This post is going to be a downer...

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fruitlooper
fruitlooper Posts: 30 Member
in Motivation and Support
Is anyone else annoyed that weight loss has to be something you will always have to think about? When I'm paying attention, focused, logging my food, I can get myself to a decent, healthy weight. The minute I get distracted it all comes piling back on. I'm so frustrated and feel like there's something wrong with me. I feel like I have an eating disorder, I have to think about food all the time to keep in control. I'm kind of depressed about the whole situation tonight, for the last 20 years this has been a struggle for me. I've lost 20 pounds a couple of times, 50 twice, but every time it comes back, even when I think to myself this is the last time!
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  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    give it time to make new habits.

    focus on making lifestyle changes that you can live with for the rest of your life rather than quick fixes that your know from the start you won't be able to keep
  • fruitlooper
    fruitlooper Posts: 30 Member
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    Thanks- the part that depresses me is these new habits seem so good when I'm motivated, it seems impossible to go back to my old self. But somehow, it just happens. :/ I've stuck with this for almost a year, twice, and that still wasn't enough to entrench it into myself. When I'm doing it, I can't imagine going back to being lazy, but it happens without me even being conscious of it.
  • duckiec
    duckiec Posts: 241 Member
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    I get very depressed and anxious about the whole thing, too. I'm SO SICK of counting, and planning, and measuring, and worrying about, and focusing, and evaluating, and... It seems most average weight, healthy people I know get hungry, eat. They eat what's around, or casually go over to the sandwhich shop and pick something up. Workout, or don't, not a huge deal, they'll do it the next day if not today. If they want to lose a little, they cut back a bit, and exercise a bit more. Even the ones that are doing something more planned, like weight watchers, eat something, then add up the points later. No biggy.

    Me, I'm constantly watching every morsel, packing food, planning around meals and events, balancing breakfast with an after-dinner snack, and most minutes of most days, just want to EAT without thinking about it. But no, becuase that won't get me to any goals...

    Ugh. The thought of being on top of this to this level, even when I finally get to maintenace, is overwhelming and just plain sad. I've lost this weight before, and I'm doing it again because I didn't stay on top of it. SO with you.
  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    Don't feel bad. It takes a while to get used to the adjustments that you're making to diet and exercise.

    It gets easier over time, and soon it will become second nature.
    By logging your calories you get the added benefit of absolute precision so you can lose exactly as much or as little as you want.

    One timesaver is to pack foods in pre-portioned bags for the week. Stick up 200 - 300 calorie mini meals like a piece of chicken and half cup of quinoa, or a half cup of cottage cheese with a cup of grapes. It will be easy to microwave this stuff and even easier to log it.
  • sc10985
    sc10985 Posts: 347 Member
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    I feel that way too. But, I think it's because when I'm not paying attention I go wayyy too far and eat everything in sight. It's not just because I stopped logging. For me it's all or nothing. It does kinda suck, because living in ignorance of calories and sugar content sure is a lot more fun ;)
  • rachswann
    rachswann Posts: 27 Member
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    I'm with you, but I try to tell myself that anything worth having - good health, feeling comfortable in my own skin, etc. - takes hard work and planning. Eating healthy & working out comes naturally to some people & not to others (me!). It has taken me a long time to accept that. It is what it is.....
  • MaeRenee94
    MaeRenee94 Posts: 175
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    All of you have commented have the wrong mind set.

    Make this fun and a lifestyle.
    You say planning and prepping meals is a hassle? Make it fun, try new stuff. If you don't like cooking than just buy microwave veggie packs.
  • geekette411
    geekette411 Posts: 154 Member
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    Maybe you need to look at the other areas of your life and see it they are contributing to your trouble maintaining healthy habits. For example, if your friends all just want to play video games and hit the bars, maybe you should limit your time with them. (Just an example, but you get the idea.)
  • fruitlooper
    fruitlooper Posts: 30 Member
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    I can't even bring food to work with me, I end up eating it before lunch. Every day I walk over the grocery store to buy my lunch, I always make sure it's healthy. It's the only thing that works. I'm just so annoyed this is the way my head works. I'm so sick of thinking all the time. I live with 3 guys, and it never crosses their minds what they need to eat, they just eat. My husband is ripped, without giving it a second thought and i get so jealous of him sometimes! We have the exact same lifestyle outside of work. The thing is he has an active job, where i sit on my rapidly expanding rear all day.
  • fruitlooper
    fruitlooper Posts: 30 Member
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    I wish that was it. I'm really active, i walk with my son to school/work, we camp, hike, walk every night. My body doesn't match who I think i am. I even quit drinking completely this year thinking that would help and that hasn't made a difference either. It really comes down to food. I think I'm a healthy eater so i shouldn't have to think about it all the time, but I'm obviously not when i'm not obsessing over it.
  • MaeRenee94
    MaeRenee94 Posts: 175
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    I can't even bring food to work with me, I end up eating it before lunch. Every day I walk over the grocery store to buy my lunch, I always make sure it's healthy. It's the only thing that works. I'm just so annoyed this is the way my head works. I'm so sick of thinking all the time. I live with 3 guys, and it never crosses their minds what they need to eat, they just eat. My husband is ripped, without giving it a second thought and i get so jealous of him sometimes! We have the exact same lifestyle outside of work. The thing is he has an active job, where i sit on my rapidly expanding rear all day.

