How long did it take or things to just click?

focuseddiva
focuseddiva Posts: 174 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
By far my biggest hurdle is being consistent. I used to be consistent, and that's what go the weight off. Then I became inconsistent, and the weight came back on. I tried to summon my willpower and overpower the inconsistency. I wanted willpower to smother my urges to overeat. And it would work for a day or two. Sometimes three. Maybe four days. By then, the cravings rose, and it became impossible to quiet them. So I'd eat. But. When I was being consistently healthy and making the right choices and not overeating, it was a pattern. A pattern that I became used to an then thrived on. Almost a mental game -- an ego boost -- if I could glide by a plate of cupcakes at work while everyone else herded around the snack table, mowing down junk. The mroe I exercised mental/emotional control over food, the more easily I could do it. And then it was just a pattern and something I became used to.

So that is what I am trying to get back to. It's just taking many attempts here to establish the pattern again.

For those of you losing weight, how long did it take for you to fall into a healthy pattern that produced results? How long did it take for things to click? From day one? A full week? A month? Still working on it?

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    7 weeks. I started by adding in an exercise routine and making my weekly goal to get in all my workouts, even if they didn't happen on the day they were scheduled. I started with exercise because at the time I was starting, changing my eating would have been setting myself up for failure.

    Then I started watching what I ate, not logging yet, but cutting down on one snack a day, drink more water, etc. Eventually I began logging, eating within my calorie limits, and the weight started coming off.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    It took months of trial & error before everything fell into place for me. Slowly but surely, I made more & more healthy choices every day. You don't have to be perfect. Good enough is good enough.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    I think it's a constant process, but once I decided I was changing my lifestyle, I made the change and stuck with it. I had one period after I lost the 1st 55lbs and had reached my target weight where I lapsed. I went back into a maintenance type mode, the holidays hit and next thing I know I put 10lbs back on. That motivated me to get back on the wagon and I've been on ever since. While I felt good at that 1st target weight I decided that another 30lbs off would be a better goal and that's the what I'm working towards now.
  • focuseddiva
    focuseddiva Posts: 174 Member
    Interesting. So you did it in phases versus all at once.

    I have no issues with getting exercise in. It's all about the food with me. I've tried NOT exercising so I wouldn't be extra hungry and therefore tempted to overeat, but it was painfully obvious that it wasn't hunger driving me to overeat. I was still overeating even when not exercising. Exercising just makes me feel better, and it helps balance out the fact that I sit in a car for my commute and sit at a desk all day.

    I think I read it takes a good 3 weeks for a pattern to be established, so I keep trying to aim for that but can't ever make it past 4-5 days without breaking down and eating an extra 1000 calories. Bah.
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
    I'm a slow learner, it's taking me years. But that's OK, I look at this as a process.

    I agree about breaking it down into smaller chunks and working on one at a time. That's the way that works best for me.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    Yes, I had an initial target weight, I hit that pretty fast, maybe 7-8 months, and after lapsing decided my target needed to be lower, so I continued cutting weight after I re-reached my initial goal. Once I hit the new target I might decide I want to drop another 10-15lbs, or I might decide where I am is good and maintain from there. It all depends on what the mirror says. I have some secondary goals with my pants size that might require a few more lbs to come off but we'll see when I get there.
  • focuseddiva
    focuseddiva Posts: 174 Member
    Yeah. And perspective is so disarming. When I was at my goal weight, I could never have imagined myself 15 lbs heavier. That would have been major panic time for me. Now, 15 pounds over my goal weight IS my goal weight.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I read it takes a good 3 weeks for a pattern to be established, so I keep trying to aim for that but can't ever make it past 4-5 days without breaking down and eating an extra 1000 calories.
    Log it accurately & honestly & move on. Look at your nutrition for the last 7 days (calories & protein), and decide what you can eat for your next meal that will move you closer to your goals.

