feeling discouraged

This sounds simple but just start. Start small if you need too. We all have to start with something. Don't make too many goals, break it down to getting thru one day or one meal. You will find once you make the first goal you can make the next. It is a life time journey & there are some great success stories on here. Read them & be motivated. Hope you too have good success.

i understand...but by reaching out you are already motivated...you just need someone to push you just a little bit...just think about what brought you here...self motivation is really hard sometimes..but once you start..you cant stop! go outside get some fresh air...take a walk and guess what? you are burning calories...its getting easier for me...some days it sucks but by the end of the day when i am looking at my food diary..i can smile and know that i did it for me! dont get discouraged...get moving!!

I posted a heading like this about 2 months ago, I had only lost about 6 lbs. Felt like I was working hard, but struggling with the fantasy/impatience of wanting to lose 20 lbs. like, yesterday. SO many great pieces of advice from MFP community! You have done it, you joined MFP, so you have begun. Continue making great choices, baby steps. One good meal, one good day, more water than you're used to drinking. You care enough about yourself to begin!! Good luck to you!!!

You start out, like walking, one step at a time. The daily log gets easier as time goes on, both the food and the exercise. Remember, you didn't get this way in a day and it will take a lot of days to get back to where you want to be. You have already taken the first step by reaching out, just keep at the logs.

IF you have a bad day, move on and soon they get further behind. Like stopping anythng, you have to start.

What I did was pick a day. I looked at my calender and chose a day about a week or so ahead. I researched what I felt I should be eating and then went grocery shopping (a couple of days before I started) and what I should be doing exercise-wise for what I want to achieve. Maybe do that first to get into the mindset and prepare

Don;t worry it is very simple, just a few lifestyle tweeks applied over time and you'll be successful. Here is what to do:

1) Food: Eat lean protean (chicken, fish, non fat milk). Lean protean should be a foundation of every meal. Eat all the veggis/greens you want - there is no need for you to ever be hungry. Be careful with dressing, there are some great low cal dressing for the greens. Fruit is excellent also, it is just not an all you can eat thing like veggies. With the cals left over in your budget you can have a limited amount of whole grains. Avoid sugar, starches. Nothing out of a box - eat real food. -

2) Exercise: Do something every day. Start slow like walking 30 mins, work up to 60 mins, as you feel stronger increase the intensity. Eventually you'll want start lifting weights. If you go the gym route, join one you are comfortable at and make it a habit of going.

It all seems daunting at first and most of us have been right where you are now. Just take the first step and work at building new habits every day. Eventually habit takes over and it stops being work...just a new healthy lifestyle.

Well done Skipidy, you have beaten the hardest obstacle. "Signing up" and doing someting about it. knowledge becomes power and all will fall into sync. Little steps will be the easiet way. If you live close to the shop, walk to pick up your milk ....dont drive.
Take the stairs not the lift. once you put those runners on your feet they will want to get out there and walk. All these little changes make a difference in the long run.
Michelle Bridges once said that to look the part will also give you motivation. If you wear sexy lingerie you feel sexy on the inside. Put on runners and gym clothes and you will feel fitter on the inside. with commitment and knowledge what you feel on the inside will shine on the outside.

Good Luck with your Journey and all the best :drinker:

I am right there with you! So hard to get on the right track! I keep telling myself "little baby steps" but am impatient and want a quick fix. I am trying to focus on the positive things I do each day rather than my failings. Not always easy, but give it a try! Any success, whether it is just walking a little or eating celery instead of a cookie for one snack is a positive! Good luck!

Start by setting your alarm clock half an hour earlier than usual, get up, and go for a walk. The key is to make small incremental changes that slowly become new habits. Replace one unhealthy meal with something healthier (get grilled chicken instead of fried, choose veggies over fries, or only have dessert once per week, etc...). Eventually, you will want to get up and go for a walk and will not want to eat the less healthy food. I personally go to the gym early in the morning before I go to work. I find that it gives me energy that carries me through the morning and now that I'm on that routine I naturally wake up early and look forward to morning exercise.

Greetings,

Don't be. It's hard at first. Nothing is easy until you accept that you want to change. The most important step is understanding the amount of calories you are consuming. My neighbor got me onto this site. It's second to none from what I have seen. I have used another in the past which didn't have such an extensive database as this site which can drag you down. No one wants to waste time logging on the labels of the foods you eat. Personally, I love the iPad app. Wherever I go, be it on vacation, etc I can continue with the program. No pause whatsoever.

Secondly, my neighbor recommended on getting a heart rate monitor which I did. This was key because despite whatever you do on the machines, regardless of the club and type of machine be it bike, treadmill, etc, these machines exaggerate your burn on average by 50% (from what I have seen). I have a Polar FT80 and it has become my best friend ever since I started. I use it in the club, at home when I cut the grass, play tennis, jogging etc.

The first few weeks will be hard. Then as you get into the rhythm and you are committed, it will become second nature. Once you reach your objective, you will want to do something more to challenge yourself, be it PX90, or something of that nature. Please note to avoid weighing yourself for the first few weeks as your weight may not drop as expected. This will depend on the metabolism and how susceptible it is in "breaking". For some, it may be sooner than later but it will break. The first pounds shed will be water. I used my clothes and my belt as a gauge of progress in the beginning. Then after the first month I started weekly monitoring of the weight.

Moreover, in the beginning, there will be some days (especially at night) when the cravings will come. No shame if you give into them once in a while but don't go overboard because ultimately your weekly progress is the most important. However, that doesn't mean binge one, two days and follow the routine for the others. As for giving up certain things in the process, the only things I have given up is hard liquor and pizza. The hard stuff stopped on day one as for the pizza it eventually followed. Pizza is a useless meal in my opinion. However, there are days where I'll drink 1.5 liters of beer (mostly Pilsner as the lagers are heavy). So it doesn't mean you need to go cold turkey on your favorites. Just be wise and you'll start making the right decisions as you progress. You will start substituting your old foodstuff with better selections.

Lastly, get a few friends involved. Apart from Kay, my neighbor/coach, I enlisted a few at work. It's good for encouragement.

So that's been my experience. I'm down 25lbs since 5/30/2012 at 155lbs. I'm 5' 10". I have started following Michael Chang on youtube. He's worth a look.

If you persevere you will get where you want to be. You'll see.

Good luck, God Bless!

You can't follow your dreams if you don't wake up.
Just take one day at a time and change one thing at a time. For instance, say, starting tomorrow, you may not drink any more soda. It's just one small thing, but use it to build on. Good luck, and if you need a friend, I'm here.

Just know that you can do it. We all have been through these feelings but get up everyday with the same thought that you know that you can do it!!

Most important thing to remember is that this is a learning process & a way of life - not a diet. Log EVERYTHING. This way you will see where you need to make changes. Read the "intelligent" threads here. They're very informative & it will save you a lot of legwork. Commit to making just a few small changes each week. Focus on them & master them. Then move on to more changes. Pace yourself, slow & steady wins the race. Best of luck to you.

if you're here talking about it, you're definitely there. you want it! Go for it!. i just started five days ago and i'm so glad i did.. after one successful day, you feel like you don't want to spoil your good work, and that's enough to motivate you forward.. good luck!

I like this!!! great suggestion to just track things first and don't worry about changing until you see what your habits are. the first time i started using myfitnesspal, i lost 15 lbs JUST from tracking. no exercise! it's going to make a huge difference.