    Isn't this the truth! I work so much harder than my boyfriend and he is an awesome shape.

    I understand hating how your mind thinks...I too am constantly thinking about losing and wanting my body to look the way I want. I have gone back and worth with weight loss myself, as I struggled with an ED and still do. Sometimes I just freak-out and break down because I don't want to be obsessing over my body.


    You say you end up eating before lunch? Well I do the same thing, I'm a receptionist so I sit all day as well. The thing I have done to help is pack numerous healthy snacks, drink tons and tons and tons of water, and doodle to keep my mind off my lunch.
    I have set times I eat and in between those hours I do as said above, I doodle and drink and chew my gum.

    You may want to start by eating small every hour, just a really tiny snack and then work your self to every three hours.
    You can take a look at my diary if you want for an idea. (I have had a sweet tooth lately though, so ignore the candy!)

    These are just suggestion on what works for me.
    Keep your head up:)
  • kitka82
    kitka82 Posts: 350 Member
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    All of you have commented have the wrong mind set.

    Make this fun and a lifestyle.
    You say planning and prepping meals is a hassle? Make it fun, try new stuff. If you don't like cooking than just buy microwave veggie packs.

    Yep. If it's not fun, you're doing it wrong.

    I have moments when I get so caught up in doing everything right that it becomes all consuming. I tried eating clean, eating Paleo, lifting heavy and sprinting, and I was miserable. So I returned to basics and am doing things I enjoy. Like yoga and running. And ZUMBA! And I eat cookies sometimes. You are alway going to need to be aware of your portions if you don't want to gain weight back. You are going to have to exercise regularly (maybe not every day, but often) if you want to keep the weight off. Those are just facts of life. But if you make small tweaks gradually, here and there, it becomes a habit. Living a healthy lifestyle will become natural to you. Isn't that the goal? It's not just about losing weight. If it was, you would never stop yo-yoing.
  • fruitlooper
    fruitlooper Posts: 30 Member
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    I should try the little snacks thing, I did that in the past and it worked pretty well actually.
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
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    My plan is to not give myself enough rope to hang myself with...that is, all I have to do is weigh myself at least weekly and nip anything in the bud if I start slacking on my portion sizes and see a weight gain outside of a preset range. I have failed at maintenance before and I am not going back there. :explode:
  • AprilOneFourFour
    AprilOneFourFour Posts: 226 Member
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    It sounds like you're hungry quite a lot of the time and I wonder if that's making it more torturous?

    I find eating low-ish carb most of the time (for life) has helped me feel a deal less hungry and less restricted at the same time. It's not for everyone, but it might suit you.
  • erikmsp72
    erikmsp72 Posts: 137 Member
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    You could think of it as "being in recovery," in a sense. One day at a time, one choice at a time.

    Or you could think of it as an ongoing game. How will you strategize for the most fun, the most intensity, and the best nutrition, within your calories?

    Or you could think of it as a process of formation. As you adjust your eating and your exercise, it is forming your body and your brain into something different than it was. How can you help that process just a bit each day?
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    I can't even bring food to work with me, I end up eating it before lunch. Every day I walk over the grocery store to buy my lunch, I always make sure it's healthy. It's the only thing that works. I'm just so annoyed this is the way my head works. I'm so sick of thinking all the time. I live with 3 guys, and it never crosses their minds what they need to eat, they just eat. My husband is ripped, without giving it a second thought and i get so jealous of him sometimes! We have the exact same lifestyle outside of work. The thing is he has an active job, where i sit on my rapidly expanding rear all day.

    Hey, make sure you are eating enough. I know when I was doing this (eating my lunch shortly after I got to work), it was when I was trying to go really low with my calories. Since I upped it, I'm not starving all day and I'm still losing.

    Hang in there. I know what you mean. The exercise has finally become part of my daily life (I agree with other posters... do what's fun for you), but I do still have to log and think about my food. I use that as motivation, though. Don't let it get you down!
  • taoistpunk
    taoistpunk Posts: 57 Member
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    6 meals a day has been a huge help for me. I bring it all to work and have at it all day. Fruit, veggies, individual dip packs, individual yogurts and cottage cheese packs (single serving items are my favorite...can't eat more than they give ya!)

    I eat my final meal of the day at work (dinner) and then go home to work out. Water right after and then bed. The night is my problem time, so I avoid it by sleeping through it.

    Last night I woke up and had a fight with myself over a bowl of raisin bran I wanted to eat (but didn't).
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
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    I plan on logging my food every day for the rest of my life. And I plan on brushing my teeth every day for the rest of my life. I don't have to be obsessive, but for me it's like checking your bank account before you buy groceries...

    I think for some of us, that's just what we will have to do.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I hear you!

    I was talking with my sister, who also struggles with her weight and is doing Weight Watchers, and one of their meetings was centered around that very idea. Their leader for the night said that you have to adopt the idea that it's just what we do. We log our food, we count our calories (or points), we're always careful. Just like we brush our teeth every day - it's just what we do.

    Hopefully we'll get to the point where it's such an ingrained habit that we won't have to be so obsessive about it. ....Hopefully.

    But for now - it's just what we do.

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