Fallen WAY off track!! HELP!!!

YOu can do it!! We are all here for the same reason! If you need support add me as a freind and you can help me while I help you!

Welcome back to the journey!!! Sounds like what you did last year worked....ultimately it's dedicated hard work over time....you've taken the first step!!

just start over....today

stay on this site and log everything

stay under your calorie goal and eat any exercise calories

make lots of supportive friends here

make a goal sheet with a "reward" for each ten pounds lost...like a massage, or new outfit

This site has worked really well for me so far... It's not a diet, it's a healthy eating plan, that I plan to keep using to make sure I don't ever sneak back up.

Don't punish yourself if you go off track once or twice, just pick yourself back up and get back on - if you punish yourself you will find that you will stay off track for longer, and so begins the circle.

Also, allow yourself breaks - Your body needs to adjust to the calorie deficit, so allow yourself a few maintenance days where you can eat more calories... Yes, it will take longer to lose your weight in the long run, but hey, this isn't a race.

That's all I have to offer, cos that's how I', doing this - taking it easy and enjoying what I eat along the way... )

Good luck

Hey there, I can relate totally. I've battled my weight most of my life, starting in my early 20's and I'm now 45. My weight has been like a yo yo up and down. I know how to lose weight when I choose too lol but after I've lost my desired amount, I seem to go right back to my old eating habits so diet and exercise is going to have to be a way of life for me here on out. For me, drinking my 8 glasses of water a day, exercising at least 30 mins, and watching what I eat and writing it down on here is such a big help. I'm currently doing a 30 day challenge on here and I think it also helps to surround yourself with people that support you or have a support system on here. I just joined on here over a week ago and am already seeing some results. Add me if you like and we can help motivate one another:) Have a great day!!

I have to say.
It takes everything I have EVERYDAY to keep dieting. I HATE dieting. I love me some comfort food.
I wish I had advice for you, but I think eventually something that works for you will come along.
I have lost 23 pounds and seem to be suck big time, I work out and eat healthy. But my body is
STUCK and it's driving me nuts. I seriously just want to eat for ONE day, but my luck I would gain
back that 23 in one day haha.

I know how you feel, I have the same problem

-Donna

Awesome quote from Von Goethe, thank you!

Sometimes it's really overwhelming when you think about the whole goal of losing weight, eating healthy, exercising and staying on track every single day. The big goal is just too big! So, try to take a few mini-steps each day toward each of those larger goals. Make yourself a list of mini-goals to follow each day and stick to those. Then the next day, three new goals, while trying to keep the goals from the day before, too. Sooner than you know it, you'll be achieving some of those big goals. Here's an example: Mini-goals for Tuesday: 1) Drink 8 oz of water before each meal, 2) go up 2 flights of stairs, 3) eat 5 servings of veggies today. Mni-goals for Wednesday: 1) Keep all of Tuesday's mini-goals, 2) Walk for 15 minutes twice today, 3) Stay under 400 calories for lunch. And so on... If you do this, by the end of the week make yourself a list of all the GREAT things you did this week towards making yourself a healthier human being. Give yourself a pat on the back for trying, even if you slip up a bit. Start all over next week! Good luck! We're all rooting for you!

i've been there! weight has been an issue for me since i was a little kid. it takes a long time to adopt a healthy relationship with food and exercise and body image but YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! this is the best place for that journey!
my biggest advice is: baby steps. start by logging into mfp every day and logging what you eat.
also, don't expect/desire dramatic/instant results. this only sets you up for disappointment and another fall from the wagon. if you take it one step at a time, one day at a time, you'll be able to maintain your achievements for longer periods of time - which is what we want, right? to be fit and healthy for the rest of our lives!
good luck! you can do it! we're all here for you!! :bigsmile:

I see you joined a while back so I think the first step would be to make logging your food and exercise a mandatory part of your day. When I get up in the mornings the first thing I do is check my email and facebook. So I have a bookmark for MFP and I enter everything I know I am going to be eating that day so I have an idea of what calories I have left at the end of the day in case something comes up. Ironically, I haven't had anything come up that I choose to "spend" my extra calories on during the day. To me it's like a budget... Here's what I have to spend on "bills" (meals planned for the day) and here is my "extra spending money" (snacks). Then I decide if what I am tempted with is worth the calories or not and choose a snack based on what each one is "worth" to me.

Now, with that said, perhaps you stick to the diet too strict and aren't having any fun or comfort foods for you and so when you get off track it's too easy to stay off track because it tastes so much better. So the thing you love the most... chocolate, pizza, chips... whatever... find one day a week that you budget it into your calories. In a small serving size so that you don't begin craving it.

Second, make sure when you are losing that you aren't dieting... just change your eating habits for a lifetime. That way there is no diet roller coaster ... just a new plan that sometimes lets you eat something that isn't as healthy from time to time but for the most part you make healthy choices.

