Every evening I plan, every morning I fail

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amybluefish
amybluefish Posts: 82 Member
in Motivation and Support
Help! I need some advice. I was good for a while then failed miserably. I'm having a hard time just starting. All I have to do is good through one day but every morning I'm tempted by something and fail. Any ideas? Help?

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  • mysteps2beauty
    mysteps2beauty Posts: 494 Member
    edited September 2016
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    So you have food in your house that tempts you????? LOL. We all did in the beginning. Gotta get rid of that and bring in some high fiber, lean protein foods that are easy for you to pick up and eat. Apples, boiled eggs, whole grain toast come to mind. It will hold you for the morning, maybe get a snack of nuts, hummus and celery, to hold you through lunch time, esp. if a late lunch. You might have to have six mini meals to keep you from getting hungry, and to keep your mouth busy....have a water bottle or sparkling soda on hand.

    You might also did so well that it feels like punishment to do it again.....maybe too strict? So eat maintenance calories for a week or so, then adjust calories one meal at a time to weight loss mode. Not that you can't do it here on MFP, but maybe Weight Watchers is an option. You get to connect with people in person who are going through struggles too. I liked WW and I lost 45 lbs. But they are not in my budget right now, nor is there place convenient around my work schedule. Do whatever it takes for you to get back on track. Buy a really cute dress and hang it up some where you have to see it...(pst....I'm gonna do that tonight, recording the debate....just can't stomach it right....lol).
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    You only fail when you give up completely and it doesn't sound like you have. :smile:

    I think you may want to take a hard look at WHY you are getting tempted and giving in to that temptation. Is the plan you are setting up full of restrictions and avoiding foods you love? If so, then don't make that type of plan. There's nothing that says you need to eat certain foods or avoid others to lose weight. You simply need to eat fewer calories than you burn each day over a period of time and you will lose weight.

    Why not start by simply logging the foods you're eating now? You don't need to make changes or aim for a calorie goal, just log it all and be honest with what you're logging. In a few days take a good look at your diary and you should see some things on there that you could substitute for something lower in calories or a little more "healthy".

    Perhaps you do good until you hit 8pm and the urge to snack takes over. If so, you could eat a little less at lunch, perhaps and save those calories until 8pm. Instead of the 2pm cookie and Coca-Cola you could maybe have an apple and a glass of unsweetened tea. Instead of a Big Mac, large fries and a Coca-Cola you could have a smaller sandwich and a small fries and a water. You get the idea.

    Keep making small adjustments. Once you start to see some success and the small changes become habit it becomes easier to keep making adjustments.
  • pattymom1000
    pattymom1000 Posts: 16 Member
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    You are here so you are a success. You have not given up. Inch by inch we help each other. Two steps forward three backward. Four forward. Etc.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    amybluefish wrote: »
    Help! I need some advice. I was good for a while then failed miserably. I'm having a hard time just starting. All I have to do is good through one day but every morning I'm tempted by something and fail. Any ideas? Help?

    First is your goal reasonable? If you have 50 lbs or less to lose choose to 1 lb a week. If you are 20 lbs or less overweight .5 lbs a week may be more reasonable.
    Make smaller sustainable changes.
    Start with just logging what you normally would eat and then work on sticking to your calorie goal.
    Eat foods you like. If you can't imagine giving up a food for life then don't do it now. Reduce portion sizes of higher calorie foods and increase portion sizes of lower calorie foods. Vegetables are generally low calorie and great to fill your plate with.
    You do not have to be perfect every day. Look at your weekly calories instead of just daily.
    Are these foods really taking you by surprise? If you know there are always treats at work leave calories for some when you plan or bring your own delicious snack and abstain.
    Log something before you eat it. Do you want to use your calories on that? Will it fill you up or are you going to be more hungry later than if you made a different choice? Will it help you meet your goals?
    You don't fail. You make a choice, log it and move on.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Plan your meals with things you actually WANT to eat. You'll be less tempted by junk if your meals are satisfying. I had to learn to cook to do that though (and Skinnytaste rocks).
  • Danika
    Danika Posts: 11 Member
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    Hi! I know your title says you 'plan' but what does that involve? Perhaps consider actually logging in what you will eat. That takes the guess work out. I have been pre-logging the entire week on the Sunday and it helps take away any guess work. I don't have to make the hard decisions when I am hungry or tempted. I know when and what my next snack or meal will be. Also, if there are temptations in your house, perhaps consider getting them out of the house for now. I know my weaknesses and I would have trouble avoiding them if they were in my face! (I'm talking to you chips, wine, and pizza...!)

    Good luck x
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
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    amybluefish wrote: »
    Help! I need some advice. I was good for a while then failed miserably. I'm having a hard time just starting. All I have to do is good through one day but every morning I'm tempted by something and fail. Any ideas? Help?

    I'm curious, do you fail at everything you plan for the night before or is it just your diet? Do you also fail at getting to work, dressing yourself, planning and accomplishing your work, doing your usual day to day activities, et al.? What is it about those activities that allows you to accomplish them and not succeed at your diet? Perhaps you just need to give your diet/exercise regimen the same attention and discipline you afford to your other daily routines.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Alot of good advice here. Maybe you're just not ready yet. When you're ready to lose weight, you get serious and don't fail first thing in the morning. Do some soul searching and then decide and just do it. MFP has all the tools you need, and a community for support, but YOU have to want it or nothing will work. Whatever you decide, good luck, and we'll be here waiting for you.
  • shellyld2016
    shellyld2016 Posts: 288 Member
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    Are there specific things tempting you?
  • jxls4
    jxls4 Posts: 4 Member
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    Yes you can! I say that to myself every day! In the mirror!
  • MarkaStone
    MarkaStone Posts: 55 Member
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    For ages I kept saying to myself that I'll start tomorrow and tomorrow never came. Then one day instead of just saying it I simply did it. As snowflake954 said. If you don't really want to do it then then you won't. But one day, you'll think "right that's it" and just do it. That's what happened with me. Still not sure what it was that tipped me over the edge into actually getting on with it but I'm glad I did.
  • Espresso345
    Espresso345 Posts: 42 Member
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    Until you give up entirely, you haven't failed - you've just had a setback. There's an old Chinese proverb: Fall down seven times, get up eight.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    I would recommend paying attention to your normal eating patterns. I struggled with my calorie goals until I realized when I was hungry, when I was not, and when I needed those calories available. For me, a protein drink is fine early in the day, because I don't have much of an appetite. I need the most calories from late afternoon to an hour or two after dinner. Once I started using my calories that way, it got much easier.

    Also, please remember when we start this, most of us obsess about food and we feel hungry all the time. That passes for many.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
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    hiyah i say you should build in whatever is tempting you into your weekly plan. This way you dont feel you are failing.

    I kept it really simple, other than swapping regular coke for diet or coke zero i didnt cut out anything. For me it was just smaller portions and less visits to fast food places.

    Good Luck.

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