How does anyone actually commit to this?

One day at a time

The biggest thing that I learned along the way is that it is not an all or nothing situation with "diet" and exercise. In the beginning I went 100% clean eating and bombed after about a week of that and binged like a mad woman. Then I took it one food at a time and took out fried food, then sugary junk, then lowered the carbs and so on until I completely changed things. With the activity, that was a different story. I HATED to exercise and really had to just make myself do it and find what I liked because pushing myself to do things just to do them made me hate the whole experience. So I started walking and then found kickboxing which I love and kept going from there.

You will get there when you are ready and when you change your perspective of it being a chore into being something that you deserve for yourself....to be healthy.

Try eating 6 small meals. When you think you are going to binge, first drink 16 oz of water and wait 15 min before you eat anything. I lost my first 25 doing that. You have to know why mfp isn't a diet plan. It is how you will choose to eat for the rest of your life. I had to think of junk food as being poison to my system. Would you knowingly drink a glass of lye? No... An extra orange, probably. Just find your center and listen to it. Are you dieting to fit in your smaller clothes or are you eating better to be healthy. We all want to look better, but looking better and sacrificing your health isn't the answer. Find your smile. Find what makes you healthy.

I can relate. I disagree, you don't need to want it 100% right off the bat. What worked for me is making small changes and when I started seeing results and feeling good inside and out, I started to explore more and more ways to keep it up. I take it one day at a time and I lost 63lbs in one year.

I find it discouraging to look 6 months into the future, but a daily success adds up to many, many successes. Sooner than you know, 6 months flies by and you have amazing results to show for it. Don't give up, tomorrow is a new day.

I haven't read the other posts yet, but you just do it. You just keep going. The road any goal is not smooth. It's full of stops and starts and u-turns and wondering if it's all worth it, but as long as you keep moving you can always correct course. People who eat healthy still want junk. They just want health and fitness more.

I also wanted to add, to commit to anything, you make it important to you. You are committed to going to your job. You commit to brushing your teeth and bathing everyday (assuming LOL). You are committed to your partner. When it's important to you, you make it work.

You will do what you gotta do to be healthy, fit, strong and sexay. I just assume people that don't do it or commit to that must not want it badly enough or don't care. You want to wear that clothes again? Trust me, by the time you can fit into it, you're going to want NEW clothes.

Your boyfriend might've hurt your feelings a tad, unintentionally, but he sure hit a cord. If he made you think about it, you must care enough to get to that point where you can change your lifestyle and reach a goal.

I can relate to what you are saying and how you are feeling....because I would do well all day, then binge at night. What helped me was eating more during the day....and working out at night. That is what helps for me because by the time I work out and shower, I am ready to go to bed. I do not WANT to eat anything else after that!!!!!


What motivates me to commit is this-a couple of months back, after so many stops and starts, I was talking to my friend who lost about 80lbs this past year. We had made plans to go walking around the track, and she cancelled on me because it was raining. Well, then she posts something on FB saying that if she waited on a workout buddy she would still be 230lbs!!!! Then, when I said she was the one that cancelled, she said nobody sticks with it....that resonated in my mind that because she was right. And that made me see myself for what I was-a quitter. I couldn't even be mad....I just said to myself I will show her!!!! Well, it started out "showing her" but why I continue is because I really WANT this.....I WANT to be a better person....and I DON'T want to be a quitter.

Honestly nobody can help you. If you don't want this bad enough yet all the encouragement and motivation in the world won't make you do it. Sorry you have to do this all by yourself and when you are truly ready the commitment and motivation will come.
Good luck.

QFT. I tried and failed many times because I just wasn't ready and gave up. No matter how many times you're told that you're fat, or that you're doing a good job, or how amazing you are... You're not going to do it until you're ready. When I was told that I was pre-diabetic and had bad cholesterol and I was only 28 years old, I knew that I had to get healthy for my son, but also that I needed to do it for me. When you find your reason, you will do it!

Starting to eat healthy was just like when I quit smoking. Nothing will work until your mind is made up and then nothing can stop you. I quit after smoking 35 years and now have lost over half the weight I want to because I was finally ready. That is the way it has to be for you for it to work. All the good intentions mean nothing if you do not have the desire. Good luck.

I used to be a big snacker at night, too. You'll be surprised if, for a few days, you use self-control at night, it becomes a lot easier over time. Also, exercising later at night, around 8-9, a few hours before bed, helps to reduce my appetite (I have hardly any appetite after exercising). I hope you find what works for you and you can stick to this lifestyle change

You're probably either over restricting (ie: I started a diet, I absolutely can not eat this, this, this, this, this, this, or that... which probably drives you crazy and frustrates you into quitting) OR you're setting your calorie goal too low (ie: 1200 per day trying to lose mass amounts of weight way too quickly leaving your body craving nutrients and urging you to eat more).

Once you decide to commit to a healthier lifestyle, it'll seem kinda easy after the first 30 days, actually. You just have to learn about what's best for you, your body, and your lifestyle. You have to do it for you though. Not for your boyfriend, not for the clothes, or society. For you. When you're ready, we'll all be here and *most* of us are willing to help guide you along, as some other kind person did for us when we first started.

Much luck to you! :flowerforyou:

If you're feeling an urge to binge at night, you probably aren't eating enough. Be sure to check your TDEE as recommended above and make sure you're getting enough calories. Also drink more water.

If you're good about only eating healthy food, you'll probably have trouble just getting enough calories to reach your recommended calorie level. Four hundred calories of junk will fit in the palm of your hand, but 400 calories of healthy food is a pile.

I tried MFP early last year and failed to keep logging, I couldn't figure out how anyone could do this either. But I got fed up with myself and a few months later I came back to it. I started to log everyday without changing my diet at all. I got used to it after about a month and it became easier to figure out where to cut/reduce things in my daily meals. After a while you gain the ability to guesstimate calories in your food choices. Make small changes gradually and never deprive yourself, greasy/fatty/sugary food tastes wonderful and in moderation has a place in your meals. That is what worked for me.
This is a lifestyle change and it has start with you.

Well since you are here there is like no way you can start working on losing weight by accident. I started by accident. It was literally the only way that I would have started a to count calories and start losing weight. Even though I started by accident I learned quite a bit. One foods with fiber are very filling and protein can kill an appetite. I also learned little things add up quickly so I would set small goals like I would move more and I wasn't even necessarily specific at all. Moving more made me feel better and movement beget movement. Same with cutting calories. I replaced a high calorie breakfast with a lower calorie bowl of oatmeal and that kept me satisfied for a lot longer than what I was eating before. Then I dropped a snack a day. Then I dropped one of my six meals. Then I started counting calories. Then I found this place... to be continued.

Sometimes comments like that give us more drive than anything else could.

My fiance would never say that to me though, he's very encouraging. Not sure what to make of your guy saying that, unless you two have a playful/joking sense of humor as a couple.