the morning. i have a couple safe breakfasts and lunchs i know that i alternate, pack one, head to work, fill out diary and take it easy the rest of the day! if I have food i know i shouldnt (yesterday it was a BK meal) then i add extra cardio to buy myself more calories for the day. So i can still enjoy the taste i love but still get the results i want. I know if the past when ive totally cut myself off from foods i enjoy i always failed so now im learning how to work them in every once in awhile as a treat, or as a previous poster stated im finding healthier ways to make food i love! Ive got lots more tips but dont wan to over load the thread, message me if youre interested in any of them!

eig6

My trick is to do my diary in the morning. Then I know exactly what I have to eat/drink for the day and I don't have to think about it all of the time. If you want a beer then allow for it but not to the expense of healthy food. Yes, you will have to break old habits and this will be hard and will take a while, but not forever. And then before you know it you are doing everything right and losing weight and getting healthy. Everyone that is giving you advice is telling you from experience. It's in your mind and that is what needs to change. This is not easy, but it will get easier and the rewards are great. My last words are, treat it one day at a time and you'll get there you just have to be strong and believe in yourself.

Totally agree with all of this! I also count my calories in the morning or even the night before. It helps me stay on track for my target ratio of carbs/protein/fat too, because I can see if my day is going to be high or low in something before I eat it.

Also, I find weight loss centered media really motivating. I love the podcasts from fat2fit.com, I listen to them while I workout to keep me going, or when Im walking from class to class instead of taking the bus. It reminds me of why I do it. I also watch supersize vs superskinny (on youtube) because it focuses on the ill affects of not taking care of your body. Lastly, I used to watch shows like "I used to be fat" and "Extreme Makeover" but take those with a grain of salt and remember you cant lose weight that fast on your own while living a maintainable lifestyle.

Also, dont forget, you can do this!

M155AUS

You need to remotivate yourself, it's usually that you have lost sight of what you have already achieved and forget that you have got there by making some changes. I am the worst for that! I have been trying weight watchers for a few months, which is why I haven't logged in, but I found it expensive and they don't have apps for anything that isn't apple related. So I am back on here to give it another shot. I am more motivated with my exercise and I just have to remember that putting in the 'boring' hard yards does make the difference.

I went to a talk on how to keep up motivation and they said it is all about creating a habit and to do that takes around 3 months. A guy at work is on a diet here and he said after so long (around 5 months) he has got used to the 'boring' foods etc. He's doing it the hard way and cutting out carbs, I could never do that, but it goes to show, you do get used to it.

One of the things that helps me is the app on this, I can log on anytime and track exercise, food etc. So give it a shot and see how you get on.

But essentially everyone is right, you need to want to do it, not just have it done for you. So find whatever motivates you (old/new clothes etc) and get cracking! Good luck.

Umeboshi

Weight loss really isn't for everyone.
If you truly want it, you'll find your motivation.

WaterBunnie

Come on UKGray. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and make a fresh start and burn extra calories to pay for the treats you'd like!

Besides... it's still too cold here in the UK to be sat around!

hanniejong

Put the reason you wanted to lose weight in the forefront of your mind. If you like to cook then use this as an opportunity to experiment with new foods & new recipes. You don't have to give up favorite foods...just make a healthier version of it. Stay strong & don't give up.

I agree with this one. Also here is a site for recipe books and recipes that are awesome, the lady who wrote these lost an awesome amount of wqeight with these recipes.

http://www.symplytoogood.com.au/books/symply-too-good-books-1-2-3-4-5-6

paulwgun

I had a weekend on the beer polished off with an Indian takeaway, yes it was a weak moment and my scale has gone up a few pounds this morning
I was up early but failed to go to the gym, have had 2 coffees and a yoghurt this morning and am now reading posts on here to get my head back in the zone
After work its gym time and I'm going to try the free weights today

Look at it as a blip and its back to the drawing board you've lost a lot already so dust yourself down and get back on track :bigsmile:

ukgray

Come on UKGray. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and make a fresh start and burn extra calories to pay for the treats you'd like!

Besides... it's still too cold here in the UK to be sat around!

Yeah your right (Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and make a fresh start )
Lets go for it )

Also I like the Idea to work out your diary the night before and also the Idea of learning to cook better meals just need to find some recipies now

MisterTEZ

and besides ukgray, I don't want to lose a good friend from MFP, you have been an encouragement to us and lets us give you that back in return

ukgray

AWW ......... a big THANK YOU )

marasw

I've been feeling like that too recently. "This sucks, I want to just eat something and not worry about whether it's good for me or fits in my calories...like I used to!" Then I found my old student ID and realized how fat I was when I ate "like I used to". Guess there's no turning back.

alumpoflard

I quite like counting the calories, makes me feel in control. Do you have any clothes that have gotten to big? If so, do you want to go back there? Think of it like going to work, it's got to be done if you want the pay. The pay in this case being a healthier, more active life. Got to be worth getting a bit bored for! I'm off out to eat tonight ( the harvester) for the first time since I started this. The calories for my dinner have been in my diary for several days!

