Day 1 Done... Again

Lancer97
Lancer97 Posts: 39 Member
Day 1 has come and gone... again.

Look, I've done "Day 1" enough times to know that it is both the hardest and the easiest day of the whole process.

Huh?

Honestly. Hear me out.

I get it, making a lifestyle change is hard. You're used to eating a whole pizza or getting a basket of bread with your order. When you limit yourself its obviously going to be hard. So what in the world do I mean by day 1 being the easiest day? Well that's when you have all the motivation. You told yourself "THIS IS IT!" I'm doing it for real this time! You made the healthy lunch, you planned dinner so that you aren't just picking up the phone and ordering something because you can't figure out what to make, and you rid your house of all those treats that don't do anything for you. Motivation is high on Day 1 which is why Day 1, 2, 3 even the whole first week is easy.

I've also failed umpteen times at shedding this 100lbs I need to lose. I know this motivation isn't going to last forever. I hope to lean on friends, family, and even strangers at MyFitnessPal to get me through this.

I'm not getting any younger and the older I get, the closer I get to people my age who are dying from weight related issues. That frightens me. Knock on wood my doctor says other than the excessive pounds I'm in good health. I'm happy about that but i know I can't sit back and let it get away from me. My back gets thrown out more frequently than it used to. My joints are starting to hurt. I need to get this done.

Not only am I saying this time it's for real, this time it HAS to be real.

Day 1 Stats:
Calorie Goal: 1810
Net Calories: 1519
Step Goal (Set by Garmin): 7420
Steps Counted: 6846
Water Intake: 2300mL

Replies

  • drallion
    drallion Posts: 6 Member
    Way to go Lancer~! Keep me posted...I'm doing the same thing again~!!! We've got this!
  • hgutteridge1
    hgutteridge1 Posts: 1 Member
    I completely relate. TODAY is day 1.. again. Im 33 and feel fit, I'm not what peopole would see as overweight. But just need to recognise the excuses are excuses. When your clothes are uncomfortable, you pop your jean buttons bending over or you don't feel attractive, well thats just part of the motivation story. The reality, if I dont get back to fit now.. I NEVER WILL.
  • Lancer97
    Lancer97 Posts: 39 Member

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Lancer97 wrote: »

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.

    you didn't bother reading the link, did you?
  • Lancer97
    Lancer97 Posts: 39 Member
    Lancer97 wrote: »

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.

    you didn't bother reading the link, did you?

    I did. In fact I've read it twice now.

    You're trying to tell me I'm wrong that it's hard to stay focused. That just because it's not something physically hard like hitting a baseball or emotionally hard like losing a family member, it's not actually hard it's just in my head.

    I'm telling you I disagree. It is hard to stay focused. I know. I've tried a bunch of times.

    By this logic, you're telling me it's not hard for someone to quit smoking and get off heroin because you know what you need to do, it's your life just choose to stop. That's not easy.

    I agree it is HABBIT. I agree its discipline.

    That doesn't mean it's not hard. It doesn't mean you dont need to keep yourself focused and motivated.

    By the end of this response I've now read your link 3 times. I still dont see where I'm wrong. Would you like to draw the line for me? Or do you just want to be condescending with comments like "you didnt bother to read it"
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Lancer97 wrote: »
    Lancer97 wrote: »

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.

    you didn't bother reading the link, did you?

    I did. In fact I've read it twice now.

    You're trying to tell me I'm wrong that it's hard to stay focused. That just because it's not something physically hard like hitting a baseball or emotionally hard like losing a family member, it's not actually hard it's just in my head.

    I'm telling you I disagree. It is hard to stay focused. I know. I've tried a bunch of times.

    By this logic, you're telling me it's not hard for someone to quit smoking and get off heroin because you know what you need to do, it's your life just choose to stop. That's not easy.

    I agree it is HABBIT. I agree its discipline.

    That doesn't mean it's not hard. It doesn't mean you dont need to keep yourself focused and motivated.

