How do you handle the feeling of wanting to give up the diet?

kolson111322 · August 2017

How do you all handle those days where you are just miserable mentally with eating healthy? It's only been a day since I started eating properly but I feel already like I want to throw in the towel, but I know I need to stay the course and lose the weight.

Is it possible I just need an incentive to keep going? Like I knit/crochet, so when I reach the halfway point of my weight loss reward myself with a yarn I've been really wanting?

kommodevaran · August 2017

What is the healthy diet you have started? What is eating properly, in your opinion?

I personally never want to give up my diet, because that's just what I eat, and I have to eat, and I enjoy what I eat. It makes me feel great and I look forward to every meal.

cwolfman13 · August 2017

This is usually an indication that one has a very myopic view of what constitutes "healthy" and eating properly...also an indication that maybe the deficit is too aggressive...

Losing weight doesn't have to be and shouldn't be torture. Eating healthy doesn't mean everything has to be bland and boring and nothing but salads and plain chicken breasts and steamed broccoli. Just cook a variety of meals using largely whole foods...make them delicious.

aggiepringle6665 · August 2017

Don't start something you can't maintain long term

pitbull603 · August 2017

Go and cheat for a whole day!...eat everything you can...then tell me how you feel...
Write that feeling down.
Post it on your fridge.
So everytime you look at it you remember that god awful feeling and you'll have a little more motivation to stick with it
Also...just one Hershey bar is not failure...
Just save it for a special day....lol

macclone · August 2017

I get undressed and look in the mirror. That is all the motivation I need.

kolson111322 · August 2017

kommodevaran wrote: »

What is the healthy diet you have started? What is eating properly, in your opinion?

I personally never want to give up my diet, because that's just what I eat, and I have to eat, and I enjoy what I eat. It makes me feel great and I look forward to every meal.

Just portion control, eating healthier with more of the right things than the junk foods (I'm using Jenny Craig for 2 weeks to help with that). There's nothing wrong with the food. So far, everything I've eaten is good and I've enjoyed it and I'm getting enough food. My brain is just doing the double-talking thing and I'm not sure how to handle that.

fitoverfortymom · August 2017

What has helped me the most is merely focusing in an attainable daily calorie goal, and planning my meals to meet that goal. I never planned any super specific rewards along the way, because I found smaller clothing sizes (especially going from plus size to regular size) extremely rewarding. Some folks work well with incentives, and fancy yarn sounds like a great one!

I don't eat particularly healthy per-se. I eat a lot of the same foods I've always eaten--just not as much--or swapped out elements for lower calorie options. I think I would have failed mentally if I thought I had to eat salad, chicken breast, and brown rice in order to lose weight. I would say I eat more boring, though, because I find it easier to be successful with consistency between meals. Each week I typically eat the same thing for breakfast/lunch/snacks and then vary dinner based on what I'm cooking for the family. I kind of ebb and flow through various staple foods and get on a kick with certain foods.

Some folks find it most satisfying to eat a LOT of food and others find it easier to cope with the calorie deficit by making "naughty" food fit into their calorie goal. Both work equally as well--you just have to find your weight loss personality type (wouldn't it be nice if there were a BUZZFEED quiz for that?). Others find eating only within a certain window of time each day the best way to stick to their calorie goal.

There are many ways to solve the weight loss equation, and it just takes some trial and error to figure out what makes it work for you. But stick with it! We all have hard days at this. There are times we've all wanted to quit. Many of us have taken diet breaks to cope with the excessive periods of being in a calorie deficit (honestly, it's exhausting sometimes!!). Just keep working at it, and it will become second nature.

Machka9 · August 2017

I just ate whatever I wanted as long as it fit within my calorie limit.

Of course, some things had more "staying power" than others. For example, I discovered that cashews, pears and cereal just weren't worth it for me.

But being able to eat anything I liked (as long as it fit within my calorie limit) meant that there was no reason to throw in the towel ... what was I going to do? Start eating foods I didn't like?

A tip that helped me ... I went to several grocery stores and markets and things and found all sorts of foods that fit within my calorie limit. I went from eating the same ol' same ol' for dinner all the time, to quite a variety of delicious food. Plus I found things that worked for lunch and all my snacks.

Then it just became a habit. I eat this at this time and that at that time. Same as I brush my teeth at this time and take my shower at that time.

And exercise helps a lot ... I go for a long bicycle ride on weekends and we can "afford" to get a pizza or go out for fish and chips or have a slice of cheesecake or whatever.

