Any advice?

marihurley216
marihurley216 Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am 24 years old. I have 2 children. I have always been "chubby" but now I am just completely uncomfortable. I weigh 230 and am about 5'5. According to MFP I am supposed to eat 1,730 calories a day. I have a gym membership. I have tried MFP on and off over the last year and it just never sticks. My willpower isn't very strong. I find myself, Especially at night, Wanting to binge eat everything. I didn't even know MFP had a place to vent/reach out until recently. Viewing other people's success stories is something I like to do. I just feel like it'll never be me! I am so over being uncomfortable with nothing to wear or out of breath. Does anyone have any advice maybe about different gym workouts or things to eat? Ways to stay motivated? Anything? Thanks for letting me vent..

Replies

  • 6502programmer
    6502programmer Posts: 515 Member
    Ways to stay motivated.. For me, it's seeing consistent losses. 1730 is a lot of calories! There's no reason you can't get a good mix of flavor and nutrition in there. Done right, you won't feel the need to binge!
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  • marsinah1
    marsinah1 Posts: 106 Member
    If you binge or skip going to the gym, acknowledge to yourself that it wasn't the day you wanted to have and then let it go. No beating yourself up over it. Put yourself back on your health plan the next day and move on. You mentioned that you're uncomfortable as you are. Making the sustainable, long term changes in our lives that move us closer to our health goals isn't always comfortable, either. The thing is, we can choose to remain uncomfortable as we are or we can risk being uncomfortable changing, but knowing that we're moving ourselves closer to where we want to be.

    Seeing the numbers on the scale drop was motivation for me. So is watching the tape measurements I record change. It took me about a month to see the physical changes, but when I did, I definitely was motivated to keep going. But there was also a point in there when that motivation changed. It became a driving commitment to myself. You'll get there, too. Until then, you need to keep plugging away at it. I believe you can do it.

  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    One thing that you might find motivational is that you're only 24. You could weigh a lot more, or a lot less, in 5 years. You might as well choose less for the rest of your life. You'll miss some large portion size instant gratification moments, but you get back in control of how you look and feel. You'll also be able to be more active with your family. Many of us still eat some junk food. We just get better at portion size (logging calories).
  • marihurley216
    marihurley216 Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you guys for taking time to respond back to me. Hearing other people who are going through it or have gone through it puts things in a different light.
  • sweetcherae
    sweetcherae Posts: 66 Member
    Believe in yourself and know that you deserve to be happy. It's going to be a tough long ride, but just know that you can accomplish anything you put your mind too :-). At the beginning it's always the toughest with getting your routine down. I love to look up healthier ways to make my favorite foods. Lots and lots of water. And moderate exercise 3-5 days a week. I'm a mother of two and have a full time job so extra time is hard to come by. That's why T25 with Shaun T has helped so much. Just 25 a day and I get a great workout in. I'm seeing results and feeling more confident by the day. Don't give up! Good luck on your journey becoming a happier, healthier you! :-)
  • MrsCaitlinBeltran
    MrsCaitlinBeltran Posts: 241 Member
    I understand exactly how you feel. After I had my son, almost two Decembers ago, I just didn't feel comfortable with my body at all. I researched and read everything I could on healthy lifestyles, workouts, and meals for more than a year, but I didn't end up changing anything until just this past April. Looking back, I think allowing myself to take the time I needed to make such a big change has helped me become more successful because I knew, without a doubt, that I was willing and ready to finally buckle down and become healthy. Once I started MFP, all I did for a week was focus on tracking my food--any and all food, regardless of calories. Once tracking became a habit, I moved on to measuring/weighing my food until that became a habit and then I added in exercise. My advice to you would be to take it slow--it's not a race; it's a lifestyle change. Just believe that you can do it. You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for--you've got this! I truly wish you the best :)
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
    For me, I love love love daily weigh ins for motivation.

