I keep failing.

I know this is where everyone posts their success stories (congrats to all of you) but I keep failing on eating healthy and exercising. I do well for a couple of weeks and then I change directions and go back to "I'll go to the gym tomorrow" and "If I order a salad with my cheeseburger instead of fries it will be okay"

How do you succeed in staying on the path of eating healthy and exercising regularly?

Replies

paawee

It's ok to fail from time to time. We all deal with that. The important thing is to get right back on the horse and never skip logging, even on the bad days. You gain a lot of insight by looking at your pattern on the app, and looking for ways to improve. However, perhaps one of the most helpful things I do is to refrain from eating out (most of the time). If you must eat out, make sure to save 1000 calories for that meal. Eating out easily costs that much! Also, if you eat salad and fish, you can stuff your face on it for barely any calories! !! (Keep away from sauces, of course)

jmwilson85

I have struggled with weight loss my whole life and have been fairly successful over the last two years. My advice is to make a small change, once that is manageable add another small change and so on. For me exercising and healthy eating was too much and I would feel like a failure if I couldn't do both perfectly. I started by focusing on eating healthier and once I had that as a habit, I added a little exercise. I have a go-to plan of focusing on eating well when I am overwhelmed with doing it all. I also mess up all the time but instead of eating horrible for days, I get right back on track the next meal. It is ok to order a salad with your cheeseburger but just not everyday.

berolcolour

Completely agree with jmwilson85 - it's hard to change everything at once. I didn't add exercise in until about 3months of consistent logging - and then I started slow. I didn't gain weight overnight so I didn't expect to lose it quickly!

TavistockToad

Ordering a salad with a cheeseburger is ok!!

Katherinews32

The odd cheeseburger is ok - its only bad if you then have pizza or a takeaway later and loads of choc and booze!

RedLipsRedDress

I guess you haven't found what works best for you, that's why you keep failing. If you eat too little and exercise too much, of course you wouldn't stay on track. Here's where to start: find friends on My fitness pal. Log daily and see what they're doing. Not everyone is the same and maybe it won't work for you but the more information you have, the better. Log everything you eat and ask someone experienced to check your diary and see what's happening. You need support most of all, then you need to focus on yourself and listen to your body.
We all live under stress, we have lots of work, kids, unfortunate events... Your body is craving healthy food more than you think because nutrients will help it manage the stress. It's your mind that doesn't like to change its patterns. Listen to the body. I can go on and on about that, but I won't. You need to learn these lessons on your own

missheidi17

Great advice in these comments! I want to reiterate making small changes. Baby steps! Rather than a drastic diet or a complete overhaul of your lifestyle do small things that are lasting changes. I don't know where you're at, but as an example someone who drinks 40oz of soda everyday will really struggle to completely cut it, and could try drinking water with one meal instead. Then a little less and a little less until one day they wake up and realize they haven't had a soda for weeks. Your first goal could be as simple as drinking more water or 3 push-ups in the morning. LOVE yourself NOW, and make small, REAL, LASTING changes. You can do it!

StarPower85

I'm with you. Do good a few weeks then boom, off track. I think making small changes while realizing success comes in small steps could help us both

tomnev1

katwills994 wrote: »

I know this is where everyone posts their success stories (congrats to all of you) but I keep failing on eating healthy and exercising. I do well for a couple of weeks and then I change directions and go back to "I'll go to the gym tomorrow" and "If I order a salad with my cheeseburger instead of fries it will be okay"

How do you succeed in staying on the path of eating healthy and exercising regularly?

Had the same thing for years. One day I saw a photo of myself with the "fat guy" from our group and I was as fat. There's no magic formula but here are a few things that can help:
* Stick a post it note on your pc at work telling you to have water instead of a snack.
* Stick one on your fridge asking if you're hungry or having something out of habit.
* Stick one on your car dash asking if you're hungry. If you are, don't do grocery shopping.
* Stick one near your tv and when you're watching Friends for the umpteenth time, ask if you can go for a ten minute walk instead.

On an intellectual level you know how to lose weight. It's hard. You know it. I know it. Best of luck.

oolou

katwills994 wrote: »

How do you succeed in staying on the path of eating healthy and exercising regularly?

One of the more motivational actions I've taken this month is to take some photos so I can begin to follow my progress visually. I'm one of those who will look in the mirror and think, 'not so bad', but when I see a photo of myself in my undies, standing face on and side on, I'm really horrified at how flabby I am. Photos help me see my fat objectively. And looking at them regularly, despite how depressing that can be, is keeping me on track because I don't want to look like that any more.

snowflake930

I think many of us have the same issue. I know I did for years, decades really.
I guess the secret for me was finally @ age 60 saying to myself, "you can not keep putting this off until tomorrow", and I finally did it. That was 4-1/2 years ago, and I lost over 1/2 of my current body weight and have kept the weight off for almost 3 years now. I have come to the realization that this time, I was faced with knowing if I did not do something, my health would be in jeopardy. Fortunately, I had no health issues, except slightly elevated BP, which is good now with the weight loss and daily exercise.

