need help

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I think I need to reevaluate what it means to me to lose weight and how realistic I am being about the process. I’ve been using MFP for a while now. Over a year. Not consistently, until probably the last few weeks. As the New Year approached, I knew I wanted to make changes. I log everything I eat, even when I know it’s not going to look good in my food diary. I use my iPhone to measure steps taken. I don’t always carry my phone with me, however, so I know that I’m not getting ‘credit’ for every step taken during a day. I just moved in with my SO in his house. He is not a very motivated person. Although he talks about losing weight and/or being more active we don’t follow that up with any action. His neighborhood isn’t good, so I’m hesitant about walking outside and there is absolutely no room in this tiny little house for a treadmill. I get up about 6am and have to be at work by 7. We have a cat that is quite loud in the morning if he knows someone is up and he’s not being fed or attended. My SO doesn’t have to get up until well after I’ve already left the house. Getting up in the morning to exercise or even fix breakfast is not an option as I would be disturbing him. Add to all that I am a very picky eater and I feel doomed. The fruits and vegetables that I like are limited. There are many things that I don’t eat: oatmeal, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, tofu, beans, legumes etc. I have had food issues since I was a teenager. I grew up in the north east, in a very small town. My family wasn’t particularly ‘adventurous’ or even very health conscience with meal planning. As a teenager I became bulimic for many years. When I was 20 years old, I weighed 98 lbs at 4 months pregnant. Now as an adult, I’ve gone too far in the opposite direction and have become obese. There were many years of my life starting at about 16 years old or so until I was about 40 ish where I didn’t feel very good about myself. I would either use food as a reward for losing a few pounds or a justification to validate my unworthiness (I’m already fat and ugly so what difference will having McDonald’s for lunch and dinner make anyway??). My job requires me to sit at a desk for 10 hours a day and there are no good options for healthy lunches in the area where I work.
Having said all that, I know it’s all just excuses. I know that I and I alone am responsible for the choices that I make. I know that I am the only one who is going to turn this around. I need the accountability of my friends here on MFP and in my day to day life to keep me focused and on the right track. I need the little nudges and advice of people who are also on the journey. Help me. My cry is real and my struggle is real. I know my goal is attainable but there are days when I am so discouraged and disheartened that I doubt my ability. The old voices of my past whisper in my ear telling me I can’t do it.
I am looking into getting a FitBit or other activity tracker and a food scale to more accurately account for calories and activity. I have a gym membership, I just need a nudge to not allow all the healthy fit people in there to intimidate me into not using it. I have outlines of food plans and meal prepping that should help me be prepared for difficult days. I have all the tools, I just need help in getting my mind to the right place. Because I truly want to be a HEALTHYNEWME.

Replies

  • pmaia
    pmaia Posts: 42 Member
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    You sound like you know what you have to do. Now set attainable goals. One suggestion is to make your own lunch the night before and prelog your meals. Also, I where my spandex and tank under my work clothes, so I have less excuse to skip..and feel obligated to go. I use to go every other day..now I am trying to do 4days 1 day off.
  • pollypocket1021
    pollypocket1021 Posts: 533 Member
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    Have you read the stickies at the top of the forum? Picky eaters can lose weight. There are no manditory number of greens per meal. However, if you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn. A food scale can be invaluable in calculating the "calories in" part of the equation.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,955 Member
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    Exercise - my gym is close to a university and until today with the seasonal influx of new members, I was the chubbiest person there. Most of the women are nearly 30 years younger than me. I don't let it get to me.

    Activity tracker - how glued are you to your desk - do you have specific break times or can you take breaks at will? I think an activity tracker could be motivating for you - my new FitBit One is for me. One feature I didn't know about was that it tracks floors - do you have stairs at work? If not, you can work on getting extra steps just by going for water and to the bathroom more, or going to speak to colleague rather than emailing them, taking a walk around the building at breaktimes, etc.

    Breakfast and lunch - prep them the night before. Also meal plan for dinner.

    Digital food scale - cannot recommend more highly. In addition to being faster and more accurate, there are no measuring cups to wash!

    Being more active with your SO - this would be a great topic for a new thread.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    You can make your meals at night before going to bed. You can work out at night before going to bed. You can eat the foods you like, if you don't like asparagus don't eat asparagus. Most of us have jobs where we literally sit on our butts all day and guess what? You can still lose weight with a sit on your butt all day job.

  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
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    I think you hit the nail on the head: These are excuses. They are legit and considerable, and I commend you for acknowledging that. My advice is to start slow. First, get your food in order. Get a cheap food scale, pre-plan your day the night before, and stick to your calorie goal for the day. As for picky eating, I never fully understood this. Obviously, eat foods you prefer, but within reason. Fuel your body with what it needs, not just what you want. For example, I hate carrots, yet I buy organic carrots each week and sneak them into my breakfast smoothies because I know they are good for me. You are able to lose weight through just watching your diet alone. Once you get a handle on your diet, go ahead and try going to the gym. Or sneak away from your desk a couple days a week for a 20-minute walk. Squeeze in a youtube workout (I love fitnessblender) at home one night a week. Then you're suddenly exercising three days a week without it feeling too overwhelming. I log consistently and have an open diary if you need a friend. You can do it!