Journal your thoughts and emotions and hunger issues... by this I mean write it down so you can tell when you are feeling like binging, etc... is it an emotional problem or are you actually eating something that is causing you to feel hungry again right away? So you can find out what your triggers are. For instance sugar makes me very hungry right away after I eat it... I basically have cut it out of my diet as far as processed sugars (fruit sugars don't make me feel that way)... but if I were going to eat something with sugar I would make sure the rest of the day and the times I would be eating my healthy meals were built around the time of the sugar so I wouldn't binge on something else filled with sugar.

The best thing that helped me... is my husband becoming my partner in our lifestyle change. We are both so much happier and we've only been doing this since Jan 1. But I can't imagine going back to our old ways, we've experimented and found many things we like to substitute a healthy choice for the ones we used to crave.

And if you don't have someone close to you to be your buddy on this journey then find someone on MFP that is willing to be a daily motivation to you. I would try to do that for you if you need me to, but I get really busy with my kids sports and might not always be available right on time.. but I would try I know it's important to have that emotional support.

Hope this helps. And best of luck...

Hey, just know that you are not alone. I have had the same problem for years. Just don't get into a rush about the weight loss and eat properly. We tend to send our body into starvation mode thinking that it will help the weight loss progress. Just get as much exercise as you can without harming your self.:happy:

First of all, congratulations for wanting to make a permanent change and reaching out for help! My advise, forget about the past and just look forward! Let your inspirations be your drivers.

Some of the fine tunings I've done just this year as of Jan. 25 was to put myself first. I'm a mommy of 2 and have always put myself last but then someone said something to me that made absolute sense. In the event of an emergency, who has to put the oxygen mask first? With that, I took another look at the my habits (both food and exercise) and made some changes that are also making a postitive impact on my kids. I've said no to diets...diets are temporary and you just end up putting the weight back on and get frustrated. Trust me, I've been through it several times.

I use to think you had to eat less to loose weight but the truth is you don't have to starve, just make the right decisions. In terms of exercise, I have found something I enjoy doing..... I've found if I don't like to do it, chances are I won't. I love to dance and found Zumba something I could do. I do this 2 x a week. When I first started, I could barely get through a class but then built up to 2.

I also went out of my box and made a decision to join a local biggest loser contest (no relation to the show) for 8 weeks in an effort to give me a kick start and accelerate the process. It has helped me so far in that I got some education on nutrition. One of the things I do now is eat 5-6 smaller meals a day vs. 3 big meals. This helps with metabolism and ensures that your sugar levels don't go too low because this is when you start craving all the bad stuff. I also try to eat 3 servings of veggis a day.

The contest provides a trainer who kicks my butt 2 times a week. When this contest is over, I'm going to use some of the exercises I learned and apply them to my routine. You could also do things like find a work out partner who could help you stay motivated. What ever you end up doing, just make sure to find something you enjoy doing otherwise there's a good chance after a while, you'll fall out.

Hope this helps and please let me know if there's anything I could do! I feel that by helping a fellow person in need, I'm also helping myself.

Hi hon! There's a lot of advice out there, and I can totally relate to the yo-yo diet thing, but truth be told, I always knew I needed to lose weight but always had some excuse why it was never going to happen for me. Then I ended up going to see a therapist where we had a look at the reasons I ate. A lot of times, people are emotional eaters, eating for one reason or another that maybe they don't even know about, and that is called emotional obesity. You need to look deep into yourself and find out why you are overweight and then, when you can come to terms with it all, you can start the journey to getting healthy. I was an emotional eater and had major underlying issues that I hadn't even realized were contributing subconsciously to my weight.

Choosing to eat the right foods is not always easy.. there's so much out there that is not good for you! The trick is to find those foods that keep adding the calories into your diet and try to reduce them as much as possible. I use to be a big pop drinker, now I drink only water. I used to love McDonalds, but now I think of it as a slow poison and there's no way I want to continue polluting my body with stuff that's going to kill me. That's why this app is so great. It really makes you think about what you are putting in there!

Also, I used to think that I needed to enjoy my exercising in order to stick to it. The general truth is that exercise, especially when you are heavy, is not fun. It's hard, grueling and sometimes you feel like you are going to die. What you have to realize is that this is what you need to do to shed the weight! You will not lose it on diet alone. You will not lose it on exercise alone. They go hand in hand. And it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. But in the long run it will be totally worth it! You just have to keep on going!

And I totally agree on the support system. I met an incredible support group when I joined a bootcamp. They motiviate me, keep my up and keep pushing me.

I wish you all the will and determination in the world!!!

YOu can do it!! We are all here for the same reason! If you need support add me as a freind and you can help me while I help you!

SAME HERE!!!