You can do this! Allow yourself to splurge on occasion, but don't let one treat, one meal, or one day, become months, or years.

Return2Fit

We all have ways of being self-motivated, and the comments above clearly demonstrate this.
GREAT COMMENTS!

All I can add is my own take on internal motivation which is I just hated being fat.
HATED IT!
And I associate poor nutrition and lack of exercise with what I detest most in life: being fat...and sick...and unattractive....and dead before age 60...

Also, I associate physical fitness and health with the pleasures of looking good, feeling great and living well into old age. That's what fires my drive and ambition to become the best, healthiest and most physically fit version of myself.

They key is to get introspective and find that part of yourself that can meet this challenge. When we do this, we discover our inner strength which is that person we can be truly proud of - that solid person we can build strength upon to meet even greater challenges in life.

Anyway, GODSPEED!
I hope you find your way...

elisa123gal

We all struggle..the success folks just keep going and figure out what works along the way. You have to mentally get into the game and observe what is making you fail and simply fix it.
I read a great post a while back where many said if they ate perfect all week long and went off on the weekends they never made any great progress.
I realized I have been doing that since I joined mfp. It was hard for me to face that. Now I still eat things like a cheeseburger. But I know I have to exercise more during the week and eat less on some days to allow for the calories. I don't lie to myself. My mindset know is mathematically making any eating mistake right by CO or CI.

Timshel_

katwills994 wrote: »

"I'll go to the gym tomorrow" and "If I order a salad with my cheeseburger instead of fries it will be okay"

How do you succeed in staying on the path of eating healthy and exercising regularly?

You develop that habit/skill over time. If you keep making the right choices, even if you fail sometimes, you find you start failing less and less. It is the number one key to success and the hardest part of becoming more healthy.

But even when things start clicking and you do make the better choices more often than not, missing a gym day here or there or actually having fries and the cheeseburger will fit in to the overall lifestyle. You just get better at managing it.

We all have that struggle. You just keep tackling it every time it comes up, and do your best to make the better choice.

JustMissTracy

Are you weighing and logging yet? If not, start...once you start seeing the numbers, making decisions like whether to have a cheeseburger, or a double cheeseburger with bacon become much easier to make...If you stick to your calorie goals, you should be able to fit the cheeseburger. It takes time, and it takes discipline...but it's a struggle we've all gone thru...YOU can do it, just gotta get your head into the game. xo

dmalli717

I keep back tracking and going up and down pounds......I'm the worst at maintaining. What I had to realize that what works for one person may not work for the next. Everyone doesn't benefit from low carb diets or counting calories. What has worked for me is being mindful of what I eat and not deprieve myself of the things I like. Eat what you like just add some good stuff to go with it and don't over do the portions. I LOVE pizza so instead of eating 3-4 slices I'll have 1 or 2 and a large salad. Helps that I love salads too. Once you get the hang of adding more good stuff, add more and more.

MrsDogLady

I am a very moderate exerciser. I take a 1 mile walk daily with my dog and have lost 30 pounds since late March. Still have 30 to go. But I also push mow, go up and down stairs at home and work, etc... For me, following a generic form of Weight Watchers points plus worked amazingly well. Yes, it's counting BUT if you learn the rules and apply them, you can have that cheeseburger and not feel like you blew your whole day. If you are eating out think about your choices. If you go to Subway, you can have an enormous 6" turkey sub w/honey mustard loaded with mega veggies and you won't miss the cheese at all for only 8 WW points. (Daily points for a person around 200 is 29/day). You have alternatives! There are plenty of ways to put a healthy twist on the things you like most. I indulge my sweet tooth each evening with a serving of FF pudding with a dollop of FF cool whip. With WW, it's just 2 points for something I totally enjoy. Take your favorite recipes and make them leaner, take them w/you to work every single day. Have a huge salad with chicken a few times a week. Sorry for the ramble :-) but after doing this for a few months it sinks in and you won't feel that you deprived yourself of anything. Good luck!

Francl27

Your problem is the 'all or nothing' mentality. It's actually completely ok to have a cheeseburger with a side salad as long as it fits your calories.

zharptichka

For me it's forcing myself to keep logging and acknowledging that whatever it was wasn't the healthiest choice I could have made but not using it as an excuse to keep going. Well I already had the cheeseburger for lunch so why not have the pizza and coke for dinner. I'm trying not to look at it as a zero sum game. Maybe I messed up lunch but dinner is just another opportunity to get back on track.

