Its hard to set a goal/get motivated
MeowNes
Posts: 29 Member
I was a past user and did not have any luck with tracking my calories. I'm back at it again but it's hard to get motivated to eat healthier and watch my calories. I don't like to exercise like I used to and i hate the gym settings. Help! !!
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Replies
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Why is it hard to eat fewer calories than you burn?
And is it hard to go out for a walk?0 -
Ultimately, only you can change your situation around. MFP, as a community can certainly advise you on the best ways to go about doing so, but it's up to you to make it work. If you are eating at a calorie deficit and tracking correctly, you'll have no issues here. Exercise isn't necessary to lose weight but I get the impression you are expecting this to be easy and because it ISN'T easy, you are reluctant.
You need to work out how important this is to you and how hard you are actually willing to work at this. There is no point making a start if you want to continue your old habits.0 -
I'm not a huge fan of gyms, either. I belong to an MMA dojo and train twice a week with a lot of others and enjoy that a lot, but I've never really liked "working out" in front of others--weightlifting, running and walking are (for me) mostly solitary activities, or activities that I do with the same buddy.
If you're struggling with getting an exercise program together, I recommend this YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnCMUGnWVIg&list=PLe5P3ayTEj7bU0ljnuSbKkKqaAlPlrLIY&index=4
Jessica Smith is a fitness trainer who focuses on overall well-being and won't ever make you exercise until you vomit. She's very encouraging. Almost all of her workouts are free and she's separated many of them by skill level. If the weather's bad or I don't feel like leaving the house, I usually do one or two of her workouts.
Food is an interesting problem. I love food (I never eat under 1500 calories, or I'm hungry!), but it's taken a while to find out what's good for me. Tracking is absolutely the best way to determine whether you're eating too much or too little, but (and this may sound like heresy!) *what* you eat is just as important as *how much*. It's much harder to binge on carrots than potato chips. For me, the hardest part of eating right has always been navigating the store...there's a lot of bad-for-you food there that tastes really good! When I started my most recent weight loss effort, I decided that when I went to the store I would focus on two things:
(1) Food that was healthy, and
(2) Food I enjoyed eating.
You won't eat it if you don't like it. Every week, I've tried to make one improvement to my diet. (For the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on cutting down on sugar, for instance.) Diet improvements don't mean eating food you dislike. I hate lettuce in every variety, so I eat salads with spinach. I won't eat brussels sprouts or asparagus (except in season) and I really hate tofu. I don't eat those things. Instead I eat low-fat low-salt cottage cheese, daal (red lentils), pistachios, oatmeal, fruit, peanut butter, pita bread, salmon with butter...all things I like in the amount my body needs to function.
Good luck getting started up again. MyFitnessPal is a tool, not a magic bullet. It can help keep you accountable, but ultimately it's the choices that you make in every aspect of your life that will lead to weight loss.0 -
Decide what is harder - eating less/exercising or your current state.
And if you decide your current state is harder then stop entertaining all the excuses and be creative in ways to make it work - different types of exercises, different foods, etc.0 -
Why is it hard to eat fewer calories than you burn?
And is it hard to go out for a walk?
Actually it is hard for many people to eat fewer calories because eating habits can be hard to change. I'm glad it is simple for you (apparently).I'm not a huge fan of gyms, either. I belong to an MMA dojo and train twice a week with a lot of others and enjoy that a lot, but I've never really liked "working out" in front of others--weightlifting, running and walking are (for me) mostly solitary activities, or activities that I do with the same buddy.
Food is an interesting problem. I love food (I never eat under 1500 calories, or I'm hungry!), but it's taken a while to find out what's good for me. Tracking is absolutely the best way to determine whether you're eating too much or too little, but (and this may sound like heresy!) *what* you eat is just as important as *how much*. It's much harder to binge on carrots than potato chips. For me, the hardest part of eating right has always been navigating the store...there's a lot of bad-for-you food there that tastes really good! When I started my most recent weight loss effort, I decided that when I went to the store I would focus on two things:
(1) Food that was healthy, and
(2) Food I enjoyed eating.
You won't eat it if you don't like it. Every week, I've tried to make one improvement to my diet. (For the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on cutting down on sugar, for instance.) Diet improvements don't mean eating food you dislike. I hate lettuce in every variety, so I eat salads with spinach. I won't eat brussels sprouts or asparagus (except in season) and I really hate tofu. I don't eat those things. Instead I eat low-fat low-salt cottage cheese, daal (red lentils), pistachios, oatmeal, fruit, peanut butter, pita bread, salmon with butter...all things I like in the amount my body needs to function.
Good luck getting started up again. MyFitnessPal is a tool, not a magic bullet. It can help keep you accountable, but ultimately it's the choices that you make in every aspect of your life that will lead to weight loss.
Lots of good advice ^^^.AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »Decide what is harder - eating less/exercising or your current state.
