How do I get back to MFP?

summergrl17
summergrl17 Posts: 75 Member
in Motivation and Support
I had a crazy busy time at work for the last 3 weeks and was to stinkin' tired to track my food in the evening (no time to do it during the day) so I haven't been on MFP consistently for about a month. Now I should get back to it (put on 3 pounds in the last month) but I'm really resisting...Anybody stop MFP for awhile and then start again? Tell me your secrets please...I need support!

Replies

  • chelery04
    chelery04 Posts: 16 Member
    I actually stopped for about a month and a half myself, simply because I wasn't seeing any results. And then life got in the way as it usually does with everything. However, last week it occurred to me that I hadn't done it and I was fed up with weighing the same and still feeling crappy about myself. I came up with a motto for myself a while ago and it actually works.....NO MORE.... (insert answer here). My answer at the moment is NO MORE EXCUSES :) You can do it, you just have to decide its time. Best of luck!!!
  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    I stopped MFP for a couple of months. I was unhappy, and becoming unhealthy again just with not working out and not being accountable for what I put in my mouth.

    The cold hard truth is basically that I had to stop making excuses for myself and just get back into it. MAKE the time in your day, even if it's just 10 minutes before bed. Have a note book and jot down what you eat so that you remember what to log. Keep in your mind that in 3 months, you'll wish you had started today and right now. You can do it!
  • bigjretrac
    bigjretrac Posts: 80 Member
    So glad to see this!

    I'm in New York, so when Hurricane Sandy hit, it disrupted everything. My gym was closed for a week, I had no power/heat, and stores were only selling non perishables. The first couple of days, I didn't eat too much, because I couldn't find much nutritious stuff around. Finally, I just went off the plan altogether. I finally got my power back on Saturday, and resumed MFP today (had been going to the gym every day since Sunday).

    Well...today I binged at the end of the day :-(

    I feel better now, I know that tomorrow is a new day. I need to plan out my meals like I did before to prevent this from happening.
  • summergrl17
    summergrl17 Posts: 75 Member
    thanks all for your words of wisdom - they were really helpful! I got some tools to use and the motivation I was missing.
    the most impact for me was three months from now, you'll wish you had started now and that is so true :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • rosalang
    rosalang Posts: 49 Member
    its because your unconscous doesnt like change and will do anything to resist as it is its way of protecting you. you have to fool it and be determined
    logging onto mfp everyday and logging everything becomes very motivating
    try using an iphone or ipod app so you can log in any time you can and get support from mfp friends
    you can do it
  • Doesntplaynice82
    Doesntplaynice82 Posts: 119 Member
    I stopped...I'm not going to lie, I fell off the wagon and instead of just doing it, I made excuses as to why I couldn't. I just got back to serious logging and serious gym time and I am seeing serious results. You just have to WANT IT. When my boyfriend told me my stomach is looking flatter....it was the best feeling in the world, way better than that extra hour of sleep instead of going to the gym!

    I work the nightshift and sleep during the day. I started putting my water and preworkout drink mix next to my bed...my alarm goes off I take the drink and hit snooze and it gives me the boost i need to get out of bed and get to the gym!

    If you have a phone with internet access then there is no excuse as to "i don't have time to log" I use my phone all the time. I eat pretty much the same breakfast and lunch so I just copy that meal to the whole week and make the other adjustments day by day.

    Good luck!!
  • Arleigh7
    Arleigh7 Posts: 150 Member
    MFP has a great app for either the Apple iPhone or Android. So I log my food while standing in lines, elevators, eating lunch. Pretty much anywhere.
  • lt3ag4s
    lt3ag4s Posts: 835 Member
    just do it!
  • tracymnx
    tracymnx Posts: 105
    Ive stopped and started several times, for me I always think to myself ive really increased my fitness level and have dropped inches (actually 14lbs but the inches are more important) so it would be so gutting to get back to whete I was a year ago. At the end of the day, you can keep making excuses or you can get back on the horse. You will thank yourself for getting back on that horse when you start seeing the results again!
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
    Yep - I've been off several times (actually I'm not too good right now).

    What I do is that I keep in touch with the community so I won't forget about it entirely - And then I set other goals for myself.

    Currently I'm focussing more on exercise than restricting/counting calories and weight loss - and I have other tools for tracking my exercise progress (to be honest MFP doesn't to well as an exercise diary).

    At some point I expect that my focus will shift towards weightloss again and then calorie-watching will become pivotal again and I will have to go back to logging what I eat.

    But what it comes down to is, that at least you have now identified that you have slipped - the next step is to make consious decision about what to do; drop it all for now, and be content with the situation as is or re-assess your goals, choose a tool that suits that goal and then use it - and the tool could very well be MFP again (and if it is then "just" decide" to use it again......when I resist using it I think of it as brushing my teeth; I might not always want to do it, but I still end up at the sink because I know it's good for me).
  • summergrl17
    summergrl17 Posts: 75 Member
    So glad to see this!

    I'm in New York, so when Hurricane Sandy hit, it disrupted everything. My gym was closed for a week, I had no power/heat, and stores were only selling non perishables. The first couple of days, I didn't eat too much, because I couldn't find much nutritious stuff around. Finally, I just went off the plan altogether. I finally got my power back on Saturday, and resumed MFP today (had been going to the gym every day since Sunday).

