I want to give up.

Weight starting - 194
Current - 192

The heaviest I actually have ever been was 240, but that doesn't count because I was pregnant! Right? Lol

My son is 4 months old now, so I decided I no longer had an excuse not to exercise again. I have about 40-50lbs to lose depending on when I'm happy with my body.

Almost every single day I did 40-60 minutes of cardio and/or circuit training. I watched what I ate. I took my boy on walks all the time.

I weighed myself once a week even though I wanted to everyday. I actually went down to 190 (JOY!) and when I weighed myself again this week it was up again!! After all that work I got completely demotivated.

Yesterday I didn't even exercise and ate almost every bad thing I could get my hands on. Today, the same. Another bag of white chocolate pretzels, snickers, dove chocolates, saltines and cheese, etc. Pretty much nothing good for me!

I want to give up, especially since I just spent two days binge eating and feel as though I ruined all that work and probably gained those final few pounds back again only to end up where I started.

So here I am trying to take the better, healthier route and NOT give up. I don't think I'll be weighing myself as much anymore. Instead I'm going to focus on how much better exercising and eating right made me feel, and hopefully the weight will follow.

That was unintentionally long :p Anyway, helloo. Just wanted to introduce myself, hopefully get a little motivation and hear from other people about their story.

Edit: Logged my food today, plus the hour walk and I'm -800. Eek. :(
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Replies

  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Hi, firstly PUT DOWN THE CHOCOLATE haha! Okay so now that we've got that out of the way.

    Don't give up because of a small set back, you need to focus on what you really want, which I assume is to be fit and healthy for your son and to look and feel great for yourself.

    Know that your weight on the scales can fluctuate ALOT from day-to-day and depending on the time of the day. You could be retaining water. Ideally you should weigh yourself in the morning, after going to the bathroom, before eating and without clothing. It may be a better option for you to weigh yourself less frequently if fluctuation will cause you to lose motivation. Also you should start taking measurments with a tape measure because sometimes your weight is not an accurate reflection of your progress.

    Your approach of just focusing on the way you feel sounds like a good plan.

    If you need support, feel free to add me as a friend.

    I'm Gemma, 26 from Australia :smile:
  • isabel88g
    isabel88g Posts: 77 Member
    If I were you I wouldnt give up,

    I've wanted to give up this week also, ate 1200 cals a day, exercised almost an hour each day, and somehow gained 3 lbs. Losing weight is frustrating and it's not easy.

    You are going to have temptations and you just need to have the willpower not to eat the bad stuff.

    The way I see it is, is it worth being unhealthy just because it seems hard, no it's not.. My health is more important than that bag of chips or that chocolate bar.
  • Smokey19
    Smokey19 Posts: 796 Member
    Don't give up!! We all have days when we slip up. You realized what you did and reached out for help. We are here for you. Don't wait to start tomorrow, start today and eat healthy. Get those unhealthy foods out of your house and that will help. Try to figure out why you started binging yesterday. I would suggest journaling your feelings and thoughts before you eat anything so you can evaluate why you are eating. You can do this. You've done it before and you really can do it again. Please feel free to add me for support and encouragement. My name is Kimberlee, 49.
  • DON'T GIVE UP! I have countless times. Then, my friend gave me a poster that said "If you're tired of starting over, don't give up."
    I'm only a few weeks in but my boyfriend can tell a difference even though I can't. You only live once and it gets so much harder to lose as we get older. Do it for your family. A healthy mom is a happy mom. Cheers! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
  • Hi, firstly PUT DOWN THE CHOCOLATE haha! Okay so now that we've got that out of the way.

    Don't give up because of a small set back, you need to focus on what you really want, which I assume is to be fit and healthy for your son and to look and feel great for yourself.

    Know that your weight on the scales can fluctuate ALOT from day-to-day and depending on the time of the day. You could be retaining water. Ideally you should weigh yourself in the morning, after going to the bathroom, before eating and without clothing. It may be a better option for you to weigh yourself less frequently if fluctuation will cause you to lose motivation. Also you should start taking measurments with a tape measure because sometimes your weight is not an accurate reflection of your progress.

    Your approach of just focusing on the way you feel sounds like a good plan.

    If you need support, feel free to add me as a friend.

