Love the Idea of losing weight but can't get myself to sacrafice for it
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shennin001 wrote: »define cheating on your diet?
That might be the issue...and not the cheat but how you view losing weight.
If you look at it as eating the foods you love and crave and want just in smaller portions and that you aren't cheating by eating that food it can help.
It sounds like you are over restricting your intake.
I have lost almost 60lbs...by eating regular foods like chicken, rice, pasta and yes even pizza, burgers, bacon, chocolate, beer....etc.
Check my diary it's all there....
Ok so cheating for me is both eating fast food and just over eating. I like the fact that you were able to lose weight and still eat some junk food like pizza (my fav).
yah don't let fast food scare you...just fit it in your calories...just make sure you aren't restricting too much.
I had pizza today for lunch and still have over 500 calories left to play with for dinner...
Just remember no food is bad just monitor the quantities and exercise for more calories to eat...it really is that easy.0 -
I really like this that we dont have to reprive ourselves and we can eat whatever.0
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There is a huge difference between wanting to be thin and wanting to do the work of losing weight.
At first, just honestly log. Spend a week or two logging every single thing you eat. That's it. That's all you have to do. No skipping any logging.
Then start adding things into your diet. Not subtracting or cutting back, but adding. Add eight glasses of water a day for a week. Then add a couple of servings of fruit and veggies every day for a week or two. Then add more fruits and veggies. Then add whole grain breads and pasta.
If you don't focus on taking things away and just focus on adding, I think it's easier. There's no cheating.
Remember, you really can't cheat, anyway. You do what you want to do, so even if you keep gaining, you're not cheating.
If it turns out that you don't want to this or some other way of losing, don't feel bad about it. You're just not ready. So enjoy eating yummy stuff. No guilt. You'll lose when you want to lose!
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The beauty of calorie counting is there's no such thing as cheating!!!! Sounds like your first goal should be changing some of the ideas you have surrounding food. For me it was changing how I looked at food, it was definitely a thing I connected with love and pleasure, and still to do at times be honest! But I've worked to connect other aspects of my life with love and pleasure, the biggest one being working out!!! My main source of motivation is instagram. There's soo many awesome ladies on there who have come so far and are always updating with what they are eating and doing for workouts. None of it is hard, you just do it and the results happen! Seriously it's not any harder than eating a box of donuts, it's just the choice and mentality. Honestly I have realized that eating a box of donuts is actually harder than staying on track because of how I beat myself up afterwards, overeating makes my life MORE stressful and not less stressful like I would think.
And just find a method that works for you. For me I needed to get an online fitness coach for instruction, motivation, and accountability. Now I am doing it on my own with the techniques I learned from her.0 -
I get where you're coming from. Changing habits is hard at first. Counting calories is tedious, and disheartening when you realize you've hit your daily goal by lunch, and you're either going to fail the day, or be really hungry in the evening. So why even bother if you can't do it perfectly, right? This is not a winning mindset.
Start, just start. You will have failures; restart at the next meal. Make a deal with yourself that you'll commit to a full month of logging everything. Make a deal that you will have 5 of 7 days in the green, and that the overall week will balance. Once you start seeing the results in your clothes, on the scale, get asked if you've lost weight - that will all help you stay motivated.
I've been on MFP now since Jan 2013. I had a setback and am now having to re-lose the same pounds. I struggled with starting again this time around. And then somebody told me about dietbet. It was the kick in the *kitten* that I needed. Between counting calories with MFP and challenges on dietbet, I have lost 28 pounds since mid-March. Having reasonable goal weights to achieve by a deadline with my own money on the line? Oh ya, it's GAME ON! I've got staggered weigh-ins every week / week & a half so I can't procrastinate/find reasons to justify that cheeseburger. It's really been helping me stay focused, and seeing good results on the scale is addictive.
Good luck!0 -
I have a suggestion, I don't know if others have mentioned. It's a slightly slower way to go, but instead of depriving yourself of things you enjoy, you could go into your "maintenance" diet right now. It's called "eating for the new you." ESSENTIALLY, you figure out what your calorie goal would be at your ideal weight, and you eat that. Every day, on average, from now on. So for instance, I put your age and "goal weight" into this calculator:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
And it says at your goal weight, you'd want to NET about 1600 calories per day. Every day on average. For the rest of your life. Maybe that will be easier than "dieting" at 1200 calories per day. Your loss will be a tad bit slower, but you also won't have to cut out the things you love.
