Failing hard

tanaiababy
tanaiababy Posts: 8 Member
edited December 4 in Getting Started
So when I first started this journey I did really well despite everything going on but a lot of things happened and changed and I wasn't in a position to keep doing what I was doing and now I am finding it extremely hard to start back up again. I feel like I'm always hungry, which is making it extremely hard to resist bad things and over eating. My relationship with food is bad but I can't seem to change it this time around it's a lot harder than it is as the first time. Nothing I try helps with the cravings or the hunger.

Replies

  • GothamVeggie
    GothamVeggie Posts: 87 Member
    I found it really helps if you fill up on fiber (e.g., 30 g a day). If you add in 1-2 servings of veggies for every meal (not juice or lettuce, but good, fiber-rich stuff like cauliflower & broccoli), a little fiber-rich fruit like apples & whole grains, you are FAR less likely to be hungry. If you ensure you have enough protein & include good fats, it becomes even less likely you'll be hungry.

    Totally agree with Jerome and Spook: track what you eat now. More importantly, instead of removing things start adding in healthier things over the next 2 weeks. This will ensure the fiber doesn't make you uncomfortable * psychologically, it should be easier to do. For instance, tomorrow just add in 1 veggie. That's it. The next day, add in a piece of fruit along with the veggie. You'll be more full & will naturally eat less of the junk.
  • dmwh142
    dmwh142 Posts: 72 Member
    I always start off with low carb for the first week. I know I can eat the right things until I am full and it helps me clear my system of my bad sugar cravings. After that week I start counting calories also.
    Sometimes it just takes sometime to get your head back in the game. I am recovering from a summer of not having my head in the game and way to many celebrations. I hope you will find success.
  • Ciera247Zumba
    Ciera247Zumba Posts: 22 Member
    Believe in yourself!!!
    It is a challenge but as you grow accustomed to the habit of logging and awareness, you can embrace change in dietary choices over time! Don't let yourself fixate on mistakes or expect perfection -unrealistic. Drink plenty of water and eat lots of fiber and protein to maintain fullness, vegetables and fruits are really critical for nutrition and are low calorie.
    Good for you to reach out with your doubts; try to find social support and others who motivate and encourage your progress - be it online support or people in your life. It's about being healthier and learning how to have a positive relationship with food and nourishing your body, when you give yourself time to let that opportunity flourish it will bring results.
  • jbass74
    jbass74 Posts: 2 Member
    I concur with Spook and Jerome. I track everything I eat and even though I'm the only one who really sees it, I HATE putting in calories that exceed my limit! I also hate logging that I've gained weight - but I do that too! The best thing about logging everything as I go, is that at the end of the day if I really want dessert and I haven't left enough of a cushion, I have to do some sort of exercise to earn the calories to eat it. It makes me get off my booty and go for a walk, or put on Cize, or pretty much anything! Also, and I know this part isn't going to appeal to many, I've begun exercising every morning. Nothing huge, but just enough to give myself an extra 200 calories. I've been doing this for nearly 8 weeks and it's become so much of my routine that I don't mind working out first thing! When I waited to work out until after work, there were so many reasons I couldn't fit it in (I'm tired, my kid has a game, I need to go grocery shopping...), but when I do it BEFORE everything, it always gets done!

    It's a life long process and change - give yourself some grace!
  • RockinTerri
    RockinTerri Posts: 499 Member
    After being on and off of MFP the past few years, I've learned that even the bad times are worth logging. When I consistently don't eat right, my body will tell me (through various ways). Everyday is a new start, a new beginning. Just have faith in yourself and get back to the good behaviors you have started.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You aren't doing well if you can't do it when things happen. Those things are "life". What are the bad things you are trying to resist? Why are they near you if they make you overeat? But first, let's find out if you ARE overeating. ARE you always hungry, or do you just feel that you're always hungry? We're supposed to get hungry regularly, and then eat, and not be hungry for a while, and then get hungry again, and so on. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, what is your calorie goal, and do you hit it?
  • chamberlainsamantha46
    chamberlainsamantha46 Posts: 23 Member
    I understand I was in your shoes and I received a wake up call if I don't change my eating habits and I would of become a pre diabetes like my mom and dad God saved my life got sick had amoina in my left lung I know God gave me the will power to loss weigh iam at 161.0 abd and to cut cravings I started drinking water and four slices of lemon and lime I lost a lot of weight in my stomach flat tummy and detox and cleanse everything and month on end I started seeing fast results and I walk everyday and iam feeling amazing iam on your side friend I will help you sanantha
  • tanaiababy
    tanaiababy Posts: 8 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    You aren't doing well if you can't do it when things happen. Those things are "life". What are the bad things you are trying to resist? Why are they near you if they make you overeat? But first, let's find out if you ARE overeating. ARE you always hungry, or do you just feel that you're always hungry? We're supposed to get hungry regularly, and then eat, and not be hungry for a while, and then get hungry again, and so on. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, what is your calorie goal, and do you hit it?

    Honestly i just love to eat. I would say i am in love with food. Just the idea of something tastey makes me hungry. And i dont think i know the difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat. Im 5'6 I weigh 284 my calorie goal is 1400 i can hit it somedays and some days i cant
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited October 2016
    tanaiababy wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    You aren't doing well if you can't do it when things happen. Those things are "life". What are the bad things you are trying to resist? Why are they near you if they make you overeat? But first, let's find out if you ARE overeating. ARE you always hungry, or do you just feel that you're always hungry? We're supposed to get hungry regularly, and then eat, and not be hungry for a while, and then get hungry again, and so on. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, what is your calorie goal, and do you hit it?

    Honestly i just love to eat. I would say i am in love with food. Just the idea of something tastey makes me hungry. And i dont think i know the difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat. Im 5'6 I weigh 284 my calorie goal is 1400 i can hit it somedays and some days i cant

    Love of food and loving to eat is a good thing. You have a healthy appetite! You just have to structure your eating so that you can enjoy it and be healthy at the same time. This can be done through two approaches, and you'll need them both. But first, you need to adjust your calories to an appropriate amount. You need 1550 calories per day at your current weight, and I think those 150 will make it a lot easier to stick to a calorie deficit. 1400 is more appropriate when you get to 200. But you won't get to 200 if you don't stick to the deficit, so set yourself up for success.

    Next, plan out real meals. You decide how many, you will want to eat when you are hungry, but as you aren't really sure what hungry feels like, just decide to eat 3, 4 or 5 times per day, at times when your schedule (work, play, social life) has natural breaks. Normal eating patterns cover a large range, you can eat breakfast or skip it, have a large breakfast and small dinner or vice versa, just decide on a schedule and commit to it.

    Then fill those meals with food you like and food that is good for you. These may be one and the same thing, or be somewhat different. But most people like a little bit of each, and no foods are only good for you or only bad for you. The idea is that you need some of everything, but not too much of anything. Build up meals that are balanced. This means that they will have some protein, some fat and some carbs. Prelogging in your food diary and tracking those things, which are called macronutrients, will tell you if your meal/diet is balanced. You don't have to have the same balance for every meal, in fact, because variety is just as important, each meal should be different from the last. To actually compose meals, you can think "food groups" in addition to "macronutrients". These are fruits; vegetables; meat, fish, eggs and beans; dairy; fat and oils; nuts and seeds; grains and starchy vegetables. Have something from every group every day. It's easy if you buy single food items and cook. You don't need any fancy foods or fancy recipes. Just combine to your liking. Experiment to find out what you like, if you aren't sure.

    Then work on your hunger and satiety signals. Google "The hunger scale". There are many versions of it, but they are all useful. Use it before, during and after meals. Learn to recognize how you feel when you have eaten what MFP tells you is enough. Learn to trust that you have had enough. Learn to enjoy that feeling, and aim to reach it every time you have eaten. Then after a while (long, short), you will start to enjoy being hungry, because you know that you will be eating a good meal soon. You can also tell if you just "want to eat", but you are confident that you can wait till you are actually hungry. This is an awesome feeling. It is how normal weight people feel.
  • msmeka03
    msmeka03 Posts: 5 Member
    Hi looking for positive friends and accountable partner!!! Have you tried a detox method
  • tanaiababy
    tanaiababy Posts: 8 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    tanaiababy wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    You aren't doing well if you can't do it when things happen. Those things are "life". What are the bad things you are trying to resist? Why are they near you if they make you overeat? But first, let's find out if you ARE overeating. ARE you always hungry, or do you just feel that you're always hungry? We're supposed to get hungry regularly, and then eat, and not be hungry for a while, and then get hungry again, and so on. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, what is your calorie goal, and do you hit it?

    Honestly i just love to eat. I would say i am in love with food. Just the idea of something tastey makes me hungry. And i dont think i know the difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat. Im 5'6 I weigh 284 my calorie goal is 1400 i can hit it somedays and some days i cant

    Love of food and loving to eat is a good thing. You have a healthy appetite! You just have to structure your eating so that you can enjoy it and be healthy at the same time. This can be done through two approaches, and you'll need them both. But first, you need to adjust your calories to an appropriate amount. You need 1550 calories per day at your current weight, and I think those 150 will make it a lot easier to stick to a calorie deficit. 1400 is more appropriate when you get to 200. But you won't get to 200 if you don't stick to the deficit, so set yourself up for success.

    Next, plan out real meals. You decide how many, you will want to eat when you are hungry, but as you aren't really sure what hungry feels like, just decide to eat 3, 4 or 5 times per day, at times when your schedule (work, play, social life) has natural breaks. Normal eating patterns cover a large range, you can eat breakfast or skip it, have a large breakfast and small dinner or vice versa, just decide on a schedule and commit to it.

    Then fill those meals with food you like and food that is good for you. These may be one and the same thing, or be somewhat different. But most people like a little bit of each, and no foods are only good for you or only bad for you. The idea is that you need some of everything, but not too much of anything. Build up meals that are balanced. This means that they will have some protein, some fat and some carbs. Prelogging in your food diary and tracking those things, which are called macronutrients, will tell you if your meal/diet is balanced. You don't have to have the same balance for every meal, in fact, because variety is just as important, each meal should be different from the last. To actually compose meals, you can think "food groups" in addition to "macronutrients". These are fruits; vegetables; meat, fish, eggs and beans; dairy; fat and oils; nuts and seeds; grains and starchy vegetables. Have something from every group every day. It's easy if you buy single food items and cook. You don't need any fancy foods or fancy recipes. Just combine to your liking. Experiment to find out what you like, if you aren't sure.

    Then work on your hunger and satiety signals. Google "The hunger scale". There are many versions of it, but they are all useful. Use it before, during and after meals. Learn to recognize how you feel when you have eaten what MFP tells you is enough. Learn to trust that you have had enough. Learn to enjoy that feeling, and aim to reach it every time you have eaten. Then after a while (long, short), you will start to enjoy being hungry, because you know that you will be eating a good meal soon. You can also tell if you just "want to eat", but you are confident that you can wait till you are actually hungry. This is an awesome feeling. It is how normal weight people feel.

    Ty thats pretty helpful
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    tanaiababy wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    tanaiababy wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    You aren't doing well if you can't do it when things happen. Those things are "life". What are the bad things you are trying to resist? Why are they near you if they make you overeat? But first, let's find out if you ARE overeating. ARE you always hungry, or do you just feel that you're always hungry? We're supposed to get hungry regularly, and then eat, and not be hungry for a while, and then get hungry again, and so on. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, what is your calorie goal, and do you hit it?

    Honestly i just love to eat. I would say i am in love with food. Just the idea of something tastey makes me hungry. And i dont think i know the difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat. Im 5'6 I weigh 284 my calorie goal is 1400 i can hit it somedays and some days i cant

    Love of food and loving to eat is a good thing. You have a healthy appetite! You just have to structure your eating so that you can enjoy it and be healthy at the same time. This can be done through two approaches, and you'll need them both. But first, you need to adjust your calories to an appropriate amount. You need 1550 calories per day at your current weight, and I think those 150 will make it a lot easier to stick to a calorie deficit. 1400 is more appropriate when you get to 200. But you won't get to 200 if you don't stick to the deficit, so set yourself up for success.

