I don't think i can do this

you CAN do this. we're here to help. ♥

What are you looking for - someone to tell you that you can? Someone to tell you that you can't?

Sleep is important. Other than that other factors like self image, depression, habits and choices are all factors that can make or break weight loss.

If you think you can't - you won't.

Start there. Then figure out how. We are, as a community, a great resource. There is probably nothing that you are experiencing that someone here hasn't lived. Ask. Get support. Get it done.

Good luck.

suck it up buttercup.

every adult in this place fights to make time for sleep, food planning, exercise, family, work, kids, hobbies, life, etc.

its called..... life.

when you want to commit to it, then you will. right now, you are looking for someone to validate your excuses.

Are you a shift worker? I'm wondering what's up with the sleep issues.

I am right there with you. This is not easy. It takes work and dedication. But it also takes support. Do you have supportive people in your life? I have found a lot of negativity on these forums. People who think all it takes is will power. I'm not one of them. It sometimes takes some deep searching into yourself. It is true that no one can do this for you. You have to find the motivation that works for you. First ask yourself why you really want to lose weight and get healthy. Then ask yourself what changes you can reasonably make and sustain to reach your first goal. Make small goals at first. When you reach that first goal - Celebrate! Then move on to the next goal remembering how strong you are and the strengths that helped you succeed the first time. Before long you will be amazed at your progress. And when you do miss the mark realize that is ok. No one is perfect. We all go wrong once in awhile whether we admit it or not. Learn from it and move on.

You can do this! I know you can. You are beautiful and strong.

You CAN do it.

Focus all your anger and frustration at changing the situation.

One meal at a time, one day at a time.

Feed your body good, healthy food that meets its needs. Start some gentle exercise -- walking is great. Prioritize sleep.

You CAN do it.

You can do it. At first my motivation was being sick of being sick! It gets a whole lot better as you do it. A few months later you will feel so different. I'm not kidding. My life is so much different, better, than ever. Yours can be too.

d

For now, just commit to learning how to weigh your food and log it accurately for 6 months. Get a good digital scale and use it religiously without fail. If you like to cook, explore some new lower calorie recipes. Only serve yourself one serving and log it. As for the sleep deprivation, look at what is the cause. Shift work? noisy neighbors? noisy family members? reading too much? Find the cause and change to eliminate it. for example, if you spend too much time reading late into the night, set an alarm to remind you to close the book. Remember: If you say you can't, you won't!

Wendyxyz165 wrote: »

I just started trying to lose weight again. i'm up to 225 pounds and I am exhausted and hungry all the time. last time I lost 50 pounds it's because I wanted this guy I had a crush on to like me back and that was my motivation and it helped a lot. i got down to 205 pounds. he never did like me by the way. now, I don't have any motivation except i'm sick of being fat and ugly. I am hungry all the time. I am exhausted all the time. i'd like to get under 200 but at this rate i'm going to start gaining. I think one of the main things that is making me fat is the exhaustion. i'm not getting enough sleep. my schedule makes it very hard for me to get enough sleep. this whole situation makes me really angry and frustrated. there's more to it but I guess that's enough for now. thanks for any ideas, feedback or sharing your own stories.

What's up with your schedule? It's true that when someone is sleep deprived it's harder to lose weight. I'm certainly less satisfied with the same amount of calories when I'm sleep deprived. And it's harder for me to make good choices.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/sleep-and-weight-gain/faq-20058198

One explanation might be that sleep duration affects hormones regulating hunger — ghrelin and leptin — and stimulates the appetite. Another contributing factor might be that lack of sleep leads to fatigue and results in less physical activity.

Something I realised a couple years into the sleep deprived early years of parenthood (and my kids are crazy bad sleepers) is that eating (or at least overeating) doesn't actually make me feel any better when I'm tired. I get the urge to eat, sure, the same as I do when I'm anxious, but each time I tell myself that eating to excess isn't actually going to fix that feeling. And I'm right.
On the other hand, losing weight and getting fitter has both helped with my ability to handle sleep deprivation, and helped me (also a bad sleeper) to actually sleep better when I get the chance.