SuzySunshine99 · August 2017

What helped me was to not deprive myself of the foods that I truly love. I just eat them in smaller portions.
Mentally, eating one square of chocolate was way better than saying "You can't eat chocolate ever again."
Because I was still eating my favorite foods, I never felt like giving up. There's no need to make yourself miserable.

tabletop_joe · August 2017

Write a list of Pros & Cons. If the Pros outweigh the Cons, keep going knowing that your decision was made rationally. The same is true if the Cons win out. It's important to make these decisions dispassionately because dieting can be hard on the mind and emotions.

toxikon · August 2017

Sometimes I struggle with hunger and urges to binge. I'm already at a healthy BMI and just trying to drop another 20lbs so I really don't have many calories to play with. It can be tough.

Here's what I do to keep myself sane:
- Drink looots of tea! I have about 20 different flavours at my work desk, keeps my mouth busy all day.
- Save a good portion of my calories for dinner, because I like to have a big meal at night and not feel hungry before sleep.
- Eat filling foods as much as possible. Salads, soups, protein fluff, eggs, chicken, veggies.
- Enjoy little treats every day. Half a chocolate bar, a bit of icecream, mini-bag of chips, etc. I work all those cravings into my calorie goal in small, reasonable portions.

Thehardmakesitworthit · August 2017

When I started discovering how to be healthier....the key for me was self talk every single day, sometimes all day long. I started walking like a maniac and would tell myself.... "your body is at the top of the next hill....at the end of the next mile.....not inside the fridge or at the bottom of a bag of chips". Our minds are so powerful. You can do this....just love yourself enough. Seriously.

DebLaBounty · August 2017

Don't wait too long to buy the yarn! Set up some mini-goals for yourself. One might be: log everything you eat for one week. Give yourself a reward. Or, lose 5 pounds. Reward. Walk 20 minutes every day for a week. Reward. You should definitely get that yarn within a month, regardless. You can't snack on greasy food when you're knitting, so it will be a good purchase. Your ultimate long-term reward will be all the weight you've lost and the healthier body you have, and probably a good dose of improved confidence because of your successes. Just be sure to reward yourself a lot along the way, it will keep you motivated to reach your goal.

cqbkaju · August 2017

I stop thinking like a wimp.
I developed the discipline to do the job so I finish what I started.

If you want to give up more than you want results then that is mostly a reflection on you, your goals, and your approach.

If it was easy then the majority of the First World would not be carrying too much body fat.

MegaMooseEsq · August 2017

I've been using a strategy of very gradual decreases and have genuinely never had any moments where I wanted to quit. I started off logging my existing diet for about six months, then spent maybe three months eating around maintenance, then for the last 2-3 months have been reducing my average daily calories by around 100-200 calories a month. I didn't actually start losing weight until the beginning of this year (I was actually a bit under maintenance at first) but I'm down about 23 pounds and I've been losing maybe 1.5 lbs a week for about a month now. And I swear to kittens, it's been way easier than losing weight has any right to be.

GottaBurnEmAll · August 2017

What is doing Jenny Craig teaching you about making sustainable choices?

The idea you should get about this whole thing isn't to lose weight, the idea is that you should manage your weight for life. It's not something that ever stops.

There comes a point where you can't perpetually give up everything you like because life is long and the tempting stuff will always be there, but you will have to find a way to balance your desire to maintain a healthy weight and a way to fit in some less than ideal caloric "bargains" into your life.

The only way to do that is to actually eat food you prepare yourself and learn through trial and error what works for you, what you can eat in moderation, what you can't. Find out which foods keep you full, which foods don't.

This will take time. The most important goal you should have is to learn. The more you learn, the easier the weight loss will be, and it will come in time.

Everyone is in a hurry to lose weight, but going about it in a way that leaves you feeling defeated and ready to quit is simply a recipe for a quick-fix that's likely to result in a short-term loss.

kristen8000 · August 2017

My motivation is I know if I keep at it, I'll see results. If I give up, I'll either stay the same or get fatter.

Also I don't do anything crazy that makes me miserable. It's all about balance. But I do believe a little sacrifice is needed to accomplish anything worth having in life.

Goober1142 · August 2017

The first day is always the hardest, if you can hang on for the first four days it gets much easier after that. I also eat at specific times and if I'm hungry in between it's coffee or tea or water. Have to get rid of the junk food in your house too, that's a big one. Just wait until you see how great you feel and that number on the scale goes down, that's great motivation. Do whatever you have to for four days, sleep a lot if possible. Your body will get used to less food, just give it time and stay focused.

H_Ock12 · August 2017

There are going to be many days that you aren't going to feel "motivated" to eat your calorie budget, go workout, etc... Those are the days that your dedication to your cause is going to need to be strongest. Just like with going to work, cooking dinner, grocery shopping...you just do it.

LZMiner · August 2017

As I've gotten older, I realize how much I really need to honor and love myself. Therefore, I eat healthy and don't put crap in my body that I love. I consider crap stuff where 90% of the ingredients I can't pronounce! Don't think of healthy eating as denying yourself...think of it as giving yourself the health you need to have a happy and fulfilling life!

How do you handle the feeling of wanting to give up the diet?

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