I'm failing.

GingerRunner
GingerRunner Posts: 69
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello. I am hoping to somewhere somehow find help and motivation. I know the formula. I understand the math behind weight loss. I get it.

Where is it that we find the real motivation to *deny* (which, to any person who has ever gotten fat we KNOW that is exactly what it is....denying ourselves of rich fattening foods) at first?

Replies

  • zombiemusicgirl
    zombiemusicgirl Posts: 98 Member
    Don't worry - we try 1000 times, and then on try 1001, we succeed. But we can't give up on try 764, because we'll never make it all the way.

    Good for you for not giving up. Log, even if you go over. That has helped me tremendously. It may take a few weeks, but the drive will turn back around.

    It doesn't matter how many times you try - just that you don't give up. I know you can make it!
  • GingerRunner
    GingerRunner Posts: 69
    Love that!!!
  • MckayShannon
    MckayShannon Posts: 1 Member
    You never fail as long as you keep trying :)
  • Cheryl_Catrair
    Cheryl_Catrair Posts: 61 Member
    Oh my! I can so identify with this. I kept trying to get back on track and just couldnt get going. Then my sis gave me a pep talk.... and called to check on me for the following two days to make sure I was on track.... and now I've been doing good for about 3 weeks! Just remember the first 3 days is always the hardest .... get through that and you can do it. You can do it... WE can do it!
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
    You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you cant have it- robert anthony
  • newmein2013
    newmein2013 Posts: 674 Member
    It's reverse psychology. We have to want to be healthy more than we want the food. It takes a lot of soul searching and it's a painful & powerful awakening. But once you get there, it's a pretty awesome place to be. And there will ALWAYS be setbacks because no one is perfect. Hang in there. Dig deep & fight with everything you've got. You can do it, if you want it bad enough. It's yours for the taking!
  • tashiaberman
    tashiaberman Posts: 48 Member
    Don't deny too much. Learn to pick the right kind of food, in the right quantity to keep within your calories, then find recipes to cook to make it yummy.

    I'm on 1200 cal/day and just had to drink a chocolate slim fast shake because I had too few calories today. That is usually NOT a problem, but was today. It had the added benefit of giving me my chocolate fix for the day!

    The other day I wanted a burger and fries so bad I couldn't stand it. I checked on a Back-Yard-Burger Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich and Sweet Potato Fries. So long as I said no mayo/no cheese, I could have fit them into my diet plan and skimped a little at dinner. But I ended up going to Ruby Tuesdays instead and having their spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, added just a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

    Either choice would have fit into my diet plan, but the spaghetti squash was MUCH lower calorie. I might have the Chicken sandwich another time. Most days I go to Shoney's at lunch and have veggies and salad from their food bar. Sometimes they have broiled fish and usually have baked chicken, always have fruit. This keeps me out of the fast food places with all the hidden fat and calories.

    If I get a terrible craving for chocolate, I'll have a Dark Chocolate Dove bar, that I can break into several small pieces. Have 1 piece or 2, and put the rest away for another day when your cravings get the best of you. If you keep it in the freezer it takes longer to melt in your mouth and feels like you're getting more than you really are. If you have a tendency to munch on chips, popcorn, candy, nuts, etc. when you work or watch TV, get some hard candy you can suck on. The calories are not that bad and it keeps your mouth busy, gum helps too.

    So...you can give in to cravings if you're crafty about how and when you do it. NEVER eat after 7 pm if you can resist. Sometimes if I start getting hungry, munchie, cravings after 7 or 8 pm, I just drink a big glass of water and go to bed early to forget about it.
  • hnintzel
    hnintzel Posts: 3
    Wow! I can totally relate. I just started on this weight loss journey, and today was a very very bad eating day for me. I've read some of the others posts, and found them very motivating. We can do this, even if we go off track we just gotta push along to get back on track. I may have had a bad day today, but that doesn't mean tomorrow won't be better. Thank you all for reminding me of that. :)
  • marsbarxo
    marsbarxo Posts: 7
    I've been struggling with my motivation lately too. I'm in my last year of my undergrad at university, and the midterms and papers have been nuts these past couple of weeks so I've neglected my diet a little bit, causing me to gain a couple pounds back. I'm just finished my last miderm, so I'm planning on taking time to get back into the gym and cooking at home before exams start at the beginning of December. I'm hoping to lose 12-15lbs by new years eve, so I've got to get that motivation back. I find that sharing your plan with a friend and checking up on each other each day works wonders for staying on track and keeping you accountable.
  • photojunkie28
    photojunkie28 Posts: 292
    This has been a great thread. As much as you I needed to read this. I feel like when it comes to trying to fight the battle of the bulge my emotions are all over the place any given moment.

    Most recently I went on a carribean cruise and of course indulged and felt fat and guilty and disgusting the whole time. THEN I weighed myself the morning I got back. In 2 weeks I gained 10 lbs. I was not suprised given the extreme change in diet and exercise. However, 7 of those lbs came off in the first week so I came to realize it was mostly retention. BUT I still wasn't happy. Being a minor 3 lbs above my lowest weight has somehow made me a failure in my mind on most days when really I should be celebrating the fact that in 2 weeks of eating pizza and ice cream and lounging in the sun all day I ONLY gained 3 lbs.

    Sometimes we just need to take a deep breath and embrace the journey and know that if we are trying , we are succeeding. No matter the result of that day, week or month. A for Effort :)

    Ride the waves my friend
  • GingerRunner
    GingerRunner Posts: 69
    Hey! I edited my original post because I felt it was too revealing and personal and I chickened out. But part of the original post was that I live in China. Moved here a couple of months ago. All of my exercise has been cut because what I like to do is walk and run. The air quality in Beijing prohibits without near-death asthma attacks. The food is a night mare.

    Anyway, most obstacles I can overcome. The two that are remaining that I cannot quite (yet) lasso in are 1. the air quality and my preferred mode of activity and 2. my MOTIVATION to fight through the need for comfort eating in this extreme cultural adjustment.

    Reading everything you all have said, so far, has been very helpful and I thank you all so much for taking the time to do so!
  • photojunkie28
    photojunkie28 Posts: 292
    Well you certainly can't change the quality of the air ...but you can change your mindset and preferred method of exercise. Just keep trying new things. Everything we do burns calories...so although it may not be the way to gain muscle, you can lose weight by simply going up and down stairs a couple of times throughout the course of the day or crank up the tunes in the house and learn a dance. Practice a couple times a day and before you know it, you burned yourself the equivalent of a small bag of chips!

    I was just introduced to "the wobble" at Zumba class last night and decided that I am going to find a video on it and perfect the dance on my own at home. So not only will I rock it out the next time at class, but i'll have burned that many more calories at home just learning between classes. I hope this helps at least a little bit :)

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