Three Strikes and I'm Out
Replies
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I really want to exercise, but life gets in the way sometimes and then I end up getting so discouraged.
A piece of advise from Chalene Johnson to live by IF a healthier you is your goal.
You have to schedule time for your workout and make it non-negotiable like anything else that is important in your life. :flowerforyou:
This also0 -
One day at a time. Take care of today, and tomorrow will work out. Yesterday does not matter any longer.0
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We all struggle. I would suggest not allowing a cheat meal until you have stuck to at least 21 days of eating clean and healthy, exercising, and logging it all. Make sure even though you are eating clean and healthy except for one meal a week (once you feel like you can handle that, at least 21 days). You should not be starving yourself, keep in mind eating to little is as bad as eating to much. You are back on here and know what you need to do so just DO IT! I know you can! Make sure to exercise on the day of your cheat meal dont make it a rest day too.0
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OK this may be a little rough but get over it! Put a real picture up so you can see your progress....get your exercise in and that like someone said before me, this is non negotiable....you say you have a wonderful husband then get his *kitten* to help you! Want more? Add some of us as friends and watch us fail every now and then! As one person told me this is not a diet this is a life change so change it! (Oh BTW I learned all this from MFP friends!)
Add me if you want but read my disclaimer.....this is real life not a cartoon!
Marcello0 -
Very true! Put exercise on your calendar/to do list just like any other appointment!0
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Exercise will certainly help you tone and allow you to burn more calories but it isn't the be all and end all.
I'm having great joy with eating 5 meals per day - I think of my favorite ingredients (healthy ones - not beer
) and make up a recipe with them. I make sure to add plenty of green veg and to use no sugar or fat in the cooking. Then I divide it down into the number of portions I need to to make it hit 300 to 350 calories per meal. I split it and put them in the fridge or freezer and have one of these 5 times each day. It's great! feels like I'm always eating and I'm hardly ever hungry.
If you want to lose weight by dieting alone I think the trick is not to starve yourself. If you're hungry you'll be tired and then you cheat. Put in a little effort to prepare meals in advance and it makes it much easier. I know that when I'm hungry and cooking I snack a lot from the fridge and before you know it there's an extra 200 calories...0 -
Yes, some fantastic advice here...start small, log...and maybe set a walking goal. That is what I did...I set a goal of walking everyday on my treadmill for 20 minutes...everyone has 20 minutes..it wasn't always my best effort, life is tiring..but I did it. And that made me feel good, so I upped it...then I met that goal. Soon little victories build into big victories. Build on that. Remember one failure isn't a license to give up and do whatever. We ALL fail, we ALL eat the cake instead of the lettuce at times. Remember that 6 months will come, no matter what, would you rather be a little healthier, weight less in 6 months? Small steps lead to lifestyle changes, not grand gestures.
:flowerforyou:0 -
One day at a time. Take care of today, and tomorrow will work out. Yesterday does not matter any longer.0
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Take it easy, deep breaths...
Start small. For right now just track your food. You don't need to restock your 'fridge with spinach and join the gym and buy workout clothes... just log what you eat. Good or bad. See just what it is you're doing to yourself on a regular basis.
After that you'll be armed with the knowledge of what you've been doing to your body, that alone can inspire you to make the change for good, and the right way.
So keep it simple, just log. Think you can manage that for now?
THIS!!! Do this!!!! Then make little changes one by one.
My history on here is very similar to yours and it can be a struggle not to beat myself up over it. Typically I start out doing it all by the "book" netting 1200 and exercising to get fit and earn more calories. The problem I have had in the past is working out 6 days a week and forcing myself to take 1 day off. I feel like a failure on that day which I know is REALLY silly. Then I end up getting a cold or the flu and miss a whole week and eat over my calories.... this takes the wind out of my sails and sets me up for failure. I'm trying a new approach this time. I upped my net cal to 1300 (hoping to up it again soon) and I am following c25k which only has me exercising 3 days a week (up from 0 days per week while I was off the wagon so to speak) but because the program is set for 3 days I get over my mind issues about the other 4 days that I don't work out. At this time, I am not doing the exercise for weight loss but a fitness goal instead. I've always liked to run 5k races but this year I am training for a half in Sept. I know that I can't rush my training in the beginning if I expect o succeed in the long run. The point I am trying to get across is this: Find way to tweak the program that will set you up for success, look at the way you approached MFP/weightloss before and identify the how''s any why's that took you off course. Don't try to fix everything at once and be forgiving of yourself. Good luck - you can do this!!!!~0 -
Everyone on here is here to help and guide but only you are in control of what you do and what you put in your body. It IS hard to stay motivated sometimes, especially when there is a stall in loss. The imprtant thing to do is keep your eyes on the prize. By this I mean make yourself mini goals. At 10lbs give yourself a small treat. Not a dietary "cheat" trea but something that will motivate you to get to your next goal. At 20 make it a little better. Give yourself reasons to stick with it.0
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Take it easy, deep breaths...
