Weight loss journey struggle...help?!

If you stumble just start again at your next meal. Don't wait to restart the next day. Why put it off and make more bad decisions when you can see your mistake and keep going.

Use the internet to educate yourself about weight loss as much as possible.

I agree about the single small changes, and the trick is to find the small change that really speaks to your personal need. There are many little things a person can do, but the reality is, which one kicks you into gear and keeps you motivated to keep on keeping on. I had to try many times to "start again" until finally I found the thing that helped the new habit start to stick.

For me, it was getting up early in the morning to get a work out in. I was too tired after work at night so would jam out. I found early bird length swims close to home and did that, plus our local gym has an early walk/run availability so I would head down there and just go in circles to my music.

The side benefit of getting up early helped me with one of my worst habits and that is snacking at night. I was terrible! Sit and relax in front of the TV, have a snack, then graze the kitchen for another .... you see the pattern. Getting up early made me go to bed early, no time to snack That was my defining moment of success. I hope you find yours. I started that 1st of September this year and have to date lost 30 lbs. Yay me, and yay you!

Baby steps! Just start out by logging everything you eat. Then take a look at what you're eating and the statistics of that food and try to find easy changes you can make which will have an impact. Remember that the goal isn't to drop as many pounds as possible in the shortest time possible, it's to take the weight off in a healthy, sustainable manner; that sometimes means slowly. You didn't get overweight in a month, you're not going to take the weight back off in a month, either.

You don't need to hit the gym for a one hour elliptical session every day to lose weight; it can be accomplished with a calorie deficit alone. That said, cardio is good for your body and will give you more calories to play with every day and for some people that makes a huge difference in how sustainable their diet is. If you aren't ready for the gym yet, find little ways to add more movement to your day. Park at the back of the parking lot, take the stairs, use your breaks at work to take a short walk. Every little bit helps!

Incorporate strength training into your new lifestyle as soon as you can manage it. It's even more important than adding cardio exercise, IMHO. Losing weight involves losing fat, water and muscle. The more muscle you lose through weight loss, the lower your metabolism and the slower you will be able to lose weight in the future. Strength training will help you to retain muscle so you're losing more fat. In addition, you'll be happier with your body sooner since it will be firmer than it would without strength training.

Use the measuring tape as well as the scale to measure your success.

Most importantly, the changes you're making should be sustainable. Losing weight should not be some quick fix to shed a few pounds and then you can return to the way you were eating and living before. The changes you're making should be for life so you don't find yourself needing to lose the same pounds a few years from now.

Don't give up early in the game. I was feeling discouraged after not seeing much change on the scale and then had a 4.5 lb drop. I was having issues losing until I started adding loads of veggies and monitoring my sodium and sugar intake. I also had to adjust my cals a couple times to actually start seeing weight loss. I signed up with a trainer at my gym and do strength training 3 times a week and cardio two days a week. Anyway, blah blah blah. Good luck on your fitness journey! Think long term, not short term quick losses.

Annabear3 wrote: »

Don't kick yourself over a small set back. Just say the next thing I do will be positive. Also, celebrate all the small victories. After your first week, if you even just lose half a pound celebrate that! You did something great! If you look at everything in small bites so to speak, it's a little less daunting.

And, celebrate them yourself, whether anyone else supports you or notices! I only add that because I see a lot of posts on here where people do have successes, big and small, but get discouraged when others don't share them with them. It'd be nice, but you have to be your own ally, your own cheerleader.