blah loosing hope and motivation fassst

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Oompa_Loompa
Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
in Motivation and Support
I actually just updated this on my profile but then thought I'd post it here too so maybe people can help me lol


I have been on mfp since January. I have been obsessing over what I eat, what I CANT eat, how many calories every little thing is..basically I'm thinking about food all the time now and how it makes me feel. I am pretty much still where I started off at. I'm getting...tired. This is no way to live life..worrying about what I'm eating and what I will be eating everyday..I'm starting to wonder if I even care anymore..no I do care I just am starting to loose hope and I do not want to give up.

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  • Tasha1476
    Tasha1476 Posts: 220
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    I know it's not the most helpful thing you have ever heard, but the best thing I can tell you is, you already KNOW what foods are good for you and bad for you. You just have to trust that you can make those decisions. TRUST yourself and stop beating yourself up. Know that if you make one bad decision its just a bad decision, ONE. and it doesn't change your whole life, The less stressed and more happy you are, the better you will eat naturally and the less you will think about what foods you can and cant have.

    I also suggest a bit more of an "anything in moderation" approach. If you REALLY want pizza, have pizza, but have one slice of just cheese or cheese and veggies. Don't eat a whole box. When we tell ourselves we CANT have something, we want it even more. thats just my opinion
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    What's the other option? Giving up? Quitting and undoing all of that hard work and claiming that almost a year was a waste of time? Since when is quitting an option? Winners don't quit and quitters don't win.

    Maybe take some time off, don't go completely overboard, but maybe take time to re-examine your goals and how to get there.
  • elmct57
    elmct57 Posts: 594 Member
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    i found focusing on the positives helped. i made a list of what i could have and pick out my favorites and go for it. it's not a daily chore--i want to do it and the daily log in helps me. you have to find what works for you and decide how badly do you want it (the results). Just do the best you can every day. baby steps at first just planning the meals out as a game/puzzle over the weekend and then put it into action or cook ahead. Gives you something to look forward to.

    After a while, it's a habit and you add something else--a walk around the block and then a bit more each day...it's a gradual process. take a step back and let all of it fall away except the 2 or 3 most important to you--your post sounded like you've become overwhelmed by it all. it's not meant to be that and you have to dump and avoid negativity. when i have the blahs i re-read my entries and it helps me realize how far i've come or how i handled something similar last time i'd forgotten about.

    Be stubborn for yourself and fight on! You ARE worth it!
  • Bigpelly8
    Bigpelly8 Posts: 504 Member
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    Best advice I could say, is stop obsessing, and start planning. Log in your meals ahead of time, know exactly what you are having, and than you will know how many cals you have to play with, so if you want to give yourself a treat, you know you can and you don;t have to feel guilty about it.

    You can only go one day at a time, develop good habits, and before you know, you will be coasting!!! Oh, and GO SOX!!
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    Best advice I could say, is stop obsessing, and start planning. Log in your meals ahead of time, know exactly what you are having, and than you will know how many cals you have to play with, so if you want to give yourself a treat, you know you can and you don;t have to feel guilty about it.

    You can only go one day at a time, develop good habits, and before you know, you will be coasting!!! Oh, and GO SOX!!


    Well GO CELTICS right now lol and the pats. Do you think they'll try to get jeter?
  • floridasea1
    floridasea1 Posts: 4 Member
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    I just concentrate on logging my exercise trying to burn 500 calories a day and eating pretty much the same menu each week.

    I do think it is good for people starting the program to learn just how many calories they are consuming...then once they have found what foods help them loose they can create a healthy menu and just stick to it.

    Here's to ultimate health in the New Year!
  • izobel
    izobel Posts: 116 Member
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    I wonder if you are always hungry and that is why you are obsessing over food? I need quantity and bulk - drinking water and eating salad does absolutely nothing to satiate me. I eat a lot of potato, sweet potato, pumpkin (savoury) and other filling things with pork or beef. I never add oil for cooking though or calorie laden dressings. 500gms of meat is a seriously appetite satisfying amount and not as many calories as you'd expect. I mainly use soy sauce and chillis as flavouring. I use salt a lot too because I exercise and I don't eat high sodium processed foods. I really think if you are not hungry you will find it easier but you need to find good substantial foods that fill you up. You are right - you can't live your life like you are on a constant diet.

