Struggling since Christmas.

emzilee

So I started MFP in September when I came back to university. I joined the gym / pool and from late September - December I swam 3 or 4 times per week and ate 1200 calories per day. I lost 14kg in those 3 months.

Then from around the second week of December things started going a bit wrong - I was eating out a lot, eating a lot of takeaway food but still swimming and I still kept losing.

Then there was Christmas. And New Year. And over Christmas I was at home so didn't have access to the gym or pool.

I came back to university at the beginning of January and got back into an exercise routine but because it was exam period I was snacking and stress eating, and struggling to keep my calories down so I bumped my limit up to 1400 but I was still eating a lot of crap - chocolate and other snacks (though I did develop a liking for oranges too!).

I decided to do C25K so instead of swimming 3 or 4 times, I now gym instead (usually 40 minutes treadmill, 20 minutes bike) but I'm just struggling so much with food - it's just so easy to buy takeaway food and though I try to kid myself that I'm making good choices (bhuna instead of korma, chow mein instead of lemon chicken), I KNOW I'm eating badly. And I've got back into the habit of buying sweets and snacks as "extras" when I food shop, then I just sit and demolish the entire bag in one sitting.

So since Christmas I've lost barely 3kg. And I'm starting to lose hope and motivation. Whereas usually I'd have gotten up and gone to the gym at 7am this morning, instead I just stayed in bed.

I thought I'd make my end-goal by graduation (July) but now I'll be lucky to even make my mid-goal (I'm still 13kg away). I can't believe that I'm still so obese (BMI-speaking) after so much sweat!

I think I just need some motivation and advice. Maybe new exercise ideas?! Or meal plans?

JesterMFP

Well, it sounds like you already have the motivation, now you just need the determination to actually do it.

I am not a fan of being unnecessarily restrictive with food, and I never completely cut any foods out of my diet. However, you do need to make some compromises, and from what you've said, it sounds like the obvious places to start would be to stop having takeaways, and to stop buying those "extras" to snack on. Takeaways are not evil, and they can be worked into a balanced diet, however they can really destroy your calorie allowance, especially when you are still struggling to get a handle on it all. It is also quite difficult to know exactly how many calories you are consuming, unless you can get nutritional info from the place you get them from. Yes, it's "easy" to buy takeaways, but right now, buying them is not helping you achieve your goals. I have a takeaway maybe every few weeks, and when I do, I'm very conscious that it will be a large amount of calories, so I work around it with the rest of my food that day, and exercise. Other people may have that kind of food once a week, or even more often, but you have to be able to work around it.

Same with the sweets. You don't have to cut them out completely, but if buying a big bag of them means that you can't stop yourself from eating the whole bag, and exceeding your calorie goal, then stop buying them! I have chocolate nearly every day, and did the whole time I was losing, but it was always a small enough portion to fit into my goals. If, for the time being, you can't keep it in the house without overeating, then don't keep it in the house.

The most important thing is try to weigh/measure all your food and log it accurately, and that's a lot harder to do when you are eating lots of takeaways or restaurant food.

As for exercise - try and find something you really enjoy doing. Something that will get you out of bed to do, even if you haven't lost anything for a couple of weeks. Make it about getting fitter and healthier, and improving at that particular exercise, or sport, so that you are motivated to do it for its own sake, not just to lose weight.

To keep you motivated, I've always liked this quote:

Losing weight is hard
Maintaining weight is hard
Being fat is hard
Choose your hard.

Losing weight is hard, and it doesn't get much easier when you reach your goal. You still have to put the effort in. That's why people always go on about it being a "lifestyle change". If you're going to do this, you've got to be in it for the long haul. You don't have to make huge, radical changes and only eat grilled chicken and steamed broccoli for the rest of your life. But, if you're going to be successful, the changes you do make need to be ones that you can stick with long-term. When things become habits, you will be less likely to give them up when you get discouraged about your weight.

Xiaolongbao

Losing 3kg since Christmas actually isn't terrible progress. Given how badly you say you've been eating you must also be doing something right.

Why don't you kickstart yourself with one definite commitment. Maybe takeaway no more than once a week. Then find someone to 'supervise' either someone on here who you can check in daily/weekly with or someone in real life. If you want to be super serious put some money on the line (check out www.stickk.com I've used that before to break bad habits.

My only caveat would be to say that you must pick someone who really will hold you accountable and not let you make excuses.

emzilee

Thanks for the replies.

And that quote is so true. And if weight loss was easy, we'd all have perfect bodies, right?

I'm enjoying the challenge of learning to run - I've never been able to, and so even getting up to running for 7 minutes solidly feels great! I'm planning on running a 5K in June too (and another in July if that goes well).

I made an effort NOT to buy sweets and things today at the supermarket (even though they're all on offer - arrghhh!) and will be gymming it up as usual tomorrow.

It's just so disheartening to get on that scale and see the same / a higher number.

Serah87

Maybe you need to eat more....try this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013 Good luck. :flowerforyou: