I wish I had better will power

moeluvshenry
moeluvshenry Posts: 1 Member
edited November 12 in Getting Started
I also have about 115lbs to lose.. And my weakness is will power, I have NONE.. Maybe with group support I might succeed

Replies

  • jillmarie125
    jillmarie125 Posts: 418 Member
    don't look at it as losing 115 pounds. Take it in sets on 10 or even 5. There will be many reason to feel proud of yourself along the way. You need to really want this and it won't be so hard.
  • beamer0821
    beamer0821 Posts: 488 Member
    edited January 2015
    it.is.hard.
    forget willpower.

    assuming you already know the ins and outs of eating a healthy diet and eating at a deficit and I'm guessing its the mental side of why can't you just do it! right?

    take a look at the non-food areas of your life. are you doing things for you? are you able to say no? are you carving out time for yourself? these questions are just scratching the surface, self reflect a bit. find out how you can better take care of yourself and what the weight is all about.

    in my opinion, losing weight is just a by product of me taking care of myself

    read Geneen Roth's Breaking Free from Emotional Eating. she writes great on the subject. don't let the title scare you off. this book was a game changer for me. its not an easy road but i whole heartedly believe to end the struggle and have long term success you need to address the emotional/mental side.

    I'm down 50lbs of my 100 lbs weight loss goal.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
    Just take it one moment at a time....as in, I will track what I'm eating right now. Or, I won't eat this cupcake right now, instead of I won't eat cupcakes anymore. It's much easier to commit to a moment than "forever" or "until I lose 115 lbs" or even for a day! Eventually, the moments add up and it gets easier.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    jillmarie125 wrote: »
    don't look at it as losing 115 pounds. Take it in sets on 10 or even 5. There will be many reason to feel proud of yourself along the way. You need to really want this and it won't be so hard.

    ^^^This. Don't look at it you have 115 pounds to lose. Take it 10 pounds at a time. That's what I have been doing myself as I have a significant amount to lose. I am down 60 pounds so far. Also, pay attention to the posts, especially the sticky ones. I've learned a lot since I started using this site. Easiest weight I have ever lost due to a lot of the advice given here.

  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
    As others have suggested, break it up into mini goals - 5 pounds, 10 pounds, etc. Thinking about the overall picture can definitely seem daunting.

    Also, what helped me stay on track at the beginning was focusing on health rather than weight loss. The more often I made healthier choices, the better I felt, and the more I wanted to stay on track. I know this mindset doesn't work for everyone, but it helped me.

    (And just to clarify - I know my profile says I only have 5 or so pounds to lose - I originally lost 80 pounds.)
  • Edwardshar
    Edwardshar Posts: 271 Member
    That's what he said!
  • BitterGoil
    BitterGoil Posts: 32 Member
    I agree, it is so hard. We are here to support you!
  • jillmarie125
    jillmarie125 Posts: 418 Member
    Edwardshar wrote: »
    That's what he said!

    i was thinking it...

  • keshabbaker
    keshabbaker Posts: 152 Member
    edited January 2015
    It is very hard believe me I know I have gained almost ten of the 20 pounds i lost last year during the holidays. But guess what I am starting fresh and new each day even I eat something I shouldn't have I still continue with my better choices for the rest of the day. See we tend to start over the next day when we mess up, no just keep making healthier choices every change you get. It's hard but every little helps.
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    You don't need will power, you need determination. It's not easy no matter how much or how little you need to lose. I started with 120 pounds to lose, I am down to the last 30. It's no easier now than it was the first day and in some ways, it's harder and in other ways it's easier. However, being fat is also hard. Choose your hard.


    Don't look at the over all goal if it is too daunting. Take each day one at a time. Take each hour one at a time if you need to. There WILL be hiccups on the road. that is life and use each experience to learn from. Don't beat yourself up for a bad day or bad week. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on. You can't change the past and the future isn't here yet, so just worry about today.
  • tchell99
    tchell99 Posts: 434 Member
    jillmarie125 wrote: »
    Edwardshar wrote: »
    That's what he said!

    i was thinking it...

