Anyone else "all or nothing?"

i am not personally like this, all I can do is tell you what I do.. it takes a lot of kicking your own butt... If I want something that is over my cal intake I make myself do a short workout to earn it, even if I already worked out earlier. I know not everyone can make themselves NOT eat whatever it is they are craving, tho.

I have the same way of thinking. And since will-power is not my strongest suit :laugh: , I have huge issues with it.

I'm HOPING that actually logging in my food at every meal is going to help me see that one slip up isn't ruining the day completely. My plan isn't to slip (of course..) but for example - I KNOW I am having a peice of birthday cake because there will be a 40th birthday here tomorrow. I think seeing the calories added to my daily log will help me "adjust" the rest of my day. It will "inspire" me to do an extra 15 minutes or so on the treadmill. Or have a lower calorie dinner. Does that make sense?

Of course, I say that now, and I may go home and eat a cheeseburger, but I hope not.

Ive been like that since December. I was on the right track and now all of a sudden i cant get back into it. I think well i just ate a chocolate bar theres no point in working out, might as well eat something else too.. I know exactly how your feeling. Its all about will power tho. Motivation and will power are key, We can do this!!!! Good luck

Me!!! at least I used to be... I'm really making a consious effort to look at this weight loss journey as a marathon and not a sprint, which is helping a lot! you will find that logging EVERYTHING you eat makes you be a lot better at that too... I used to be just like you and think, well the whole day is shot, might as well do whatever I want... but now I see how many calories are in that piece of chocolate cake... and how long it takes me to burn off those calories, and it makes me want to be a lot better about what I eat... I still allow myself to have treats, but I 'budget" for them, and try to know how many calories it is going to be before I eat it, and see if I still have room in my calorie allotment for the day before I eat it. Lower calorie snacks like 100 calorie popcorn and sugarfree fudgesicles help a lot too

I think I used to be like that. I've had to gradually build my willpower against food up as I've started making healthier decisions. Before, if I was already having a bad day, I'd say screw it and eat the Reese's Tree (Christmas time), and just start over the next day. Or if it was a Friday, I would say screw it, I didn't do anything good this week anyway, and tell myself I'd start again on Monday. It was a vicious cycle.

For me, the turning point was going home over New Years and seeing my aunt. She had lost a large amount of weight (anywhere from 60-80 lbs, not sure exactly), all from just counting calories and exercising. It made me realize that I have all the tools I need to meet my goal, and all I had to do was put it in motion. It was up to ME and me alone.. and once MFP came into the picture, it put me from first to second gear.

My suggestion to you is make a list of all your tools you have. Number one could be MFP. Others could be your knowledge of food facts, weight loss tips, and different exercises you could do. If you don't know much about one or more of these things, research them and add them to your mental toolbox!

Once you find your turning point, it's all up to you, and the community of MFP is here to support you the whole way. Feel free to friend request me, and if you ever feel like you've messed up and you just don't care about the rest of the day, MESSAGE ME! I'll talk you out of it. :-)

yep.. im the same way.... whats worse is last march i started eating right and exerising and lost 40 pounds.. i looked good got down to even a size 8 in levi jeans.. i was so happy.. now here it is jan.. and im almost right where i started.. i stopped excerising and began eating like crap.. so yes i understand... id work out then slip up and say.. ill be better tomorrow.. but then tomorrow came and i did the same thing... so now here i am.... tired of looking at my self in the mirror... i see fat back on my face.. i want to hit my goal by my birthday in may... and with everything i have... and i will have to dig deep... i will do everything i can to not graze or slip up this time.... goood luck in your journey

Here's analogy: "Oh crap! I missed that stop sign and drove right through it. Welll... I've already broken the law, I might as well go break some storefront windows, kick an old lady and then rob a bank!!"

It doesn't make any sense... and neither does throwing all your good work out the window when you make a tiny slip-up!! Try to think of this next time you eat the potato chips.... that's just the stop sign

Oh My, you don't kick old ladies do you? LOL....love your analogy.

I've done that a lot in the past - I believe it 'helped' me put on some of the extra weight.

In the end, tough love. Tell yourself no. Tell yourself it DOES matter. Chips, chocolate - opps, 500 extra calories. STOP there. Why? Because depending on where made/how prepared that burger could be anywhere from 300-1400 calories. Then you would feel horrible. At least with the overdone snack, you can chaulk it up to learning experience, dust yourself off and do better tomorrow.

Last night, I really, really, really wanted to order pizza - I had a bad, stressful day at work. I came extremely close to ordering Papa Johns. But I know if I did, I would consume close to 1500 calories in one meal (if not more). So I refrained and practically cried and made my planned dinner - Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi (which was wonderful! mmm (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001880014). Since I felt deprived, I had a little extra. Sure it cost me 200 extra calories, but that's better that 1500 extra calories. And I felt good for having made the better choice.

Sometimes it's about the baby steps (and maybe I should go watch 'what about bob' again). You can do it!

Honestly, I am a perfectionist, and that is sort of the perfectionist mentality....either you do it perfect or you "fail". I am currently working to overcome that mentality as well. All you can do is your best. Some days you are going to slip up...because no one is perfect (I am telling myself this as well while I type haha). Your mentality needs to be more like.... "I understand I cannot always be perfect, but as long as I try my hardest, and ALLOW for some room for error (endulge once in a while), I can accomplish anything I set my mind to." Because really, you can do you anything you set your mind to. No one is perfect and everyone needs to endulge in the good parts of life once in a while. If you are on a "diet", I would suggest giving yourself an allowance of calories for the week to endulge in foods that are not as healthy. Or try to make the foods you crave into a healthy combination, or make and eat a small portion of it to make your cravings go away. I also opt for the healthier treats when I can, such as Smart Ones desserts (they are delicious and only ~170 calories!) I would also suggest making realistic goals and increase your goals as time goes on. If your goals are highly attainable then you may be more motivated to complete them than if you know they are crazy and you don't even want to try sometimes. The best ways for me to get out of that mentality is to constantly tell myself I want to make the most of life and in order for me to do so...I need to work as hard as I can at the things that matter, I set 2 or 3 things as my top priorities and try to only focus on those things except in my "free time". If I am doing my best, and understanding that it is okay to slip up once in a while as long as I don't do it everyday, then I know I am on the right track, and can fulfill my goals, WITH TIME. I am the type of person to be all or nothing, get it done quickly or not at all. But I am working my way out of that....it is hard but you can do it!

Here's analogy: "Oh crap! I missed that stop sign and drove right through it. Welll... I've already broken the law, I might as well go break some storefront windows, kick an old lady and then rob a bank!!"

It doesn't make any sense... and neither does throwing all your good work out the window when you make a tiny slip-up!! Try to think of this next time you eat the potato chips.... that's just the stop sign

Like it! I'll have to start using that')