Help please - i need a lifestyle change NOT a diet!!!

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Hi all,

So i have ALWAYS been on a "diet"....i am most probably known as a yo-yo dieter. Up until i found MFP i had always done weight watchers. I had lost about 1 stone through the pro points plan and then i started to do clean eating and dropped another half a stone. However....I then had a 2 week holiday and completely lost it..binged on SO much food and the pre and post- holiday eating (about a week before i went away and 2 weeks after being back) has meaned I have ballooned in weight. I feel terrible, have no motivation and more than anything i am fed up of diets!!!

I work very long hours...i am up at 5am and home at 8pm so i struggle to keep going to be honest. I have tried to get back into preparing food and bringing it into work but to be honest the thought of tuna, green veg and sweet potato is not exciting me at all and makes me want to go and buy a sandwich!!!

Equally i eat my dinner on the way home otherwise i find it too late once i get home. However, cold turkey with green veg (i try and cut carbs in the evening) is not inspiring me either!!!

I am trying to cut out all processed food and cook from scratch but to be honest i find it SO hard. We live with my fiance's parents so share a kitchen with them and his brother and sister. the kitchen is always really busy and messy....so it's sooo hard to prepare anything in there.

I basically feel lost..i want to lose the weight again but i am sooo sick of being on a DIET....i need a lifestyle change. i have also read up SO much about clean eating that i am now thinking i shouldnt have ANYTHING processed...but again, is this realistic long term?!

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you xxx

FabMrFox

set small goals. baby steps. drastic changes may be faster but they lead to yoyo dieting and yoyo dieting leads to the dark side. give up soda. then next goal etc.

Kymmu

I changed my lifestyle after reading www.marksdailyapple.com
I guess you have to really want it!
good luck!

Hogscliffe

Lots of things to think about! Instead of tackling everything at once which could be too much, well it would be for me:) Try making a plan for the next couple of days, food plan and take it step by step. Don't be harsh on yourself if you haven't freshly prepared a meal, so long as you have the calories you can use mfp.
I've been doing mfp for 7 wks and the support is brilliant. Keep positive and think little steps:)

sarahcuddle

Was just going to say the same things to you as FabMrFox but he beat me to it I started off by walking more and cutting down on sweet stuff. Now I exercise like crazy (I love it) and cook from scratch most of the time. I still have the odd sweet treat too. Don't try to do everything at once, you will probably fail and then feel worse.

Start logging everything you eat
Do some exercise maybe 3 times a week
Target one thing to change each week and see if you can stick to it
If you fall off the wagon, don't give up. Tomorrow is another day

BernadetteChurch

I think wanting to completely cut out all processed foods when you're not really in a position to cook decent meals for yourself is a bit unrealistic and may not be something you can stick with long term.

I don't think there's anything wrong with processed food - within reason. I've cut back on junk food and packaged biscuits, etc. but see no need to cut out bread, for example. But I make sure I chose wholemeal or seeded so that a) it will be substantial and b) it will taste good and not bore me.

I think if you're trying to lose weight it's best to eat the way you like to eat, but by using MFP you might just find that you need to cut back on portion sizes or can only eat certain foods/meals a couple of times a week instead of every day. Having a varied diet will also help you not get bored and want to stop.

I see MFP as a lifestyle change and don't consider I'm on a diet at all.

nisha0612

I sought a change after reading the book Skinny *****... :P

pkw58

We have all been there. Working long hours with a long commute can be pretty demoralizing. So we all have to find ways to take better care of ourselves.

You can have a sandwich for lunch. I walk 20 minutes to a food court, eat for 20 minutes, walk back for 20 minutes. People lose weight eating sandwiches. I have a salad or asian food without rice or noodles...but to each his own!

Breakfast on the run for me is two hardboiled eggs. Yogurt for mid morning snack with an apple. Dinner is grilled protein and another yogurt and some non starchy veggies.

I take 10 minute walk breaks when I can at work. I schedule them so people don't schedule meetings on top of my breaks.

We all have been through it or are living it now. What I like about My Fitness Pal is that it is a great tool for ever improving fitness level, no matter where you are now in that journey or where you want to go.

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Wow thank you for all the replies guys!! Definitely a lot of good advice there..thank you! xxx

4theking

You are exactly right. Diet implies temporary change. This is for life. If you really want it, you will do it. As far as what you eat, you don't have to be all or nothing. I think this kind of thinking sabotages more people than anything else. You can do your 'clean' eating and still fit some junk in there if that is what you like. It's all about finding balance and doing something you can stick to forever. I love junkfood and I will never completely give it up but I will also reach my goals.

