Struggling to stay motivated

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bourkej
bourkej Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've just started back into MFP, and I want to stay motivate, but am finding it hard. How do I overcome this?
I have introduced Pilates into my lunch times, and have dropped my food portions too.

Another thing is, I have trouble with me eating all that's on my plate, as I feel like I'm wasting food. (the age old don't leave your seat till you're finished your plate parents). I know I can cut my food don, but I don't want to be not eating enough, or thinki that I am missing out as then I may binge.

Any advice? Thanks :)

Replies

  • cameronwheeler
    cameronwheeler Posts: 89
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    Welcome back, take as much advice as you can since your a beginner again. I've been on mfp for a year now and I successfully lost 125 lbs in 6 months.

    Only fill your plate with the right portion size. Most people tend to eat whats on their plate. So if you have an extra large french fry, your probably going to eat all of it, if you have a small fry, well you will probably just stop there. This goes for any food.

    Tips: go walking, that how I started to lose the weight. Walking eventually turned into jogging, jogging eventually turned into running, now I run 4-10 miles easily at a time like its nothing.

    To stay motivated, add friends! staying updated with friends will help you stick to your goals. Also ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD about you diet. By posting on facebook and letting family members and friends know of my journey, I didn't want them to think I was a "quitter" so I stuck with it and stayed motivated. Getting active is the key. I personally don't feel like your diet is the key. If you think about it, you could eat fast food everyday and still lose weight. Just stick to your goals, watch your sodium level and get active. Sometimes its hard to stay active especially with busy schedules, but you have to make time.

    Also, get rid of any extra fattening snacks and junk food that might tempt you. I recently gained 10 lbs back because I started binge eating on junk food again. Once I cleaned out my cabinets, I didn't buy anymore and I'm starting to lose the weight again. And also, water is the key to weight loss. Diet sodas dont count. Stick to water, its our bodies natural regulator.

    Hope this helped!
  • rattleh3ad
    rattleh3ad Posts: 50
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    Hi, I know how hard it is to stay motivated, but you just have to find all the positive things you can achieve and keep those goals in mind. It sucks at first and seems impossible(believe me I know), but it will get easier as time goes by. Despite what the diet and fitness industry tells you, there is no quick fix to losing weight, keeping it off, and getting fit. It takes determination and hardwork to change your life for the better. But it gets easier.

    What most people do is take pictures of themselves on a week to week basis, when they reach a milestone of some sort or when their clothes are looser.

    I know about binging because I've binged until I was 275lbs. For me, after I developed a more regular eating diet, the cravings went away and my willpower grew stronger to resist binging. Yes, I still get hunger pains, but I know that's because it's my brain and depression craving food, and not my body.
  • bethiewilliams
    bethiewilliams Posts: 38
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    Eat what is on your plate just make sure it is all within your cals. Don't go hungry - that is the worst thing. You will fall off e wagon in minutes. Try making a vat of soup or veg curry (whichever you prefer) and some stewed apples and have them handy in the fridge. If you are hungry or need a fix they are low cal and tend to sate you. I love veg curry - you can make with fresh ginger and spices and it helps to regulate your blood sugars - you are less likely to fall off the wagon. Don't look at a "bad" day as being the end and a disaster. Just think - I enjoyed that, now back to it. Talk to people and ask them to support you and keep reading stuff on here and make friends to keep you motivated. Most important is to remember you are not on your own. We are all in the same boat. That's why we are here! Good luck and chin up and chest out! :bigsmile:
  • Seabee74
    Seabee74 Posts: 314
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    Motivation comes from within.. As you go along and eat properly and exercise you will start to feel the benefits from this. When that starts to happen the feeling you get from knowing you are developing a healthy lifestyle will contribute to a better attitude helping to motivate you. It comes in time. It may take 3 or 4 weeks until your body adapts and gets used to the new foods and the constant exercise it's getting ! This is all good ! Find some friends that will help and support you and at the same time you can help and support them. Believe me when I say even if you don't think you can help anyone else right now, you can. Sometimes a simple "great day" or "nice loss" to one of your friends can really mean a lot !!! As far as eating.. Know what your goals are, calorie wise etc. and eat what you need to eat to get up close to that goal. Everyone has their own opinion on how many of your exercise calories to eat back, my suggestion is to start out eating about 1/2 back and see how it goes. As far as eatog what's on your plate, again do what you need to do to reach your goal. If your are having trouble eating a lot of calories, look at foods like nuts, cottage cheese etc. There are a lot of good high calorie foods that are good for you ! You want to make sure you are not starving after dinner and start eating too much stuff that is bad for you. I figure out my logging ahead of time and more times than not I have calories left over to have a snack after dinner which can be low cal ice cream such as skinny cow etc. You area doing the right thing by asking for advice. I am by no means an expert on any of this but it seems to be working for me and I'm sure you can get it to work for you as well !! Good luck and find yourself some good friends so you can take this journey together !
  • Jkn921
    Jkn921 Posts: 309 Member
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    I'm feeling it a bit too, now I'm at the last stages it feels like I can slack off but also am not getting the results I want. I've started to relax a bit and also my craving for junk food is slowly rising, I only had it on Saturday and want it today! Stay strong. One thing I'm going to do is 20 minutes of cardio each day, I noticed if I don't exercise everyday it's a lot harder than doing it 3-4 times per week. I think consistency is key for me.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    I've just started back into MFP, and I want to stay motivate, but am finding it hard. How do I overcome this?
    I have introduced Pilates into my lunch times, and have dropped my food portions too.

    Another thing is, I have trouble with me eating all that's on my plate, as I feel like I'm wasting food. (the age old don't leave your seat till you're finished your plate parents). I know I can cut my food don, but I don't want to be not eating enough, or thinki that I am missing out as then I may binge.

    Any advice? Thanks :)

    theres nothing wrong not finishing your plate, you can save it for later.
    sounds like you need to learn strategic eating.
    I think I can get you back on track and stay motivated.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Read http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    There's some majorly good information in that topic. Don't restrict yourself, or you will lose steam and burn out. Steady consistency is key.
  • bourkej
    bourkej Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks for your words, and good luck :)

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