Tips for staying consistent

Hey everyone!

So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!

Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.
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Replies

  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    Make it habit to log your intake, like the habit of brushing your teeth, you just do it. You eat it, you log it.

    I’m already doing this 🙂
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    I don’t understand then.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Hey everyone!

    So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!

    Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.

    Would it help you to *plan* inconsistency?

    I take a longer view of my calorie budget - rather than every day it's weekly. On weekends and holidays, or other special occasions, I budget more calories, and shave a few from the surrounding days. I would find it very difficult to plod along with the exact same calorie number every single day without fail, because life just isn't like that. But on average, my deficit works out to the weight loss rate I want, and the scale reflects that. As I get closer to goal weight, my deficit will shrink some and I expect the last 20 pounds to take longer than the first 20, perhaps by quite a lot. But it should be good practice for maintenance.

    Do you have a variety of foods you like that you eat while in deficit, or are you eating boring "diet food" you tire of quickly? I tend to eat the same breakfast every day because I like it and I'm fine with that, but what I eat for dinner changes a lot and lunch is almost always leftovers, so I'm still eating a wide variety of food and it doesn't feel stale.
  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
    Everyone is different what worked for us may not work for you.

    Honestly I just got tired of being very overweight/obese and decided to seriously do something about it. Being diabetic wasn't even my number one motivator, squeezing into my clothes and getting up to a size 20 in women's clothes was just to much, I had a gut I could grab a handful of. All of this made me so un happy and also literally weighed me down mentally and physically. And the only person who could change that is me.I decided to get and stay on a healthy lifestyle path in Aug of 2020 and I've lost 35 lbs so far with 42 lbs to go.


    You can do this, you have to find your why, your motivation, your mental center and use all the tools you know to lose the pounds but also enjoy your food for life not just weight loss and hopefully add in some exercise. Best of luck.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    Definitely aim for a small sustainable deficit instead of "fast" results with a large unsustainable deficit. If you can't stick to it then there's absolutely no point losing x amount of weight in a short period of time as you'll probably end up miserable, deciding it's too much work and put it all back on, often with extra. Don't put a time constraint on it.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,281 Member
    do you set up your environment for success? Are the carbs, junk food, treats..sugar..chocolate and fatty foods that tempt you TOTALLY out of your home, car, and workspace? Have you made "rules" you stick by.. like no fast food or takeaway food? Do you have a great lunch cooler to pack healthy foods and snacks to keep with you so you never get weak and buy junk food?
  • thisvickyruns
    thisvickyruns Posts: 193 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Hey everyone!

    So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!

    Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.

    you say you stay in a deficit, but then you don't. What's happening when you don't? is it due to time of the month? stress at work? because you've been eating 'super healthy' and then binge chocolate?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,452 Member
    You likely have no set up eating plan. You could be thinking about just counting calories, think you have room to have a little more, then blow it and then think "okay, I blew this, so day 1 tomorrow". You have no plan of action. And until you do, you'll continue to procrastinate till a month before the wedding and then go into "crash" mode to try to meet your goal. Seen this scenario 1000 times over.
    Make a plan for your meals. How many you'll eat in a day, allowable calories for each meal and then stick to it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    Figure out what your triggers are, what causes you to stumble most often. That will be a good starting point... otherwise we're just throwing darts at a dartboard.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    Like plenty of others mentioned, it's often not enough to just log everything and hope the math works out; have some semblance of a plan. This will look different for each individual. If you're schedule is very regimented, you may be able to come up with a template day that accounts for 75%+ of your daily needs and you can just run that plan over and over. If your lifestyle and/or preferences dictate that you need more variety, pre-planning and logging the night before can be a good strategy. However, notice I said "can" be a good strategy. Once you have a plan pre-logged you have to then stick to it. Where many users fail attempting this is that they don't stick to what they've logged once they get to that meal and/or the portions they consume don't match their plan. Personally, I no longer trust that my hunger cues and trying to eat intuitively only results in overeating, so I've eliminated that variable as much as a I can. Subsequently, my entire day is logged first thing in the morning or the night prior (to the gram of what I intend to eat) and my mindset is "I need to eat X amount of this food at this time" because that's what data says my body needs to support my goals, not what I feel like eating or "I'd like to eat X amount". Writing that out sounds robotic but decoupling the emotion of "ooooh, I could go for X right now" is very helpful to me to remain consistent.