Start small. For right now just track your food. You don't need to restock your 'fridge with spinach and join the gym and buy workout clothes... just log what you eat. Good or bad. See just what it is you're doing to yourself on a regular basis.
After that you'll be armed with the knowledge of what you've been doing to your body, that alone can inspire you to make the change for good, and the right way.
So keep it simple, just log. Think you can manage that for now?
I LOVE this advice.
I think half the problem some of us have is making this an ALL or NONE thing. You don't have to be perfect! You dont have to have such high expectations of yourself that it makes you freak out and quit.
One day, one choice at a time.
If you mess up, OH WELL. It will be ok.
I gotta say that BOTH of these people know what they are talking about.
One day at a time...it's not always easy, but it is worth it.
Good luck!0 -
you need to ask yourself just ONE question
say to yourself
am I worth it
and answer it honestly - of course you are so make small changes and it will come plan for just 0.5lb a week loss any more is fantastic0 -
One part of your own message really should motivate you. You said if you had stuck with it you'd be at your goal right now. So...how happy will you be a year from now when you have to repeat that phrase? Start today so you can say you've made it next time around. You can't get there if you don't start...so get to it!0
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You can't go all in on this on day one.
I always suggest newbies don't weigh for a month when they start out. It's easy to get discouraged and not continue if you don't see massive changes on the scale.
Thanks for the weight advice. My hubby prefers to weigh every day, but there are always ups and downs in weight from day to day. I always weighed once a week, never daily. If I can't wait till the month's over to weight myself, I'll try weighing in 2 weeks. The scale will no rule me -- haha!
I didn't gain weight in 1 day, I won't lose it in 1 day. Great advice!0 -
You have to schedule time for your workout and make it non-negotiable like anything else that is important in your life. :flowerforyou:
Yes, I have good intentions and have signed up for an exercise group, but, you're right, the thing that's missing is I need to schedule my workouts. Maybe I'll put it on my phone calendar and set a reminder.0 -
Thanks for the encouragement! I know it's an excuse, but life had been pretty hectic for me, as a family member was in the hospital for 7 weeks. Thank God she's better now! I think that gave me an excuse to go sabotage my health. I know...one day at a time. I can do this -- I just lost track. I also need to remember it's a lifestyle change.
This might sound a little harsh (call it tough love) but you're right, it is an excuse. We all have struggles in life and sometimes they derail us a bit. I used to use every opportunity to let those struggles become excuses, especially if they were someone else's struggle so I could use coddling them as an excuse (I had to order a pizza, it's Hubs favorite and he's sad right now). There are ALWAYS alternatives, you just have to put a little thought into it. And that's what I think you should do now so that you're prepared for the next inevitable struggle that comes up. Planning and preparing our two of our most valuable tools!
Above all, keep reading that profile pic of yours. NEVER give up!0 -
*snip*..., but life gets in the way sometimes ...*snip*
I will freely admit, I haven't read all the responses, and I may be repeating someone else, but when I first skimmed your original post, the quoted text leapt out at me. Your perspective may be helping to defeat you. If you tell yourself that life gets in the way of your weight loss routine, you are looking at it as if your weight loss goals are something seperate from your life. If you want to be successful, you need to make your workout, and diet routines a part of your life, not something outside of it.
That being said, the next thing you should probably look at is your goal setting process. Are your goals written down? Are they SMART goals? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely? Have you set too ambitious an agenda for yourself, and want to lose too much too quickly? You called your weght loss process a journey. Are you making sure you enjoy the journey along the way? Make it fun and you are more likely to stick with it.
Make it reasonable. Break your goal into smaller chunks. Much like the old adage of "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." most definitely applies to weight loss. If you are trying to drop 100 pounds, don't rush it and try to get there in 1 year. Yes it is possible, but maybe it is too much for you in that time frame. Break your big goal into smaller milestone goals. When I started, I saw the need to drop 100-125 pounds. If I would have gone into my lifestyle change with the idea, I was going to lose all of that immediately, I would have set myself up for disappointment and failure. So, I made myself little 10% goals. I was 280, so I told myself, I was going to concentrate on losing 28 pounds to start with. I set myself a goal of losing that in 6 months. When I hit my goal early, I said OK. I'm 250 now, I need to lose 25 more pounds. I still have a way to go to get to my end goal, but I can manage it in small chunks.