Editing to add: this way, let's say on your birthday you can eat cake and consume 2000 calories, but it not be "cheating." You just know that for the rest of that week you need to eat about 1525 calories each day to average out that planned calorie "splurge."
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I started a few times too. Getting past three weeks is tough one for me but once I hit about 4 weeks in, it starts to get easier.
Keep trying and restarting. Try to shake that notion of "I already had one so I might as well have more". Just keep working at it and you'll get there.
I seem to have a hard time with reducing calories when I eat carbs and treats so I feel like I need to go without (as much as possible) and then I am able to control my eating easier.
Good luck and congrats on your little one!0 -
I can perfectly understand... in 2013 i went from 216 lbs to 153 lbs... i had tried diets before and i never stuck to them i was too lazy to exercise even though i have a treadmill... what finally did it for me was seeing how fat i looked in pictures i was disgusted with myself for allowing myself to gain that much i had 2 kids my little one was 1/2 yrs old... so i decided enough was enough my size 14 jeans were fitting tight so i started eating healthy & working out it took months but at the end i was able to fit perfectly into size 8 jeans... i gained 15 lbs back in around 10 months i got comfortable and started slacking off got pregnant and gained 65 lbs... my little princess was born on april 24th (she is 10 weeks) and i have lost almost all the baby weight just have 14 lbs left (51 lbs lost) ... im determined ... i also work full time & now im the mom to 3 kids so when there is a will there is a way... i dont slack off and keep true to myself i can lie to ppl but i cant lie to myself or the scale...0
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Im sure previous posters have all given you good advice, so pardon me if its more of the same.
Part of the process requires you to commit and just do whats needed because you want it badly enough and those who cant manage it prever to make the choice of continuing the way there are and do no wnat it badly enough. No hiding from that, so overall its ok daydreaming about losing weight but you do have to ante up and do whats needed.
The next point you made was only lasting 2 days, which is a sign of poor prep and motivation. The rough rule of tum id say would be c 1 week for each 1lb you have to lose as o how long it might take, so with 100lbs that could be close to 2 years at 1lb a week. Quitting after 2 days doesnt even get past the opening credits.
Ways to get started.
1. Knowledge- understand how it all works. It should make sense to you.
2. Good planning, that incorporates the knowledge.
3. Additional prep so you understand what it is and what you have to do.
4. Mindset and contingency planning so you remain commited and focused.
5. Take it in small steps, so its achievable and manageable.
6. Keep it simple.
7. Be your own best friend and encourage yourself to be consistent.
8. Remind or understand why you are doing it. If its not importnat enough to motivate you then its not worth doing. the reason i started was for health as it was getting to a stage where I apprciated it was putting me at risk. That mattered to me.
9. Baby steps so you cna start off easily and build progress in small stages.0 -
shennin001 wrote: »I'm 28yrs and need to lose about 70-80lbs. I'm currently 230lbs and 5'5. I had a baby 3 months ago and was already 209lbs when i got prego. I day dream of how beautiful and great it's going to be when i lose weight, but i can't get myself to even do 2 days straight without cheating. I know i can do this it's just so hard to start. Would love to know who's out there that's already past this stage or is like me and just getting started.
I started where you are, 5'4, 233lbs. I am down 11.5 and it has been about a month since I started. Add me as a friend if you like. Logging food helps, being accountable to myself was a big motivator for me, as was adding a few friends on MFP. I eat foods that are not good for me on occasion and just make sure they fit in my calorie allotment for the day or the week. I don't think it is great to start off in the headspace of a diet because psychologically it makes you feel like you can't have things, which if you are anything like me, you then want. I think of it more as ok, these are all the things I can have, and that does include occasional treats.
Once you get going with it you might also find yourself getting much pickier about your snacks. My husband had chocolate chip brownie bites on the counter today and asked if I wanted some or if he could eat them all, I took one look at them and decided I wanted to spend my calories on something that I would enjoy more, before I likely would have eaten them just because.
