how do you stay on track?

lynda3y9
lynda3y9 Posts: 62 Member
in Motivation and Support
feeling somewhat defeated ..... had to argue with myself all the way to work to not stop and get a white spot breakfast burger!

i was so excited about my weight loss last week and then a weekend of not so great eating... not horrible but not great... and i gained almost all back...and it's still there today. Trying to react differently than my usual --forget it....but it is difficult!

how do you stay on track when your mind (and taste buds) are arguing with you continually!

Replies

  • aleyjewell
    aleyjewell Posts: 65 Member
    It is hard. I just had the a similar situation. I am an emotional eater and had a bad morning. Iwent to the gas station and had a deep fried cheesy chicken stick in my hand and was in line when I saw a healthier choice. I switched and it was good.

    I think eventually you stop craving the bad stuff but I still do every once in awhile. If you need to eat something not healthy, do it. It is okay just don't do it often.

    As far as the weight loss, I bet you are retaining a lot of water. Watch your sodium for a few days and I bet it comes right off.

    Good luck!!
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
    There are times when I want to eat something I should not very badly... but usually if I tell myself to wait for 1/2 an hour and find something else to do & focus on, the feeling dissolves.

    I also track my calories on a weekly basis rather than on a daily basis, so I know if I save up some calories Sun-Thurs I can splurge a bit at the end of the week. This is a good motivator for me because it lets me say "no for now".
  • ChristinaD2
    ChristinaD2 Posts: 57
    I log my food and I don't deprive myself when I have cravings, but I do try to keep them within my calorie limits. It's a struggle at times, but my main motivation right now is that Summer is just around the corner... My desire to look better is way stronger than any craving. I understand how you're feeling though and I wish you success!
  • kayaksara
    kayaksara Posts: 157 Member
    My motivation is health. (Of course I want to look good too!) But I want to be with my kids and grandkids and husband as long as possible. I had a health scare a few months back and now I am 100% fine but it changed my attitude about what I put in my body. I don't want to be wheeled down a hospital hallway on a gurnee ever again. I am thankful for the choice of good health! You can do it!
  • TomjsAj
    TomjsAj Posts: 45 Member
    I tell myself I was designed healthy (luckily) and the only reason I am not is because of what I eat and how much not because I can’t kill it or go all insane in the gym 5-6 days a week. Not running all the time or doing long cardio sessions put fat on me the food I eat and how much did…and with that I eat healthy and less. Yes I workout to tone but I don’t do much more then walk, hike, and light weights if I remember to do them. When I eat right I don't really need to do more. I like that! :)
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I don't consider going back to the way I used to be an option. This is just what my life is like now. I just plain HAVE TO exercise and eat right. Not 100% perfect and not 100% of the time. I can allow myself some Snickers bars and rest days and time off from logging my food if I need it.

    But overall, staying on track to me is just like all the other facets of being an adult. I have to pay my utilities, or I'll be in the dark and cold. I have to do laundry, or my clothes will smell. I have to floss my teeth, or I'll end up toothless. And I have to exercise and eat right, or I'll be sick and unhealthy.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
    I log into this website every day, multiple times a day. At work, it's just open. It's on my phone. I've made friends through the website to help support me and stay accountable. I log what I eat and my activity. The website is sort of addictive--has replace Facebook for me.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    The hallmark of those who succeed is not that they're perfect from day one - it's how they get back up after they fall. If I give up after one big meal or even a "not so great" weekend, then I'm choosing a life of being overweight. Just remember how disappointed and frustrated you feel right now and think of it the next time you feel yourself sliding into bad eating habits. What you eat in private, you wear in public.

