I just want to give up.

I turned 40 back in June and weighed 174.8 at that time, so I totally understand.

My first question is this: what are you doing in regards to exercising?

Second question: are you following a nutrition plan (notice I didn't say DIET)?

Erica

PS Feel free to add me for all kinds of motivation and inspiration.

Yes, its not a diet, its a lifestyle.

If you want to change, to get skinny again, you have to change the way you live. It THEN becomes routine and only then will you workout all the time without even thinking about it.

Your nutrition must also develop into a new era. Im talking no unhealthy snacks to no proccessed foods. Take it as far as you want its your choice.

Remember though, if you really want it, you will change. Change the way you eat, live, workout. Im not saying you will be bothered working out every time, but it becomes routine and 9 times out of 10 if you just do a little bit you end up pushing and doing the full thing.

I always tell myself, that cake/snack/burger whatever is not as good as the feeling I get when I go home and look in the mirror knowing that the change is happening because i stuck to my plan.

i'll be honest.. you have to want it bad enough, you have to desire it enough to eat healthy and cut out all bad foods and exercise and stick with it and you need to be motivated to do it otherwise your not going to succeed ... you can give all the excuses oh i'll start tomorrow stop making excuses and just do it! it's not easy but if you really really want it you will do it by saying I just want to give up you've already failed before you've even started and your attitude stinks !

It's amazing how so much of this is mental isn't it? I went years and years unable to motivate myself to do anything and then last November, it was like I flipped a switch in my brain. Listen to the people who tell you this takes time. Trying to make it go faster actually makes things go slower.

Hello, I have been on and off MFP for over a year now. I have logged in everyday for almost 70 days. I have for the most part tracked my foods for the last 2 weeks. But I just can't do this. I don't know how people are losing weight. I don't know how to motivate myself to eat healthy or exercise. I use to be 114lbs and was able to eat what ever I wanted to 2 1/2 years ago. Now I am climbing to 160. I have a Mexico trip coming up in 64 days and I turn 40 in 4 months. I want to get skinny again. I need some help. I love reading things from all my friends on here so more friends the better. But any suggesstions to help me get out of this funk?

I was always thin up until my mid 30s. I started gaining weight at 36 or so, and did it slowly over several years. I turned 48 in june, and weighed 189.4. I finally decided something had to give.

Do it now. Don't wait. It will never be easy, but it has been rewarding. I promised myself I would make major changes before 50. You won't regret starting!

open your diary so we can see your food. You may only have to make simple changes.

I am at your point too! I am in a competition and I've hit 5lbs but couldn't get past that. Yesterday I steped on the scale and was really disappointed with myself. I started to have a nice chocolate breakfast but then told myself no. I put on my work out clothes and decided to walk until I thought I should turn around. I ended up walking 7.58miles! Keep telling yourself that you know you can do it! You have a goal and you know what you want! ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH! Best of luck!

AWESOME job Chelsea!!! Very motivation-- keep up that drive girl! We can do this!!

Wow, we have a lot in common. I used to be able to eat anything as well and stay teeny tiny. I am also going to Mexico in November.

I started this journey in 2007. I totally agree with the baby steps theory to changing the lifestyle I stopped eating meats high in saturated fats (bacon and high fat hamburger) then I stopped drinking alcohol, then I stopped drinking soda and so on. I started eating more side salads instead of french fries and would choose a fruit parfait with yogurt instead of icecream for desserts. I did this ONE thing at a time and went to the next thing after I got used to the last thing.

I am 44 years old and now I am pretty much to the point where I can eat anything I want again. I will say that what I want is typically healthier but yeah, there are days that I will choose a fattening sweet treat,, it is okay because 90% of my diet is darn good.

One of the worst things you can do is putting too much pressure on yourself to do it all at once and now. Just start by making one change, then take it from there.

Good luck, hang in there. You will never regret getting healthy, I promise you that. Looking pretty is just a benefit.

Hello...

It seems to me that we can never give up longing and wishing for all that we want in life. Sorry, I don't have the easy answer, but I want to say certain things I feel are beautiful rewards and well worth the good effort that we put into them....You MUST continue to hunger after them. Stay true to the plan, and look up "The belly fat cure" to understand how sugars may be holding you back. Best of luck!!!

i am also in this boat , thinking of giving up . i know i wont ever get back to where i want to be . i just turned the big 5 0 this june and am finding it harder and harder to come off . i take group exercise classes and really love them cuz all of the ladies (and gents) in there are all in the same boat too...but it does help to make friends and make you want to come to class so you can see them . i always lose this motivation during the summer but im trying to get b ack on track now that summer is over . i use to be down to 128 in my 40's and now im up to 170's and i absolutely hate it !!!! you're not alone in this , hang in there . we have to remember, like others have said , do it now cuz it does get harder as you get older.....50 and still working at it !

Hi Y. I feel for ya. It is so easy to get discouraged when one sees no results. I think the food tracking is important and you must pay attention to portion size. You just have to invest some time into measuring or weighing everything. When you have an accurate calorie count you'll be able to adjust to a level where you will start losing. I used to not measure stuff and figured I knew enough about sizes of servings to not do it. Hah. I was wrong. When I started measuring I could see that my guesstimates were always higher than the actual amount of a serving. so I was taking in more than I calculated.

In some sense, weight loss is a science. If you burn more calories than you expend, your body will use fat stores for energy. It takes 3,500 calories to either gain a pound or lose a pound.

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php


However, if you go on a low calorie depravation diet, your body will start to conserve energy by slowing down metabolism, then it will take a bigger calorie deficit to lose one pound of fat.

Here's another fact. your body gets used to an exercise and runs more efficiently, burning fewer calories than it used to with the same exercise. When people hit a plateau a good thing to try is to change your exercise type. If you mostly run, try swimming or biking or aerobic classes/tapes. Anything to move your body in a new way.

Maybe one of these ideas will help. Hang in there. Ani

I feel your pain. It has taken me a good long time to get motivated and stay motivated and from time to time I feel like a hopeless case and think about giving up...but I have been at it now since mid July. I have been doing this for me long enough that I have gotten into the habit of watching what I eat and wanting to exercise even though my scale keeps going up instead of down.

I don't know what exactly it is but something did just click and I woke up to wanting nothing more than to be fit.
Until you really really want it, you are going to feel like giving up.

My suggestion? Do you have old pics of yourself that can motivate you? You have to find that thing that will keep you fighting for what you want. Each night before I go to sleep I visualize myself the way I want to look. EVERY NIGHT. That helps me.
It also helps to know that I am not just doing this for me but I am setting an example for my daughter.

Good luck to you! I hope you find your groove and move with it.