First day trouble please help

Best advice I have, eat more (lean) protein, lift weights..both of those help a lot. Lean protein fills you up, too many carbs make you want to eat more.

Hello :-) Join the club! First day in and im dying! Add me as a friend and we cam help eachother!

For some people, it helps to plan meals and snacks in advance. Plan your meals within a calorie limit and stick to it as much as possible. Fit one or two treats in there.

Start slow with exercise. You don't have to get all crazy and have an intense workout routine. Just try to move around more than usual. Take a short walk with the kids or do some stretching/yoga. If it's nice out where you live, take the kids to the park and walk around while they play.

And most of all, don't be too hard on yourself. Take it day by day and set small goals.

What are you doing in your first day that's making it so hard to stick to? If it's so hard that you can't contemplate a few days of it, I'd argue you making it harder than it needs to be. Eat (preferably food you like), log your intake, hit your goal, move around a bit (preferably doing something you enjoy) and repeat.

Keep it simple. Don't over complicate it. Eat your normal food and log it you may have to adjust servings etc to keep with in your calories but that's it really as you've done it before you know that though. Good luck

My main tips for starting & staying on track:

-Stop focusing on food- Anytime you start thinking about food or your next meal distract yourself. Get up, play with the kids, take a walk, etc.
-Ease your way into things. Don't say " I can't have X". Slowly limiting your intake & wean yourself off of things is a different story
-Water, water, water. It really helps me.
-Gum and/or brushing your teeth. Anytime I am craving something sweet or start to get hungry when I know I really shouldn't eat I chew a piece of gum or brush my teeth.
-Don't think about tomorrow or even the next meal. Take things a day, or even a meal at a time.
-Plan meals ahead. While I am clearly contradicting myself, what I mean is have healthy snacks/meals on hand & have a general idea of what you can eat & stay on track. Learn to have a general idea of what you can have/eat.
-Do some sort of exercise even if it is just walking. The more exercise I do the less I want to undo all my hard work.

These may help

Read these:
(I know you're not new, but some great info in this one)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

Want to lift heavy things?
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Stronglifts Summary
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

Stronglifts Womens Group
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

no, this isn't about anything except emotional eating. You know how to lose weight, you want to lose weight, but your head is holding you back.
Pick up some books on emotional eating that have high ratings. I just got through with 'Thinside Out: Having Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too". It teaches you how to recognize true hunger against emotional hunger, and practical ways to get back your intuitive eating habits that we're all born with. It tells you that if you really want a panini instead of a salad, that you should have the panini, because let's face it, if you have the salad instead, you'll still be thinking about that crispy, salty, juicy panini and you won't be satisfied or happy with your choice, you'll still be hungry, and you'll end up on a binge. We've been told so many times what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, that our natural instincts are now buried.

Biggest mistake I made the first couple attempts at losing weight was trying to restrict myself too much! I thought I had to eat 1200 cals a day to lose weight. That's bogus. I was friggen starving. Lets face it, I was trying to cut out half of what I was normally ingesting on a daily basis...if not more! I am 232 lbs, and I eat around 1600-1800 cals on average, some days lower, some days higher. As long as I do this consistently I see nice losses. Don't start a "diet". "Diets" are temporary. Don't buy foods that you know you will over eat. I cannot buy chips, because I will eat half a bag in one sitting. Instead, I buy or make trail mix, and portion out one serving into single serving bags, so I can grab and go. I eat fresh veggies and fruits between meals now, instead of the higher calorie, higher fat options. Quite frankly, the only thing I miss is chocolate, so I fit it in occasionally. I know I will not be able to do this perfectly, I have fallen off the wagon so many times...I can't begin to count them. I just get back on as quickly as I can. Take it one day at a time, one meal at a time. Celebrate each small success along the way! You CAN do this!

I have done the up and down thing as well, and the thing that has made the difference this time is figuring out where the root of my over eating problem was. Lots of prayer to go with it, but it is absolutely essential for my journey to remember why I started over eating and to stop myself (pray) when I'm feeling like going on a binge.