    Now, a lot of people will tell you that's crazy, but hear me out.

    If you use a good plotting tool like this one at trendweight.com, your daily weigh ins will produce a graph like this:

    4w.png

    The diamonds are your weight data points. The line is the trend. For me, when I do something off my diet, I get a weight that's above the trendline the very next day. It's the perfect slap on the wrist - knowing why exactly my weight is up, because I binged on something or went to a party and said "whatever it's my treat day". Yet normal weight fluctuations due to water etc never do that, those weights stay below the line.

    You can also kiss "plateaus" good bye with this method - and they're one of the most frustrating, demotivating things you could encounter on your journey for one or even two whole weeks. But the trend keeps coming down, and if you focus on that as your real weight you know that you're still on track. As long as the diamonds are below your line you're losing weight.

    It's very powerful having direct cause and effect feedback. It just requires a regular weigh in, and two minutes to look at your graph.

    It's even more powerful if you have a friend or SO you are willing to show your graph to. The accountability is killer motivation.

    Osric
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    We've all felt like that at some point. Truth be told though, motivation has to come from within ones self. We can't say anything to make you stop over eating, you must want it. Really want it. When your finally ready, you'll do it.
    What has helped me is routine though. Force yourself to do it , force yourself to weigh all your foods and log them and after a few days , hopefully it'll become habit. Once something is habit, its easier to stick to . after a while, it just becomes part of your daily routine .
    I started about your size and am 135 lbs now . just do it. You'll thank yourself one day !
  • erin_kercheval
    erin_kercheval Posts: 37 Member
    Most people have a reason they binge eat, other than simple lack of willpower. Is there something in your life that is stressing you out, making you feel sad, etc (other than the weight issue) that maybe you haven't dealt with emotionally? If that is the case, maybe that is what is holding you back right now. I find I'm a stress eater & Definitely eat when I'm mad/sad about something. Thankfully this is not every day. But if you find yourself feeling this way every day, that could be your biggest problem.

    For me, my current motivation isn't numbers on a scale, it's my kids. I need to be a role model to them, showing them how to be healthy & active so they don't find themselves as adults not understanding good nutrition. I want things like going out for a walk or bike ride to be a part of every day life, something we do as a family simply because it feels good & truly is much more fun than sitting on the couch watching TV. I want to be next to my kids playing & riding bikes, not feeling too tired or out of shape to enjoy those things.

    I realize it's not that simple and I totally struggle with healthy eating, but hopefully you can resolve whatever is causing you to binge eat. Until then, just at least work really hard on eating healthy all day. Your weight loss will come more slowly, but as you start to feel better hopefully those cravings will not be as bad and you can gain some control over the binges. When your body craves something healthy like an apple, have an apple! When you are NOT craving junk food, don't eat it. It's tough... I can't count how many times I've grabbed a handful of my son's dang goldfish crackers because they were sitting out - not because I ACTUALLY wanted them. :( Like most of us, you'll still have the cravings, but if you can at least say NO to the bad stuff when you don't really want it, that is a start.

    As for workouts, if it's been a while I would recommend joining a class to help you with motivation. You will meet people, and then they will give you a hard time if you skip class. ;) If you want to workout at home and are strapped for time, there are lots of DVD programs now that have shorter workouts (like another poster, I'm currently doing T25 - it's tough though!) and also free workout videos online (youtube). I really like Chalene Johnson's Beachbody workouts, too. I have the TurboJam DVDs and they are FUN. That is most important, finding something fun that you like. The only reason I switched to T25 is because I am really strapped for time in the mornings. You can find a lot of these DVDs for sale in great used condition too (on Amazon) if you want to try them without making a huge investment. If you want to keep it simple (and free) you can even just start with walking. Do an internet search for walking program suggestions. I used to do one that was intervals for a higher calorie burn, and of course there are all kinds of Couch to 5k programs out there if you're interested in working your up from walking to jogging.

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