    I'm Gemma, 26 from Australia :smile:

    hahah, hi Gemma! I fought off the temptation to finish off the rest of the chocolate I have so tomorrow I have nothing to be enticed with. Talk about counter productive.. I'll have to go out and get me a measuring tape. I weighed myself in the morning before breakfast, after going to the bathroom, but nontheless I'm starting to hate scales. Thank you very much for your advice. :D

    If I were you I wouldnt give up,

    I've wanted to give up this week also, ate 1200 cals a day, exercised almost an hour each day, and somehow gained 3 lbs. Losing weight is frustrating and it's not easy.

    You are going to have temptations and you just need to have the willpower not to eat the bad stuff.

    The way I see it is, is it worth being unhealthy just because it seems hard, no it's not.. My health is more important than that bag of chips or that chocolate bar.

    That is too true! I love how much more energized I feel since I started. I definitely want to be able to do cool things with my son when he gets older :) Thank you for your perspective!!
  • dr2k12
    dr2k12 Posts: 291 Member
    Come on you don't really want to give up, you are just feeling what all of us feel from time to time which is tired and discouraged.

    That will pass!
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
    well I would suggest looking at your calorie goals..are u eating enough? No, I'm not talking about the binge..many people start off not eating enough. It's definitely something I struggle with myself. 1200 isn't the right answer for everyone, for example. Also look at what you're eating..are u grabbing a lot of processed foods, etc? Please don't give up..u can do this!
  • Don't give up!! We all have days when we slip up. You realized what you did and reached out for help. We are here for you. Don't wait to start tomorrow, start today and eat healthy. Get those unhealthy foods out of your house and that will help. Try to figure out why you started binging yesterday. I would suggest journaling your feelings and thoughts before you eat anything so you can evaluate why you are eating. You can do this. You've done it before and you really can do it again. Please feel free to add me for support and encouragement. My name is Kimberlee, 49.
    Hello Kimberlee! Journaling sounds like a wonderful plan. I think it would make me take the time to think about what I'm eating before I do it too. I know a lot of it is emotional, but I'm also guilty of feeling like I need a food to eat with a tv show or movie (every time). Thank you for the ideas!!
    DON'T GIVE UP! I have countless times. Then, my friend gave me a poster that said "If you're tired of starting over, don't give up."
    I'm only a few weeks in but my boyfriend can tell a difference even though I can't. You only live once and it gets so much harder to lose as we get older. Do it for your family. A healthy mom is a happy mom. Cheers! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
    I LOVE that quote. I've been making a list of things to print and post on my walls where I'll catch glimpses of them. Good on you for always getting back to it again! We BOTH can do it!! :D
  • AnexRavensong
    AnexRavensong Posts: 262 Member
    I eat the chocolate, I sometimes have mc donald's (so shoot me, I'm human) and I eat 1880 calories a day. I've only been here about a month but I have started losing weight whereas before when I was depriving myself I was stuck or gaining (the gains came from me going crazy eating everything).

    Just to say, don't rule out that you might not be eating enough and check out this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    PS: Don't give up, and don't deny yourself the reasonable chocolate ;)
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Also learn to satisfy your cravings in a healthy way. To never let yourself get too hungry is a good strategy that works for me. Eat small frequent meals all containing protein to keep you full. Don't tell yourself that anything not allowed. Everything in moderation is the key. I love chocolate and am learning to eat it in a healthy way. I used to quite easily eat a whole family block to myself. Now I eat 4 squares of dark choc with almonds (100 calories) at a time most days of the week (sometimes twice a day). I do this within my calorie goals. I still don't keep it in the house though because my will power is not quite there yet. I also find that before I eat anything that is calorie dense it helps to log it and think about how long it wold take to burn off and then decide if I really want it.
  • Gerald_King
    Gerald_King Posts: 2,031 Member
    Please don't give up you're better than that please add me as a friend if you want support :smile:
  • Come on you don't really want to give up, you are just feeling what all of us feel from time to time which is tired and discouraged.