    By the end of this response I've now read your link 3 times. I still dont see where I'm wrong. Would you like to draw the line for me? Or do you just want to be condescending with comments like "you didnt bother to read it"

    i'm not trying to tell you anything, merely linked useful post for your consideration.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited January 2019
    Lancer97 wrote: »

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.

    So you didn't ask for advice, but I hope you don't mind if I offer some friendly advice as someone who finally lost the weight and has been maintaining for a couple of years. Please feel free to ignore it if it doesn't sound like it applies.

    Use the beginning, when you are amped up, to focus on figuring out how you need to eat and exercise for the rest of your life. Not to lose the weight, but to keep it off, as effortlessly as possible. That might mean losing a bit slower, and being more lenient. It might mean taking more planned diet breaks. It might mean a slightly less aggressive exercise plan.

    I can say that if I had decided to either not go out with my friends, or suffer through watching them eat wings, I never would've succeeded. I decided to not give myself many food rules, just focus on calories, and allow myself days where I ate maintenance calories. In other words, sometimes I planned to eat the darn wings!

    IMHO, too many people use the beginning amped time to go balls to the wall aggressive and try to do everything to lose the weight fast, assuming that initial success will power them through to the end. It rarely works, instead usually making them hit the wall and flame out.

    I also wanted to add, I am a petite woman, and I lost weight netting 1550 calories. I can't imagine being a larger man and eating at such a low level. You might want to reconsider that.

    Check out the Most Helpful Posts threads pinned to the top of each forum, there's a ton of info there. Logging accurately and consistently, and taking the time to really analyze my data as time went on and tweak my diet until it was enjoyable and kept me satisfied at the right calorie level to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of my life literally changed my life. I hope it does the same for you, you can do this and good luck!
  • Lancer97
    Lancer97 Posts: 39 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Lancer97 wrote: »

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.

    So you didn't ask for advice, but I hope you don't mind if I offer some friendly advice as someone who finally lost the weight and has been maintaining for a couple of years. Please feel free to ignore it if it doesn't sound like it applies.

    Use the beginning, when you are amped up, to focus on figuring out how you need to eat and exercise for the rest of your life. Not to lose the weight, but to keep it off, as effortlessly as possible. That might mean losing a bit slower, and being more lenient. It might mean taking more planned diet breaks. It might mean a slightly less aggressive exercise plan.

    I can say that if I had decided to either not go out with my friends, or suffer through watching them eat wings, I never would've succeeded. I decided to not give myself many food rules, just focus on calories, and allow myself days where I ate maintenance calories. In other words, sometimes I planned to eat the darn wings!

    IMHO, too many people use the beginning amped time to go balls to the wall aggressive and try to do everything to lose the weight fast, assuming that initial success will power them through to the end. It rarely works, instead usually making them hit the wall and flame out.

    I also wanted to add, I am a petite woman, and I lost weight netting 1550 calories. I can't imagine being a larger man and eating at such a low level. You might want to reconsider that.

    Check out the Most Helpful Posts threads pinned to the top of each forum, there's a ton of info there. Logging accurately and consistently, and taking the time to really analyze my data as time went on and tweak my diet until it was enjoyable and kept me satisfied at the right calorie level to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of my life literally changed my life. I hope it does the same for you, you can do this and good luck!

    Thank you this is helpful
    1550 isn't necessarily what I'm going for on a day to day basis. It actually just worked out that way yesterday. I'm looking more towards 1800. Though there are plenty of arguments for "1500 is enough" out there... I don't necessarily agree 100% but it is a lifestyle that has quite a bit of traction in my research.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited January 2019
    Lancer97 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Lancer97 wrote: »

    Maybe motivation wasnt the right word.. but you cant argue with the fact that day 1 you are alot more amped up to do the right thing than you are on day 50 when your friends are having AYCE wings and you have to make the choice to either not go out with them or suffer through the temptation.