Good luck, I hope you have renewed enthusiasm after reading everyone's posts x

sel254

I went a bit AWOL with my logging and food intake recently but then I weighed and had put on 2lbs in a week. That was all the motivation I needed to kick start my journey again as I didn't want to end up gaining all of the 19lbs I'd lost. So I started again last week and have already dropped those 2 and an extra 1lb for good measure Sometimes all you need is a break from the counting calories to just enjoy the foods you love so you can go back into it with a renewed energy Good luck!

fatpaddler1

I lose interest every FRI/SAT after I have been out for a drink still do the gym on a friday though before I have a drink personally dont bother with counting calories just make sure I eat healthy plenty veg fruit etc this has been ok for me over the last four months 17,10 to 15,4. far to much emphasis on calorie counting, in my humble opinion excercise and healthy food is all you need and do it at your own pace

shannairl

I am begining to get bored with counting calories before every meal , sometimes I just want to pick something up and eat it !
I do miss that .
I seem to be stuck weight wise slightly more this week than last ,or maybe its the scales MMMMmmmm ? that's the first time its gone up Sigh !
Yes I admit to having a few more beers than normal but it was a holiday weekend ,
There as to be more to life than this.................. help I need motivation

I've been there. I lost 39lbs, slowly started to creep back into bad habits, thought "I've done well, I can't do much damage" - and now I'm back at the weight I was last November after working my butt off for months and being strict all over Christmas. I gained 10lbs back within the space of a few months - you really need to sit down and have a chat with yourself. Pick something up and eat it, if that's what you want, but you know what's good for you and what isn't. I had a couple of beers this weekend too, did I track them? Hell no. Because I know I didn't go overboard and it's not something I do every week. We're all allowed a day off, just be careful that your day off doesn't turn into weeks like me. It's so disheartening to think of all the walks, calorie-counting, points-watching, exercise I did and I threw it all away. The annoyance of that is much, much greater than the annoyance of having to watch what you eat. I'm now 6lbs down thanks to MFP but I still have those 4lbs to lose to get back to where I was 6 months ago. It's far more annoying than having to count calories.

I've said the same words - "there has to be more to life than this" - but flip that around. You do this now, get into the habit of doing it, and change your habits. Instead of saying that, say "I'm doing this for a better life." It is SO worth it, believe me. I had absolutely no idea how big I'd gotten and when I look back at the way I used to eat I feel physically sick. There wasn't a day that I wouldn't clear 2,500 - 3,000 calories easy.

Please don't be disheartened - if I can change my attitude, believe me, anyone can. I literally cried at the thoughts of walking, I ate so much salad that I never want to see a lettuce again, I drank so much water that I was as well camp out in the bathroom, I sweated, I ranted, I ached, I thought I was getting nowhere, thought "**** it, it's not making a difference" - until I found my old driving licence a few weeks ago. Compare that to my current passport and you can see why it's not worth throwing in the towel. As bad as it is to feel like you're stuck, imagine how bad it would be to waste all your good work and go back to the very start?



I still have a long way to go, but we are all here to support each other and YOU CAN DO IT. Do it for yourself.

And don't beat yourself up about the beers!! Don't let it ruin your entire day. Don't let one day ruin your week. Don't let one week ruin your month. See where I'm going with this? We're all human. You want something? Have it. Just don't have ten of it, every day. GOOD LUCK.

debbysatit

How about making a list of go to food or meals and have there calorie count. Post near frig. And then when you want to grab something without thinking you can check your list and eat what hits you and have calories ready and available. Also put the list on my meals for quick tracking. Good luck!

Qatsi

Losing 10 kg is no small accomplishment, and it couldn't have been done if you didn't feel a sense of commitment to your goal.

In the past, I would tell myself I would lose the weight when I decided I wanted it badly enough. In retrospect, that was just me making excuses to give up trying. If I could, I'd travel back in time and kick myself in the rear for not doing this years ago.

I've been at this for a few months now, and it hasn't always been a smooth ride. But I'm glad I've stuck it out, and I'm more committed now to seeing this through than I ever have.

Feel free to add me as a friend!

amnsetie

Go back in your diary and find your favourite meals.
Use quick tools to save as favourites
Then you can add whole meals with just a couple of clicks.