Finally, too be succesful and remain successful, you should realize that this is a lifelong lifestyle change. Change does not come easy for the human species. It is imperative that you change slowly, and don't try to do everything at once. It is different for everyone. For me, I failed every other time because of diet. Exercise was easy for me. This time around, I decided I would make sur eI ahd the diet down before I started the exercise regime. I changed my diet gradually, reducing where I needed, and increasing where I needed. After reaching my initial micro goal by diet change alone, I had it down to a habit. That is when I gradually added exercise back into my routine. You don't have to follow my formula, but tailor your change plan for you. Just work one thing at a time and master it before you add the next step in.0 -
*snip*..., but life gets in the way sometimes ...*snip*
I will freely admit, I haven't read all the responses, and I may be repeating someone else, but when I first skimmed your original post, the quoted text leapt out at me. Your perspective may be helping to defeat you. If you tell yourself that life gets in the way of your weight loss routine, you are looking at it as if your weight loss goals are something seperate from your life. If you want to be successful, you need to make your workout, and diet routines a part of your life, not something outside of it.
That being said, the next thing you should probably look at is your goal setting process. Are your goals written down? Are they SMART goals? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely? Have you set too ambitious an agenda for yourself, and want to lose too much too quickly? You called your weght loss process a journey. Are you making sure you enjoy the journey along the way? Make it fun and you are more likely to stick with it.
Make it reasonable. Break your goal into smaller chunks. Much like the old adage of "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." most definitely applies to weight loss. If you are trying to drop 100 pounds, don't rush it and try to get there in 1 year. Yes it is possible, but maybe it is too much for you in that time frame. Break your big goal into smaller milestone goals. When I started, I saw the need to drop 100-125 pounds. If I would have gone into my lifestyle change with the idea, I was going to lose all of that immediately, I would have set myself up for disappointment and failure. So, I made myself little 10% goals. I was 280, so I told myself, I was going to concentrate on losing 28 pounds to start with. I set myself a goal of losing that in 6 months. When I hit my goal early, I said OK. I'm 250 now, I need to lose 25 more pounds. I still have a way to go to get to my end goal, but I can manage it in small chunks.
Finally, too be succesful and remain successful, you should realize that this is a lifelong lifestyle change. Change does not come easy for the human species. It is imperative that you change slowly, and don't try to do everything at once. It is different for everyone. For me, I failed every other time because of diet. Exercise was easy for me. This time around, I decided I would make sur eI ahd the diet down before I started the exercise regime. I changed my diet gradually, reducing where I needed, and increasing where I needed. After reaching my initial micro goal by diet change alone, I had it down to a habit. That is when I gradually added exercise back into my routine. You don't have to follow my formula, but tailor your change plan for you. Just work one thing at a time and master it before you add the next step in.
This is excellent!!0 -
OK this may be a little rough but get over it! Put a real picture up so you can see your progress....get your exercise in and that like someone said before me, this is non negotiable....you say you have a wonderful husband then get his *kitten* to help you! Want more? Add some of us as friends and watch us fail every now and then! As one person told me this is not a diet this is a life change so change it! (Oh BTW I learned all this from MFP friends!)
Add me if you want but read my disclaimer.....this is real life not a cartoon!
Marcello
I couldn't agree more! I did that first when I decided that I was going to do something...I put up my horrible, awful picture so that I could make myself accountable to everyone! It put me on the right track and now I have a side by side in my pics after losing half of what I wanted to lose. Marcello is right, you have to keep it real or it won't work!0 -
Don't allow the past to bury you today. Focus on today tomorrow has it's own worries and yesterday is too late. I have been on and off this site for a bit. I even made it where I deleted all mfpers on my page. You have to do what works for you and not beat yourself up. Beating yourself up doesn't burn any calories and you are walking around like a teddy bear that a dog has gotten a hold of. Don't let anything stand in your way to what you want.0
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Agreed.Take it easy, deep breaths...
Start small. For right now just track your food. You don't need to restock your 'fridge with spinach and join the gym and buy workout clothes... just log what you eat. Good or bad. See just what it is you're doing to yourself on a regular basis.
After that you'll be armed with the knowledge of what you've been doing to your body, that alone can inspire you to make the change for good, and the right way.
So keep it simple, just log. Think you can manage that for now?
Make small changes to live healthier. Don't make it so hard on yourself, don't be so hard on yourself. Don't look for a short-blast fix-it program, instead create a sustainable lifestyle.0 -
We all struggle. I would suggest not allowing a cheat meal until you have stuck to at least 21 days of eating clean and healthy, exercising, and logging it all. Make sure even though you are eating clean and healthy except for one meal a week (once you feel like you can handle that, at least 21 days). You should not be starving yourself, keep in mind eating to little is as bad as eating to much. You are back on here and know what you need to do so just DO IT! I know you can! Make sure to exercise on the day of your cheat meal dont make it a rest day too.
This is a great suggestion!!! Thanks!0 -
Thank you all SOOO much for these encouraging words! I need to take 1 day at a time (slow and steady wins the race), not skip meals, schedule my exercise, remember it's a lifestyle change, and have fun along the way!! I will refer to this thread often. Thanks again everyone!!!!:happy:0
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Great Poem Lamb Chop Lewis..So glad I seen this post needed the same advice.0
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