I have totally self sabotaged

if you want to do it, you will.

nothing anyone can say will give you motivation. You are in charge of you.

Don't be afraid to succeed! My personal experience with self-sabotage is that it avoids a certain degree of success. Once I reach a new weight or lose weight, I realize it'll take as much work to maintain as it was to get there, so I'm found myself sabotaging my efforts to not have to face the new future--which will be a lifetime of commitment and hard work.

Fortunately, now that I've learned this, I'm trying to use it as a tool to overcome this type of behavior.

Exercise any excessive treat before you eat it. You may find the hard work you put in is not worth the over indulgence of unhealthy choices. When you see the success at the end of the week I hope you are motivated to stay with healthier eating and limit the foods that will require more output. Moderation is key. Log ALL food you are consuming no matter what it is. Most of all STOP beating yourself. Be good to yourself. (That doesn't mean with food unless it fits within your goals).

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

if you want to do it, you will.

nothing anyone can say will give you motivation. You are in charge of you.

This is a yes and no answer for me. Trust me i WANT it i want it so bad but changing a life time of bad habits is really hard especially when you are an emotional eater, or you have other issues with food. yes if you want it do it stop eating the horrible things and get better ,but at the same time its easier said then done. My best advice is if that i what gets you and you self sabotage with those things, keep them out of the house go grocery shopping on a day when you feel strong enough to say no to those things not on a day when you know you may give in. never go food shopping hungry and make sure you keep supportive people around you who will support you in your choice.

Are you creating too much of a deficit? How many calories are you working with?

AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »

Are you creating too much of a deficit? How many calories are you working with?

this!

What are your stats?
Age:
Height:
Current weight:
Goal weight:
Activity level and what kind do you do:
are you eating back your exercise calories:
what have you set your rate of loss to be on here:
how many calories do you try to consume on average:
do you log your food religiously:
do you weigh / measure your food:
do you have a food scale:

It's highly possible that you are trying to "go big or go home" and as a result are flaming out before you get off the ground.

Yes, there is something to be said for self control, but I think that too often we seem to think that we have to be miserable in order to successfully lose weight!

Pre-log your foods. That's what I do... I pre-log the next days food the night before This allows me to see how many calories is in each snack/meal and how it will affect my calorie goals before I even eat it! If I don't like it's affect I remove it and replace it w/ something that I am happy with. This allows me to make good choices and less likely to give in to random food during the day. BTW - w/ this method I always have calories left over at the end of the day, and that's when I enjoy a treat or 2... because usually I have planned so well, I can fit it in! I have ice cream, candy bars, hot chocolate etc. at least 2-3 times a week because I have room leftover in my calories to do so! And because I can have those treats w/out going over my calories, when they are presented to me unexpectedly, for example at work, or at a last minute social event (as in one I had not planned for), I can always resist! Being able to eat the treats on a consistent basis gives them less "power"! You can do it!

I have similar issues. I've lost lots of weight, but have plenty more to lose, and I share your struggles. The answer is probably it's all in your head. Try some of these articles about mindfulness / mindful eating. http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/tag/mindful-eating/

Also, being more aware of proper portion sizes helps. It can help you to avoid heaping the plate and realizing later you went over your calories. It can also help "convince" you that you've had enough food: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide This article is good for the portion info, but ignore the part that bashes calorie counting. The bottom line is calories matter, but it's also useful to have an easy "on the fly" way to judge what's reasonable and use that to convince yourself you've had enough to eat. Also similar to this "hand diet" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2537130/Portion-sizes.html.

Also, don't beat yourself up too much. I've lost 90 lbs starting in 2011 and it's not like I've been starving myself for 4 years and when I'm "on" it's not like it's always 100%. It just takes making the adjustments over time for the majority of the time, to get progress.

First of all, cut yourself some slack. It's only been a week! It's the rare individual who can change a lifetime of habits in a week, so seriously. Be kind to yourself.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that those things you mentioned are all high glycemic, processed carbs. If you eat enough of those kinds of foods, your body gets used to them, wants more, and that's partially where your strong cravings come from. It's actually a physical addiction that can be hard to break. If you haven't already, learn a little bit about that. Sometimes just understanding how food is affecting your body can make it easier to say no to them.

There are really three main things that help me stay on track: First, I try to not have "the bad stuff" in the house. I have enough willpower to say no when I'm shopping, but if they're sitting in the pantry, taunting me all night, it's over. Second, plan ahead for those times when you know you're going to want a snack. If you have a glass of wine every night, try finding an herbal tea you really enjoy and have that instead. If you want some crisps, have a handful of nuts instead. Don't let yourself feel deprived, but make yourself love new things. Third, just tracking calories and learning about food helped me a lot. You may find after a few weeks, like I did, that you're negotiating your food choices without really trying, just because you're more aware of what you're eating. For me, that went something like this: "I've been on target all week, and today's looking pretty good, so I'm going to have a cheeseburger! But wait, if I get mustard instead of mayonnaise, and leave off the cheese, then for the same calories, I can get some crisps too! Yay!"

Wait, there is a fourth thing I would recommend, and it's an important one. You have to want to do good things for yourself, and you have to believe that you deserve good things. That's a toughie sometimes. But be very conscious of this. If you're eating a salad, savor every bite of that salad, and tell yourself .. "I am putting some amazing food into this amazing body of mine! How awesome am I to be taking care of this miraculous body of mine?? My body loves this! And this lettuce is so crisp and cold, and these tomatoes are so sweet! Nom nom nom." Savor it. Pat yourself on the back. If you can really enjoy your healthy choices, and really feel like you're pampering yourself in a way, it'll be easier to make good choices the next time. And even easier the next time.

And come to think of it, savor the "bad stuff" too. Because you know what? Chocolate and crisps are really awesome. Don't make them taboo. Don't beat yourself up about it. Don't think of it as cheating. Think of it as a really tasty snack that you're going to thoroughly enjoy, just not that often because while your tastebuds love it, your body ... not so much. And you love your super amazing, super versatile, super useful body a lot more than your tastebuds!

Lastly, if you're still reading, know that it gets so.much.easier. Your body craves the bad stuff now, but if you keep at it, it'll start craving the good stuff. So keep at it. Find support and encouragement where you can. Praise yourself for the good choices and don't beat yourself up about anything else. You can do it!