Need to and want to lose weight but can’t seem to stick to anything

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iwillnotquit78
iwillnotquit78 Posts: 2 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi all,
So I wanted to come on here to get some advice/tips from those of you who are on a journey to losing weight and/or who have already lost a significant amount of weight. Every time I try to do a “lifestyle change” I never follow through or quit after a month or two in it. I’m always disappointed in myself and after months of just gaining back any weight I’ve lost and just eating junk I’m sick of living this way but at the same time I can’t seem to get started. I also feel like I have no motivation to start and the moment I see something I wanna eat that I shouldn’t I just lose it and go for it.
I’m so sick of living this way and I do want to change not only for my physical appearance but for my health as well! Please if any of you could give me some good advice I would appreciate it a ton.
Thank you!

Replies

  • TrishSeren
    TrishSeren Posts: 587 Member
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    Start small, you don't need to cut out all food, CICO is great because you can eat whatever you want you just have to ensure it fits in your daily allowance.

    For example, maybe every day you usually eat 2 biscuits, then make the new habit only 1 biscuit. Or every other day you go for a walk.

    Don't overwhelm yourself by cutting out foods or starting an intense exercise regime, just pick one or two things that are easy to do/change and go from there.
  • long_for_me
    long_for_me Posts: 179 Member
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    I found that eating twice a day works for me as of now. Maybe try experimenting with restrictions that fit your lifestyle? When I was eating more frequently, I found that I was hungry all the time and feeling deprived all the time!
  • MagnumOpus1
    MagnumOpus1 Posts: 161 Member
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    smolmaus wrote: »
    iwillnotquit78 wrote: »
    Hi all,
    Every time I try to do a “lifestyle change” I never follow through or quit after a month or two in it
    ...
    I’m sick of living this way

    You might be rationally sick of living the way you're living right now but it is comfortable and known to you. It's very very hard to step out of ingrained habits, especially if you try and go full lifestyle change all at once. You have a lifestyle now that isn't perfect for whatever reasons but it doesn't need to be chucked straight in the bin. Make small changes, very tiny, not scary at all changes that are easy to stick to then just keep doing that until you've pruned your current lifestyle into a lovely topiary of improved habits.

    I would start with writing a list of the behaviours and habits you have that don't make you feel good about yourself. Tackle one at a time. Could be "Hey I have too many drinks on the weekend, lets try only having a couple" or "I get a LOT of takeout, I could look up how to make some fun dishes at home instead" or "I drive to the shop way too often, I should walk that 10 mins". None of those are hard individually but all at once, yikes.

    Very sound advice here.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    What worked for me was changing my behavior in areas where I felt I could make a permanent change. Losing slowly while learning healthier habits. In the beginning I just ate smaller portions. for example 2 tacos instead of 4. Then I began to substitute things like corn tortillas for flour (50 calories vs 160 calories for the ones I used to use). I started spiralizing veggies instead of using pasta. Things like that but it had to be something that didn't make me feel deprived. Slowly I changed my eating habits. Take your time and don't feel like it's a race. If you can live with your changes you will lose and then find maintenance easier. Don't try to change everything overnight. Make small changes one at a time and if something doesn't work out don't quit. I still use sour cream for example while others use greek yogurt. I prefer sour cream and it's worth the extra calories to me. Find what works for you.

    Finally the most important thing for me was logging what I ate and staying in my calorie allowance. Even if I tripped up and went over my allowance for the day I logged it. This was vital and I learned something from it. Often when I thought I'd really blown it and in the past would have continued eating because I ruined it anyway, I found it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Logging keeps me sane and even though I'm in maintenance I still log EVERY day. I've maintained my loss for almost a year now.
  • countcurt
    countcurt Posts: 593 Member
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    You don't need motivation. You need reasons to make the changes you need to make. Which you state you have.

    Lots of great advice here. I'll add this:


    When you start putting food choices into categories of things you should or shouldn't eat, you're asking for a world of trouble. It's not really about the what as much as it is the how much. Here's more on that:

    https://wordpress.com/post/countcurtblog.wordpress.com/496

  • orngnerdz
    orngnerdz Posts: 583 Member
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    I was in the same boat and finally have found my stride. I found a gym that includes an accountability person on their staff that has been there to answer all my questions, cheer me on and just check in with. I could never keep up with going to the gym and working out by myself, but my new gym has group classes with varying levels of health and fitness but everyone on the same page about moving forward. This has also helped. I have struggled lately with sticking to my meal plan (also provided by my gym) because I have found it too easy and tempting to "cheat a little" which ultimately always turns into a lot. That's why I'm using MFP to track my eating because seeing numbers in black and white helps me resist temptation. Surround yourself with people who will help and motivate you. You CAN do this!
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
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    iwillnotquit78 wrote: »
    Hi all,
    So I wanted to come on here to get some advice/tips from those of you who are on a journey to losing weight and/or who have already lost a significant amount of weight. Every time I try to do a “lifestyle change” I never follow through or quit after a month or two in it. I’m always disappointed in myself and after months of just gaining back any weight I’ve lost and just eating junk I’m sick of living this way but at the same time I can’t seem to get started. I also feel like I have no motivation to start and the moment I see something I wanna eat that I shouldn’t I just lose it and go for it.
    I’m so sick of living this way and I do want to change not only for my physical appearance but for my health as well! Please if any of you could give me some good advice I would appreciate it a ton.
    Thank you!
    I read something once in some advice column that I've always remembered. It was about quitting smoking, but I've found it applies to my weight loss efforts -

    "Dear Advice Columnist: I've tried to quit smoking a hundred times, but I've always started up again. What should I do? - Chronic Coffin Nailer"
    "Dear Nailer: Try again."

    As long as I'm getting proper nutrition (i.e., eating enough calories and meeting my macros, especially for protein) and not losing too fast, trying again to lose weight can't hurt me.* But it could help me.

    (*Repeated very-low-calorie rapid-weight-loss diets could hurt indeed me, but so could just doing one of those diets: they're a dumb and dangerous idea. Please always be sensible about your health.)

    I started on MFP six years ago, and lost 30 lbs. Then my life went off the rails, and my weight loss efforts went with it. When I came back this time, I'd regained 25 of those pounds. But that's still five pounds I netted, and who's to say I wouldn't have gained even more by now if I hadn't worked so hard back in 2012?

    My advice to the OP:
    1) Look at why you want to do this: your physical appearance, your health, and because you're sick of living this way. Those are all very good and valid reasons.
    2) Envision the future you'll have in say, three months; and in a year or two, if you stick with your weight loss plan. What will it look and feel like when you're on your way to, and when you're at, your goal? How will your life have gotten better?
    3) Start small, maybe by just committing to logging your food, just for 3 weeks. Twenty-one days. Sixty-three meals and however many snacks. You don't need to make any further changes or promises for now. Just do that one small thing and see where it takes you.

    Good luck! :)


  • iwillnotquit78
    iwillnotquit78 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all so much for your responses! I am definitely looking forward to implementing these tips into my daily routine and really sticking to this!
  • manowarrule2003
    manowarrule2003 Posts: 118 Member
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    Aside from all the above advice, try and remember your WHY? Why do you want to get in shape? Why do you want to look a certain way? When times are hard, ask yourself and remind yourself.... Why? Good luck

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