Hmm I lost ten pounds... can I be done now?

Wow - sorry losing weight was such an inconvience for you! If it's that much of a hassle and the benefits don't outweigh the negatives, then yes....you can be done.

The problem is, you're still thinking of this as a diet instead of a way to lose weight and change your lifestyle to keep that weight off long term. If you can't eat certain foods because they trigger you, that's fine. And certain foods have health benefits that others don't. But, you don't have to cut out foods just to lose weight. Yes, the scale jumps up the day after you eat pizza.....but it goes back down after the sodium is flushed out of your system. Drink more water.

You also don't have to exercise - it's not required to lose weight. But don't say that you're too busy. That's insulting to the MFP members who do find time to exercise - we all have obligations, commitments, and requirements. But a lot of us just make sacrifices in order to get a workout in. If you don't want to do that, that's fine.

I stay motivated because being 43lbs lighter is better than being obese. And being fit and healthy is better than stuffing my face with too many calories. That's my motivation....but it sounds like you're just not there yet. Hopefully it "clicks" for you soon.

Eating pizza is not a slip, if it didn't fall out of your calorie limits then it should be fine.

When you don't feel like doing something, that's when you NEED to do it.. There were days I just didn't feel like hitting the gym at all. No motivation, no care, nothing... and I told myself I NEED to go... so I got my butt to the gym and those days I had some of the best workouts! Just think of the long term goal and where you want to be and remind yourself daily that if you stop now, you'll regret it even more later!!

If you are having trouble with the foods, it could be you need to find healthy foods you will enjoy. You can also try fullness tricks.

1. Eat slower, talk a lot over a meal. This will help food register in your stomach so you don't eat too much.
2. Drink an entire glass of water before eating.
3. If you're not actually hungry, but want to eat, pick up a stick of gum.

If you need, change your goal. If you can live with 0.5 pounds a week of weight loss, that will get you further than going for 1 or 2 pounds a week and crashing out of it within a few weeks.

you started your topic off talking about dieting... diets dont work lifestyle changes do...


on saturday after the gym i came home and made myself a big breakfast well big for what i usually eat i had french toast and bacon... later that afternoon i had three slices of pizza and then around my 4th meal i got back on track with a big salad with chicken on top.


those splurges are not going to affect my weight, it takes 3600 extra calories to make your weight go up a single pound.

a healthier lifestyle doesnt have to be a boring lifestyle you should still allow yourself to enjoy things you like but they just shouldnt become the staple of your eating habits

It sounds like you want to be overweight for the rest of your life but that's fine, it's only you that will suffer. You have to WANT it.

I never dieted in my life, before starting to use this site maybe 3 months ago. I was shocked and horrified to see what I would normally eat came up as far as the math goes with the calories and fat and whatnot. I was like omg, no wonder, this happened.

So, with huge efforts, over like two months, I managed to lose ten pounds. I nearly cut out red meat, cheese, reduced booze, as I identified these as my major downfalls. Tried to control portion sizes. Switched a lot of things to whole grain. Ate more veggies, more fish. I made a lot of changes, and it was a serious pain in the *kitten*.

At 5'6" and still 210 pounds though, I need to keep going, and it really seems like too much trouble, I'm tired of it. Also my body seemed to adjust to the changes, and I have to watch very carefully just to keep the ten pounds off. A little slip, order pizza or something, and I'm back up a pound or two. I don't want to exercise, I really hate it, I'm not willing. Also busy.

Help, how do you stay motivated, keep going?

It has to be something you want bad enough. Exercise is important to make your lean body mass pretty once the fat is gone (especially weight lifting). Exercise is not needed for weight loss, but a calorie deficit is needed and is in fact the only thing that is needed.

It's hard. Nothing about getting fit is easy especially if you've gained fat reserves. I've been there and I know. I've been maintaining almost a year now (at almost age 52!). I've been over weight most of my life, yet very physically active so I've learned the hard way that you can not out exercise too many calories. I didn't achieve my dream body until I was 50 year old and if I had understood calories better (and that tiny people need much less than bigger/taller people) I could have had it much sooner.

When you have extra fat it is like having a mortgage payment. The more you fat (debt) you accumulate the longer it takes to pay off the mortgage. Sometimes you need to take a break from the deficit and just maintain (like only making interest payments) and this is okay, it is not going backwards. But going further into debt is going backwards. This the reason someone lean and fit sitting next (of the same height and gender) can eat twice as much as you and not gain weight (because they are debt free).

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

EXERCISE:

I would encourage you to start a beginner weight lifting routine. Just 3 days a week. Why?

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Girls, start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are a girl you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulking and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd.

Its autumn pretty much everywhere in the US. Take a nice walk with your friend, kids , dog whatever. Don't call it exercise.

No one is making you lose weight or eat better. Do it if you want. Its your life.

If you hate exercise it's only because you haven't found the activity that you enjoy. Think of it as play time, whether it's going for a walk, riding your bike, going for a swim - find something that gives you pleasure. We have this mistaken notion that unless you're bench pressing 500lbs or training for a marathon you're not getting exercise, just get moving.

As far as the "diet" goes you just need to commit to your goals and make that decision that you want to have a healthier future or accept the fact that you'll probably die prematurely from an obesity related illness.