    That will pass!
    Very true!
    well I would suggest looking at your calorie goals..are u eating enough? No, I'm not talking about the binge..many people start off not eating enough. It's definitely something I struggle with myself. 1200 isn't the right answer for everyone, for example. Also look at what you're eating..are u grabbing a lot of processed foods, etc? Please don't give up..u can do this!
    I think so. I typically don't feel hungry during the day. Other than the exercise I'm pretty sedentary. A few months ago I moved in with my grandparents for various reasons, and they NEVER have anything processed or junk-y here. So disappointing at first lol, but it's actually good for me to learn to live without it. Anything bad I get my hands on is my own doing.
  • I too have days I want to give up, and days I mess up with not-so-great choices. I've been usng myfitnesspal recording faithfully and honestly for almost three months. I weight myelf every day. I've seen a pattern in that every so often, like coule weeks or so, my scales go up anywhere from .2 to 3.5 lbs, even when I've stayed with 1200-1280 calories per day, and sometimes when I've had a "slacker" day. And I actually FEEL the poofiness and weight gain. Oh yeah, and I'm menopausal.:smile: Then in a couple of days BOOM the scales will show I've actually went down anywhere from .2 to 2 lbs from before the slight spike. And again, I can actually feel and see the difference, but this time it's the slight weight loss. I've plateued and seen the spike last as long as six days. I've learned to stick wtih it, balance my effort and expectations.

    DO NOT GIVE UP. Take every day as a new day. Renew your committment to the healthy choices every single day. I have been a yo-yo weight girl for 30 years. I have found myfitnesspal to be an excellent tool that helps me make better choices, not just calories, but seeing the nutrition each day. And slowly the wieght is coming off, even when I have bouts of back problems that prevent me from getting much activity. The back pain makes me want to eat for comfort - inactive and eating for comfort is a BAD combination. It can trigger feelings of anger, depression, and lack-a-wanna work for the change I desire, particularly when I watch the scales creep up. I've learned I feel so much better when I get enough sleep, be active - any kind of active, just move - and eat healthy. that seems to be a combination that makes me feel better (and probably act better).

    My other new best friend is a fitbit. check it out on www.fitbit.com. I LOVE that it tracks my activities and even my sleep. It has really helped me see honestly how much (or how little) I move. Simple committment of 10,000 steps a day and keeping calorie intake to a specific (depending on goal) and balanced nutrition has made a big difference for me. The myfitnesspal and fitbit sync and share information too - cool stuff.

    I hope you find motivation here, but more importantly within yourself. Do it for YOU. One day at a time, every day is for a healthier, happier, longer living you.
  • kvossandrews
    kvossandrews Posts: 210 Member
    Time to change your mind set.

    Its about been healthy not skinny.

    So yes you have eatten the wrong things, o well. Get over it stop feeling sorry for yourself and move forward. Its not about doing the wrong thing its about how long are you going to do it.

    keep doing what you are doing. We all have bad moments but its only up to you to change it.

    its ok to reward yourself with something nice. the trick is only to have a small amount.

    its more our mind that plays tricks...
  • I eat the chocolate, I sometimes have mc donald's (so shoot me, I'm human) and I eat 1880 calories a day. I've only been here about a month but I have started losing weight whereas before when I was depriving myself I was stuck or gaining (the gains came from me going crazy eating everything).

    Just to say, don't rule out that you might not be eating enough and check out this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    PS: Don't give up, and don't deny yourself the reasonable chocolate ;)