And if you decide your current state is harder then stop entertaining all the excuses and be creative in ways to make it work - different types of exercises, different foods, etc.
+1
One of my favorite quotes:
"Losing weight is hard.
Maintaining weight is hard.
Staying overweight is hard.
Choose your hard."
Of course, some people on MFP say it isn't hard, so this doesn't apply to them.0 -
First, take a good honest look at why you want to lose weight. It doesn't have to be 'to get healthy'. That wasn't mine, and I've noticed a lot of people on here had other reasons as well. You have to find YOUR OWN reason for losing weight. Don't rely on others for motivation, find your personal reason to motivate yourself.
Second, it might help to start slow. What I did was weigh and log for a week without changing my eating habits to see what my baseline was. That let me identify patterns that I could change and things I could do to eat less. I would change one or two things at a time, give myself time to get used to them, and then change something else. Yes, it's slow. But I'm much more confidant that I will be able to maintain my weight now.
Third, don't look at it as 'weight loss' but as more of the fact that you're retraining your brain and body to what a proper portion of food is and creating better eating habits. Again, slow. But sustainable in the long term. You need to find a way to adjust your eating that you will be comfortable with for the rest of your life. If you want to do low carb the rest of your life, go for it. Just don't use it as a 'diet' because that's not helping you learn sustainable eating habits.
Fourth, exercise IS NOT necessary for weight loss. I didn't lose weight due to exercise. It's good for other things and if you can add it, do so, but you don't need it for weight loss. If you don't want to or can't exercise right now, focus on controlling your calories in, and add exercise slowly somewhere down the road.
And as a comment, "eat less, move more" is a saying I've run into a lot. Easy to say, hard to do. It's ok to ask what others have done. You may have to try different things until you hit on something that works for you. That's ok too. You need to develop a way of eating that will help you lose and keep off weight that works FOR YOU. That requires trial and error and may take some time. But once you hit on a balance that works for you, it's super helpful!
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Why is it hard to eat fewer calories than you burn?
And is it hard to go out for a walk?PinkPixiexox wrote: »Ultimately, only you can change your situation around. MFP, as a community can certainly advise you on the best ways to go about doing so, but it's up to you to make it work. If you are eating at a calorie deficit and tracking correctly, you'll have no issues here. Exercise isn't necessary to lose weight but I get the impression you are expecting this to be easy and because it ISN'T easy, you are reluctant.
You need to work out how important this is to you and how hard you are actually willing to work at this. There is no point making a start if you want to continue your old habits.
Thank you! You are right.0 -
I'm not a huge fan of gyms, either. I belong to an MMA dojo and train twice a week with a lot of others and enjoy that a lot, but I've never really liked "working out" in front of others--weightlifting, running and walking are (for me) mostly solitary activities, or activities that I do with the same buddy.
If you're struggling with getting an exercise program together, I recommend this YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnCMUGnWVIg&list=PLe5P3ayTEj7bU0ljnuSbKkKqaAlPlrLIY&index=4
Jessica Smith is a fitness trainer who focuses on overall well-being and won't ever make you exercise until you vomit. She's very encouraging. Almost all of her workouts are free and she's separated many of them by skill level. If the weather's bad or I don't feel like leaving the house, I usually do one or two of her workouts.
Food is an interesting problem. I love food (I never eat under 1500 calories, or I'm hungry!), but it's taken a while to find out what's good for me. Tracking is absolutely the best way to determine whether you're eating too much or too little, but (and this may sound like heresy!) *what* you eat is just as important as *how much*. It's much harder to binge on carrots than potato chips. For me, the hardest part of eating right has always been navigating the store...there's a lot of bad-for-you food there that tastes really good! When I started my most recent weight loss effort, I decided that when I went to the store I would focus on two things:
(1) Food that was healthy, and
(2) Food I enjoyed eating.
You won't eat it if you don't like it. Every week, I've tried to make one improvement to my diet. (For the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on cutting down on sugar, for instance.) Diet improvements don't mean eating food you dislike. I hate lettuce in every variety, so I eat salads with spinach. I won't eat brussels sprouts or asparagus (except in season) and I really hate tofu. I don't eat those things. Instead I eat low-fat low-salt cottage cheese, daal (red lentils), pistachios, oatmeal, fruit, peanut butter, pita bread, salmon with butter...all things I like in the amount my body needs to function.
Good luck getting started up again. MyFitnessPal is a tool, not a magic bullet. It can help keep you accountable, but ultimately it's the choices that you make in every aspect of your life that will lead to weight loss.
Wow! Great! Thank you for this. I will check out the videos.0 -
Why is it hard to eat fewer calories than you burn?
And is it hard to go out for a walk?