    I have found this website to be very motivating. I visit the Success Stories and look at the before and after photos and imagine myself being one of them someday. And I know it's completely up to me.
  • sugarlips1980
    sugarlips1980 Posts: 361 Member
    I try to strike the balance between eating healthy and at a deficit so that I'll lose weight, and allowing myself treats so that I don't go mad and forget this whole thing and go into free fall and pile it back on! Sometimes I go with how I'm feeling - I,e. if I fancy a pizza and few glasses of wine and it's Saturday night then I'll go with that. Other times I try to be strict until I've say lost 4 pounds then I'll have a treat so it's more of a planned thing. Don't feel you have to deny yourself is key! Moderation and all that!
  • Fit147
    Fit147 Posts: 209 Member
    I have had great success for the first sixty days of MFP - 22 pounds gone. The next 15 pounds will be emotionally tough for me. The exciting newness factor is gone, and my milestones and halfway goals are in mid April. Nothing but hard work in March. I plan to keep myself plenty busy, start a bunch of projects, read a book a week - do anything to keep myself on track. I know I will be thrilled next month, so I need to buckle down and do the hard work now.
  • msgbr
    msgbr Posts: 23 Member
    Logging meals have made me conscious and accountable for everything that goes in mouth. It is time consuming but I see that it will help me. Don't give up on yourself, you are worth it!
  • gotobedmaryse
    gotobedmaryse Posts: 9 Member
    This will sound really, really cheesy but my friend told me a saying that's really stuck with me. "What you eat in private, you wear in public" I am NOT a sayings kinda person, and I follow no mantra, but this one hit home and every time I want to stop somewhere for ice cream or sneak chocolate I take a big breath and say it out loud. Seems to be working since I now say it once or twice a week instead of everyday. :)
  • msgbr
    msgbr Posts: 23 Member
    This will sound really, really cheesy but my friend told me a saying that's really stuck with me. "What you eat in private, you wear in public" I am NOT a sayings kinda person, and I follow no mantra, but this one hit home and every time I want to stop somewhere for ice cream or sneak chocolate I take a big breath and say it out loud. Seems to be working since I now say it once or twice a week instead of everyday. :)


    That's a good one!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    You probably didn't actually gain it all back with one weekend of overeating. More than likely you're retaining water from the excess sodium and carbs you ate. Drink plenty of fluids and it'll go away soon enough.
  • llutz246
    llutz246 Posts: 2 Member
    It is very hard but it gets easier as you go. I think one of the things I find that works for me is having supportive friends and co-workers that are trying to do the same thing. There are still snacks and such all over the place at work but for the most part, all of us are trying really hard to eat better and exercise more and we are encouraging each other with each small step we take.

    It will get easier. You are welcome to add me as a friend if you need someone on here to help support. Good luck and keep pushing forward! It will come.
  • ShaunMc1968
    ShaunMc1968 Posts: 204
    Read The Chimp Paradox - it gives a fantastic psychological insight into the human brain. Motivation can come and go - commitment means to stay with it. Don't beat yourself up about a not so great weekend. Look at what you could achieve today, tomorrow or next week.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You probably didn't actually gain it all back with one weekend of overeating. More than likely you're retaining water from the excess sodium and carbs you ate. Drink plenty of fluids and it'll go away soon enough.

    ^^This

    Pretty tough to gain it all back in a weekend considering 1 Lb of actual fat = 3,500 calories above your maintenance level of calories. You do have natural, daily weight fluctuations that are completely out of your control...you need to understand this first and foremost or you're going to be feeling defeated a lot. I had a horrible weekends this past weekend...meh...happens.

    Weight loss isn't linear...it comes and goes in spurts...you also have the above mentioned natural fluctuations due to water retention/release...food in/out...fluids in/out, etc...not to mention hormones and the like. I can easily fluctuation 2-5 Lbs day to day with completely natural weight fluctuations.

    You also need to get your head wrapped around the idea that this is a long journey...it's not a couple of days or a couple of weeks...or a weekend or whatever. This is a long haul and every day is a new day.
  • jennymendiola
    jennymendiola Posts: 77 Member
    I log into this website every day, multiple times a day. At work, it's just open. It's on my phone. I've made friends through the website to help support me and stay accountable. I log what I eat and my activity. The website is sort of addictive--has replace Facebook for me.

    Yes!!! Exactly!
  • lynda3y9
    lynda3y9 Posts: 62 Member
    thank you all so much for your input. I have found this site is definitely helping me and reading the responses on the forums is insightful (and i too have found that it has replace facebook time).
    I have been logging on daily and tracking my food and activity……I open it at work to enter what I eat during the day as well.
    I’ll try the advice given here and when i am feeling frustrated, i will go and read some success stories. I have been overweight for so long that there is a naggy little voice telling me that is just the way it is but i really do want something different. ...and my emotional response as i am typing this is perhaps just part of the frustration, not defeat. I realize that it took me many years to pack it on that it won’t be a fast drop and I will remind myself of that… and focus on where I want to be in a year might be better than where I want to be in a week.
    Thanks for the support and encouraging words!

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