i can't get past the first couple of days...need motivation!

hello,
i am brand new to myfitnesspal and have never used these types of resources for support. i always turn to my friends and family, but they are not in the same situation as me, so it's hard for them to relate to my struggles. i'm hoping some of you can help me out there.
here is my biggest challenge: i start my weight loss journey: i am motivated and do well for 2-4 days (max) then i hit what feels like a brick wall! who am i kidding? eating healthy and exercising is EXHAUSTING! am i the only person who feels this way? the planning, the motivation, the cooking, the preparing, etc. is just so much to manage all at once. i cave in after a few days when i need convinience, or when i'm just down right exhausted and could not be bothered to look a treadmill or a cooking pan. i start feeling bad, and the awful eating habits kick in.

how do you get past those brick walls? i can't rely on my weight loss or decrease in inches because my successes are always short lived. i have a hard time grasping that this journey should be ongoing and continue after i've reached my goal.

i know i'm preaching to the choir when i say this, but THIS IS SO HARD!! can anybody offer any help or advice to get through the rough patches to come?

i'm ready to do this, but can't seem to get past the first couple of days! help!

If I were you I would start SLOW. Change one habit at a time, give it a week or so on one habit then move to the next one it might overwhelm you a little less

A lot of what this comes down to is learning how to use coping skills to work past the thoughts that hold you back. That plus starting slow and considering weight loss and a healthy diet/fitness as a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, not a temporary thing, will help you ease into a new life of being healthy. If you're not a fitness person, I highly recommend you look into finding things to do that are physically active yet fun...I hate workouts but I love riding my bike around town. I often ride for an hour round trip down to my local bar and indulge in a light beer or two after a really healthy day of eating. Sometimes I like to just go for a long walk on a trail. I also try to do things like hit the roller skating rink or go on an adventure that allows some walking. I DO use the gym, too, but most of my activity is fun stuff that I like to do that HAPPENS to be good for me. Even walking through a museum (I put it down as a slow 2.0 mph walk). Foodwise, EAT HEALTHY. Period. I eat ten times more now than I did when I was binging on junky crap, and I've found a ton of healthy food that tastes amazing. I even got a Magic Bullet blender to make myself Spirutein Protein Plus shakes with soy milk because holy crap they're SO GOOD. But it does come down to willpower. My boyfriend is skinny as a rail and loves eating fries and the other night he asked if I wanted to get some and I literally said "no, I can't do that because I am working hard to change my health and fitness". Saying it out loud made me feel convicted and strong. And I didn't break down and eat fries! I actually had some cooked kale. I wish you the best and want you to know you CAN DO THIS. If a compulsive overeater like me can, YOU CAN. You just have to want it and make the shift at your own comfort level.

We all have those battles. The best part of this site is that we all want the same thing so we know the struggles that we all have. You can do this! It's almost like a game to me- the finding the right foods with the right calories to stay under my goal. I haven't really been excersising yet- Just watching my food intake... I'm down 10 pounds!! I DO record EVERYTHING I eat- good or not... sometimes I go over, sometimes by a lot, mostly I'm under. Check out my blog. You can see the struggles that I am having...

For me it is all about substitutions. We do not do any more prep for meals at home than before, we have just made a shift in the things we buy when shopping (shopping does take longer though). We also eat out alot for convenience and I have been surpised to find that most of our usual stops have pretty decent choices on the menus. This is not the case with them all, there are a few places that I just refuse to go into anymore...but only a few. Exericise is the real kicker for me. I'll do real good for a week or so and then slack off for a bit . I have to really push myself to be consistant.

In any case hang with it and good luck!!!

i just discovered the green giant veggies blends, like the "antioxidant blend" that are good for you and very tasty. they're in the frozen vegetable section at the store and are ready in less than 5mins on the microwave. the serving size, which is half the package is only 50 calories. also, costco has grilled nuggets, called "naked nuggets" and they are very tasty and only 110 calories for 1 serving (7 nuggets) and ready very quick.

hope this gives you a little help

In the month of September I lost roughly 12 lbs with the help of MFP. Prior to that I lost roughly 30 lbs since the beginning of April. I was working out heavily until the second week of September but since have only had the time for some regular cardio. Since starting to use MFP I discovered many tactics which I am now using in my diet. I hope some of these might help others. So far my total weight has gone from roughly 226 pounds to 184 pounds. My body fat has dropped from around 33% to 21.2 %. I progress is still happening.

1. I always carry packets of Crystal Light with me. I often have a water bottle with me as well. This way I am prepared if I find myself in some place with a water fountain. If I am in a restaurant I can order ice water as my drink and simply flavor it. Most restaurants charge a ridiculous price for a soda type of drink and then provide free refills. Your typical glass of cola is going to be around 160 calories and I almost always had two or three. Singles packets of Crystal light lemonade are 10 calories each.