    We all hit bumps in the road. Don't let them derail your progress. Learn from them & get back on track.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    In my opinion "willpower" isn't enough. I need strategies.
    For example...
    At first, I started driving the back way home so as not to even drive past fast food places.
    I go into situations having already made up my mind about things. When I go grocery shopping, I allow myself one chocolate item. I decide this before I go in. Once I am there looking at the candy isle, I remind myself I already made this decision, there's nothing to think about or debate. I'm not saying it's easy but...how often have you stood in front of food debating if you can/should have it or not? Let's face it, we are in no position to make decisions while we are standing among a whole isle of candy!
    When I prepare food at home, I put the leftovers in the fridge before I even sit down to eat. Those are for tomorrow.
    I portion out a snack into a bowl, and put the bag/box away and get out of the kitchen. I know when the bowl is empty, I'm done.
    Of course, these don't work all the time, but they work enough of the time.

    Looking at your diary, I have another suggestion...EAT REAL FOOD. I bet you're actually hungry, because prepared foods like Jenny Craig, while they help control calories, are small portions lacking real nutrition. By preparing my own food, I can eat A LOT more each day for the same number of calories. I'd be hungry and lack willpower too if I was eating "diet food". Feel free to check out my diary... though, the days between Xmas and New Years are kind of a mess lol.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member

    I think I read it takes a good 3 weeks for a pattern to be established, so I keep trying to aim for that but can't ever make it past 4-5 days without breaking down and eating an extra 1000 calories. Bah.

    Who says you have to start at a certain lb/week goal? If cutting back on food is a troublespot for you, start with a 1/2 lb week goal, which will give you more calories, and once you're got that down, up your goal to 1 lb/wk, and so on. The whole point is to make a lifestyle change in a way that works for you. Try a lower goal with a higher calorie intake, eat back your exercise calories, and see if you can make that behavior stick. Not everyone can go full -500 cal or more a day right out of the gate.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Of course, these don't work all the time, but they work enough of the time.
    ^^^This x100.
  • JojoEffeckt164
    JojoEffeckt164 Posts: 146 Member
    Please excause me language mistakes. I´m not a native speaker :blushing:

    When I decided that I would give myfitnesspal a chance to change my life, I wanted to give it a shot for at least a month and see if things work out for me!

    I needed a week feel ok with it. I ate the wrong stuff so I didn´t get filled up with what I was eating. I had to change a few things (for example: no butter, different dressing....) Sine I´ve just started a month ago, I´m trying to be very accurate about it. I will stay that way, untill my new lifestyle will becomes a habbit.

    I was quite well with this diet untill a few days ago. right now I´m kind of annoyed of it. I even dreamed about quitting! Than I woke up and my mind knew that I need to go on, but it´s still hard every once in a while!

    So all in all I can say that it started working without starving anymore after a week,
    after two weeks I didn´t think about weighing my food anymore and just did it
    after a month it´s still not a habbit for me, but I´m working on making it a habbit. Since I ate about 1 decade the wrong way I think it is not a surprise that it will take a while to change that lifestyle :-D

    Oh and I got great results since the first week that keep me motivated, because I sticked to my calorie-goal!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    In my experience, lifestyle change is difficult because people tend to be little picture thinkers and when you're talking about "lifestyle" you're really talking about a very, very, very big picture. I think it's really a constant struggle as anything worthwhile tends to be. I'm a pretty broad thinker...I'm a CFO so I get paid to see big picture in business and of course that translates to my own life as well...but I still get buried in the minutia from time to time.

    For people who have a very hard time with seeing the big picture, the minutia of day to day and slogging through that minutia can be disheartening...especially when they're a slave to the scale. Part of that big picture thinking is understanding that there's more to this and more to lifestyle change than just a number on the scale or fitting into some certain size or looking a certain way for some event or vacation or whatever.

    This is really about your overall health and well being...when people start to understand this, they start to see the bigger picture...they start to understand that there really isn't a finish line...that when they reach some arbitrary number on the scale, that's not the end...it's really only a very small part of the greater process of being a healthier and more fit individual.

