Always restarting

julydecmay wrote: »

I have read that for many people, the lack of commitment usually means the person does not want it bad enough. I do. I definitely do, but I am weak.

You're not weak -- weight loss is HARD. Willpower is a finite resource, and it takes a ton of it to commit to a major lifestyle change. Not only do you have to learn new habits, you have to unlearn old ones.

I'm not sure how you've previously attempted to implement these changes, so apologies if this advice is off the mark, but I wonder if you're trying to do too much too quickly. Changing your diet AND committing to a regular exercise schedule all at once can be overwhelming, and if one starts to slip it's all too easy to feel defeated and throw in the towel all together (e.g. "well, I already screwed up by eating that cupcake so why bother going to the gym? I'll just consider this day a loss and start tomorrow...").

Try breaking your main goals down into smaller ones, and roll them out incrementally.

For instance:

Week 1-2: Commit to logging your food in MFP. Don't worry about the calories, macros, etc. Just get into the habit of logging. Practice being honest and forgiving yourself. Did you indulge in a little too much cake at that birthday party? Totally fine. Just log it and move on. Did one too many Jagerbombs over the weekend (and who hasn't??)? Log it and move on.

Week 3-4: Make a change or two nutritionally. This can be anything, really, but I'd usually recommend the first thing you do is try to stop drinking your calories, or at the very least scale it back. If you drink a lot of regular soda, switch to diet (or, better yet, flavored seltzer or just plain water). Drinking a latte every morning? Try switching to black coffee (If that's too much, try switching to a less sugary coffee drink. Eventually, though, try to ween yourself down to black. You'll learn to love it, I promise!) Keep logging your daily food intake, but don't worry about the non-liquid calorie count. That will come later.

Week 4-8: NOW you set a calorie goal and try and stick to it. Start with .5 or 1lbs per week. At this point, you've already gotten in the habit of logging with MFP, and you've already started making changes in your diet, so this won't be so much of a leap as if you were starting from scratch. As far as the food in your house is concerned - you don't have to avoid them. Try to incorporate them into your calorie allotment. Keto is wonderful for some people, but it's not the best approach for everyone. I could never do it. There are millions of paths to weight loss, so there's no need to pick one that makes you miserable. You can still have the foods you like - just plan around them. If you, say, want a bacon cheeseburger for dinner, maybe do a lighter breakfast.

Week 8-10: Commit to exercising one day a week.

Week 10-12: Two days a week.

And so on and so forth. Be patient with yourself. Don't let one bad day, or bad week, throw you off your game. Don't think "I'll start tomorrow", think "I'll continue tomorrow." And as tempting as it may be, don't skip ahead in whatever plan you decide on. When you're highly motivated, it's tempting to jump in headfirst, but motivation is fleeting, and burnout comes fast and hard. Building discipline is what's going to get you to your goal weight. It's a marathon, not a sprint. But you have the drive. You have the ambition. You've totally got this.