2. For restaurants I try to stick to places where I know they have things on the menu I can eat. Many restaurants for example will provide a rotisserie chicken option. A quarter of chicken with while meat has only around 220 calories if you peel the skin off of it.

3. I stopped eating french fries. I now tend to either make or order mashed potatoes instead. Often this means that I eat some 100 calories worth of potatoes instead of nearly 500 calories in french fries (because they were cooked in a fryer). When I do this I usually will allow myself to enjoy a little gravy on my mashed potatoes. The 30-60 calories for the gravy is a small price to pay. As a result of these options I can easily eat in many restaurants using some 500 calories.

4. I eat lots of easy to prepare, but healthy side dishes. These are dishes which don't even need to be cooked. So I will often combine nice lean steak, chicken, or pork with side dishes of a tomato chopped into wedges or a whole cucumber sliced up.

5. I regularly snack on things like cucumber and tomato... even if I am only moderately hungry. Plug them in to see the calories versus the nutrients within. You can overload on these sorts of things and it isn't a problem.

6. I've added baked sweet potatoes to the menu. They taste amazing, have so few calories, and are great for nutrition.

7. Zero Fat Yogurt is a great snack. Add a half cup of granola to a cup of the yogurt and you get a great breakfast. Its so low calorie and nutritious that I have a banana as well.

8. I realized how many calories I was wasting on bread in sandwiches. I would often have a couple of sandwiches for lunch. The contents were always healthy but I was screwing up and didn't realize it. The typical piece of bread has around 100-110 calories in it. For two sandwiches that's over 400 calories not including the contents of the sandwich. I now buy Weight Watchers or Dempster's Calorie Wise Bread. Its 50 calories per slice. Instead of two sandwiches I'll have one sandwich and stuff more in it. I can buy a whole package of Corned Beef (90 Calories) use all of it, combine it wilh 2 or 3 slices of Fat Free Kraft Singles (30 calories each), use some mustard (30-45 calories) and microwave it for a really tasty sandwich at less than 325 calories. Combine that with some sliced tomato on the side for another 25 calories. Its tasty, low calorie, nutritious.

9. I look for fat free or low fat versions of things. Yogurt, Cheese, Milk, etc.

10. I eat apples, oranges, and bananas alot. I almost always have something in my mouth. If I'm looking for something a little sweeter I can even take an apple, slice it up into wedges, and carmelize it in the oven with a little bit of
cinnamon.

11. My diet is really based upon eat things that are easy and quick to make. There is nothing that I eat which I cannot cook quickly, or clean up fast when I am done. To lose 1 lb per week MFP gives me 1740 calories as my target. I easily make this target, despite eating far more food than I ever did.

Just take your time. The most important thing you can do for yourself with this site and/or the smart phone applications is JOURNAL! If you eat it, write it. If you exercise, write it. Don't obsess over an oops day, just move on from it.

In the past I've managed to lose >10 lbs in a week a number of times, but it always comes back with a vengeance and taking things slowly is definitely the way to go.

The advantage of a site like MFP is it allows you to slowly appraise your eating/fitness habits and address problem areas gradually. Since eating is habitual and it take weeks to create or change a habit, you should allow your mind and your body time to change your eating habits. By the time your habits have changed sufficiently you'll have re-programmed your eating/fitness habits to keep yourself at a comfortable, sustainable weight, so don't beat yourself up

In the 3 weeks since I joined I've already managed to pinpoint 3 fairly easy targets in my own eating habits, and as I work to address them I'm finding my weight gradually reducing at a very sustainable level:

* Soft drinks - Loadsa calories and chemicals. I'm replacing them with good 'ole H2O.

* Alcohol - Although I do like socialising, I'd never realised how much I drank at home. It's now green tea and more H2O when I'm at home, saving my liver for those nights on the town.

* Sugary snacks - I never realised how often I allowed myself to eat "ocassional" chocolate bars/cakes (3-4 / week). Fruit makes an excellent substitute.

Good luck with keeping the motivation, and if you find yourself feeling low then post in the forum (or add some friends) as getting support from others in the same situation is a real boon.

I'd slow down if I were you - pick a really reasonable amount of time to exercise, doing something you actually like (doesn't have to be the gym, swimming, biking, or just cleaning the house all are on here). And what really helps me is planning my next day ahead of time - make all the food choices the night before so you don't have to use your brain at all when you're hungry. Keep at it like a little ant and you'll get there faster than you think! I've learned weeks pass whether I made any progress or not, so even slow progress is excellent.