You can do it, but the right headspace will go a long way. Don't think of all the things you can't have, think about all the things you can have, like a smaller waist, more muscles, more energy, a longer life with your family. That is what keeps me going.0 -
It is interesting how many people exercise off calories to make room for favorites. I finished up 12,000 steps a little while ago to have 200 left on the day
I agree with many others. It is simple and you have to be willing to do some work.
But it is a tougher life being fat. So I keep working my way to goal0 -
I totally get where you are coming from. It's really hard to be at the beginning with (what seems like) so much weight to lose and knowing it could take an entire year to reach your goal. I have found that when I give in to fast food, ordering small sizes of everything helps with my calorie budget. Take it one day/hour/minute at a time. When you don't do it perfectly, forgive yourself and try again.0
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It took a health scare and a major kick in the pants to get me to take weight loss seriously. I consider my eating and exercise mandatory like brushing my teeth and going to work every day.
Why do I brush my teeth daily? Well I do because I don't my teeth to rot and be painful and look gross and I don't want bad breath.
Why do I eat within my calories, get proper nutrition, and exercise?
Well I don't want to have obesity related health problems, like HBP, Type II Diabetes, heart attack, not being able to move around easily, etc. I don't want to deliberately harm myself by continuing to shove too much food in my mouth.
Coddling didn't work for me. Harsh reality did.
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Been where you are now, MANY times. Yo Yo dieter here, managed to lose and then regained what I lost and more
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You have age on your side, I finally got my act together (this time around) after age 50 (also weighed 45 lbs more than you, and I'm 5'5.5"). I got my wake up call after getting diagnosed with Type 2 DM.
I have not really cut out any food, I still eat out, eat junk food, am a chocoholic and I do not have cheat meals, cheat days, cheat anythings. I fit what I want to eat in my daily menu and plan the day around it. I pre plan/pre log my meals and make sure I have enough calories in snacks so I can adjust thru the day if my menu changes or I have some grip loss and raid the pantry.
Once you get your mindset where it needs to be, you can do it but no one can get you to that point.
Do it one day, one pound, one step at a time. String a few good days in a row, get to see the scale drop....that is what did it for me.shennin001 wrote: »I'm 28yrs and need to lose about 70-80lbs. I'm currently 230lbs and 5'5. I had a baby 3 months ago and was already 209lbs when i got prego. I day dream of how beautiful and great it's going to be when i lose weight, but i can't get myself to even do 2 days straight without cheating. I know i can do this it's just so hard to start. Would love to know who's out there that's already past this stage or is like me and just getting started.
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I get it, it takes being invested. I had to take a really good look at myself in the mirror ...in my underwear.. yep, it was brutal. Then....well I'm a life coach, who works with vision boards, so to muster the desire to invest, I created a vision board for weight loss myself. It's actually worked quite well... I'm 20 pounds down. I also looked into other programs and decided on Jenny Craig, and Melaleuca has great products that have helped me too. Good luck to you!0
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shennin001 wrote: »I'm 28yrs and need to lose about 70-80lbs. I'm currently 230lbs and 5'5. I had a baby 3 months ago and was already 209lbs when i got prego. I day dream of how beautiful and great it's going to be when i lose weight, but i can't get myself to even do 2 days straight without cheating. I know i can do this it's just so hard to start. Would love to know who's out there that's already past this stage or is like me and just getting started.
Picture your newborn as a 7 year old you can't keep up with because you've gained even more weight? Picture your teenagers worried about their overweight mom as she approaches middle age? Imagine how many lost opportunities you may face in life - things you could not do or choose not to do because of weight and health? Imagine what your retirement will be like?
2 days is nothing. Pick a reasonable calorie deficit target - make it a small deficit to start with if you must - and start logging and promise yourself you'll keep going.
What you really need to do is make a commitment to yourself and stick with that commitment. Do it for yourself first and foremost but keep in mind all the positives you as a healthy and fit mom will bring your child(ren) as they grow up.
Managing "cheating" is another issue. Right now you need to be absolutely sure you've committed to do this. You can. Thousands upon thousands here have. It need not take forever. You will see results sooner than you can imagine at this point and if you also adopt a healthy lifestyle and fitness program you'll become quite fit long before you get to your goal weight and will feel great.
There's nothing to lose by making that first step and committing. Do it for yourself and do it now.
Or, in short, what he says:Nothing is going to change until you change.
