Staying consistent

I find that it helps to just take it one day, one meal at a time. Having a support system is helpful too, whether it's family/friends and/or message boards like this one. I've lost about 105 lbs since 2010...it's amazing how it adds up over time, taking it one day at a time. There will be days when I don't have a "clean food" day but it's important not to beat yourself up; just get back on that horse and ride!

Did you log what you ate today already? I recommend that if you miss a day that you go back and try to fill it all in from memory. Action helps with motivation

I always fall back on how long I've been done this. I hate the idea of undoing all the good work I've done so far. That's what stops me slacking. The other big thing personally for me is, I do what I do for myself on. There are no external factors. There are little things you can do to help yourself such as preparing your food in advance, picking things you actually enjoy eating, making exercise a priority in your life and most importantly, reward yourself when you achieve something!

Party of it is deciding that it's what you're going to do and making it party of your routine. At this point, I know I'm going to weigh my food as I'm making my meal,plan so party of my routine is loving it as I weigh it out creating a recipe in MFP as I weigh my ingredients. Or, I create and log my recipe or meal ahead of time so I know exactly how much of everything to use to stay where I want in my calorie goal.

Also, humans tend to be creatures of habit. If you think about what you generally eat over the course of a week, while it is varied, you may notice some things popping up again and again. Breakfast is a good example. A lot of people will eat the same cereal everyday. And even if you are having a different omlette everyday, you'rr still having an omelette. If you notice that there are things that your eat everyday, fill them in for the week. You can always go in and delete them if you don't have them, but even if it's one thing, you've already accomplished part of your logging. I know that almost everyday during the summer I have cottage cheese with fruit. The fruit changes, but that's easy to change, and it's usually one or two of the same four fruits.i also have coffee with 21g of honey and 1 level school if my collagen peptides. I could log that for the next fifteen years and I know that the amount of times I'm going to delete or modify it is going to be less than the number of fingers and toes that I have.

You can also create meals. If you have a salad and a sandwich everyday for lunch, make a meal of it. Then you can log that meal and it's easier to go in and change the weight for the day, or if you had turkey instead of ham, instead of having to look up and log everything individually.

This is just one woman's opinion and should be read with a grain of salt.

I also don't know that suffering is the right way to put it but I think it's about delayed gratification and reprioritizing what you value. Maybe that donut isn't worth it to fit it into your calories. Maybe being able to bike an extra two miles or go down a paint size feels better than that donut tastes. Or maybe that donut is super tasty and not worth giving up. You can still have that donut but you're going to have to go on a five mile hike to get it or eliminate something you would have eaten instead of that donut.

Some people might call all that suffering. Really, it's about loving your life and figuring out what you actually want, and how to make it fit in your life. Food is tasty and beautiful and wonderful. But life is more than food and you have to figure out what food is worth it and what food isn't.

Calories are your gifts for your friends. You have a limited amount gifts and if you want more gifts to give, you have to make them with hard work and sweat. Is it worth more to give those gifts to that pastry that is convenient but not really satisfying and not as good as you wanted it to be? Maybe not. Is it worth giving a gift to that ice cream cone from the place that makes banging ice cream that you go to twice a month during the summer on date night and eat while walking along getting to know the person you love, or could love but your just getting to know each other? Maybe.

And not all food is going to be an all or nothing. Most food exists in the grey area. Maybe you can't eat a whole pizza. That doesn't mean you can't have two slices with a nice salad. You are going to have to push yourself it if your comfort zone to create a new life that is more in line with the way you want your body to look and work. But if you do it through suffering, you're potentially setting yourself up for a life of suffering.

There are things I have given up. Not because I don't like them but because it wasn't worth it to continue to live that way. I love what my body can do and accomplish when I weigh less and that feeling is more important to me than binge watching Netflix and eating 3000-4000 calories a day off food that isn't even that good, but it's comforting because it's the food that feeds my happy chemicals in my brain. I love eating better and exercising, I always have. But I have to get out of my current comfort zone and create those habits again. I don't see it as suffering because I enjoy hiking and biking and vegetables.