    Thanks, new-tabbed the post to read! I've decided to keep the Dove squares, little Snickers and such in the freezer for moments like that. Because I know when I do get the chance to eat something "bad" I'll go insane. Like ordering Dominos chicken, parm bread bites and 2 lava cakes, then finishing them all myself crazy. haha
  • bdenitto
    bdenitto Posts: 210 Member
    You have the most amazing motivation sitting right in front of you...your child. I have a beautiful one year old daughter and she is what pushes me daily to keep trying. Yesterday was a badddd day for me, but I decided to stay committed. You can do this! If you need a friend, feel free to add me!
  • Never, Never give up on yourself. Maybe your approach should be different. I have dealt with my weight issue for years. I am 58 now and this crap about body image and number on the scale controlled me long enough. I am on a program now because I would like to have the last few years of my life healthy. When I was younger I did what you are doing, it does not work. You're a beautiful girl probably inside and out. Just pick a life style that you can live with the rest of your life. A little secrete: If you just had a baby your hormones are trying to get back to normal. After having a baby is the best time to kick butt. There is a hormone that is increased after having a baby, that hormone really help with weight lose. I have three boys, 30, 26, and 18 after every delivery I lost all my weight, because of the hormone (can't remember what it's called). Each pregnant I went up to 300 lbs. six months later I was 142 size 5/6. I am an Ex-Pro Ice Skater so I do have muscle memory. Don't give up, I know you will not because you posted it. If you really wanted to give up you would not go on this site. Hope this is helpful. Get in shape while you are beautiful and young. I have wasted so many of my younger years obsessed with weight. NO MORE, I AM DONE. I DO NOT WEIGHT MYSELF, I GO BY MY CLOTHES.
    KEEP GOING
    Darlene
  • dianep225
    dianep225 Posts: 7 Member
    Hey, don't give up. Maybe you just started too fast and your expectations are a little bit too high for a beginning. Give yourself a break! I lost 45 pounds but I did it really slowly and celebrated even the small losses. First, I made sure I had a digital scale. This way I could see if I lost even 0.2 lbs... to me that was progress because the small losses began to add up. I also admit that I gained a lot of inspiration by watching The Biggest Loser but not because I exercised like crazy; in fact, I lost most of my weight without lots of exercise. What I did was to make my weight loss the priority in my life... everything took a back seat. Obviously I had to take care of home, hearth and go to work but every decision I made about structuring my days and my food was about me. I gave up 3 foods that are huge triggers for me: ice cream, cookies and pasta. But that was all. Otherwise I was able to have a normal healthy diet with carbs, veggies, protein, etc.
    I also learned from The Biggest Loser that 3,500 calories equals one pound... that made it so much better to figure out when I could expect to see the weight loss. I kept really close track of everything I ate and did not apologize to anyone for my focus. It took about a year. And now I keep on this site to maintain my weight. That's not to say that I didn't want to throw the scale against the wall at times or didn't have a bad day or two. But that's normal. DON'T GIVE UP! YOU CAN DO IT!
  • ECA67
    ECA67 Posts: 802 Member
    Falling down is living , staying down is dying.
  • dont give up you will be proud of the outcome just stay within a calorie limit and excercise everyday for an hour. if you do that then you can eat what ever you want you just need to watch the portions
  • Hi, welcome. You appear to be an emotional eater. If things are going bad you have the temptation to throw in the towel and go back to where you feel comfortable. I've always been quite slim but I'm an emotional eater too. What I learned over a very long time is that the cravings eventually go, as long as you distract yourself. So, every time you think of pretzels or chocolate take that as a cue to cuddle your baby, empty the washing machine, go for a walk, ring a pal. If after 30 mins you still want choc, have a drink of water and some fruit. I agree on one point someone made earlier about eating enough and regularly, eat every 2 hours if you want. Just make sure your calories are good calories. Sugar males me hungry, I don't touch it very often. Finally, I religiously tracked my intake for 5 weeks here before I lost a single pound. I was getting disheartened but I realised that looking at the carbs, protien, fat analysis helped. I was also going over my cals too many times per week and the nutritional balance was wrong. When I sorted that out and started REGULAR, steady exercise and not sporadic, frantic exercise I started to feel better about myself, my shape and my progress. Willpower is not the answer. Keeping your focus on what works and what doesn't, I suggest, is more effective.
  • HealthyGinny
    HealthyGinny Posts: 821 Member
    Weight starting - 194
    Current - 192

    The heaviest I actually have ever been was 240, but that doesn't count because I was pregnant! Right? Lol

    My son is 4 months old now, so I decided I no longer had an excuse not to exercise again. I have about 40-50lbs to lose depending on when I'm happy with my body.

    Almost every single day I did 40-60 minutes of cardio and/or circuit training. I watched what I ate. I took my boy on walks all the time.

    I weighed myself once a week even though I wanted to everyday. I actually went down to 190 (JOY!) and when I weighed myself again this week it was up again!! After all that work I got completely demotivated.

    Yesterday I didn't even exercise and ate almost every bad thing I could get my hands on. Today, the same. Another bag of white chocolate pretzels, snickers, dove chocolates, saltines and cheese, etc. Pretty much nothing good for me!

    I want to give up, especially since I just spent two days binge eating and feel as though I ruined all that work and probably gained those final few pounds back again only to end up where I started.

    So here I am trying to take the better, healthier route and NOT give up. I don't think I'll be weighing myself as much anymore. Instead I'm going to focus on how much better exercising and eating right made me feel, and hopefully the weight will follow.

    That was unintentionally long :p Anyway, helloo. Just wanted to introduce myself, hopefully get a little motivation and hear from other people about their story.

    Edit: Logged my food today, plus the hour walk and I'm -800. Eek. :(

    You know what's great? It's that you took the time to write that message on the boards while you were in the middle of an epic binge, only wanting to give up. You know why? Because it shows that you don't really want to give up deep down and that you know pushing through it is the only right way.

