Hesitant to try this

Queenofthezoo · February 2013

Well, I am giving this a try. I have always struggled with my weight, but I have never tried an actual diet or program, just tried to eat more exercise more by following the food pyramid and staying active. I have spent most of the last 12 years pregnant, and am definitely now done having babies. My youngest will be 3 in the spring and I just want to be healthy and fit (and fitting into smaller clothes would be nice, too). I have many family members that have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and that is always a looming fear in the back of my mind. So I don't really have a specific goal, other than learn to have (and love) a healthier life style and be a better example for my kids. Oh, and I want to run a 5 k this August. I did it 2 years ago, and my time was 45:20, I would love to be able to smash that time. But I have never been athletic and I am a very slow runner. I am not really going to be running for time, but running for health. I am starting up again by just forcing myself to get on the treadmill. As I turn that into a habit, I hope to start couch to 5k. And by spring, I hope to take it outside. But right now it is too dark and cold at the only times available to go outside.
But as incentive, I have told myself that every 10 lbs, I can buy myself a new article of clothing, makeup, shoes, or something. ( I want to get to 175 first) I haven't done it yet I rarely buy anything for myself, but I really want to look and feel less frumpy. I am a SAHM and a returning college student.
I have been doing this for about a week and 1/2. I think my biggest fear is failure. I always hear about yo-yo dieting, and people gaining all the weight back. I have always had pregnancy as my "excuse" as to why all the weight is back almost as quick as I lose it. I have never really tried a weight loss program, but I am very much a perfectionist and just want to find a way to lose the weight and live so that I am never this size again, never at such a high risk for diabetes again.
In general, I don't really know what I am doing. So I am hoping to find kind support and advice in the right direction.
Last fall, I was 196 lbs. I started this last week, and I am currently 184. And I am 5ft7in.

pinkcloudrising · February 2013

Hi Hesitant,

I'm hesitant too. I've been at this a while and am cynical that it will ever happen for me. I honestly am not working as hard as I could at this and I think that it is a combination of fear and not being willing to do the hard work of cutting down on the amounts and changing the quality of what I eat along with adding in exercise. I know it can be done; I've seen it happen for others. For me though, I just don't seem to have the real drive and motivation to make it happen. I too am afraid of failing. I've started this so many times that it isn't even conceivable.

It is hard for me in that the eating disorder is what makes it so much more difficult. It makes the whole thing of eating and weight more urgent and it requires a lot more vigilance. I've given up drugs and alcohol and other addictive behaviors and food is the last thing that I have left.

I enjoy food. I like eating. I like the taste of certain foods and I love the taste of others. I'm a good cook. I have a fairly good idea of what is healthy for MY body, how much I need and all that. What I don't like is keeping track of stuff, of having to worry about if this food or this bite or that will set off my eating disorder.

Lunnunis · February 2013

Hello hesitant. I had never tried a program either until MFP. I wasn't going to pay to lose weight and so I just tried on my own without any clear method. Since using the tools here I have been able to lose about half the weight I need to lose. Getting further is proving difficult but I still feel what I have done so far is an achievement. I made many false starts before I found this site and often felt very despondent and as though I could never succeed.
So speaking as a serial failed dieter I can recommend MFP, I have achieved far more here than I did in the preceding 10 years. Good luck!.

DonnaNCgirl · February 2013

Don't hesitate! Get this party started. You've made the first steps in starting a new life where you're in control. Decide what you want most and make it happen. The journey won't be perfect. You'll make mistakes along the way, but it's a lot of fun seeing and feeling the results!

Queenofthezoo · February 2013

Thanks for the encouragement ladies! I feel like I am trying this blind. I really hope to learn what things work best for me. There is so much conflicting advice that I really just don't know how to do this for me. Myfitnesspal calculator is saying I should have a 1200 calorie intake, but I see so many people saying that to lose weight you shouldn't do that. I have been eating around 1300-1400 calories. As I measure and look at calories, I know I am cutting quite a bit from what I was doing. And since I signed up 10 days ago, I have lost 3 lbs. I recognize that the best way to learn is to do it and when it isn't working make adjustments. But I can see myself getting discouraged easily, and just throwing in the towel. But hopefully we all can find the motivation and perseverance that we need to see this through, and make healthy living part of life.

MoonGypsyQ67 · February 2013

Okay, let me first say that you have taken a step in the right direction. You are here. I will not go into the whole history of what got me here, but I started last August and just used this as a way to track my calories and exercise. Eventually I ventured out to the larger community and have been pleased with the site. There are some great people here and they all have different goals and ways of getting to those goals, but they are all very supportive because they UNDERSTAND! I do log on everyday and my food diary is open to friends. I am a work in progress so please keep in mind that you will not find ALL of my meals on the cover of Eating Well magazine. However, I do try each and every day to make sure I am eating my dairy, protein, fruit, veggies, fat and carbs. I don’t always get a chance to comment on everyone’s status, but I do read them and encourage when I can. I think it is great that you have given yourself incentives for your goals. You CAN do this! Try to look at this more like a lifestyle change and less like a “diet.” Take small steps that will get you to your goal/s. I will send you a friend request. I am always happy to add people to my friend list because you just never know who you are going to meet. I have been pleasantly surprised.

Aleta7 · February 2013

There is no failure as long as you keep trying.

minsch · February 2013

You will do great! You are headed in the right direction!

cherylatkwechanged · February 2013

Hi
I've never really stuck to anything like a diet for very long. I was always going for the quick fix, which made me very poorly. I have stuck at this the longest and truly believe in it, you will do fine

Hesitant to try this

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