3rd week in and i'm struggling!

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mel_21
mel_21 Posts: 20
in Motivation and Support
So I joined this 3 weeks ago. I lost 1lbs in my first week, gained this back in the 2nd week and so I am back to where I was when I joined.

Admittedly I should have put much more than 1lbs on with the amount I had to eat at the weekend, so i feel lucky in that sence!

BUT...

I can usually do my 1200 calories mon - fri but as soon as the weekend hits, im out for dinner with friends or having takeaways in my house or i'm just going to the chocolate and crisps! I'm thinking that I know i don't need it but end up eating it anyway and before I know it i'm unable to put it in my diary because i don;t know how much of it I had!

I guess I'm just looking for some motivation as this always seems to always happen =( I get excited about trying this new MFP and then end up not seeing results as fast and give up! How do you all keep yourself upbeat?? =)

Thanks in advance xx

Replies

  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Weekends are a very common source of weight-loss issues! First off, I'd say get all the temptations out of the house!! Second, plan your meals, even for going out or getting take-out. If you know you're going out, check the restaurant's website for nutritional info if you can. If that's not an option, you've likely got a few favorites and can find something comparable in the food database here so you can at least guesstimate what you're eating.

    A lot of this is mental games. You just have to have a nice heart-to-heart with yourself and promise yourself that you won't have more than a couple drinks or more than a couple nipples of appetizers or more than a normal serving of whatever take-away you're getting.

    For the rest, make sure you get some good exercise/calorie burn in on the weekends to help make up for your indulgences.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    You just have to make healthy choices everyday of the week. You can go over a little but you don't want to ruin everything you did all week. I'm not saying I don't cheat, but I have to pay for it or else they will get more frequent and before I know it I will be right back to where I started from. I am coming off one of the worst weekends I have had in a long time and I realized even though I am not over weight I am a foodaholic. I need to stop making bad decisions. We have to stop saying cheat days and oh it was the weekend. They are all excuses to eat bad.
  • CrazyAdventure
    CrazyAdventure Posts: 113 Member
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    Weekends are the hardest for me as well. There are always friends coming into town, friends wanting to go have a few drinks, wine nights, baseball games with awful, terrible, delicous foods....the list could go on an on. Anyway, I KNOW that I am ALWAYS going to be high in my calories during the weekend, so I try to make sure I am prepared. I go a little under my calories on the weekdays, I make sure to work out Friday and Saturday extra long so there's makeup for some "bad calories" and then even when I'm out, I have to remind myself to make the healthy choices....

    For instance, when we go out to eat.... I try to cut my meal in half. And I never order the stuff I know is over 1200 calories alone (fettuccini, creamy sauces, lots of cheese). Instead of drinking a bottle of wine, I sip on a glass....maybe 2....

    And I try to make sure there are calories left over for a small dessert (usually ice cream) because I LOVE sweets.

    Anyways, I hope that was at least a little helpful and maybe gives you a few ideas on how to cut those calories while you're out :)
  • danibee79
    danibee79 Posts: 144 Member
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    Hey, I know what u mean. I used to be really good all week then at the weekend go 'ah, I'm out for dinner tonite' and kind of use that as excuse to overeat. Now I do regular exercise, and if I know I'm going out I either eat more sensibly leading up to the day or do extra exercise. You have to be in the right mindset though. Remind yourself why your doing this. Maybe even limit your social eating plans. Stick with it tho. You know you'll feel better in the long run. Good luck :)
  • lazatin
    lazatin Posts: 452 Member
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    I know that some tricks that work for me are to have smaller plates and I also eat with a baby spoon. That way it takes me longer to eat and I feel fuller faster. I also work out every day since I have started. You can do it...don't get frustrated...you took a while to put on the weight so it will take a while to get it back off. I also check out the webistes for restaurants so I know what to order or stick with salads ( be careful with what they put on it) or grilled chicken with no sauce. Keep working you can do it!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    :flowerforyou: I struggled with this all of last year, Mel. Literally, I was on here logging and working out 3-5 days a week...and not losing. I figured a cheat weekend or day or meal here and there wouldn't hurt, right?

    Wrong.

    If I cheat, I can't lose. Simple. On January 1 of this year, I decided that I wanted to lose the weight more than I want to eat out or eat ice cream or chips. So every time I walk past the donut box in the lunchroom, I tell myself "that doesn't taste as good as skinny feels", and keep going. I don't buy ice cream anymore, or chips. I have one juice bar at night, instead of my bowl of ice cream. My weekends are treated just like my weekdays. But, once every 3 months, I give myself 1 full week to eat at maintenance (not anything I want, but what I'm burning). I can have ice cream, chips, eat out, drink beer, etc....as long as it's less than 2000 kc a day (my burn averages 1950 per day). So I just tell myself to wait...wait until the 3 months are up and I can have my treats. (Friday, baby!! Friday!). It will take at least 2 weeks after I start eating at a deficit again to lose the carb bloat and start losing. That's ok.

    Since I stopped cheating, I've lost 23 pounds and 1-2 clothing sizes. Everyone is commenting and I feel so much better about my body. Also, I weigh and measure absolutely everything...amazing how off one can be when estimating. And I'm doing the positively hardest exercise for me...running 3x a week. Tough, but the elliptical was a stroll in the park as was the other cardio stuff, so I started doing the hardest thing for me. Running. Ever seen a long-term runners body? Yeah.

    Don't give up. Just review and revise. What are your stumbling blocks? How can you adjust your routine to avoid them? What helps motivate you? Do you have mini-goals? Other people to do this with? Have you measured at all? Maybe you're losing inches but not pounds, just yet. It takes me 2+ weeks to start losing, then it goes in spits and spurts. I'll go 2-6 weeks with no loss, then BAM! lose a bunch of weight all at once (otherwise known as whooshes). It's hard to stick to it through those long periods, but as I always say...my body is not a freak of science. If I exercise and am 100% positive I am eating the right quantities, I HAVE to lose weight. That's how it works.

    It really does:flowerforyou:
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Just thought of something else - a lesson I learned from my last WW leader. A lot of us tend to think if the food is something we didn't cook, whether it be at a party, or in a restaurant or take-away, then it's a special event and we can go hog wild wihtout a care. That may be true 3-5 times per year (birthdays, anniversaries, maybe even a holiday or two) but for the other 360 days, these are just meals, and that's how we have to think of them.

    Next time you go out, think of your choices just as you would if you were packing your lunch or planning your dinners for the week. Hope that helps!
  • froggy15
    froggy15 Posts: 154 Member
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    Bump
  • mel_21
    mel_21 Posts: 20
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    Hi everyone !

    Thank you so much for your advice! really appreciate it ! I definately think looking at menus before I go out is a great idea that I should try and to count my weekends and just being part of my week, as hard as it may be I will feel better for it . Patience I guess!.

    I keep thinking that I have 1 year till I get my final fitting for my wedding dress and make excuses such as 'next month i'll start being strict and excercise lots' but as you can guess, I say the same thing the month after! I really want to feel great on the day and just in general! So i will be taking all your advice and getting myself motivated with it!

    Thanks again for your support and helping =) xx

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