    Health, nutrition, fitness, etc are life long endeavors...there is no finish line. You will have good days and bad days and good weeks and bad weeks...you will not be 100% awesome all of the time...you will miss workouts and you will over indulge at holidays and birthday parties, and rando BBQs or just because it's Saturday. But when you've truly adopted an overall lifestyle of nutrition and fitness and can see the bigger picture, you understand that these occasions are just that...they are occasions...one day of going overboard or missing a workout shouldn't derail you because it is completely meaningless in the grand scheme.

    Like I said, it's a constant struggle I think...and something you always have to remind yourself of. You always have to be mindful of what you're doing so that you can catch yourself when you start falling into wayward habits. For me, it took months...probably 9 months to a year to really grasp the concept of "lifestyle" and to stop beating myself up over missing a workout and being able to just move on and say, "oh well...that was just one day of many days of the rest of my life...missing that workout was irrelevant to the whole."
  • april1445
    april1445 Posts: 334
    What a great post: thoughtful question, and thoughtful answers. Thanks for asking and answering.
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
    I don't think I actually had all my habits in place until about 3 weeks in.
  • laursoar
    laursoar Posts: 131 Member
    While I can't really pinpoint where things began to click, I can say that I think it all started to get continuously easier after a couple of weeks. I still find it hard to keep up as well as usual with my eating when I'm out of my routine. Otherwise though, getting through (while in my normal apartment) has become so much easier after being on track for four months! After awhile, you'll develop habits like measuring food, tracking in MFP, and weighing yourself. At the same time, you start to just get a better idea of general portion sizes, what options are healthier, protein-filled options, healthier recipes, good substitutions, etc.

    Just take it one day at a time! You'll get there.
  • BoxerDogsMom
    BoxerDogsMom Posts: 8 Member
    Still working on it. I let my emotions get the best of me and if I track I am good but that is my problem. Weight is a life long journey for me and I think about it all the time. I need to chill and I know what I have to do. The problem is applying myself. I am a lifetime Weight Watcher since the early 90's and worked at WW too but my life has been a roller coaster and my goal right now is to track and NO BINGE eating and get off the wine!!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It was instant for me, but it was after weeks of binging last year and I was actually sick of food... so it was relatively easy. There have been ups and downs since though, the key I guess is not to let a bad day derail you and go back on track the next day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    To expand on my previous post about "big think" vs "little think" and how "little think" ultimately will lead to failure....

    this thread is a prime example of "little think" and not being able to see the big picture...the forest through the trees so to speak...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1163003-i-broke-my-healthy-streak-and-i-feel-bad

    As I responded to the OP in this thread...her health, nutrition, and fitness are not predicated on the fact that she had a few chips...that is the kind of minutia that will drown you and ultimately lead to giving up. Big picture thinker would say, "well...that probably wasn't the best choice...but it's not the end of the world either...I can still get my nutrition on today and my fitness too...this is irrelevant to the greater whole."
  • Barbonica
    Barbonica Posts: 337 Member
    I phased in. I started in April 2011 with a steady exercise program, in July 2011 I changed my eating habits so that I was eating items that were actively good for me (or neutral) - by which I mean primarily meat, veggies, fruit, dairy - not a lot of grains. I focused more on micronutrients, and didn't even think about calories or macros. I wanted to increase certain micronutrients to focus on my specific age and gender, to maintain good health. I started focusing on calories early 2013, after 8-9 months of maintaining weight.

    It took me a good 6-8 months for the exercise thing to become truly a habit, and well over a year for it to become something that I look forward to (and have to monitor to make sure I don't overdo!). The eating change clicked almost immediately, but I really started enjoying the physical effects of the change after about 6 months. Counting calories took me about a month to click. That was really just getting better at portion control; I haven't changed how or what I am eating.

    I think everyone is different. Find what you enjoy, focus on that aspect of your new lifestyle, give the rest a chance. Try new things. When you deviate from your plan, don't stress, just get back on the plan. Modify the plan when needed.

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