You most certainly can. IF you want to, and IF you put in the effort. Only you can help with the wanting to, but the putting in the effort is the easier of the two.

If you work second or third shift (I typically work second), try this:
When you get off work, eat a (light!) dinner. In an hour or so after dinner, and set a time for this, take a look at your calorie "balance" for the day relevant to your goals (set a reasonable one). If you're "under budget", then congrats, you get to go to bed. If you're 'over budget" (happens to me a lot), then work out. Anything will do, really. If you have a treadmill or bike or prefer walking or [insert thing here], ANYTHING is good here. Make an honest attempt at "paying off" the amount of excess calories you ate, if you don't get them all that's okay as long as you work off a decent chunk of them. For me, this usually taes about half an hour. I really overdid it tonight, eating out, and clocked two and a half hours (ten miles) on my treadmill. Once you're done for the night, head to bed.

This does two things for you. One, it makes it really easy to find time to work out, which helps with time management. And two, much more importantly in your case, in my experience it makes sleep more restful and easier to get. I have a lot of trouble sleeping (roommate and I work different shifts, he works mornings and I work second or third, I'm a light sleeper), but I've found that getting some workout in helps me sleep.

As for food, the others are absolutely right. Get a good scale and measure and record your food. Use this to budget out your caloric intake, and also to help you find your biggest problems and problem foods (mine is, of all things, oatmeal. I love it and can eat a ton of it, but it's way too calorie dense for me right now). You feeling hungry all the time might also be a factor of what you eat, not just how much. Sugary, carby things digest quickly and don't leave you feeling sated very long, so you tend to eat a lot more of them to stay comfortable, compared to proteins and fats.

I used to weigh about what you do now, so I know just how hard it can be. Losing it is definitely worth it, though, you'll feel better both physically and mentally. Add me if you want.

You can do it of course.

However, some things will make it easier to succeed, some things will make it harder. I would recommend making it was easy as possible to reach your goal (unless you like suffering for no good reason.)

Tell us what your current calorie level, diet composition and exercise level looks like and any thing you find particularly difficult so you can get some constructive feedback.

I was exactly like you, I was tired of being fat and ugly and was very unhappy because of this reason. I was 210 pounds at this time. One day something in me just clicked that if I was unhappy about myself, I had to change it. No-one else was going to it. I also liked a guy at the time but obviously no feelings returned. I used this as motivation. Sounds sad but if he wasn't going to be at least friends with me, I can start being a friend to myself so I helped me. This was the first time in years I remotely noticed me and wanted to change. I looked in the mirror for a long while, which again, didn't do that for years and I knew I wanted to change. I started to walk, which is what helped me. If you're in the music listening mood then I'd walk whilst listening to it. When I took the bus and there was a bus stop another 15 minutes away then I went to that one. I tried my best to skip the sweets and crisp isle. I ate my dinner off smaller plates, I stopped drinking calories and cut out snacking completely. Eventually, this became a routine and it got easier.

Eventually it will click that you want to change, that the smallest of motivation will set a spark. There is no time limit when loosing weight. You need to stop being hard on yourself if you haven't found the motivation to get up and walk just yet. Take your time and set easier goals. Slowly lower your calorie intake every week, walk for half an hour everyday. Record all your food whether it's bad or good so you have an idea where your problem is. Mine was a fizzy drink Sprite, used to love it but sugary stuff like that doesn't leave you satisfied for very long. Try and manage time as well, or at least record what you do and when you go to sleep roughly.

You can do it, I know you can, you just have to actually start changing little things at a time. You have to commit to it too, make it a routine! Don't surround yourself with negativity either, it doesn't help. If you want to talk to anyone, I'm sure there's plenty of people here who are going through this will talk to you, including myself!

Probably, you need to work on your motivation first and psych yourself up to really commit. The rest will be easier and the pounds should be flying off if you maintain a calorie deficit and diligently track. The problem is that you do not sound fully committed. Is that because you are not sure that you can do this? That definitely affected me. Read some of the success stories, probably every day and tell yourself if they can do it, I can do it too. The other thing is just set a small goal like tracking for 3 days to show yourself you can do it, then another 3 days and before you know it will be a week and you will have lost 2 lbs.