Actually it is hard for many people to eat fewer calories because eating habits can be hard to change. I'm glad it is simple for you (apparently).I'm not a huge fan of gyms, either. I belong to an MMA dojo and train twice a week with a lot of others and enjoy that a lot, but I've never really liked "working out" in front of others--weightlifting, running and walking are (for me) mostly solitary activities, or activities that I do with the same buddy.
Food is an interesting problem. I love food (I never eat under 1500 calories, or I'm hungry!), but it's taken a while to find out what's good for me. Tracking is absolutely the best way to determine whether you're eating too much or too little, but (and this may sound like heresy!) *what* you eat is just as important as *how much*. It's much harder to binge on carrots than potato chips. For me, the hardest part of eating right has always been navigating the store...there's a lot of bad-for-you food there that tastes really good! When I started my most recent weight loss effort, I decided that when I went to the store I would focus on two things:
(1) Food that was healthy, and
(2) Food I enjoyed eating.
You won't eat it if you don't like it. Every week, I've tried to make one improvement to my diet. (For the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on cutting down on sugar, for instance.) Diet improvements don't mean eating food you dislike. I hate lettuce in every variety, so I eat salads with spinach. I won't eat brussels sprouts or asparagus (except in season) and I really hate tofu. I don't eat those things. Instead I eat low-fat low-salt cottage cheese, daal (red lentils), pistachios, oatmeal, fruit, peanut butter, pita bread, salmon with butter...all things I like in the amount my body needs to function.
Good luck getting started up again. MyFitnessPal is a tool, not a magic bullet. It can help keep you accountable, but ultimately it's the choices that you make in every aspect of your life that will lead to weight loss.
Lots of good advice ^^^.AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »Decide what is harder - eating less/exercising or your current state.
And if you decide your current state is harder then stop entertaining all the excuses and be creative in ways to make it work - different types of exercises, different foods, etc.
+1
One of my favorite quotes:
"Losing weight is hard.
Maintaining weight is hard.
Staying overweight is hard.
Choose your hard."
Of course, some people on MFP say it isn't hard, so this doesn't apply to them.
Woh! Thank you!0 -
I hate the gym too. Hate it. I don't mind weights though and weights are great for weight loss. I enjoy walking and I enjoy pilates. Getting into a routine is important and once you get going you release endorphins. The more you release those the more motivated you will feel. Breaking workouts down helps too. For example: I like to walk in the morning before work, during my lunch hour, and do something else after work (maybe another walk, or weights, or Pilates). A Fitbit helped motivate me because it counted my steps and I could compete with other people.
I am getting back on track tomorrow. I am looking for motivational buddies. Add me if you also want a motivational buddy.0 -
Things NOT required for weight loss - logging your food, going to a gym, exercising, having a goal
Things required for weight loss - eating less calories that your body needs to maintain your current weight.0 -
#1 Stop saying it is hard or that you hate this and that
#2 Establish a clear WHY of wanting to do this
#3 Make sure that your Goal are realistic and attainable
#4 Remind yourself on a constant that you didn't gain the weight over night therefore this too will be a long process - set daily, weekly, and monthly goals that will help you celebrate your small accomplishments along the way of reaching your ultimate goal.
The start of the change is more mental than anything.... YOU CAN DO THIS, as long as you yourself believe you can and stop placing the obstacles of I don't like, it is hard, etc....
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You are right! Positive thinking , no more negative words! I can do this.0
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You can do this - all it takes is willingness to be uncomfortable. There are just things that you're going to have to change about the types of food's you're eating. Last week was probably my first "serious" week back on track - yes I stumbled, but I still lost weight.
I've found that the better quality of food you eat, the more of it you can have, and if you stumble, if you have better quality food, it still won't be as bad.
One of the dieticians I saw told me to focus on protein, and the fat/carbs will take care of themselves, and I've found that to be pretty accurate. Then I'll "choose my doom" with a carb (bread, baked potato, mashed potatoes, etc) and veggie's. If I want a burger, and really want fries, I'll order the burger without the bun. It's all about choices and what you're willing to change.
Oh - and I don't like working out either. The weight I've lost has been without going to the gym or doing any exercise. Keep in mind that it's so much more important WHat you put in your MOUTH than what you DO with your body. Yes, going to the gym is bonus points and you can even earn back a few calories to afford a little wiggle room with the food journal - but if you're anything like me, there was no amount of exercise I could do in a day to warrant being able to have a big wedge of chocolate cake or a regular sized blizzard from dairy queen. There just wasn't enough time in the day to get in that much exercise to make it worth it.
Just a few thoughts - for what it's worth.0 -
If you happen to have Amazon Prime/Instant Video there are some free workout videos. I felt awkward stepping into a Yoga Studio so having that on my smart TV was a nice start for me. I also enjoy a series called "the Gymbox" that is on Amazon Prime. I haven't been able to find anything on Netflix, and I'm not familiar with the other streaming services (and as someone suggested, there's always Youtube)0
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