    Really really good luck.
  • chrissym78
    chrissym78 Posts: 628 Member
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    Noooo! Don't give up! I've lost 50 lbs in 4 months! It can be done, I am proof!!! Friend me if ya want :)
  • SJSchwartz
    SJSchwartz Posts: 131
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    I agree with the "everything in moderation" idea. That's what I've been doing, and I don't feel deprived of anything. Don't think you CAN'T have something. That just makes you want it even more, and then you feel like this whole weightloss journey is too hard and nothing but work, work, work. That wouldn't cut it in my life. This is a lifestyle change, something that I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life, so I want it as easy as possible and not too life-consuming. Obviously what you've been doing for the past year isn't something that you would want to do for the rest of your life. So change it up a little. Be able to let yourself eat what you're hungry for, just in moderation. I would mainly just focus on calories in/calories out for now; make sure you're just staying within your allotted calories. Don't focus so much on whether what you're eating is the absolutely heathiest choice you could ever make.. that can get obsessive fast. If you find that you're not getting full and feeling still hungry, then try a different food next time. You KNOW that candy isn't as healthy a snack as an apple... so don't do it often, but if you feel like you really want a piece of candy, have one. Just add it into your food diary for that day. Life is too short not to enjoy every minute of it. You're on this journey to make a good change in your life, and to feel better, but when you're consistantly not feeling good about it, then something needs to change with it. Good luck :)
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    Erica,

    Please hang in there. Don't quit simply change. Recognize that what you have been doing isn't quite right for you...so tweak it a bit.

    It has been a very slow journey for me and I had to shift and modify many times to make it work. At any one junction I could have quit but instead I tweaked.

    Make today a tweak day. Try something new.

    Be honest with yourself about what you have been doing and what you can do differently. Ask yourself, why you are obsessing...do you need to take a short break? Are you weighing too often?

    For me there were times I was eating too much, or simply the wrong things, then there were times I was eating too little. There were also the times that I was exercising too lightly or too hard.

    In the end I could never tell anyone what worked for me because there were so many things that helped but then didn't help after awhile. My only advice is to take it slow and realize the scales are not the best way of know how you are doing. For me the scales do not show the fruit of a behavior change for at least two weeks.

    The one thing I DO know for sure is that quitting is final. That's it. Change will never happen when you quit.

    Seek advice about tweaking but hang in there!

    D
  • elmct57
    elmct57 Posts: 594 Member
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    read this and reconsider:

    http://www.danoah.com/2010/11/small-side-of-numbers.html

    you can do this!
  • Aimee_PD
    Aimee_PD Posts: 177 Member
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    I feel the same way right now. I feel like every thought is consumed by eating right.make the right choices. that has too many calories. holidays are here why bother...its endless. I failed during Thanksgiving and now christmas is right around the corner so I subconsciously feel why bother until after new years? I did so well up until now, everyone is telling me I'm just in a winter funk. I hope so. I no longer have my treadmill and that was where i was most productive. I now have an elliptical that I just cant get the hang of. if i cant do the output i was used to I dont eat right either. its a vicious cycle and I am ready to snap out of it. The other posters have good advice though. I'll do my best to follow it! Just wanted u to know you're not alone in this journey and it helps me to see not everyone feels positive 100% of the time!
  • OGFleabag
    OGFleabag Posts: 137 Member
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    I feel the same way at times. I don't like obsessing, to me that seems unhealthy in itself. I just load the house with healthy foods, eat til I am satisfied, lots of fiber, lots of protein, lots of water and exercising everyday. it does take effort, but I do notice I am seeing food more as fuel than as a leisure activity like I used to. Having a different mindset has really helped me. I have been working on myself, and keeping track of what I am feeling when I have the urge to feed my face. I really do think this is helping me tremendously!
  • brittlynne3579
    brittlynne3579 Posts: 217 Member
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    You've worked so hard to lose hope and motivation now!

    Sometimes when I feel like you're describing I'll just scale back a little. Still focus on my fitness and eating but not to the most hardcore extreme. Or perhaps focus on food and give yourself an exercise break or vice versa. Just to break away from the routine and the obsessing might help. I sure hope it does!

