Advice required: I feel like I can't get passed my starting point. Help please.

What did you set your weekly weight loss at? Do you eat protein at every meal. Protein helps keep you full.

It's been five days. Stop being so hard on yourself. Log what you ate today, and try to plan differently for tomorrow. This whole thing is about finding balance. I used to eat in the cafeteria even when I brought food. I realized at some point that it wasn't helping me achieve my health, weight loss, or financial goals. I take and eat my lunches nearly always now. If I decide to eat in the cafeteria, I try to make better choices. As queenliz said, protein helps you feel full. Fat can also do this. Veggies can give you lots of bulk for few calories, but I find they don't keep me full for long. The do add to the fibre intake. Play with different foods and meals to see what helps you. Allow yourself a treat without the guilt. Don't go grocery shopping hungry, take a list with you. DO NOT go into the bakery hungry (a least not at this time, until you adjust).

ETA: You do have self-control, you just don't know it yet.

It will come with time! Don't worry about that. I had a hard time as well. Remember that it was today and tomorrow is a new day!

I loke to deink crystal light flavoured water whn im feeling hungry and dont want to over eat. I also like to think about where i will be in 3,6,12 months if i can keep gling with my goals and where i might end up if i dont.

I found that I am most likely to give into bad food choices when I am hungry. To avoid this, I make sure I do not get to the point where I am so hungry that I have no self-control. So, I keep myself full. When I crave something salty, I'll try to make kale chips, or add garlic salt to my salad. If I want something sweet, I'll eat some fruit or mix it with Greek yogurt.
I also eat almonds daily, and add 1 tbsp of chocolate chips to them so I can have some sweetness.

Did you log those cookies? If so that is great. Before you may have eaten them mindlessly and not known how many calories you had. If you tracked it you are aware and can look back on it. Baby steps, this is a long jouney, small steps forward will lead you to victory! I find being hard on myself leads me to make poorer choices, I will say "hell with it" and eat more. My wt. Loss is very slow but I am trying to focus on small things...like logging exercise for the first few weeks, then added logging exercise and breakfast. Just was proud I could stick to those as I slowly add to it or if I find I need more time making it a easy goal I take longer. This is a journey not a race is my new motto. And the weight did not come on in a week so it is not going to go away in a week. Good luck, keep at it,you can do it!

pilotsroo wrote: »

debbysatit wrote: »

Did you log those cookies? If so that is great. Before you may have eaten them mindlessly and not known how many calories you had. If you tracked it you are aware and can look back on it. Baby steps, this is a long jouney, small steps forward will lead you to victory! I find being hard on myself leads me to make poorer choices, I will say "hell with it" and eat more. My wt. Loss is very slow but I am trying to focus on small things...like logging exercise for the first few weeks, then added logging exercise and breakfast. Just was proud I could stick to those as I slowly add to it or if I find I need more time making it a easy goal I take longer. This is a journey not a race is my new motto. And the weight did not come on in a week so it is not going to go away in a week. Good luck, keep at it,you can do it!

I guess I need to keep going trying a wee bit harder each day. I logged the cookies but I did not log the crap I ate later on...... very small baby steps...

I know it can be daunting to log everything, especially the stuff you are not proud of. I log it anyway, because I can look at trends over time. I can see if I have been at 1200/day for too many days and then find myself eating with reckless abandon. I can see when I am meeting my protein and fat macros. I can compare this to when I feel stronger, when I am having losses, when I have changes in my mood. I can also see when I am meeting my micronutrient goals such as iron, and the vitamins that this site tracks. It can be very insightful and help change the way I am choosing my foods. The other thing it shows me is that if I have a couple high calorie days each month, that as long as I am striving toward my goals the remaining days, it really doesn't set me back by much. Just a blip. These are my reasons. You need to do what is right for you. Just make sure that you are not equating choices that do not support your goals one day as being a failure. These are completely unrelated concepts. You are human, and cookies are delicious (I have some staring at me today, I may have to fit a couple in).

What you can also try is to plan your day in advance. I always try my best to plan every single thing I'm going to eat for the day. This way, I make sure to include my cookies and make them fit into my calorie budget. And knowing what I will eat the WHOLE day, and not just logging as my day goes along, also prevents me from going off plan. So if I didn't plan it, I'm not eating it.

Good luck!

I actually had this issue for awhile. i decided to allow myself one daily "treat" and eat atleast one super healthy meal per day. The healthy meal is low calorie, allowing for more calories elsewhere, including the treat. And this way you look forward to the treat, making it something to strive for, and you will appreciate it more. Since you like cookies, allow yourself for a treat of two cookies or something. So if they are 200 calories, include that in your calorie total and adjust around that.

You can really do this! Good luck!

If you used to eat a horrendous amount ordinarily, then try to keep some perspective when you eat more than you intend now. You're already doing better than you used to! That is a start As has been said, log it all, even the days you want to forget. Yes, some days may mean you go over your target by a lot, but it may not be as bad as you always think. If you over eat, for example, by 400 calories one day, but you had set your target to have a deficit of 500 calories ... well, that still means you are eating less than maintenance. Don't give up and do plan your indulgences and the food you like into your day. Imma having pizza tomorrow! Pizza! Yum.

It can be challenging to log foods when you aren't exactly sure of content or volume. Do the best you can. And be kinder to yourself. You can do this!

Rule #1 - do not go to the bakery hungry.

Seriously though, as others have mentioned, I can do very well if I plan my meals and don't let myself get hungry. As soon as I get hungry all bets are off and I will eat anything and everything. I'm also one to have a snack or two on hand so that I can avoid that for those times when I don't have food or something has come up and I can't eat when I planned.

And like others have said, small steps. Start being consistent. And start focusing on the small changes that you ARE making instead of the mistakes you are making.

xKoalaBearx wrote: »

What you can also try is to plan your day in advance. I always try my best to plan every single thing I'm going to eat for the day. This way, I make sure to include my cookies and make them fit into my calorie budget. And knowing what I will eat the WHOLE day, and not just logging as my day goes along, also prevents me from going off plan. So if I didn't plan it, I'm not eating it.

Good luck!

Yup, that's exactly my approach, although I usually leave a few hundred calories over for an evening snack which I choose on the day of (I have a few options I like that are decently low in calories).

You need to learn self control. Don't worry, it takes time. If you mess up a few times in the beginning, don't beat yourself up over it. Just move on and do better tomorrow. The important thing is that you're learning new habits, but you won't break your old ones overnight.

Plan for some treats if you want. The best thing I did was trying out different foods to find what filled me and learning to always plan for a snack between meals. Getting enough protein and fat really helps too. When it comes to carbs, fiber-rich carbs will fill you up faster.