Motivation to Count Again

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holly55555
holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone. I'm looking for some motivation.

I have been a MFP user on and off for a few years. I am female, 23 yrs old, 5'8, and currently 139 lbs. I am small framed and want to be around the 125 lb range. My issue is that I will count for let's say, 8 months, get to my goal weight, get sick of counting, stop, gain it back, and start over. I don't want to count forever but I have trouble maintaining. I made a post about this a little bit ago and a lot of people said they just plan to count forever.

I think my big issue is that because I'm not overweight, it's very hard for me to stay motivated. But I also don't want to be skinny fat forever.

So I work out 3-5 days a week with a trainer (started about a year ago), and I asked him about the counting forever thing. He doesn't monitor my nutrition as I'm not overweight or anything, but I get frustrated when my weight fluctuates. I just started lifting heavy. He told me that I will absolutely not have to count forever, and once I put on more muscle, I will be able to maintain much more easily.

Do you think this is true? I'm trying to see a light at the end of the tunnel here. I also am trying to log everything at the end of the day (instead of planning it out on MFP first) to sort of get used to estimating calories without looking it up first.

I decided to count until I hit my goal weight (again) and then maintain for a bit on MFP and slowly wean off.

Any advice for me? What are your tips to wean off counting? AND please, since I started counting yet again, can you give me some motivation?

Replies

  • RadiantChange
    RadiantChange Posts: 57 Member
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    This is "THE" most important topic there is in my opinion as I have a food addiction issue!

    Your trainer is right that muscle will burn fat much easier and keep it off much longer but at some point in the aging process that doesn't work the same any more and other strategies will have to be utilized to maintain your weight.

    Your so smart that your looking and trying to solve this issue now, before the weight creeps up more & more and a huge lot of your life goes by and it becomes harder & harder.

    Counting isn't the most important thing for me...Checking in daily and having a food plan is. Whenever I don't, I find myself in the exact situation...Getting to my goal, stopping staying accountable then putting it back on.

    I think anyone with food addiction issues have to stay accountable somehow!
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,716 Member
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    Motivation is fleeing and fickle - develop good habits and then just do them automatically. Honestly, that's the only way you have a chance at maintaining without tracking. Otherwise, it kind of sounds like you're still looking for there to be an end point once you reach your goal weight, a "light at the end of the tunnel", as you say. Reaching your goal IS that light, but you must rely on good habits to stay there.
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
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    You need to analyze your patterns. When you don't count, in which situations do you typically over-eat? What would be a suitable solution for you and how will you remember to activate that solution when you're not counting?
    For example, when I go to a restaurant and don't count, I have go-to dishes, like shell fish which is usually low-calorie, and I avoid anything creamy. Another example, when there are office treats I limit myself to a certain amount that I know is not too bad, and also try to limit how many times I grab goodies in a week.
    I also keep an estimate in my mind to sort of gauge if I'm ok or not.

    I was able to maintain like that for a long time, like a year, and then I had a landslide of disruptions that led to more excuses and slipping up so I'm here trying to get back in the zone, using counting as a helpful tool to get me back to goal.

    I personally never lost weight without counting but I successfully maintained.
    Also, it's not the end of the world if sometimes you need to get back to counting, as long as you learn a few sustainable habit that help you maintain for longer.

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