I think you need to really dig deep and find something that is sustainable. I have this grand idea of eating healthy food, nothing processed, no sugar, etc. This thinking always gets me in trouble because I have that all or nothing approach. Well if I can't eat perfect than I might as well inhale a pizza. This time, I am accepting there are good days, bad days, days when I won't have enough time to sleep and cook. I have tons of processed frozen food that is the healthiest I could find for these times and I am okay with that. I am trying to pick things that will hit all the macro targets, throw in fruit and veggies for snacks, always eat breakfast, and just do my best.

Something is keeping you from being able to maintain. Find out what that is and create a manageable plan because life is going to always be insane.

So... meant to quote this when I stated earlier:

Perfectionists Unite!

Take baby steps. Remind yourself that every day is a new day and do what you need to do. Having off days or even an off week/month is OK- or even a single meal you've messed up is OK- because you can always get back into eating properly or working out. If you start thinking you've failed then you just give up... trust me I know. Even if all you do for the day is a 10-20 minute walk or a short workout or ten reps... it means you haven't just given up and you'll feel better for it!

I feel ya. Having kids at home is a double whammy somedays. Especially if you are a Mom like me. I would honestly not want to waste food, and knowing they won't clean their plates, (nor do I ever demand that they do), instead of getting seconds, I would just eat the leftovers on their plates. It was a tough habit to break.

My first day is/has always been tough, because out of habit you just naturally grab something and before you know it, you devoured it and then think "Damn, I was starting my diet today". So a little preparation goes along way. THINK about your daily routine. What do you grab first? Have a little fun, and make little posters or signs to put up in your kitchen or your weak areas to remind you today is the day.

Personally I am not a pro at any of this like so many others, but I do know for me, coming from a carb addicted background, PCOS, Graves disease, and being insulin resistant, as well as an emotional binge eater, that my weakest points are at night. There is no way I am ever going to get over eating a majority of my calories after 4pm. I also tend to graze. From 4pm to midnight will do me in for any good I have accomplished during the first part of the day. So I restructured my whole way of looking at things.

Mornings and early afternoon, I stay away from eating a lot because I already know I am going to eat at night.
Given that I am eating at night, I have come up with my own hot cereal, that is sweet and open to flavor add ins.
I do 1/4 cup cooked Quinoa
1 scoop protein powder-vanilla creme
1 splash almond milk.

Warm in microwave. Now for add-ins.
Blueberries.
Splenda if you like it sweeter.
Cinnamon for a snickerdoodle taste.
1/4 cup greek yogurt for a creamier texture and added calories/carbs/protein
1oz cream cheese
a couple strawberries
torani sf syrup

OR you can eat it cold and it kind of resembles tapioca.

Some people might not agree with my approach and thats ok, but from a carb addict, binge standpoint, I have to have something to look forward to, that is just for ME, that tastes delicious, is like a sweet indulgence and hits macros, and this covers all the above.

I also prepare 1-2cups Quinoa beforehand and keep in the fridge, making this a quick snack, or even a meal if you so choose.

As far as food in the house. That sucks. To avoid it comes from within, you know this. You CAN DO THIS. You have done amazing and have gotten a little off track. Really consider why? Are you tired of the same thing day in and day out? Find a different workout. Try some new healthy foods. Plan a weekend escape.

Also, maybe have your thyroid levels checked? Just a suggestion. If you are hungry all the time, AND breast feeding, and tired and 10months postpartum, it is very possible your thyroid has dropped off a bit. Far easier to get it checked and make sure all is well then find out later your fighting an uphill battle that you could have nipped at an earlier point.

I also want to mention,

Make sure you have the correct calorie goal, too often MFP gives people the 1200 calorie minimum which is usually too low.

Check out online calorie BMR and TDEE calculators to find the right fit. It is not an exact science so may take some time to find the calorie goal that works best for you.

This is one link to a calculator
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate - What your body needs to survive doing nothing as if you were in a coma

TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure - different method then MFP, since TDEE takes into account your activity level

MFP - uses the NEAT method which uses a built in deficit and requires you to eat back a portion of your exercise calories.


Also patience, take one day at a time and I like the Today Way. You will make healthy choices today, you will not start tomorrow. Today you will make that choice to have one serving of cake instead of two, or to drink lots of water, or to add that helping of veggies with dinner.