My "Restart" button seems to be broken....

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MommaSarabear
MommaSarabear Posts: 34 Member
in Motivation and Support
My story in a nutshell: started in January 2012 and lost 70 lbs in my 1st year. My Mom's cancer got worse and I was helping care for her, my kids and still working full time and I ate what I could, when I could and a lot of time it was comfort type foods to try to numb my feelings about everything happening in that time. By eating poorly and not walking like I was, I climbed back to my 300-lb self and here I am.....AGAIN. I've been trying to press the "restart" button since August 2014 and 3 months later that button seems to still be broken. I need help, etc from all you out there. I can't seem to find that inner part of me to get on track and STAY on track......help?!? My son is starting wrestling tonight and will have 2 practices/week. My plan to help with this (and stop making excuses for myself) is to use that 1 - 1 1/2 hours at each practice to walk inside the gym since my part of the world is freezing and my asthma is not fond of the extreme cold. Hopefully this will give me that jumpstart I need.

Replies

  • ems212
    ems212 Posts: 135 Member
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    That's a fantastic way to start! Every little bit helps.

    You say you can't seem to find that inner part of you to get on track and stay that way...look are your kids. They should be your motivation. You want to be around long enough to see them grow into adults, and see them begin families of their own. Without your health, you risk not being there for the milestones that every child wants their parents there for. They'll thank you, and you'll thank you :)
  • c50blvdbabe
    c50blvdbabe Posts: 213 Member
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    A great way to restart your journey. In addition focus on one nutrition related thing to accomplish the next two weeks. Something small like 6 glasses of water.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I'd say that's a good start. You might also try bribing yourself. That seems to work well for me, though you're the only one who would know if it would work for you.
  • LeannJeffers
    LeannJeffers Posts: 486 Member
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    For me it was seeing that awful number on the scale and seeing my love handles turn into a muffin top. I started working out and losing weight, the more weight i lost the more people complimented me on how well i looked. That was my motivation, hearing people say that i looked skinny even years after I lost the weight!! I found over time that working out was a great way for me to burn off the daily frustrations.
    Everyone has their own motivation. Sometimes it's your kids, it's never wanting to see a number on the scale, it can be that you need to lose weight for your health or it could simply be that you enjoy the natural high/energy you get from a great workout.

    Keep pushing yourself to be better, if you have a bad (comfort) meal then tell yourself the next time will be better. Every little bit helps. Don't be too hard on yourself, but don't let yourself get away with everything either. Start with one goal - maybe it's as simple as i won't eat a snack today.

    I've been using this phrase as motivation " Just for today...." and then i give myself a few things that i'm just going to do for that day. So far it has been helping.

    Good Luck and remember there are plenty of us here to help support you!!
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    That's how I started. My son was in wrestling also. He also did cross country and when they had weekend practices I hit the track ( they were out on the trail). Then during wrestling season I walked the halls or stairs. During track season I climbed up and down the hills between throwing and running events.
    Also don't forget to log your food. Don't worry about calories just make yourself mindful of what you are putting in your mouth. Small steps.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    That is a great way to start!

    If that gets boring, you might also want to add in some body weight exercises, like squats and push ups.
  • MadtownMadisonian
    MadtownMadisonian Posts: 66 Member
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    I feel your pain! I also did MFP and lost about 70 pounds, then spent time with my own elderly mother and began stress eating. Alas, even after I returned home, I found myself back into my habits of sneaking food (as if somehow I was getting away with something if no one knew I was eating) and then I spiraled into hopelessness that almost made me want to eat fattening things, as if I might as well just go all the way. In the back of my mind I decided to get serious about surgery, but last week when I finally got into an info session, I learned that my insurance won't pay and even if I am willing to use all my savings to pay out of pocket, they won't let me do that. (Apparently they fear that if there are complications, costs will mount far past my savings and they'll be out of luck.) So I came home and realized there was nothing for it but to go back to MFP. My first day I started small - I did not try to change anything about what I ate or did, I only decided to record everything. Somehow the old magic was back soon after that - recording the food, in the course of the day as I was eating through meals, made me far more aware of how much I'd had and how much was left to have before bedtime. It's only been a week, and some days I hit under and other days over the goal - a goal I set for a very modest 1.5 lbs a week even though I need to lose almost 100 to get me from obese to merely overweight. But I think the process of writing stuff down has an effect. So for what it's worth, I would say forget about the restart button because it is hard to restart everything. Just start one thing - and recording without any promise to change anything, that's an easy start. Good luck to both of us.

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