ChunkieNuts

I think wanting to completely cut out all processed foods when you're not really in a position to cook decent meals for yourself is a bit unrealistic and may not be something you can stick with long term.

I don't think there's anything wrong with processed food - within reason. I've cut back on junk food and packaged biscuits, etc. but see no need to cut out bread, for example. But I make sure I chose wholemeal or seeded so that a) it will be substantial and b) it will taste good and not bore me.

I think if you're trying to lose weight it's best to eat the way you like to eat, but by using MFP you might just find that you need to cut back on portion sizes or can only eat certain foods/meals a couple of times a week instead of every day. Having a varied diet will also help you not get bored and want to stop.

I see MFP as a lifestyle change and don't consider I'm on a diet at all.

such a good answer i totally agree with this......

hello50s

I feel your pain. I think what I have found works for me (and I've always been up and down in weight like you) is to do everything in moderation. Trying to cut out all of something usually backfires, as it leaves you feeling deprived and then you end up going off completely.

I never say I can't have something. I have one day a week where I don't count calories or 'watch' what I eat. I still log what I eat, but I have found that as I do this each week, I am not eating as much on those days. That way, if I want to eat something really badly, I wait until that day. I usually do a friday or a saturday, as those are the days I'm more tempted with foods, and I weigh in Friday morning. I have lost consistently about a 1lb a week doing this, and I have a desk job/commute 2 hours a day so I sit a lot! This seems to work for me. Also, if I want something that day, I just account for it.

Eating foods that are very filling are helpful too. I eat hard boiled eggs. Once I eat one, I am full for a few hours. Salads are great if you can add some items that are filling (chicken, cheese, eggs, berries, etc) and that satisfy the hunger.

Change your life slowly - this is not a diet, you are right. If you think that way, there is an end to eating a certain way, and that never works. Just integrate better eating habits and the weight will come off.

loveskinny27

Read the post & I agree Small changes.& make sure they are changes that are acheiveable. then next week maka another change. you dont have to be drastic as you are setting yourself up to fail!! thats how yoyo dieting works - i have been a yoyo dieter since i was 16!! and i have been on an up and down weigh rollercoaster up until i started MFP! i have been on every diet under the sun or tried it and most have worked but then they are so strict that you fall off the wagon and pile back on what you have lost and sometimes more.... I personally think that the clean eating sounds marvelous but very restrictive and easy to break - find your own version of clean eating. your obviously cutting calories and counting. your cutting carbs of an evening so thats good just stick at what your doing but if there is an easier option - like having a sandwich in the day but choose wholegrqrain granary or seeded batch, skip butter choose extra light mayo a non processed fillling and some leafy salad, snack on fruit and lowfat youghurts. and allow yourself the occcasional treat if you wan chocolate have a small kiddie size bar, a highlights hot choc (only 40 cals) regarding the kitchen could you prep some meals in advance and store in the fridge in containers or freeze? things like soup - chilli - caserole - rattatoule? try spicing boring meals up with a sauce or adding herbs seasoning when cooking. these little steps will make a big difference. I think you have to be very diciplned and strict with yourself and comit to clean eating I myself doubt i would be able to do with a busy lifestyle. hope you can get back on track xx :drinker:

loveskinny27

I feel your pain. I think what I have found works for me (and I've always been up and down in weight like you) is to do everything in moderation. Trying to cut out all of something usually backfires, as it leaves you feeling deprived and then you end up going off completely.

I never say I can't have something. I have one day a week where I don't count calories or 'watch' what I eat. I still log what I eat, but I have found that as I do this each week, I am not eating as much on those days. That way, if I want to eat something really badly, I wait until that day. I usually do a friday or a saturday, as those are the days I'm more tempted with foods, and I weigh in Friday morning. I have lost consistently about a 1lb a week doing this, and I have a desk job/commute 2 hours a day so I sit a lot! This seems to work for me. Also, if I want something that day, I just account for it.

Eating foods that are very filling are helpful too. I eat hard boiled eggs. Once I eat one, I am full for a few hours. Salads are great if you can add some items that are filling (chicken, cheese, eggs, berries, etc) and that satisfy the hunger.

Change your life slowly - this is not a diet, you are right. If you think that way, there is an end to eating a certain way, and that never works. Just integrate better eating habits and the weight will come off.

what a fabulous reply - i lost consistently when i was having a "day off" on a saturday

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Thank you!! xxx

Maldivesbeachbodplease

Definitely food for thought in these replies..thank you xxx