    Next, plan out real meals. You decide how many, you will want to eat when you are hungry, but as you aren't really sure what hungry feels like, just decide to eat 3, 4 or 5 times per day, at times when your schedule (work, play, social life) has natural breaks. Normal eating patterns cover a large range, you can eat breakfast or skip it, have a large breakfast and small dinner or vice versa, just decide on a schedule and commit to it.

    Then fill those meals with food you like and food that is good for you. These may be one and the same thing, or be somewhat different. But most people like a little bit of each, and no foods are only good for you or only bad for you. The idea is that you need some of everything, but not too much of anything. Build up meals that are balanced. This means that they will have some protein, some fat and some carbs. Prelogging in your food diary and tracking those things, which are called macronutrients, will tell you if your meal/diet is balanced. You don't have to have the same balance for every meal, in fact, because variety is just as important, each meal should be different from the last. To actually compose meals, you can think "food groups" in addition to "macronutrients". These are fruits; vegetables; meat, fish, eggs and beans; dairy; fat and oils; nuts and seeds; grains and starchy vegetables. Have something from every group every day. It's easy if you buy single food items and cook. You don't need any fancy foods or fancy recipes. Just combine to your liking. Experiment to find out what you like, if you aren't sure.

    Then work on your hunger and satiety signals. Google "The hunger scale". There are many versions of it, but they are all useful. Use it before, during and after meals. Learn to recognize how you feel when you have eaten what MFP tells you is enough. Learn to trust that you have had enough. Learn to enjoy that feeling, and aim to reach it every time you have eaten. Then after a while (long, short), you will start to enjoy being hungry, because you know that you will be eating a good meal soon. You can also tell if you just "want to eat", but you are confident that you can wait till you are actually hungry. This is an awesome feeling. It is how normal weight people feel.

    Ty thats pretty helpful

    I hope it will be. It helped me. I've lost 50 pounds doing this, and finally kept them off, for almost two years now.
  • tanaiababy
    tanaiababy Posts: 8 Member
    msmeka03 wrote: »
    Hi looking for positive friends and accountable partner!!! Have you tried a detox method

    Hi no i dont do detoxes mostly because i dont really feel like its a long term health change i think of them more like something you do to lose a few past quickly i have to make a whole life style change in order to get rid of all this i got lol. But i would love to add you as a friend can never have too many
  • maewalk0126
    maewalk0126 Posts: 16 Member
    I've only been in this a week so far, but I'm finding it easier so far then I ever have on any diet. Also in this week I've lost 1.6 with no exercise, imagine what adding a work out could do. So basically I'm just eating normal portions of everything. But still eating what I want as long as it is 1 serving. And of course not snacking all day long. But even today I ate hot cheetos puffs as a snack but only ate 1 serving, and my normal meals, and I was still under my calorie intake. It's not so hard when you don't take all the food you love out of the equation. This is just a step forward in the right direction I hope. Feel free to add.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    Maybe you're in too much of a calorie deficit- too low calories is as bad as too many. I feel like MFP sets goal calories too low. I had to figure out my correct calories & macros from an outside source and input them manually.

    Are you paying attention to your macros? If you're eating too much carbs & sugar that will increase hunger/appetite. But if you're eating too little carbs you will slow your metabolism (but you probably wouldn't feel hungry from that). If you eat too little protein you will lose muscle instead of body fat. Try to hit your proper ratios of protein, carbs & fat.

    Try to reduce stress as much as possible

    Try to eat foods with lots of fiber but not a lot of calories like vegetables & greens & lower calorie fruits like melon & berries.

    Drink a lot of water

    Get lots of sleep! Get too little sleep and your body will want to compensate by eating more food.

    Exercise! I notice I crave unhealthy foods more when I'm sedentary than when I exercise regularly.

    Try to remember your "why". Why are you trying to lose weight? For health, confidence, to set a good example...?

    I hope things turn around for you soon! I'm finally losing weight after nearly a year of trying and failing, it feels great when things finally start moving in the right direction!!
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