frustration beyond all else

If you don't log you don't know how much you've eaten...you don't know if you've gone over or if you have calories left to eat

I'm not usually motivated to clean my house, but it's something I have to do. for me, there's no choice. I have to be committed, not motivated. I could not take being fat any more and when I really looked around me, I saw that most of the thin people I know actually work at it. they aren't blessed with some high speed metabolism (except a few like my husband and bff) but most are thin because they are careful with their diet and they are active. having a kid at 40 was pretty motivating though because now I'm more concerned about health and longevity and flexibility than appearance. idk, I just kind of got over it and realized I had no choice. <shrug>

It sounds like you're trying to go too hard too fast. Sometimes you just need to ease into it and allow yourself to take a pace that works for you. Exercising to the point that you're so sore you can't go again is the opposite of what you want to do. Look for something more sustainable.

OP, weight is lost in the kitchen, not the gym. You get fit in the gym. What I mean by that is you can lose weight without ever lifting one finger in exercise. I go through periods when I exercise and when I don't. My weight loss is consistent regardless, although I always feel better - both mentally and physically - when I do exercise.

What exercise *does* do is help you feel good, look good and maintain any weight loss you have, but don't depend on it for weight loss. You have to control your eating first. You will never, ever out run your fork.

The single biggest habit (and you have to MAKE it a habit) that will make you successful is to weigh, measure and log everything you eat. EVERYTHING. Being conscious of what you put in your mouth is critical. I have also found that when I know I have to log that bagel or donut or unplanned hamburger and fries, I am far less likely to put it in my mouth. That doesn't mean I don't eat those things - I DO! I just plan for them now - and TRACK them.

OP, I work 8-5, and have an hour+ commute each way. Ideally, I leave home at 6:45am, and get home between 6:20 and 6:50pm, so I pretty much have a 12 hour work day.

Do you have a food scale? Seriously, portion awareness is one of the biggest keys.

Do you have a microwave and a refrigerator at work?

If so, cook steel cut oats on Sunday evening (and again on Wednesday evening), and take a measured out portion (I get three servings instead of four, but c'est la vie) to work. I take three identical to-go containers, and distribute the oats, by weight, between them. I prep 3 oz bags of snap peas and 5 oz bags of cherry tomatoes, and 2 oz bags of deli meat for my lunch. The only bread I eat on a regular basis is Wasa sourdough crackers.

I buy the family size package of tortellini and package it into 8-10 half-portions for when I really want pasta.

Dinner is a challenge? I bake chicken breasts, cube them, and then stir the cooked meat into a simmer sauce. Google "moist baked chicken". "The Kitchn" offers an excellent method. You can also bake chicken breasts in Salsa Verde sauce. Find your calorie goal for dinner, and then find things you can advance prep and finish quickly.

And I still have treats. I go out with friends for a fancy tea about once a month, and I log every bite. When I have treats, I have them as a total experience, and I make time for them. If I'm going to spend 300 (or more!) calories on a treat, I'm going to really enjoy it. No eating gelato on the run when I'm worried about six other things. (That was a benchmark moment for me.)

3500 calories above and beyond what you burn adds up to a pound of weight gain. Conversely, going over your burn by 1000 calories *once a month* is pretty much negligible. It's all about trends, not days.

katiemufuknfitch529 wrote: »

I have been more and more lately, like if I'm feeling crappy and binge, I would not log it, and now I do so I felt the guilt.. which makes me less likely to do it again.

don't feel guilty about over eating. it happens to all of us. check out my diary. i've been terrible lately. TERRIBLE! once you stop being SO HARD on yourself it'll become easier. feel free to add me as a friend.

Well She may have deactivated her account, however I was feeling really upset today. I had weigh day today and it was up, and the process of loosing weight is slow. So I was really down, I needed these comments, there are many that helped, and I for some reason didn't realize how much I can miscount my calories, I have been eating healthier foods, so was getting to that point where I said how much can these prunes be? Well 20 calories a prune! I appreciate everyone who commented today and it has given me that boost to keep going!And I am going to make sure I start being more diligent on counting my calories.

katiemufuknfitch529 wrote: »

well the exercise was just walking for a few miles like i used to do daily, so i figured i would be fine, then the next day it hurt going down the stairs. I've been trying for 5+ years to lose weight and cutting back on eating, and nothing really worked until i started my thyroid medicine and then that stopped working... Like right now i'm trying to focus on eating less junk food, eating out less, and trying to exercise twice a week. But I've been trying for months and seems to be I'm just getting bigger.

You don't have to stop eating anything you love. You just have to be sure that they fit into your daily calorie goals.
You dont even have to exercise. I lost the 16lbs I did lose, just with what I ate.
I have another 11lbs id LIKE to lose, and now I started to workout because I don't want to be "skinny" fat I want to be toned.

If you aren't logging and weighing all solids, measuring all liquids, you are guessing at how much you are eating.
a handful of almonds could be anything. You really need to weigh everything and log it to be sure of what you are putting in, and burning off