I am so sick of starting over...

loviatar

I have been trying to lose weight for years at first I would quit because of my disabilities - I couldn't find a way around them - then thought I found a way around them to be knocked out of action for several days - then came the holidays - then quitting smoking my catch phrase with that one was I can lose the weight but I can't heal cancer. Now I am on ecigs and needing to start to eat healthy again and start moving more. I can't even go for a walk - but I can git my butt up off the floor 5 times a day and work with a ball as well as do some yoga or QiGong ( the old persons version lol) . So I am starting again.. will be sitting down over the next 3 days and writing down meals and exercises but htf do I stay on track????? I am getting older and am really starting to worry

pinkcloudrising

Once you have your first 24 hours of eating on your food plan hold onto it. It is easier to keep those first 24 hours than it is to get them back once you have lost them. Starting over becomes a way of sabotaging yourself because you never really move forward. You are doing this dance of back and forth, back and forth but you never really move ahead. What a wonderful way to not achieve anything and to keep on overeating, which keeps us miserable, which is what we really really want, right?

Thepinkdaisy

Once you have your first 24 hours of eating on your food plan hold onto it. It is easier to keep those first 24 hours than it is to get them back once you have lost them. Starting over becomes a way of sabotaging yourself because you never really move forward. You are doing this dance of back and forth, back and forth but you never really move ahead. What a wonderful way to not achieve anything and to keep on overeating, which keeps us miserable, which is what we really really want, right?

I'm sorry, but what do you mean, "hold onto your first 24 hrs of eating?" Do you mean repeat that same process as you did your first 24 hrs? Sounds like you're giving good advice, but I don't exactly understand what your'e saying.

loviatar

I am really good for about a week - then forcing myself to exercise becomes a huge effort and then I give myself a day off and it becomes a week then I get mad about myself for not exercising and then the food starts to slide by week 3 I am back to my old habits. I know it is a destructive pattern and don't know how to break it .....

SexyPrettyMama

Hi loviatar, I understand your frustration because I would do really good too and give myself a day off, which can lead to months and years. I would not worry about exercise so much, just focus on 'how much' you eat not going over your calories for the day. I found a great online calculator here: http://caloriecount.about.com/tools/calories-goal to get your daily calorie goals. OMG, this has saved my sanity with the whole weight loss process. I NEVER ate properly to lose weight, I would always try to do it my way starving myself, but now I feel satisifed, and some days I can't get all of the calories in. I wouldn't eat veggies before either unless it was drenched in fat, now my foundation are fresh veggies, I drink my water and build from there. Remember there are no days off, this is a lifestyle change and not a race to the finish--slow and steady. You didn't gain overnight and will not lose and keep it off overnight. Incorporate a treat within your calories allowed everyday if you want, just find a healthier alternative that you actually enjoy. You will see that after a while you don't have room for the treat some days because you are full off of clean foods. Also, be careful of what you buy or bring home--most likely you will eventually eat it. I love ice cream and began buying Trader Joe's Soy Creamy Ice Cream, its healthier but I'd end up eating way too much in one day. Now, I track my sugar intake on here because sugar is my drug of choice. If I can do this anybody can, we're in this together and you will be alright! There is hope hold on :-)

DawnEH612

The reality is, people mainly change when the PAIN of what they're doing becomes greater than the rewards/pay-offs. So for years the pay offs of smoking were worth the interim consequences until the reality/pain got greater than the rewards.
I finally got my struggles with FOOD, (not my weight, that was just a byproduct of my unhealthy relationship with food) under control. That meant taking an honest assessment of my relationship with food and how it served a purpose in my life, other than providing my body with proper nutrition. And what i found was that food and my own mind were my issue. NOT my weight. Once i tuned into why i ate i developed strategies to counteract my poor eating habits, poor coping mechanisms for stress and developed new ones. I practiced how to have indulgent foods in moderation so i didn't have to avoid them.
My initial journey on MFP was not about loosing weight' it was truly learning ow to develop a healthy relationship with food, one that was not excessive, indulgent, obsessive or avoidant. Once i got that down, the weight loss followed relatively easily. i also gained a healthier attitude and mentality and 90% of the time i am living a serene life in the truest senses of the word...
If you want, check out my blogs that document my journey and struggles. I look back on those entries and am so glad i wrote them so i can see how far i came, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.
When you are ready to give up all your excuses is when you will succeed.

DawnEH612

Hi loviatar, I understand your frustration because I would do really good too and give myself a day off, which can lead to months and years. I would not worry about exercise so much, just focus on 'how much' you eat not going over your calories for the day. I found a great online calculator here: http://caloriecount.about.com/tools/calories-goal to get your daily calorie goals. OMG, this has saved my sanity with the whole weight loss process. I NEVER ate properly to lose weight, I would always try to do it my way starving myself, but now I feel satisifed, and some days I can't get all of the calories in. I wouldn't eat veggies before either unless it was drenched in fat, now my foundation are fresh veggies, I drink my water and build from there. Remember there are no days off, this is a lifestyle change and not a race to the finish--slow and steady. You didn't gain overnight and will not lose and keep it off overnight. Incorporate a treat within your calories allowed everyday if you want, just find a healthier alternative that you actually enjoy. You will see that after a while you don't have room for the treat some days because you are full off of clean foods. Also, be careful of what you buy or bring home--most likely you will eventually eat it. I love ice cream and began buying Trader Joe's Soy Creamy Ice Cream, its healthier but I'd end up eating way too much in one day. Now, I track my sugar intake on here because sugar is my drug of choice. If I can do this anybody can, we're in this together and you will be alright! There is hope hold on :-)

@SexyPretty....Some awesome advice! Seems you and i have walked a similar path. Kudos to the work you did to get that amazing shift in your thinking and behavior. Its a whole other world once the mental outlook changes! Keep inspiring!

SammiSpring

Maybe you could start with smaller steps? I know that in Weight Watchers, they make sure you eat right for the first couple of months before adding exercise so that you're not overwhelmed.

Weight loss is 20-30% exercise. The rest is from what you eat. Even if you miss a work out, make sure you still eat right. Because you mentioned that if the exercise goes then your eating goes, maybe you can look at them as two separate things. Excercise for fitness and eat right for weight loss.That way you won't feel bad if either you don't work out or don't have an ideal eating day.

I lost 35 pounds so far, finally breaking out of my yo-yo pattern. Some days are better than others, but the thing that keeps me from back sliding is getting back on track ASAP if I go off plan. My new mind-set is, "Oh, so you ate a cheeseburger and ice cream. It was delicious and fun, but now it's time to give your body the stuff it needs and log those calories." This is much better than beating yourself up! Missing a work-out or not eating right for a few days, or even a week, won't do anywhere near as much damage as giving up altogether!

Also, find people on youtube or blogs with your height and similar starting weight. I always believed it wasn't possible, because I have 180 pounds to lose and I see so many people on forums like these who only need lose 30-100 pounds. Finding people you can relate to who have accomplished goals similar to you, reminds you that is very possible and will happen if you stick with it!

Also, don't mind the scale too much. If you are sticking to your plan, the weight will come off eventually. It's calories in vs. calories out. Unless there is a metabolic reason, the pounds will come off at their own time. There are weeks I lose 1 pound, or 4 pounds, or nothing, and learning not to give up despite whatever the scale says otherwise helped me a lot!

Good luck! You got this!

SexyPrettyMama

@SexyPretty....Some awesome advice! Seems you and i have walked a similar path. Kudos to the work you did to get that amazing shift in your thinking and behavior. Its a whole other world once the mental outlook changes! Keep inspiring!

@Dawn, thank you.