    Motivation, do the right thing for your health, whatever you want to call it.. doesnt change the fact that day 1 is easier to say no because in my experience day 1 is the day you've amped yourself up for.

    So you didn't ask for advice, but I hope you don't mind if I offer some friendly advice as someone who finally lost the weight and has been maintaining for a couple of years. Please feel free to ignore it if it doesn't sound like it applies.

    Use the beginning, when you are amped up, to focus on figuring out how you need to eat and exercise for the rest of your life. Not to lose the weight, but to keep it off, as effortlessly as possible. That might mean losing a bit slower, and being more lenient. It might mean taking more planned diet breaks. It might mean a slightly less aggressive exercise plan.

    I can say that if I had decided to either not go out with my friends, or suffer through watching them eat wings, I never would've succeeded. I decided to not give myself many food rules, just focus on calories, and allow myself days where I ate maintenance calories. In other words, sometimes I planned to eat the darn wings!

    IMHO, too many people use the beginning amped time to go balls to the wall aggressive and try to do everything to lose the weight fast, assuming that initial success will power them through to the end. It rarely works, instead usually making them hit the wall and flame out.

    I also wanted to add, I am a petite woman, and I lost weight netting 1550 calories. I can't imagine being a larger man and eating at such a low level. You might want to reconsider that.

    Check out the Most Helpful Posts threads pinned to the top of each forum, there's a ton of info there. Logging accurately and consistently, and taking the time to really analyze my data as time went on and tweak my diet until it was enjoyable and kept me satisfied at the right calorie level to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of my life literally changed my life. I hope it does the same for you, you can do this and good luck!

    Thank you this is helpful
    1550 isn't necessarily what I'm going for on a day to day basis. It actually just worked out that way yesterday. I'm looking more towards 1800. Though there are plenty of arguments for "1500 is enough" out there... I don't necessarily agree 100% but it is a lifestyle that has quite a bit of traction in my research.

    Just because something is "enough" doesn't mean it's optimal :wink:
    The world is currently full of people who eat low cal, exercise hard, lose a bunch of weight, declare themselves a success. Then have no idea how to eat and exercise between the two extremes they keep swinging between, and end up gaining most of it back. Over and over again. I feel like looking around me gives me plenty of proof that the extreme is not the best way to go. But has it worked for some people? Sure it has. I just have never personally seen it lead to lifelong maintenance, but that doesn't mean it hasn't.

    Anyway, just be thoughtful about your approach, be willing to try something different rather than quit if you hit a roadblock, and don't allow perfection to be the enemy of progress. Lots of folks here have succeeded in what you are starting, now it's your turn :drinker:
  • Lancer97
    Lancer97 Posts: 39 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »

    Just because something is "enough" doesn't mean it's optimal :wink:
    The world is currently full of people who eat low cal, exercise hard, lose a bunch of weight, declare themselves a success. Then have no idea how to eat and exercise between the two extremes they keep swinging between, and end up gaining most of it back. Over and over again. I feel like looking around me gives me plenty of proof that the extreme is not the best way to go. But has it worked for some people? Sure it has. I just have never personally seen it lead to lifelong maintenance, but that doesn't mean it hasn't.

    Anyway, just be thoughtful about your approach, be willing to try something different rather than quit if you hit a roadblock, and don't allow perfection to be the enemy of progress. Lots of folks here have succeeded in what you are starting, now it's your turn :drinker:

    Fair enough..
    The funny thing about quitting is that in the past for me it's never been a sudden incident, throw up the road block i'm going to stop. Its always very gradual. "A little piece of cake won't hurt" then "well I had cake yesterday an extra slice of pizza today won't hurt" then "I can't think of anything for lunch I'll get takeout" next thing I know I'm back in the old ways. Creeps up on me. I've never had the "Screw this, it's hard! I give up!" its just one day I realize I had already given up unconsciously and I need to start again.

    Look I'm not trying to make excuses. I failed previously and it was my fault. I own that. Now I make it right.