Why cannot I get into this?

It's totally about exercise!!!! If you get an amazing, hard workout in, your not as hungry and you earn calories to eat!! So you end up actually realizing that you need to eat more in the day... When starting to get back into shape, if you just add in calorie burning workouts, you dont have to worry about what you eat so much... as you start to lose weight, then look a bit more into that but you'll see great results just by a good workout!

Try making small changes. For example, instead of whole milk, try 2% or skim. And instead of reaching for the bag of chips, try Sunchips or nuts. These smaller changes will make a world of difference and small changes are easier than drastic onces. take a look at your your food diary and see where you can make these small changes.

I also agree with Jenae. Add in some excercise and you could burn off some calories that you went over.

Small consistent changes=Big rewards.

Good luck to you. Don't give up!

I literally just signed up yesterday and today was my first full day of keeping track of what I did. I LOVE to eat...absolutely love it and it doesn't matter if I'm sick, sad, happy, mad, etc...I love to eat...so I'm trying to be more active to make up for it. I'm 38 now and it's so hard to get rid of extra fat at this age. I never thought I'd say that, but I just did. I weigh more now than when I was 9 months pregnant with either of my kids and it's the bellyfat that I hate the most. I think it's great that you have cut down almost 2000 calories a day and even if you don't meet your goal right now, you are learning to understand about what goes into your body and how it all adds up and that will help when your life settles down a bit. My job is very stressful right now and I never seem to have enough money for everything, but I'm trying to focus my stress and energy into this...to better myself (since I have no control over the things causing my stress). I set a low goal of losing 1 pound per week since I figured that would be more realistic for me to actually achieve and I'm not good at dieting so if I can eat what I want and just pay attention to how much - that helps. I probably didn't answer your question, but I thought it would be helpful to know that there are more just like you that are struggling and you WILL be able to do this. I WILL TOO! Good luck!

I'm a late night binger....or at least, I'm trying not to be! I totally understand the lack of motivation when you're stressed and taking care of a newborn. I have a 6y.o. and a 3y.o., I work 40 plus hrs/wk. Believe me, I'm tired! And all I want to do is watch my TV shows and eat! Funny thing is, if I make myself (not easy) get up and do ANYTHING other than watch TV, I don't eat as much!
You can do it! First and foremost, you have to BELIEVE you can.
I also live with my mom who, conveniently brings home klondike bars (my favorite in the whole world) exactly when I'm craving something super yummy and sweet. With an evil glare in my eye toward her, I munch on a sweet pear or apple! Then I get to see her rubbing her stomach from eating too much and enjoy the extra energy I have!
DON'T LOSE HOPE! THINGS WILL TURN AROUND FOR YOU! And don't forget, Carpe diem!!!!!! There's no time like the present (it becomes your past and prepares your future:)
And the best part, you'd be setting an amazing example for your little one. You will teach him/her that nothing is unattainable!
Keep up the good work....cutting down 2000 calories is an EXTRAordinary accomplishment!

You're worrying me, girl. You are struggling with A LOT right now. First of all, your stress level and emotional health. Have you been screened for postpartum depression (PPD)? Your hormones have been on a roller coaster through pregnancy and after and it's not your fault if you feel like a blubbering mess all the time, especially with all the other stuff going on ) PPD is a very common experience and there is help out there. You can even talk to baby's pediatrician about it for help if you don't want to make an appointment for yourself. Or call a hotline to find out about help available.

As for diet, it sounds like you're doing some binging and definitely an emotional eater. (See the stuff above... 5000 calories is a lot, even if you're breastfeeding, but putting the pressure on yourself to suddenly cut back to 1200cal/day or something is going to leave you feeling VERY deprived which leads to failure. Make sure you research your nutrition requirements as a lactating mom, if that's the case, to make sure you aren't cutting back too extremely. You don't want to put yourself at risk. It sounds like you could work on some of the "eat this, not that" type lifestyle changes...where you don't necessarily eat a lot less in quantity, but overall you take in less calorically.

Here's a suggestion. Like a homework assignment, to help you get into the swing. Instead of emotional eating when you're exhausted and feeling down on yourself with all the stress at the end of the day, sit down with a notebook and MFP, and decide what you're going to eat TOMORROW. Not how you're going to "recover" from what you slipped on today, but a plan for tomorrow. Drink a tall glass of water before all your meals. Make yourself STOP when you've eaten what you planned to, and do something. It takes a while for your brain to get the "I'm full" signal. When you realize that the huge bowl of frosted flakes with whole milk puts you WAY over where you want to be that early in the day, figure out what you will substitute. Breakfast will be...oatmeal with some skim milk, blueberries and a couple egg whites. Lunch will be tuna packed in water made with light mayo, open face on whole grain bread, and baby carrots. Dinner will be grilled chicken, a big big portion of a green veggie like broccoli (hold the butter) and a small portion of a starch. 2 snacks during the day like a serving of 1% fat cottage cheese, raw veggies and fat free dip, whole grain crackers and fat free cheese, or a banana with a DAB of peanut butter. I can't tell you EXACTLY what to eat to make you feel full, and honestly, with a 5000 calorie habit, that may be hard to do. But if you set a plan ahead of time, and make sure that you are making balanced, lower calorie choices, you will find yourself getting closer to your calorie goal, and as your body (and stomach and mind) adapts to those changes, you can get down to the nitpicking calories. And as others mentioned...exercise. Burning 300 calories a day through exercise makes it ALL a lot easier, cut your stress levels, and just make you feel better. Empowered.

I'm always saying it...progress, not perfection. And hitting or going under calories twice in a week, well, that's progress, right? Just keep truckin along. You can do it.

Wow, lots going on here and it looks like you just got a lot of great advice. Not much more I can say but you can do it. Sure you might slip but it's not going to be the end of the world. It takes a while to get into a different mindset to lose weight, especially when you(anyone) have had poor habits likely for years. You didn't learn those bad habits overnight and you're not going to learn to change them overnight either. The important thing is you're trying and you want to make a change. Just do the best you can and the rest will fall into place. Feel free to add me as a friend. Good luck!