Seriously...HOW???

Wake up every morning and CHOOSE to do it. If it's wanted bad enough, you'll make it happen. Even on those bad days. I had an "off" day a few days ago. I woke up in a terrible mood and wanted badly to just say "F" it! Instead, I got up and had a glass of water and did an intense workout to get me going. Yes-I stayed in a bad mood all day and was pissy about the logging and tracking and counting but ya know what, I'll take that any day over being unhealthy the rest of my life. Health & fitness are a priority in my life now, everyday, no matter what.

I didn't lose 153lbs, just like you don't have to lose 40 or 50lbs to lose.

I lost 1 lb. I just did it 153 times. Carve out the overwhelming numbers and realize that you only have 1lb to lose right now. Then focus on the next one.

I just read the whole post and I think this stood out the most to me. I have days and weeks when I struggle too. I am gonna start living by this philosophy. I have 1lb to get rid of this week! Then next week I'll try for another 1lb. I'll let the bigger number look after itself.

Thank you so much!! xx

I was like you - have been yo-yo dieting most of my adult life... lose 10 - gain 15...
Then last July I just couldn't fit in my skin anymore...
Feel free to add me and read my story...
In the meantime - I only joined MFP in May when things were stalling...
It is alot of work - I agree with you.
But you need to prioritize if you want to lose weight...
You don't have to log.
But you have to change your eating habits...
And look at something you can maintain long term because there is no more dieting...
And if I can do it - anyone can!
You will know when you've had it and decide it's your turn...

If it feels like a constant struggle, you're not doing it right. No sane person is going to get up and do something they hate every day without snapping eventually. Maybe your calorie goal is too low, or you're trying to stick to an eating plan that doesn't fit your personality, or you're doing an exercise plan that you aren't ever going to enjoy. If you feel like you have to drag yourself, kicking and screaming, through your weight loss, it's not going to last so you shouldn't be making yourself do it now. Find a calorie goal that leaves you feeling satisfied, an eating plan that you can stick to over the long haul, and some kind of activity that you enjoy. That's how you keep going.

I lost 1 lb. I just did it 153 times. Carve out the overwhelming numbers and realize that you only have 1lb to lose right now. Then focus on the next one.

Awesome advice!

They say it takes 12 weeks to develop a new habit.
Try for that long and see.
Personally I find the difference between tracking and not tracking to be minimal. It's really not time consuming, as long as you're not literally eating all day (which is a problem in itself :bigsmile:).
And if you look at exercising objectively, 1 hour (or at least 30 minutes) is really not a lot in a 24 hour day.
I've simply prioritised how I feel over effort. Running and weight lifting isn't necessarily easy - though I enjoy it quite a bit - but it's a lot easier than being ashamed of my appearance everyday.

My goal is only set to 20 pounds but ultimately I'd like to lose somewhere between 40-50 for my ideal weight.

You know what? I think that setting your first goal at 20lbs is great~! You know, if you have a step by step goal plan, each time you get to 1 goal it is the motivation to keep going. Sometimes that may be all you need!!!

Set it for 10 or 20 lbs and go from there.. baby steps - slow and steady this could be what you need to stick with it!!

My story is similar to the OP's - I'd do well for a while, lose 10 lbs then...gain them back plus a few friends. wash, rinse, repeat with more "friends" pounding on.

You just have to make healthy choices be your habit. I can't always log everything but I can make a good judgement on whether something would be high calories / high fat vs. lower and can make decisions based on common sense...

For example - a Whiskey River BBQ burger from Red Robin is about 1300 calories "as is" on the menu. We went out the other night and I was DYING for a Red Robin burger, but my total daily allotment is 1350, lol. So I ordered the burger with: no bun (wrapped in lettuce), no mayo (hate mayo anyway), raw onion slices instead of "onion fries." I forgot to ask them to not put cheese on it because I had already had more than enough cheese for the day...but even with the cheese I took a 1300 calorie meal and turned it into about 450 calories and it was MORE delicious to me because I didn't have ANY guilt on "over indulging."

That kind of thing...

Since I eat a lot of the same things every day (i.e. breakfast is almost always yogurt and cereal and some fruit, or eggs & cheese and something else... etc.) I can just repeat past entries.

Changed my way of working on this Dec 2010, worked out, ran a half marathon in Dec 2011, but the real change came when I started logging my food with MFP dropped to my lowest in years got off track in spring 2013 and gained about 20 back...
For me it helps to see where I am going and a tracker is a good thing, it becomes 2nd nature and at one point you just know what the calories are. that's when it gets easier outside of your kitchen. In the US portion size in restaurants is way out of hand...