In need of support

Options
Hello everyone i am in need of support. I have been trying for years to lose weight and have been unsuccessful. If anyone has any helpful tips on how to stay on track please feel free to help me out. :)

Replies

  • alyssarings28
    alyssarings28 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Hey just wanted to say Hello and introduce myself. I'm also on the hunt for more MyFitnessPal friend support.
    If you wanna be friends and keep each other motivated that would be so awesome! 🙂
    No worries if not. Just thought I'd try to reach out. 👍Thanks
  • pinkyhoke
    pinkyhoke Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    I need some motivation and support also. I have a gym in my garage but no motivation to go out there, except to get in my car to go somewhere.
  • sheloves89
    sheloves89 Posts: 88 Member
    Options
    Log. Everything. =]

    Even if you know you ate more than you should have, even if you're mad at yourself for having done so, even if you're frustrated by your own decisions - log it. Look at the numbers. Do better tomorrow. =]

    Remember that it's about calories in versus calories out, you don't have to villify food groups. Listen to your body's cravings - but really listen. Are you hungry, or are you stressed? Bored? Eating out of habit? (These are big ones for me, personally, which is why I mention them). If you want chocolate, leave room in your daily calorie budget for chocolate - you don't have to do without. If your body is craving something fatty, eat something fatty - just try to fit it within your calorie goal. If you know you snack mindlessly while watching TV, but that makes you happy, gosh darn it - then snack mindlessly while watching TV, but make it low-calorie food (air popped popcorn, air fried carrot chips, oven-baked kale chips, etc), and don't eat more than a single portion. And fit it into your calorie budget. =]

    You aren't going to change overnight. And that's okay. You will see the best results if you take your body's natural inclinations, and temper those, instead of trying to completely overhaul every habit you've ever had regarding food, all in one fell swoop. Remember that slow weight loss is still weight loss; it isn't a race, you're not competing against anyone, you're doing this for you!

    I have my daily calorie goal set to 1200/day. I usually eat a little bit more than that (some days, quite a bit more), but as long as the expected weight in 5 weeks' time is lower than what I weigh today, I consider that day a success.

    Also - weigh yourself daily. Even if it sucks at first. Your weight will fluctuate (mine will change as much as 4 lbs in a single day), but the more data points you have, the better you can tell how your weight trends. It will be far less scary to step on the scale and weigh 2 pounds higher than you did the day before, if you know that this has happened in the past even as you've lost weight overall. It will build resiliency, and you will be less likely to throw in the towel and binge eat, 'cus "it doesn't matter anyway," if that makes sense. =]
  • chrisdavis479
    chrisdavis479 Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    Agreed on logging everything! Then looking at what your worst items were for the day is the best advice I can give you on the diet front. Every week I hunt down my biggest salt, sugar, and saturated fat sources and try to axe at least ONE of them to replace with no added sugar, less salt, or healthier fats!

    As to motivation to get moving - I started by putting something I wanted behind my workout, I would not let myself touch that item until I finished (in my case coffee). Slap a message on your next bottle of wine, bag of coffee, wallet, whatever your most common vice is and make yourself work for it :) I found the habits just kind of built themselves with time.
  • wiskie27
    wiskie27 Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    Hello everyone i am in need of support. I have been trying for years to lose weight and have been unsuccessful. If anyone has any helpful tips on how to stay on track please feel free to help me out. :)

    I think a great place to start is by looking at your goals and your ideal body. You want to find pictures of that and visualize what is best for you. Write down why you'd like to improve your health, keeps these ideas in your mind for motivation. And please feel free to reach out for any advice.
  • rdthoms
    rdthoms Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    Log everything. Log honestly. Don't eat back too many exercise calories. Like wiskie27 says above consider "ideal body" goals - try myshape.fitness to help with that. Weighing everyday is OK if you can handle the fluctuations. I prefer weighing weekly.