    It's a small set back. And the 2 pounds you gained before the binge might have been water weight because you're doing so much exercise, your muscles need water to heal themselves. Or it could be TOM. Or it could have been anything and the next day, they might have been already gone.

    Don't give up, it's not easy but it's worth it. Plus, I bet you felt much better and proud of yourself when you were eating right and exercising. And you were going on walks with your boy and it was probably really nice!

    Stick with it, it's so worth it! And bad days (heck, bad weeks) happen to everybody. I know what I'm talking about, I spent all day Friday binging and purging when I hadn't done it in a month and was really bummed. But I got great feedback and support from my awesome mfp friends and woke up yesterday more motivated than ever and ate right all weekend and started the 30DS. If I can do it, you can do it too!

    I don't know about your mfp friends circle but if it's small, it might be a good idea to add peeps who are supportive and positive (like me :p) to help you out!

    Good luck with your weightloss journey and I wish you all the best! :)

    xx
    Ginny
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Sounds like you're overdoing it. Make sure you're netting at least 1200 calories and take it from there.

    You don't want to give up. You want to feel awesome, and we want that for you as well. =)
  • Nanook8
    Nanook8 Posts: 33 Member
    Giving up means you know you won't lose anything and your health will decline. Forget about the binge and start over. You can start over every meal if you have too; you don't have to start on the 1st of the month or on a Monday or the New Year. You can start anytime of any day of any week of any month, as many times as you have too. Just keep trying! If you need a friend, feel free to add me. Hang in there and do it for yourself and your family. A healthier you provides a better future for all of you! One day at a time!
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    So here I am trying to take the better, healthier route and NOT give up. I don't think I'll be weighing myself as much anymore. Instead I'm going to focus on how much better exercising and eating right made me feel, and hopefully the weight will follow.

    Sounds like you've already got the right mentality!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    If you really wanted to give up, you wouldn't have posted this. You would have just stopped.

    Focus on getting healthy, and let weight loss just be a side effect of that goal. Lots of people have done it, and you can too.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,855 Member
    I want to give up, especially since I just spent two days binge eating and feel as though I ruined all that work and probably gained those final few pounds back again only to end up where I started.
    I totally understand. You don't literally want to give up, you're down in the dumps and looking for encouragement. I've been there. We've ALL been there. You've come to the right place! I can tell by you're spirit you'll do great. Keep at it.
  • lipglossjunky73
    lipglossjunky73 Posts: 497 Member
    I was about to post this to share with everyone, but I will share it with you too. During the black out I caught up with some old fitness magazines, and found this quote by Kim Benson and loved it:

    "The scale can't measure your will, drive, or dedication. The scale can't recount how many temptations you said no to or how many bad habits you broke. The scale doesn't have any idea how many times you got back on track when you felt like giving up. So every time you get on the scale, measure what's really important, including your behavior and effort."

    I think it is so important to look at everything we do. The whole picture! Giving up won't make the changes you want. May as well stick to it!
  • Please do not give up just try to regroup. I am losing weight and not really doing any thing in the exercise dept since I have some `arthritis,take alot of meds etc BUT I think that any one can drop weight if they measure their calorie intake and eat enough and not go into starvation mode . I have dropped 28 pounds since early September since I joined MFP and bought a food scale and went into portion control .I am being very strict with myself since I am hoping for Gastric By Pass surgey in Dec or Jan . I am not sure if I am accepted yet BUT I am trying to retrain my self and my urges since very soon my nutritional life will be very ,very different and strictly under control.. I want you to know that all of us want you to be successful
    This is not about me though it is about you . I want you to keep trying so you can be happy and healthy So what you went on a binge .Just start over and try to learn from a mistake. .Please do not give up just be aware of your intake each and every time you put calories in your mouth.
    much luck to you and yours`
  • You all are amazing. I read every single message. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I apologize for disappearing.. real life issues, some more binge eating. A part of my life is unraveling and I resorted to the emotional eating again. But I'm done! It really has made me feel even worse than I already do.

    On a brighter note I finished registering for college and begin in January. So now I work on an improved life, and a new happier and healthier me. :) My baby will be my biggest motivator. I REALLY want to give us both a good future, especially now that his father is probably out of the picture. I can't be a super mom, but I'll dang well try.

    Thank you all again for your kind (and frank) words of encouragement and for sharing your stories with me. I'm adding a few of you who said it was okay, but if anyone else wouldn't mind an add let me know. I'm more than happy to offer any support I can too.

    Take care :)