I feel like I’ve screwed up and I’m so tempted to quit.

I was super motivated last week, the scale moved every day, I was cooking healthy meals and doing great. But the scale hasn’t moved down for 3 days and life happened so I haven’t been able to cook. I have twin toddlers and I get so busy taking care of them and the house that cooking seems impossible. They would take a late nap and that would ensure that I couldn’t cook, so I would do take out. Tonight, same story. They napped late. So we did take out. And I ate 2 stupid cookies and 2 pieces of chocolate and even drank some of my husbands coke 😭. My immediate thought was that there is no point in trying to lose weight because it seems impossible.

How do y’all handle it when life happens and there is no time to take an hour for food to cook?? How do you handle the sweet cravings??
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Replies

  • nseidle1
    nseidle1 Posts: 7 Member
    Is it better to give up and eat unhealthy or try your best, eat well mostly, and have a cheat every once in a while?
    You cannot be expected to be perfect every. single. day. It is impossible and unrealistic and its a goal you are setting for yourself that you will never meet and in return be disappointed and like you can see want to give up. Don't be too harsh on yourself. Continue to do your best and know that you can have a cheat now and again. I know what its like to be trying to be healthy and have kids. My daughter is 2. I cant imagine having twins and juggling your health along with everything else. I can barely juggle all of it with one 2 year old. lol. YOU CAN DO IT! Even if you eat out every once in a while.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,706 Member
    ashley399 wrote: »
    How do y’all handle it when life happens and there is no time to take an hour for food to cook?? How do you handle the sweet cravings??

    My husband cooks, and we use frozen stuff so that he doesn't have to take an hour for food to cook.

    Frozen veg, a low cal soup like La Zuppa, 90 second brown rice and a couple tins of shredded chicken ... toss it all in together, and you've got dinner in about 5 minutes.

    Spend some time in a grocery store if you can and see what's available ... or do what I'm about to do and shop for groceries online. Browse. There are lots of decent options out there.

  • AshAllcock
    AshAllcock Posts: 4 Member
    Hi, feel free to add, I have a 16 month old and a 7 month old. I've done this so many times and always given up, because my mind wasn't in it, but this time is different I'm sort of able to fight the cravings. When my belly starts to rumble and just drink a pint of water or squash and it seems to help. If I'm desperately craving sugar I have a fizzy can with no added sugar usually Fanta which is 10 calories (full of crap but keeps me under my calories). After dinner if I have calories left over I have some chocolate but won't if I don't have enough.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    Make small changes you can sustain for a lifetime. For me, it's all about balance - eat the chocolate and go for a walk or have veggie soup the next day. Too restrictive eating can lead to failure and binges. This is a slow process....a journey. You did not gain your weight in a week so be patient with yourself. It's what we do consistently over the long haul that gets results.

    Sending you some positive mojo!! 🤩
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    Deep Breath - don't be so hard on yourself.

    Weight loss takes TIME. it is a slow process. you don't loose all the weight in a month when it took you years to put it on.

    Weight is not a static number. your weight varies based on time of day, how much water you happen to be retaining, time of the month...lots of factors. so the number on the scale at ANY given day, is just data. it doesn't mean anything. some days i am up 2lbs but that is not a sign i put on two pounds, just a random quirk based on water retention and well lots of other things. Look at trends. Maybe get a trending app (I use Happy Scale). Consider weighing yourself at the same time of day once a week. and take the number with a grain of salt - it's only data.

    Eating healthy won't necessarily have you loose weight. for some depending on how they eat it MIGHT. but to loose weight you need to eat at a calorie deficit. and i'll be honest, some clean and health recipes are high cal (for me). So put in your stats into MFP and eat foods you like and keep you full that hit that calorie goal.

    lastly - maybe start with a plan. you are strapped for time, understandable with kiddos. Have a plan for smart choices at your regular take out that fit your calorie goal, and hvae some ready to eat quick go to's at home. Ex: frozen veggies, prepared protein (either purchased or cook a huge batch of chicken on the weekend and freeze so it's "ready to go"). Hungry girl has many quick ideas for meal prep to have on hand. Other ideas are eggs (cooked, boiled), tuna cans...
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    For me, it's all about balance - eat the chocolate and go for a walk or have veggie soup the next day.

    I like your advice in general, but would advise against this idea of having to "make up" for something we enjoy. There's nothing wrong with chocolate or any other food- if we have room for it in our day, we should enjoy it and not give it a second thought. :)
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited January 2019
    try2again wrote: »
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    For me, it's all about balance - eat the chocolate and go for a walk or have veggie soup the next day.