I've also found it really helpful to have friends on here and keep reading the success stories and my news feed. Everyone is struggling but they're still trying and I want to contribute to that too. Seeing others succeed makes me hopeful and keeps me going. It might just be hey friend A walked for an hour today, I can play with the wii fit for 20 minutes. Once I start I usually keep going for longer but it's always that first little spark of motivation that's rough.

KeepGoingTD24

I have this problem as well. It feels like I am constantly starting over! I have come to realize, just in the last 24 hours, that I truly need to make this a priority or I will continue to fail. One of my many struggles is eating out. I'm often so tired, most likely from being overweight, that the very thought of making dinner after a long day at work is just awful! So we go out, waste money, consume calories all the while justifying our decision. So I just need to start pushing myself more. I need to start meal prepping more and planning everything I eat. If it's convenient and ready-made maybe I will be better at this. I also have been pushing myself to exercise and I find I get so mad at myself if I miss a day that I binge to address my emotions. So I have decided to take a step back. I really need to focus on what I'm eating. Exercise will come later. Baby steps.

mababauta

Everyone pretty much covered it, but find what works best for you. Try a few approaches until you find something that sticks. Weight loss is not a one size fits all thing. For me it was taking out all the temptations out of my kitchen until I could get into a good routine. If it's not there, I can't eat it.

If I get invited to eat out, I plan ahead of time what I'm going to eat. I google the restaurant and look at their menu. This way I know going in what I'm going to eat.

Also, I think you have to have a reason that you want to be healthy. Mine was looking at old pics and seeing how out of shape I got. I decided I had to set a good example for my kids. I had to practice what I preach.

halsteadg196

Pre-logging helps ... if you really want a big, fat cheeseburger for dinner, log it in the morning and adjust what you eat the rest of the day. Then you can truly enjoy that cheeseburger and not feel deprived. Personally, I found that eating a big breakfast makes me hungry all day. I have learned that, for me, it is better to limit my calories before lunch.

Nightmare_Queen88

Start by slowly taking things out of your diet and adding things in its place. Like instead of soda have fruit infused water. Instead of a fast food burger make your own using healthier ingredients. As far as exercise try for 10 mins every other day and then gradually work your way up. Start with walking and then add in other things later on. Don't sweat it when you mess up, just promise yourself you'll do better tomorrow and keep that promise. And log all of your meals even when you cheat. Good luck to you on the rest of your journey. Don't give up. You've got this!

fireytiger

Pretty much what everyone else said, take it slow! For me, I needed to start with little things. Taking healthy snacks to work that I would like, instead of raiding the vending machine. Accepting that in order to break my soda habit, I needed to make a plan for myself. What we decided was that I could have ONE can of soda a day, if I really wanted it. I started out planning to walk at least 15 mins every day, no matter how I could squeeze it in, and oftentimes the walks ended up being longer because I was enjoying myself. And guess what? I still have big cheeseburgers on occasion, I just have a side of fruit or a salad instead of fries. Don't put things off limits for yourself, just portion it instead. If you HAVE to have something less healthy, try sharing half of it with someone else. Or ordering a smaller version. I've never been perfect on my plan to eat better; i've had days where I ate waaaaay more than I should have. But i've still lost 19.2lbs in the last 2 and a half months, just by living my life and making little changes wherever I could.

zombiemusicgirl

Everyone has given a lot of great advice - but I have little to offer. I've gotten better than in the past, but I find myself doing the same things. I do great for a few weeks then bam! Right back to old habits. Maybe the changes are too drastic.
Rather than being upset and feeling like giving up, keep,trying. I know that it's frustrating - for me too.

You're not alone, and it can be done.

katwills994

oolou wrote: »

katwills994 wrote: »

How do you succeed in staying on the path of eating healthy and exercising regularly?

One of the more motivational actions I've taken this month is to take some photos so I can begin to follow my progress visually. I'm one of those who will look in the mirror and think, 'not so bad', but when I see a photo of myself in my undies, standing face on and side on, I'm really horrified at how flabby I am. Photos help me see my fat objectively. And looking at them regularly, despite how depressing that can be, is keeping me on track because I don't want to look like that any more.

That is exactly how I feel! I have convinced myself to "think thin and you are thin" until I see a picture of myself. I will try taking pics to see if it helps.

katwills994

Thanks everyone for the great tips! I am committing to start logging everyday (without cheating) everything I eat and working out for at least 60 minutes this week.