What do you guys do when you feel like giving up?

Try this for an experiment. Get yourself a bit of paper and do some forward thinking. Picture your long term goal. What does it feel like? What does it look like? What are people saying? Who is around you? Describe it to yourself, write it as if it's real. Talk about how you're enjoying good health, etc etc. Believe me, this exercise works, take your time and get really specific and expand on EVERYTHING. Read this to yourself every day and hopefully this will help.

I haven't felt like totally giving up at all. I don't miss the way things used to be; I enjoy feeling in control and knowing my health is getting better. That said, some days are much more difficult than others. There have been a few times I've felt hungry enough to want to throw in the towel for the rest of the day. When that happens, I try reminding myself of my next weigh-in (I weigh in every Friday) and how close I am to my next mini-goal. Getting some exercise and staying really militant with the food diary helps, too. It's not foolproof, but it does force me to keep some overall perspective!

Go to Wal-Mart or McDonalds and look around. I then tell myself that if I don't get after it, I'll end up looking like some of those people. Not the nicest thing to say, but it works. :P

Also, looking at pics of myself when I was almost 240 helps, too.

Honestly, I've done that enough to where I just do it now. I may have a day or two where I fall off the wagon, but I regroup pretty quickly and get going again.

I'm only like 2 1/2 months into it… So I really haven't hit that point yet.

But in previous life situations (non-weight loss related), where I was trying to do a long-term overhaul, when I would get to that point of wanting to give up… well, to be honest, sometimes I did. But I always started again, so I guess I didn't truly give up. That's the first thing to learn… always start again even when you've given up. The other thing, I would tell myself is to at least see it through to the end… then if I'm still not happy where I'm what, then I can always go back. In that instance, by the time I got to the end, I realized life really was so much better than where I was. And finally, usually during those times when I'd get so discouraged and want to give up, it was because I wasn't seeing progress. In fact, it seemed at times that things were actually getting worse. And I was wondering why I was wasting my time and putting myself through so much stress and pain if it wasn't even helping. And the final thought that always kept me hanging on during those moments was "If I think I'm in a bad place, NOW… imagine where I'd be if I completely gave up?"

That wasn't a weight loss situation, so it is different… but it was my experience in surviving (even thriving) that overhaul that gave me the confidence that I could attack the weight loss. And so many of the same lessons I learned then, I am applying now.

I start thinking about why I started doing this in the first place. I think about my kids and wanting to be healthy enough to enjoy their kids. I look at the before and after pics. I think about how much happier I am now than I was before.

Good luck! You can do this!

When I feel like giving up, I:

1. work out - gets the energy up - you WILL feel better when you're done
2. Call my Sister - she always makes me laugh
3. get OUT of the house and do something - ANYTHING - to get the 'negative' OUT

Sometimes I take a break...that never goes well. The fact remains that I need to follow this plan---staying within calories, staying within macros, and getting off my butt in order to live a quality, healthy life. When I don't or when I let things go, I see things I don't like on the scale, or on my awesome new wardrobe. A much more constructive thing to do would be to try something new, such as a new exercise, a new class, a new food.

Sometimes I make a list or a chart of my actions and their consequences, or my goals and how to achieve them. I look at my before pics or things from my old life, like the giant mumus I had to wear. I think about how I felt. I look at the patterns in my life. When I look at those patterns, I see that I am happiest when I'm healthiest.

I wish it was all 2nd nature all the time, but it's not. I have a lifetime of bad habits I'm trying to cure. I mess up from time to time. Sometimes my best is catching it before it gets out of hand. Sometimes I have to forgive myself and move on but the one thing I won't do, and the one thing I suggest you don't do, is give up. You CAN do this!

All the time....

When you feel like quitting and giving up, We sometimes refer to this as the bulking cycle.

When you have had enough of the bulking and are ready to start losing again, this begins the cutting cycle.

My progress is slow (I have less than 10 lbs to lose) and sometimes the scale goes backwards instead of forwards despite my workouts and I do feel discouraged. But I'm also pushing myself harder than I ever did before and tracking that progress through MFP and fitbit (I never really tracked myself before.) And my clothes are fitting so much better. I don't search around as much for stuff to wear. Also by controlling my diet, I'm able to do a variety of different activities rather than being chained to a treadmill or stairclimber. When I don't feel like going to the gym (and in this warm weather, I really don't), I go for a run outside and listen to great tunes, clean my apt, or go for a bike ride. Even a walk around the riverfront is wonderful. I also remember that sometimes you don't want to do something but you still do it because its the right thing to do.

i look and think back on how i was and felt before and that helps to continue forward.