How does anyone actually commit to this?
Options
Replies
-
For me, it's a lot of telling myself that the old way of doing things didn't work and made my body really unhealthy. I just say "No, that's what got me in trouble--I don't need <insert huge portion of super fattening food>, I can have less (or something healthier)."0
-
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:0 -
1) Start out by figuring your TDEE and setting a calorie goal for maintaining your current weight.
2) Get in the habit of measuring everything you eat (preferably with a food scale) and logging it all.
3) Gradually lower your daily calorie goal to a level where you can lose weight slowly and not be starving all the time.
4) Don't ban specific foods from your diet unless you have a medical need to.
5) Try to get plenty of protein and healthy fats.
6) Drink lots of water.0 -
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.0 -
... I'm either going to do it or I'm not and if not now, when?
I love this0 -
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.0 -
I didn't really start out by committing to the whole thing. I started out committing to tiny positive changes. The only thing I committed to at first was to log everything I ate, not actually reduce it. Just doing that is a learning experience that for me lead to more commitments... drink more water, walk every day, eat at or near my calorie goal, and it has slowly built into a lifestyle change.
[/quote
For me it was this too. I started out at an exercise class. Committed to a one year membership. Started on MFP eating whatever I wanted if it fit my calories. Began to realize that hmmm... that thing doesn't satisfy me for the amount of calories, I better have this instead. I am only four months into this, but that's a lot longer than ever before, and I argued with myself about going to the gym this morning (I did go!) so I haven't conquered it yet, but am getting there. It's one day at at time, and that day is today. Tomorrow has its own worries, and besides tomorrow never comes (cuz when it gets here, it's today!) and yesterday with all its problems and failures is over so leave it behind.0 -
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.0
-
Try Intermittent Fasting !0
-
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.0 -
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.
THIS. Until your personal switch flips and you are ready to get into those clothes for you, it won't happen and stay that way. Not to say everyone doesn't have a bad day but when you are ready, you will fight through the bad days and they will pass and get fewer and farther between.0 -
The best way to commit to exercise is finding something you like to do so it doesn't seem like a chore. I've enjoyed biking and recently took up salsa dancing. Once a week I go out with a group to bike. You can find all kinds of groups to keep you motivated on Meetup.com, there are biking groups, hiking groups, and all kinds of fitness groups. Find something you enjoy and meet new people!0
-
Sticking to the Diet is really easy for me, as I eat what foods I want and try to stay in a deficit of 50 calories.
I have a 1200 calorie diet as I exercise very minimal because of health issues
I drink my water which is 8 or 9 glasses a day.
Before I went on MFP, I was getting ready to throw out my smaller clothes.
But hang on to them.
I have lost 15 pounds in 2 months and now fit in my smaller clothes
Don't listen to your boyfriend, this is something you have to want to do and to feel better about yourself.
Have your diary open to the public and then we can give you some better ideas.
Good Luck
Phyllis0 -
Take it easy, no need to think of this as a giant scary "thing". Just one workout at a time, one good meal at a time. Don't plan too much ahead, just this current food choice.0
-
It's not that hard...unless you consider diet to be severe calorie restriction and completely abstaining from things you enjoy and have an unhealthy relationship and misunderstanding of dietary fat...then it's a ***** and pretty much impossible. But really, it's pretty damned easy when you...
eat a lot of this..
and a lot of this...
and let's not forget this...
and eat a lot less of this...
while occasionally indulging in a little of this...
all the while gettin' some of this...
and this...
and don't forget this...
and never, ever, ever forget this...
Good Livin' visualized....go get some!
^ YES!
Visualize! Believe in yourself! Be happy now!
And just DO IT!!!!!!!!0 -
he can be a butthead sometimes and told me last night we should just throw away the clothes I wore at my lowest weight because it's not like I'm going to fit into them again anyways.
I know how you can lose 200ish lbs right off the bat...lol
seriously, willpower, just knuckleup and stay the course, do what you know needs to be done...for you.0 -
I am bumping this, because I find myself lacking motivation A LOT of days and would like some great advice!!! Thank you for asking the question!!!0
-
you can set yourself commitment goals, rather than making all your goals results based
for example, instead of saying "I will weigh x pounds" say "I will make 3 lifestyle changes and stick to them for 1 week" then 2 weeks, the a month, then three months....
lifestyle changes needn't be anything huge either, just things you know that you can stick to, if you put your mind to it
for example:
- working out 3x a week (make it a kind of exercise you know you'll enjoy)
- eating more protein at every meal
- stop buying unhealthy snacks and keep healthy snacks in the house instead
- make serving sizes for foods like ice cream smaller, and eat them more slowly
- track your calories and stay under the goal (make it a sustainable goal, e.g. going for 1lb fat loss a week)
those kinds of things. I'm sure you can think of others to add to them. You don't need to do them all at once, you can add more goals later as you get better at sticking to the changes you've made already and they become habits and part of your lifestyle, rather than something difficult to do.
The problem many people have with commitment is that they go all out hell for leather way too radical, and then can't stick to it, partly because their changes are not sustainable or manageable in the long term, and partly because deprivation isn't sustainable. So avoid that all or nothing mentality and instead get into the make small, sustainable changes and then stick to them. Don't deprive yourself, find ways to enjoy very high calorie foods in smaller portions... and stick to it.
And what's going to enable you to succeed long term is being able to stick to what you're doing, i.e. commitment. If commitment is a problem, then make it your goal.0 -
If you start thinking about how you're going to do this "for the rest of your life", it gets a little daunting. So don't. Take this journey the same way we do every journey....one step, one day, one change, and one lb at a time.
Habits take time to develop, but once you start developing them, it becomes 2nd nature...much like the habits you want to get rid of.
None of us gained our weight overnight. None of us lose it that way either.
240 lbs>>>> 164 lbs (took over a year!!!)0 -
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.
This...
I am not doing this for my husband, son, friends or anything other then myself. It's a choice you make everyday, every meal and every exercise session. You either do it or you don't.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 398 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 976 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions