has this happened to you? if so, please respond...

Also if I get into a "funk" and don't want to work out I still make myself go to the gym even if I just sit in the hot tub or the sauna i am still there and I need that routine. I have taken as much as 2 weeks off no exercise and not watching what I ate but in the end my health was more important and I just had to kick myself in the butt and get back at it!

I am dealing with that now its like I have lost it why am I killing my self at the gym why am i not eating what I want why be think if you cant be happy grrrrrrrr but I know I want to be thin and shop in whatever store I want to and have things that fit so I am just going to have to get back on the wagon and go if I fall then I will have to do all over untill I get it

I think it happens to everyone. That is why each day is a new day to start over. I did it last Saturday. My boys wanted Wendy's so we stopped and I was good, ordered the grilled chicken wrap for 260 cals. Then they didn't finish their burgers, so what did I do, I ATE THEM! What was I thinking? Not sure I was thinking anything, but just mindlessly eating. Worst part I wasn't even hungry!

I counted the calories and went on with the day. That's all you can do sometimes.

Keep going, don't quit! Take this and learn from it.

Something that has helped me is to make sure that I am not so hard on myself to be 100% accurate with all my entries. There is no way possible that I can know exactly what is in something I make from scratch. I will find something 'like' it and use that, you start to get a 'gut' feeling when have entered enough calories if it is close. If I am not sure, then I just dont enter all my exercise or go on the side of conservative to make sure i dont go over. I still eat the things I like, I dont deny myself anything, I just make sure its in small doses or only every now and then. I also allow myself to have days (but not more than once a week) where I dont care if I go over. Also, my family eats what I eat or cook...I just dont have such a large portion or if I make a casserole, I add a side salad to it. If you are cooking something for them and something for yourself you are doing too much work! No wonder you are burned out on that, who wants to do that much?, not me! I weigh myself only once a week, first thing in the morning, naked, right after I go to the bathroom...my dr says thats way more accurate. I'm happy with 1-2 pounds a week coming off (more would be nice but...) and fluctuation up and down is to be expected, dont lose sight of your goal because you gained a pound or two. I'd go crazy if I weighed myself every day...its depressing. Dont be too hard on yourself and dont use myfitness pal as a punishment to have to count calories. Find creative ways to cut calories in one place so you can have them in another. Also, periodically check the calories of the items you are entering to make sure they are right. I had a salad at one restaurant that said a lot lower number of calories (by 300) than their website said...so be careful with that.

I look at MFP as a tool to help guide me and keep me honest about what I am eating and dont stress over the 'exactness' of it all...and I eat out a lot less than i used to because they pack way too many calories in that stuff...I can do better at home. Hang in there and dont be so hard on yourself...you've come too far to give up now. Good luck!!!

Ok, this isn't meant to be critical in a bad way, but maybe take a step back and really think about what you want to achieve and how to make it happen for yourself. By that I mean, weight loss is not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. Some people can hit the ground running and make major changes that last right away. I'm very much a gradual change kind of person. I'd have given up long ago if I tried to be "perfect" from the beginning.

From just what you've written, it seems you are a bit hard on yourself. Remember that this is a lifestyle change and you have to live it one day at a time. You can't go from sitting on the couch one week to running a marathon the next week. Well, it's the same with foods for some of us. You can't go from eating whatever you want to automatically making the best calorie and nutrition choices overnight. It's a learning process. If you make a choice that you later regret, learn from it and make a better choice next time. Don't beat yourself up about it.

Also, it sounds like casseroles are something your family really enjoys. So it doesn't seem to fit very well to not make them or to make them for the rest of the family and not eat them yourself. The recipe tool on here works quite well to give an overall calorie count and then you can estimate how many serving and it will give you that breakdown too. If your current casseroles don't fit into your calorie budget very well, maybe it's a good time to go looking for new recipes. (I'm always happy of an excuse to look for new recipes.)

And know that you aren't alone in dealing with the stresses of making better choices. For me the hardest part is the mental gymnastics of figuring out what to eat and when to eat it. Sometimes I think that I just spend way too much time thinking about it and would really like for it to just be simple. Some days are definitely better than others, but what helps me most is just planning ahead more. If I try to make decisions about food when I'm hungry or when I'm rushed for time I'm much more likely to make choices I regret later. So I try to spend a little time on the weekend figuring out what dinners for the week will be and what I want to have on hand to take for lunches.

Best wishes on finding renewed motivation to continue your journey toward better health.

While this IS supportive it may not sound like it on the surface because I take a different view point (more of a tough love approach) on this type of topic than most otters. So if a tougher response is not something you are prepared to hear, then you should stop reading this now.

That being said; who ever said anything about it being easy? Because it’s not, and the sooner you realize and accept that the greater your success fill be. If you think counting calories and planning meals is tedious, I bet you wouldn’t be too happy with checking your blood sugar before every meal, giving yourself daily insulin injections or taking daily heart and cholesterol medications. So you can put the hard work and dedication into medicating yourself down the road as a result of your inaction, or you can put the hard work and dedication into avoiding those circumstances. You must suffer one of two pains, the pain of decline or the pain of regret, because you can either have excuses or you can have results, you can’t have both.

In the words or Frederick Douglass “Without a struggle, there can be no progress.”

I used to celebrate weight loss milestones by eating also. I've had to re-train myself to not pig out as a reward. I try to give myself something that isn't food related, like a new article of clothing.