    I came into this thread just to say this (well, I was gonna go with "she"), but I see it's been covered, so I will go creep elsewhere.

    To OP - it gets easier if you are consistent. Good luck!

  • Danimalrunsagain
    Danimalrunsagain Posts: 50 Member
    Don't just look at the numbers. Learn to celebrate the Non Scale Victories in your journey. They tend to show up everywhere. Inches lost, miles ran or biked, sit ups and pushups accomplished, medications that are no longer needed. If you win enough small battles, winning the war becomes quite easy.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Instead of looking at how far you have to go, look at how far you've come.
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    It's not so much about will power, but creating better habits. Once you use your finite amount of will power (which you have because you are a human that is alive) to create a new habit it gets easier.
  • blukitten
    blukitten Posts: 922 Member
    jillmarie125 wrote: »
    don't look at it as losing 115 pounds. Take it in sets on 10 or even 5. There will be many reason to feel proud of yourself along the way. You need to really want this and it won't be so hard.

    I have done this as well- I started with 177 to lose- broke it up into 10 lb increments and even made a list of rewards as I hit each 10 lb goal (no food rewards) and I am almost to my 50lb mark!
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    When you want it more than you want to be fat, the willpower will come.

    I am a recovering alcoholic. I binge drank for years and would wake up on mornings after a binge, wish I had not drank so much, vowed not to do it again...and did. I claimed it was willpower but what it was was lack of willingness to actually be sober. One day I woke up and actually wanted to be sober more than I wanted to be drunk, then it all fell into place.

    So when you are finished making excuses and really want to do something about it, come back and do it. It does not matter what diet you are on, what app you use or who is supporting you, if you do not REALLY want it more than you want to morbidly obese, you will not have it.
  • AnnaChanges
    AnnaChanges Posts: 109 Member
    It needs more than willpower to begin your journey of weight loss first of all you have to assess what got you to gain those pounds nutrition wise and emotional/social aspect. The latter you will be able to discover along the way when you start recording when do you eat the most and what triggers you to overeat or head for comfort food.

    Let us begin first with nutrition reality check. You want be able to know how much more food you are eating more than you need so you record everything you put in your mouth for a period of time. This is what I did to be able to put myself in weight loss mood and lifestyle change. So first of all set myfitnesspal goal on maintenance for a couple of days or a week then record everything you eat no matter what you eat or how much of it! Pretend like it is a normal day the only difference is that now you are recording. This way you will be able to see how much you are overeating and be aware more of those foods high in calories that you may not have noticed before. Slowly you will begin eating at maintenance and then reduce your calories to weight loss because believe me seeing yourself eating more than you need everyday and those numbers turning red will motivate you to eat just how much you need.

    Give it a try....I have been big for so long and for the past year I lost 60 lbs so you can definitely do it too and you can always add me for support
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Will power -- urgggh.

    For me it is self awareness, accountability, working smarter and not harder to achieve any success with your goals.

    I found in the past 4 months MFP allows you to do all of the above without needing will power. Just logging it does it for me.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Make it easier. Set smaller achievable goals. Who wants to be slaving against an "impossible" goal for months/years on end? How will you feel when you lose your first fifteen pounds? What could you do that you can't do now?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/it-s-all-about-habit-change-715479
  • pescetarian_love
    pescetarian_love Posts: 64 Member
    I have found that taking it one day at a time works the best. Don't stress about putting food in your mouth, don't over think the work outs....just take it one day at a time, eat fresh, you can cheat once in a while and use it as a reward for doing so well.

    Look at it as the first 10 lbs once you loose the first 10 add another 10. Make small goals and before you know it you are loosing a ton of weight. It will creep up on you like that and then you will start to feel "fearless!"

    K
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    will power can be built from nothing.

    just ask the little engine that could.
  • kittycat1116
    kittycat1116 Posts: 17 Member
    I too have a lot of weight to lose. This is my third time logging and getting back on track and this time I'm ready to follow through. I am a sugar'holic and will power is such a struggle for me too. But I love all the advice above and thankful for all the support that is available! Feel free to add me and we can touch base with each other along our journey.
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