Question for those who rarely slip up ...

that's exactly what I do ... when I'm logging and it really works for me to! The problem is when I decide to not log for a few days because I know that I'll be going way over calories/macros - it literally takes me weeks to get back to logging on again and I eat with no regard for what I'm putting in my mouth. That's the issue really.

I've been there - it seemed overwhelming. I promised myself I'd log everything for at least a week - that's all, just log it, even if I went over - because that much seemed achievable. If I meet one target I set, I'm more likely to meet with next one. Then I tried to log in and stay at 1,200 net - I failed, but eventually came up with logging every day and keeping my intake between 1,200 (suggested by MFP) and 1,500 (which keeps my binging at bay.)

I hope that helps.

I WANT TO BE SKINNY!!!!!!

I've lost almost 70 pounds. I haven't been on here in forever so it doesnt even have my high weight that I had gotten to after I had a baby. My thing is, I made a facebook page for fitness. I have completely put myself out there. and THAT is what keeps me accountable.

That and disciplin! lol

Personally it really does take will power and motivation, the thing that makes it harder to slip up for me is the fact that I've changed this into a life style. I haven't missed a day of logging in and it has been 95 days as of today. I will have the occasional slip up (not pigging out just a tad bit over my calorie goal) maybe 2 or 3 days in the month which is completely normal but I feel terrible when I do so the next day I am at the gym feeling better again. When you do slip up try your hardest to not be negative, tomorrow is another day.

Every time I want to slip up, I tell myself, "that cookie is not what you want" (or whatever short term gratification it is that is in front of me. "What you want is to be fit, healthy, lean, and strong." Mind. Over. Matter.

The faster you forgive yourself for slipping up the faster you can get back on track.

Honestly? I get up every morning and lift my shirt up in the mirror. I think to myself, "this *****in stomach was earned by not messing up yesterday. I can keep it by sticking to my goals today. Today will be a good day." And that's usually enough to keep me going for the rest of the day.

I also keep my fridge stocked with fresh vegetables that I love and are easy to prepare, so when I'm hungry I go get a bowl of steamed spinach or broccoli instead of a Pop Tart (nothing wrong with Pop Tarts, except they are like crack and are rarely conducive to me meeting my goals).

I don't keep things in the house that I know I like to splurge on, i.e: ice cream, Oreos, cookie dough. So if I really reeeeeeelly want any of those things I'm forced to stop and think "do I have the calories for this?" and "is it worth it to drive all the way to the store/mess up the kitchen to make this?"

I also got out of the habit of eating out, like almost never anymore. So any splurge meal I want I make myself at home, which hugely cuts down on calories, and as an added bonus always tastes better than whatever restaurant I might have gone to. AND saves me lots of money.

I rarely slip up. I think there has only been only one day since I started logging more than six months ago where I intended to eat at a deficit, but ultimately ate at a surplus. That was a dark day where the loss of my mother last year was effecting me particularly strongly.

I do not class planned maintenance or surplus eating as a slip-up. That's just part of the process.

Here's what works for me :

> I log everything, without exception. This keeps me honest with myself. Since I'm doing this for me, the only person I'm cheating is me.

> I don't prescribe to any particular highly restrictive way of eating. I just eat what I need to in order to get the amount of protein and fat I need, and meet my calorie goals. Any calories I have left after meeting protein and fat come from wherever I want - protein, fat or carbs.

> Closely related to the previous point, but it bares stating explicitly - Nothing is out of bounds for me, so long as I meet my nutritional needs for the day. If I want apple pie and ice cream every night, then by Jove I shall have it.

> I use exercise and walking to 'earn' extra calories. Although you can build a deficit without any exercise, I find that having a higher calorie 'turnover' makes it much simpler to stick to my diet. Sure, I could use all that exercise to build a higher deficit and lose faster, but that would increase my chance of failure. Slow and steady wins the race.

> Every now and then I allow myself a day of eating at maintenance levels, to quash any cravings I may be having. One day of deficit eating won't derail my progress, and personally I find it easy to get back on the wagon the next day.

> I even allowed myself a massive (and I mean massive) 5,000 calorie blow out on my birthday. I planned it, executed it to plan, and then got back on the wagon. Had I tried to diet on my birthday, I would have almost certainly been pissed off and my adherence to the process overall would have suffered. By the way - I still lost weight that week, and a quarter pound of 'lost' progress was totally worth it.

> I track my progress closely, at the gym and on the scale. Constant progress is important, and helps keep you on the straight and narrow. Have multiple measures of progress - weight, BF%, waist, 5k time, strength, etc... - you won't see an improvement in each of them every week, so when your weight plateaus, concentrate on strength. When your waist doesn't seem to be shrinking, look at your 5k time. Just focus on what is improving, and keep doing what you do. Everything will catch up.

> Stay disciplined. You don't have to be motivated to keep doing something. You have to be disciplined. My scale hasn't properly moved in a few weeks, but I keep doing what I do, because it's been working for over six months, and I know it will start again soon.