So off track :( Don't know how to pick myself up.

I often used to get really bummed when I had a day or two of horrible eating and it would always throw me off really bad and sometimes end up quitting.

This most recent attempt at sticking with healthy eating and losing weight I tried to think a little more logically. If I had just said "screw it. I had a bad day, time to get back to it!" Every time The very next day after a crap day, I'd have long since hit my goal.

So now if I have a day where I eat horrible I just move forward and don't let it bring me down. This past week I had a few days not tracking or exercising and drank/ate a little too much and gained some weight back. But whatever, Monday morning rolled around and I'm right back on it. If I continue on I'll be at the exact same place I was 2 weeks ago, BUT I will be back on a downward trend. That's better than giving up the progress I've already made.

Just get back to it the next day. I've been having a lot of bad days lately but I've managed to limit the damage by sticking to it and trying to keep a bigger deficit on the days it just seems 'easier', if it makes sense (when I don't get hungry or mad cravings).

Being pregnant for a second time, I feel really discouraged at times. I'm 27 weeks along, and up 34 pounds because I wasn't logging until the past month. The biggest thing I have accomplished is just logging my food regularly, keeping my diary open to my friends so they can see my good days...and my embarrassingly horrible days. I have also formed a good friendship with some of these people over the months, and I genuinely care about their success and they care about mine, so it keeps me around!

Maybe you're going about this the wrong way. One of myfavorite mantras is this: If a system continually fails, there is a flaw in the system. Motivation is a complex and personal thing. So why is your system failing? Is it what you are eating? When? How much?

I fought myself for years trying to make salads every day for lunch and eat carrots and hummus for snacks. 5 tiny meals a day. That's not how I eat. Even when I am not counting calories. I eat one big meal a day, maybe 2. Lunch was very likely to be a candy bar. I constantly craved chocolate and was frustrated by the amount of prep time involved in my life. I often forget to eat, and when that happens I want to be able to grab something I can eat while going about my day. I hated family meals where everyone else was having pasta and dessert while I had tasteless raw food.

Losig weight and sticking with my plan is so much easier when I look at these things. Having healthy nutrient dense sweet food that took less than 5 mins to prepare, and that I could eat on the go, eating light during the day so I can have a significant dinner with dessert, pre logging my food so I have a general idea of what I want to eat, and trying to leave myself a few calories for anything I might want during the day.

Take a few minutes and think about what is causing you to fail...if you are craving treats, it might be as simple as allowing yourself one every day. The point is, anyone can follow a diet for a few days...but true change is is hard, especially if you are fighting your natural rhythms.

Cheating? On what?

Here are my tips:

1. Find a form of exercise you actually enjoy. Dancing, walking, hula hooping, rock climbing, whatever. Find a fun thing that gets you moving and do it.
2. Do not restrict any types of food. You can have candy. You can have bread. You can have chocolate ice cream. Just have them in such a way that fits into your calorie goal.
3. Set a realistic weight loss goal. .75-1.5lbs per week is safe/realistic.
4. Don't tie your weight loss goal to a specific date.
5. Set an attainable calorie goal. Unless directed by a doctor, I think 1200 is too low. Not because you'll die but because it's just damn hard to eat so few calories and still enjoy life. Yes, weight loss isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be torture. I know many women who have success in the 1450-1750 calorie ranges.
6. Keep a journal. Don't feel happy? Write about it. Want to stuff your face? Write about it. Feel bored? Write about it. Just finished working out? Write about it. You'll begin to notice patterns over time and can use them to you advantage.
7. Forgive yourself.

Good luck!

Only you can motivate you; no one else can do it for you. Good advice in here so far. Just a few points that I think are super important:

Start by simply logging everything you eat or drink. Eat what you normally eat just track it. After a few days, look at what you've been eating and what simple changes you can make to stay under your calorie goal. Make changes one at a time and make that change a habit before making the next change. You don't have to change your entire lifestyle in one day. Baby steps are fine and are less overwhelming. Don't let yourself get to the point where you feel so deprived that you let things get out of control. If you are always hungry, change your calorie goal. You'll lose weight a little more slowly but you'll stay on track and that's the most important thing. Don't be impatient, weight loss is not fast and it's not linear; some weeks will have a bigger loss than others.

If you have food you're "cheating" with in the house then get rid of that stuff or change your mindset. Personally, I don't "cheat", I fit things in. If I need a day off from logging, I take a day off, it's not "cheating" because I'd only be cheating myself. Why make yourself feel guilty over something like that?

Some motivational quotes (just for laughs, but they help me keep on track ):

1) Life is like a box of chocolates - it doesnt last as long for fat people
2) Too bat b*tching doesnt burn calories
3) Broccoli may get stuck in your teeth, but french fries get stuck on your as* (but still delicious when they fit your macros!)
4) I cant work out today, I strained my back sucking in my stomach
5) I cant believe its been a year since I didnt become a better person
6) No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch
7) Just because you trip on the top step doesnt mean your throw yourself down the rest of the stairs
8) Quitting a diet because of a bad day is like dropping your cell phone accidently and then stomping on it repeatedly since its already down there.
9) I love you with all my butt. I would say heart, but my butt is bigger (not anymore!)
10)Tired of being fat and ugly? Just be ugly... go to the gym.
11) Exercise - the poor mans plastic surgery
12) A good man can make you feel sexy, strong and able to take on the world... oh sorry, that's exercise. Exercise does that.

Smile