    Additionally, try to identify some easy contingency plans for when things don't necessarily go accordingly to plan. There are times when my wife and/or I forget to defrost something for dinner. Through trial & error we've identified things that we can make in that sort of scenario, that can either by quick-defrosted or do not require that level of forethought that mitigates a choice that is completely contrary to our goals. Our last resort is something like a frozen pizza. It's not perfect by any stretch but splitting a Digiorno or throwing some burgers on the grill every once in a while when we've missed the mark on planning/prepping for dinner is often better damage control than "I'll just pick something up on my way home" or scrolling through DoorDash or UberEats.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    do you set up your environment for success? Are the carbs, junk food, treats..sugar..chocolate and fatty foods that tempt you TOTALLY out of your home, car, and workspace? Have you made "rules" you stick by.. like no fast food or takeaway food? Do you have a great lunch cooler to pack healthy foods and snacks to keep with you so you never get weak and buy junk food?

    I’ve definitely been overeating on chocolate- Lindt, kitkat, dairymilk and it’s in my cupboards. I’ve definitely developed a sweet tooth over the past few months and I’m finding it hard to get my sugar cravings down. 🙈🙊
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    Ann262 wrote: »
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Hey everyone!

    So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!

    Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.

    Good morning!

    I think you need a mindset change. First, ask yourself this question. "What bad thing will happen if I don't lose at least 10 pounds by my sister's wedding in August?" Be honest in your answer.

    I think, often, the mental struggle comes from putting pressure on ourselves and then berating ourselves when we can't stand up to it. Honestly, doing that just doesn't work and you have proven it for 9 months. You say you are 20 pounds overweight. I would say you are far from obese or any kind of health emergency. I am sure you will look beautiful for your sister's wedding even if you don't lose a single pound. I understand wanting to be bit thinner, I do too! Be kind to yourself. Food is not your enemy, it is there to feed you. The key is to choose foods that do that so you are healthy and feel good. I know that isn't always easy but the threat of punishment (in the form of self deprecating thoughts will not help you get there.

    I’m trying to but I know I need to lose this weight as well. I guess fatloss more than weight loss though but thank you for the kind words 🥰
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Hey everyone!

    So I haven’t been in a proper calorie deficit for over 9 months and I honestly feel like a newbie and so overwhelmed that I keep making excuses, being inconsistent and eating bits of food here and there. I’m basically procrastinating. I stay in a deficit and then I don’t and I’m just so annoyed with myself. What are some tips to make it past the mental struggles. On top of that I only have 20ish lbs to lose and my sisters wedding is in August so I know I need to lose atleast 10 lbs by then and get my act together. Any tips would be welcome!

    Oh and I thought I’d add I already measure and weigh all my food. I don’t need help with the physical stuff (I know all that) probably just the mental part of it all.

    you say you stay in a deficit, but then you don't. What's happening when you don't? is it due to time of the month? stress at work? because you've been eating 'super healthy' and then binge chocolate?

    Well it’s normally stress or PMS. I’ve got these silly thoughts in my head always telling me to eat otherwise I’m depriving myself!
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    You likely have no set up eating plan. You could be thinking about just counting calories, think you have room to have a little more, then blow it and then think "okay, I blew this, so day 1 tomorrow". You have no plan of action. And until you do, you'll continue to procrastinate till a month before the wedding and then go into "crash" mode to try to meet your goal. Seen this scenario 1000 times over.
    Make a plan for your meals. How many you'll eat in a day, allowable calories for each meal and then stick to it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    My meals are great but it’s when I snack on chocolate in between my meals and I just keep eating over my calories even with just a 250 calorie deficit. I probably need to rebuild discipline again.