    We're all here rooting for you!! :flowerforyou:
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    emlct57-that was really good!

    Thanks everyone for your suggestions and support. I need to change the way i look at things. easier said then done though
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    I feel the same way right now. I feel like every thought is consumed by eating right.make the right choices. that has too many calories. holidays are here why bother...its endless. I failed during Thanksgiving and now Christmas is right around the corner so I subconsciously feel why bother until after new years? I did so well up until now, everyone is telling me I'm just in a winter funk. I hope so. I no longer have my treadmill and that was where i was most productive. I now have an elliptical that I just cant get the hang of. if i cant do the output i was used to I dont eat right either. its a vicious cycle and I am ready to snap out of it. The other posters have good advice though. I'll do my best to follow it! Just wanted u to know you're not alone in this journey and it helps me to see not everyone feels positive 100% of the time!

    If you're not 'dieting' but actually creating a new way of living by eating healthier foods and exercises with occasional treats I'm not sure I understand how you 'failed during Thanksgiving'? What does fail really mean? It's simply an old 'diet' term many of us our familiar with but when you think of your life moving forward 'failure' no longer has a place and it only has the power we give to it.

    If you are referring to eating more than you had hoped on a Holiday it's a great time to move forward and see it more as a reason to make changes. When we plan ahead & stick to our plan (remembering how it felt in the past when we didn't) and realize we're not 'dieting' (well, hopefully not!) but re-learning how to eat and realizing that food is simply that, food. Food has only the power we allow it to have in our lives.

    Perhaps finding a new outlet for exercises if what you're doing now isn't a good match for yourself, there are many you tube vids on the how-to's of using an Elliptical it does take some rhythm when you first begin using it as does anything new. An Elliptical is one of those workout machines that can effect our entire body because you can change it up so much, perhaps trying it out again with a new attitude? Start out slow then each day add a minute or two and you'll be on your way. :wink:

    Working out at home can be difficult unless there is a set workout time same as going to the gym at the same time everyday. If we create a routine it's far easier to stick with something ...also if you want to mix it up lots of workouts on Netflix, You tube, low cost DVD's or perhaps simply finding a class at the community center or a something that way to get you with others that are looking to get fit, it can really really help with motivation.

    When we have others looking forward to us being there each day or each week it becomes fun to workout!. Zumba comes to mind, water aerobics, you can always buy a punch card to save on the cost of joining if that's an issue. I really find myself far more accountable working out and 'going' somewhere where others will be. I won't likely let myself or others looking forward to seeing me down the way I might working out alone.:blushing:

    Creating that time for ourselves is important not just simply for weightloss but emotionally taking time to care for ourselves because we're important and we're SO WORTH IT!:drinker: :love:

    Giving up is simply not an option not after you've experienced the other side:wink::flowerforyou:
  • Memah
    Memah Posts: 129
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    Been there. For awhile I found it so tedious to count calories and watch every little thing I ate. I know I was in denial as I would consume a whole bunch of chocolate or otherwise. But then I joined an eight-week fitness and nutrition class and we were required to turn in a weekly calorie count. That was eye-opening! Once I realized what I could/should and shouldn't eat, it became a lot easier. Now I don't keep track anymore except for on MFP, and that really does help. Here's a tip: Don't keep anything in the house that you can't have. That way, whatever you grab will be on your "good list." Veggies, veggies, veggies, and fruit. I'm not big on salad, not at all. I call it bunny food. But I try to get lettuce, romaine, tomato, green pepper, onion any way I can, on a sandwich or whatever. I love fruit, so I eat lots of that, minus apples, which I don't care for so much.

    I have never exercised so much in my life. That really does help. All the water is a bit of a trial, but I know it washes out the sodium, and I put lemon in my water. Tea counts.

    Last night I had a little mint chocolate chip ice cream, and this morning I'm down 1/2 pound. Go figure.

    You CAN do this, and I believe you will. As someone else said, tweak things a little, regroup and keep on keeping on. We're all in this together. You'll be pleased with your results. Good luck, friend.
  • eleanoreb
    eleanoreb Posts: 621 Member
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    you might not need to lose any more weight.. how tall are you? your BMI might be int he normal to low range already

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