    I like your advice in general, but would advise against this idea of having to "make up" for something we enjoy. There's nothing wrong with chocolate or any other food- if we have room for it in our day, we should enjoy it and not give it a second thought. :)

    agreed.
    I eat chocolate DAILY. often 2x a day. i don't feel guilty. i successfully lost the weight.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    I ate pizza, chocolate, fast food, cookies etc while losing weight. Obviously that's not all I ate, I ate lots of stereotypically "healthy" food too. But if you needed to be perfect to lose weight, no one would ever lose weight. The difference between people who succeed and people who don't, is the people who succeed know that real life happens and they will go off plan and that it's no big deal - as long as they don't quit.

    Log your food accurately and consistently. Every day, the good and the bad. The veggies and the cookies and the late night snacks. Hit your calorie goal. Fit in foods you like. Learn from your mistakes. Check out these threads when you get a chance:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818701/the-myth-of-motivation-and-what-you-need-instead/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    You only see those daily quick weight drops early on as you are losing a lot of water weight...it doesn't continue like that, it evens out to a normal rate of loss...which is slow. So first things first...realistic expectations...understand that this is a slow, long process and embrace the process...buckle up for the long haul.
  • JasJaworska
    JasJaworska Posts: 22 Member
    edited January 2019
    There's a lot of advice about the scale so I won't chime in because everyone pretty much covered it lol but I noticed you were beating yourself up about having some unhealthy food, listen to your cravings when you get them because when we push ourselves away from food we crave, our bodys want it more! Eat healthy but don't be too strict, for it to be a lifestyle change and not just a diet we need to be happy and eat some unhealthy foods in moderation as long as you get back into eating healthy again.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,454 Member
    Give yourself a break. There’s a fairly long learning curve in this that rarely gets mentioned.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I am a mom to one toddler. I can't imagine having twins.

    As others have said, don't beat yourself up and you can still lose weight eating those kinds of foods, just in moderation.

    A few things which may already have been said. The scale will fluctuate. You won't see loss every day. Some days you may even see a gain. This could be from water retention due to eating for sodium or starting a new exercise routine, your period, eating more than usual, and so many other things. Stick with it and you will see results over the longer term.

    Based on your post it sounds like you try to cook dinner every night. That sounds exhausting and difficult with twin toddlers. My husband and I both work full time (relevant for schedule described below). We typically plan 2-3 dinners per week and eat leftovers the rest of the time . Whichever dinner takes the most time and/or effort to make gets cooked Saturday or Sunday. We then try to select meals that take no more than an hour to make for weeknight cooking. Everything is made in large enough portions to get at least 1 and preferably 2-3 nights of leftovers which can be easily heated up or eaten cold.
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 694 Member
    I certainly don't manage perfection, and there have been a lot of long periods of time when I really can't be bothered with the whole thing. Sometimes it is enough to just make it through the day!

    I stick with it as I continue to try to improve my habits. It makes me more aware of what I am doing, even if I know I shouldn't be doing it!

    Happiness is about achievable goals, so maybe try and break it down a bit. Do a bit of prep, if you use the same take away places what are the better choices? Pre-made salads, batch cooking, one pot meals can all be your friend. Soup, baked potatoes, eggs are all easy and quick. But please don't beat yourself up, you have plenty of other stuff to worry about.
  • exstina4680
    exstina4680 Posts: 6 Member
    Its so hard I get u I have 6 kids. 4 older kids and twin toddlers so the day gets away from me as well I have coilitis so sometimes I couldn't even eat but when I had a good moment I would stuff my face . til I started being more aware of how much harm I was doing to myself. I started using my crock pot more so I could have dinner cooking while I was busy with my little ones or even if I had to go out and for myself portion control helps not only with my weight lost as well my coilitis. Dont be hard on urself u already made the hardest decision which was to be healthy just make small changes and if u mess up don't be too hard on urself
  • adotbaby
    adotbaby Posts: 199 Member
    Give yourself credit for joining MFP and asking for advice. My feeling is, the weight isn't going to come off overnight, it took a long time for me to gain, so it's going to take a while to lose. I still have mini-binges once in a while, but I track everything and choose more wisely going forward. This is a lifestyle, not a diet. Keep it going, some days are easier than others, but we are with you all the way!
  • nathanhorswill
    nathanhorswill Posts: 1 Member
    I think three days isn’t quite enough to see the progress you want to see, during that time your body is still adjusting to the change in intake. Stick to it, and don’t beat yourself up about having a day where you slipped, this is still all so new. Try to keep it all under the calorie total, and try not to stress so much. After all, stress pushes us for even more of the less nutritional comfort food.

    Chin up, you’ve got this.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    Life is always happening. You can eat too much and be unhealthy as well as unhappy. Or you can eat properly and become healthy while being unhappy.

    Getting happy is a different problem. Generally, count your blessings to become happy. If you can count to 1, that's 1, so start being happy.