    Well...today I binged at the end of the day :-(

    I feel better now, I know that tomorrow is a new day. I need to plan out my meals like I did before to prevent this from happening.

    meant to reply to you that i'm glad you are OK from Sandy. what a frightening experience it must have been. I admire that you're back to taking care of yourself so soon after that!
  • jrmc83
    jrmc83 Posts: 77 Member
    I've been off for a few months now and this is my second day back! I've had to really dig deep to find the desire to start logging and working out again. I have a few easy goals and a reunion coming up so that's helped. Maybe if you have something tangible to work toward then the motivation will follow later! At least that's what I'm hoping :laugh: I started school and between that and work plus family issues something had to give. Probably picked the wrong thing but I'm ready to get my balance back.
    Good luck!
  • DCpaleochick
    DCpaleochick Posts: 211 Member
    I think the most important thing is admitting the "slackery" and then having the balls to jump back in.

    Let's GOOOOOOOOOOO
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    I dropped off for months when my mom passed away. When I came back, I just thought of how her weight contributed to her death. That was all the inspiration I needed.

    Just get back in and log a day of eating. Then the next. Then the next.
  • Xaspar
    Xaspar Posts: 726 Member
    I was away for a bit.
    I decided that I could start back with little steps. I changed my calorie goals to reflect what maintenance would be for my goal weight. This eliminated a large amount of the 'disappointment' I felt in my own efforts as I went through the day. As I found myself meeting that goal, I found that I was able to get more involved in other things.
    Next step was track, period. It didn't matter if I went over or was under, just so long as I tracked I was making progress.
    Then I re-evaluated for the next goal and I started setting my goals up for performance rather than weight or calorie measurements. How many pounds did I push around in the gym today? Did I complete a 20 minute cardio workout at least once this week? Then at least twice this week? Have I improved my lap speed?
    I stopped tracking calories burned in workouts and started tracking that I even did one and that was enough to encourage me further. Am I perfect? By no means. Have I reached my ultimate goals? Not even close. Am I getting back in the swing of things? Slowly but surely.
    Am I looking at this realistically? I sure hope so. I know that the way I am approaching this right now won't bring HUGE results, but it WILL bring results over time and I WILL get there eventually.
    I let the scale measurements be what they are and focus on other values. And I have recently had a lingering sinus infection (going on three weeks) so I have been out of the gym. With my calories set to maintenance and even with a few bobbles along the way (some higher calorie days) I haven't gone up past my threshold so I am sure something is working.
    Best wishes for you as you try to get back into it! All the support you need is here!
    Namaste~
  • cornfritter22
    cornfritter22 Posts: 230 Member
    I'm just getting back into MFP. I never left the site, but I haven't been logging for months really. So far, I've logged everything today. I'm just left with dinner now. It feels good, first to admit that I haven't been doing it and then to take the steps to get back into it.
  • bigjretrac
    bigjretrac Posts: 80 Member
    So glad to see this!

    I'm in New York, so when Hurricane Sandy hit, it disrupted everything. My gym was closed for a week, I had no power/heat, and stores were only selling non perishables. The first couple of days, I didn't eat too much, because I couldn't find much nutritious stuff around. Finally, I just went off the plan altogether. I finally got my power back on Saturday, and resumed MFP today (had been going to the gym every day since Sunday).

    Well...today I binged at the end of the day :-(

    I feel better now, I know that tomorrow is a new day. I need to plan out my meals like I did before to prevent this from happening.

    meant to reply to you that i'm glad you are OK from Sandy. what a frightening experience it must have been. I admire that you're back to taking care of yourself so soon after that!

    Thanks! You can do it, too :-) Its a rough start getting back on the plan, but each day gets easier.
  • summergrl17
    summergrl17 Posts: 75 Member
    I started for 2 days then stopped again. Why? Because I'm lazy? Because I don't care? NO! I just realized its because I haven't been FOCUSING on my weight loss. For me to lose weight and keep it off, requires so much of my time and energy. This is hard work for me! The longer I am consistent, I imagine the easier it will become but right now, it takes a lot of thought and planning, a lot of FOCUS! For the last 2 months I haven't been able to FOCUS and have slowly slipped back into my old eating patterns. Today was the first day in two months that I've had both the time and energy to FOCUS on my weigh loss goals...and that's when it dawned on me that for me to succeed and reach my weight loss goals depends on how much time I'm willing to FOCUS on it. Its not a lack of will power or desire!! The reason I haven't been successful for all these years is because after awhile, my FOCUS shifts from losing weight to other things - and, usually, they are legitimate things, like my work or taking care of my son. What I didn't get all these years is that I simply needed to reFOCUS on losing weight instead of giving up! If I just understood that all I needed to do was put the FOCUS back on losing weight, I probably would have reached my goal years ago! The last two months my FOCUS has been on work which was out of my control and then on my son during Thanksgiving week which was my priority but, starting now, my FOCUS is back on my weight loss goals! I've already planned out my food and exercise for tomorrow...and now I'm going to the grocery store to get the food I need. And then to bed early (for me) so I can get up early to exercise and fix my food for the day.

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