Good luck!
:drinker:
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You pretty much just need to get your mind in the right place to really get started with it. You need to want it more than anything. It also takes 5 weeks to form a habit, but for me I feel like after doing it for a month or two it got easier. Now I'm almost 6 months into it and the progress I've made is motivating for me and I'm very happy that I stuck with it. Its worth the time and effort, you just need to convince yourself that your worth it.0
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I started on my diet back on 2/22/15.I'm diabetic.I was a hugh carb eater.My blood sugar was through the roof.I watch my carbs theses days.I no longer have that starving feeling.I eat 4 small meals a day.I've lost 84 pounds as to date.I know in time I'll reach my goal.I'll never let myself go back to the pizza and cookies.0
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Charles1964 wrote: »I started on my diet back on 2/22/15.I'm diabetic.I was a hugh carb eater.My blood sugar was through the roof.I watch my carbs theses days.I no longer have that starving feeling.I eat 4 small meals a day.I've lost 84 pounds as to date.I know in time I'll reach my goal.I'll never let myself go back to the pizza and cookies.
@Charles1964 your story is an inspiration. You decided to do something and in remarkably short order you've made significant progress. Way. To. Go.
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Wow so many great stories and advices. Thanks to all for commenting. I have read all the comments, i promise. I just can't reply to them all, but pretty much all of them have been great and motivational. I hope to one day be writing my success story.
Love the comments keep them coming.0 -
You know that Nike ad line: "Just Do It"? Don't go through an internal talk with yourself, because your heart that wants the yummy extra food will outtalk your logical brain that knows you just gotta start and continue. Any time you start thinking through things, the slim gal in you will lose the argument. Same with exercise, as soon as it passes through your mind ("I really should go for a walk", or whatever) get up and do it. That will not give your heart time to say, "Hey, wait a minute, wouldn't it be nice just to sit here on the couch and relax?"
Works for me. Overcome the inertia, you can do it! Like @vixtris said.0 -
shennin001 wrote: »Wow so many great stories and advices. [...] I hope to one day be writing my success story. Love the comments keep them coming.
If you just start - why not right now - you WILL be writing your own success story, it's that plain and simple.
Some of us don't start because we fear we'll fail, but that of course is nonsense because failure is guaranteed if we never start.
Some of us don't start because we fear that it will "take a long time", but that of course is nonsense because of course it will take a while to lose weight that, for most of us, took many years to accumulate. The good news is that it will take far less time to lose it.
As Charles' story makes clear, we can make a lot of progress in a relatively short amount of time, no matter how heavy we have become. Many of us here have other stories. I've lost 72 pounds since September last year. After years of gaining and worrying about failure or how long it would take (yes, that was me) I finally had an aha moment that scared me... and I realized that I want to be around a long time to finish seeing my children grow up and retire healthy with my wife and enjoy ourselves. Truth be told, losing the first 40 or 50 pounds was easy. Yes, easy. The rest isn't proving terribly difficult, I'm simply having to optimize what I do a little to accommodate my weight loss and fitness objectives at the same time.
All I had to do was start... and I've not looked back not once. Success has a way of encouraging more success.
Your story might be the same, but you won't know until you start.
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You are so right. We are a community who are basically trying to achieve the same goals and I see your comments as the tough love we sometimes need to get us to pick up and get on with it. I think shennin001 is probably a bit bogged down with baby stuff and that can make the focus she needs to lose weight a little harder to achieve. I'm sure she will get there with the help of mfp.kyrannosaurus wrote: »I think you need to focus on what you are sacrificing by continue to lead an unhealthy lifestyle.
I would certainly prefer to make changes to my lifestyle than sacrifice my health or sacrifice time that I could spend with my child by dying prematurely.
You have a child now, you owe it to them. You need to be as healthy as possible to provide for your child as long as possible. You need to be healthy to set a positive example for your child so they don't end up being sucked into the cycle of obesity themselves.
You need to make changes to lose weight, but you don't actually have to sacrifice much at all. You can still enjoy the foods you like, in moderation. If you enjoy doing things like watching television shows, maximise the use of your time and exercise during the program.
I have not had to stop doing anything I enjoyed to lose weight. It's about making better decisions.
You just have to toughen up and make it happen.
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