Why does it have to be so hard!

I know it sounds stupid, but it takes time to come off (that whole "it didn't go on overnight so it won't come off overnight" thing again). If you've gained back all the weight you've lost--so what? Just start again, don't let the scale defeat you! We all have setbacks--some of us have bigger setbacks than others--but we can all overcome them as long as we don't give up. Hang in there, and keep going! :flowerforyou:

it IS hard. especially with tom. it sucks. there are days we all screw up, all eat things we regret, all you can do is move on and ask yourself WHY do you want this? isnt that reason strong enough to make you try your best? even that isnt enough sometimes, and thats ok. the weight was easy to put on, but if you lose it the safe, gradual healthy way, if you change your lifestyle to that of a fit healthy person, the benefits will be worth the wait. stay strong. you can do this.

I agree it is easier for me anyway to just make myself stick with it. If I have a cheat day then I want to have more cheat days and pretty soon it becomes a cheat lifestyle, and I think the first week is the hardest. So just tell yourself I can do this for a week. and stick to it after that week tell yourself I can do it for another week and so on. I hope this helps

It seems like it was easy to put the weight on, but think about what you really went through:

1. You stressed your joints
2. You stretched your stomach constantly
3. You weakened your heart by pumping it full of cholesterol and fat for years and years
4. You spent money on more food
5. You spent money on bigger clothes
6. You skipped things that you would enjoy because of self-consciousness (things you can never go back and do over)
7. You became emotional and cried at night when the fat jokes were too much
8. You wondered if people didn't like you/hire you/date you because of your weight
9. You deprived yourself of essential minerals because the other stuff tasted better
10. You may have set these examples to those who are impressionable, such as your kids (if you have any)

So you THINK gaining weight was easy, and maybe you didn't get the immediate, painful impact, but it has not been easy on you at all! If every donut or cake you stuck in your mouth caused you pain, or made you sick, no matter how good it tastes you would never have ate it! But more or less, each of those "treats" do cause you pain EVERY DAY. These sugary foods make you sick all the time!

I'd much rather have a few sores muscles then a lifetime of the "pain" of fat.

1st off, don't be so damn hard on yourself. All you are doing is causing frustration and then you fall back in to the I-Just-Don't-Care routine. Having a cheat day is not the end of the world. The key is to not beat yourself up the following day and just get back into the routine of calorie counting. Cold turkey (no-pun) never works and for those of us who are used to eating junk food to just stop means that it's only a matter of time before we fall off the bandwagon and over-eat.

2nd, are your goals realistic? For me, the weight just get put on overnight and it is not going away overnight. I use the goal of 2lbs. a week set forth by MFP but I am averaging closer to 3.5 (10 a month) and I can say I hardily eat right. I am eating better these days and less but I would still give a Prius driving herbivore from Berkley, CA a heart-attack if they saw my usual consumption!

You have to remember that the weight did not appear overnight and it will not go away. MFP make it very simple to help you lose weight. I've struggled for years before I started calorie counting... my problem was just plain over-eating. But my goals are not so unrealistic and I am exceeding on all fronts while enjoying the tasty food I've grown to like.

STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELF!

It takes patience, dedication, and baby steps. I started in Oct 08 (well, actually it was more like Jan 09, after the holidays) by only changing my diet. I took the time to focus on making better choices and learning how to measure food. I cut out soda, alcohol (I still enjoy alcohol about twice a month, but I used to drink every night that wasn't a work-night and during football games on Sundays), and fast food. I was also unemployed at the time so I bought food in bulk and ate a lot of the same things. It got kind of boring, but it definitely allowed me to get the ball rolling, get my palate accustomed to less salt & sugar, and I lost 25 lbs! In May of 09, I plateaued and realized I would need to start exercising to get anymore of the weight off. I started off with JM 30 day shred and BL DVDs and I only exercised 2-3 days a week. Eventually my energy levels started rising and I'd do 4 days a week sometimes. Gradually I started integrating more things like walking/jogging park trails, Exercise TV On Demand (where I discovered Leslie Sansone!), and bike riding! For Christmas we bought the Microsoft 360 w/kinect and I have the BL game and Zumba (which I love love love). I now workout 5-6 days week, food is a no-brainer, and to this day I still don't have a gym membership.

You can do this! I know it's hard. I started out at 330 lbs and felt like I was going to die before I lost the weight...and I also felt like, at times, the weight was coming off too slowly. Just always remember that this is a lifestyle change you have to step outside of your comfort zone and just do it for any change to happen. Also remember that MFP is a WONDERFUL tool; it has seriously helped me keep on trucking. I love my food diary and all the wonderful support I receive on here. I still have another 60 lbs or so to go before I re-evaluate and take my next steps.

We're in this together! :flowerforyou:

It is definitely hard, but please don't give up. The effort will be so worth it. Check out this post. There's some great advice and tips in it

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/172612-30-pounds-down-a-list-of-tips-and-advice

If you need your carbonated drinks, try some LaCroix if you can get it by you. It's flavored carbonated water (no artificial sweeteners, sodium, calories) and it's delicious. And as for the water, I hated it too, but you get used to it and soon your body starts to crave it.

You can do this!!!

You are not the only one to experience this (clearly looking at all the responses!!) but I had this the other week, I was feeling blue to tried to make myself feel better with food. But it made me feel worse like it did you and I spent the next week and a 1/2 feeling terrible because I was eating everything in sight. But now I seem to have it back in check.

Although I went for dinner last night with a friend but I counted the caloires (something I don't normally do when I have been 'bad') and today I have been feeling very full anyway so have only really eaten dinner.

Just try to keep in mind what it will feel like slipping in to your goal size jeans, or a bikini. Visual aids help, if you already own the jeans you want to fit into, hang them on your waardrobe door for a boost of motivation in the morning!!

Good luck hunni, you are by no means alone in your quest!! :bigsmile:
xxx

I HAD THE SAME ISSUES.

Let me tell you, it can be done.

I used to drink 3-5 cans of soda per day and eat endlessly. Seriously, I considered everything a reason to have a snack (was also usually the most tasty, fattening thing I could find). I also had zero physical activity whatsoever. I woke up, sat on the bus for an hour, sat in class for 7 hours, came home and sat (not literally) on my laptop until I went to bed.

Now I have changed drastically and it was somewhat painless for me because I wanted to change sooo bad. The soda issues you're having, it's all in you head. You don't NEED them and it took me about a week and a half to realize that. From using MFP, I've realized that by replacing every beverage you drink with water, it usually allows you to eat 300-700 more calories per day. Seems like a solid trade off. Soda actually tastes weird to me now for some reason since I had a can two days ago for the first time in over a month.

My advice, like the dude from P90X says, "do your best and forget the rest." Make small changes and focus on one small thing at a time. Weight-loss isn't going to happen overnight regardless of what the commercials tell you. I never thought in a million years I would lose ANY weight, but so far I've lost 15 lbs as of my last weigh in, probably about 20 now. Focus solely on cutting soda from you diet and don't worry TOO much about what you're eating (be reasonable) until you have that under control. Them move on and slowly add workouts to your schedule. Eventually, you'll be eating healthy (there's nothing wrong with treating yourself every now and again) and love working out. Trust me.

"Do your best and forget the rest." Wouldn't you rather spend ONE YEAR getting yourself into great health in shape than waste that year on wishes of overnight weightloss and spend THE REST OF YOUR LIFE being overweight and frowned upon? I think you would.

Perfection is optional, but perseverance is mandatory