Struggling
debbiebyf
Posts: 10 Member
Can anyone relate to this. I start calorie counting , give up by Day 4 or 5 then go and buy cakes and biscuits etc . Why am I self sabotaging and do I really want this enough? I question myself and know I feel unhappy at the weight I am . Why do I keep doing this 😢
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Replies
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Yes, I did that many times. One day I decided I had to stop giving up on myself and get over the hump without caving in. I made a commitment to stick it out for 14 days before giving into cravings. I went high protein, no processed foods, no sugar for 14 days. I logged at least 20 minutes of exercise every day. At the end of the two weeks, I was down 8 pounds and feeling better than I had felt in a long time. My reward for sticking it out was supposed to be a dessert of some kind, but i no longer wanted it. I treated myself to a fresh peach instead. Do I still fall off the wagon?
Sometimes I do. But the next day, I climb right back on and try again. Now I am only 15 pounds from my goal. I got off for a couple of months with recovery from knee replacement surgery, but now I am back to logging calories and exercise and dropping a half pound to a pound a week.
Never give up. A setback is not a disaster. You can get right back on track tomorrow. Once you realize how great it feels to be on the road to good health, that bad food just loses all appeal.
Never give up!8 -
How much weight are you trying to lose each week? It could be that your calorie deficit is too big. Buy yes, I think many of us have dealt with this5
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Because it take 21 days to form a new habit.
Also you may be thinking that you have to eliminate all the foods you like. You don't. You just have to learn how to eat them in a way you don't overconsume. You can eat cakes and biscuits. You just can't eat a whole cake and lots of biscuits. Learning how to portion your food correctly will help you reach your goal while not struggling to give up things you actually like to eat.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Can anyone relate to this. I start calorie counting , give up by Day 4 or 5 then go and buy cakes and biscuits etc . Why am I self sabotaging and do I really want this enough? I question myself and know I feel unhappy at the weight I am . Why do I keep doing this 😢
We trie we fail we try again we fail again don’t feel embarrassed start from scratches keep motivated yourself. Cheer your progress even if its small. Greatness will come
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I forgot the truth, but I know it shocked me.
I read somewhere that the average number of times the average person who quits smoking has to try before they succeed was something like 10. If that's the average, there must be lots of people who had to try more than 10 times.
In other words, get up, dust yourself off, and get right back to trying. What can you do to make it easier and more effective this time? On which day do you usually cave? The fifth? Or sixth? Plan your start day around this day. Have meals and snacks prepped and ready for this day.
If sweets is your big downfall, plan for one bite of your favorite on the 8th day, or the 10th. Circle it on the calendar. Spend all your time between now and then deciding what your very favorite is. Figure out how you will have one bite and not the whole thing.
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Also. In the old days they told us when you give up sugar the first day you think about sweets all day long. The second day you don't feel great and may snap at others. The 3rd and 4th day you get mean and feel really bad, so please warn loved ones ahead of time. The 5th and 6th day are better, much like getting over the flu.
It's real. Get ready for it.2 -
I think the most important thing is I've realised one bad meal doesn't have to turn into a bad day, one bad day doesn't have to turn into a bad week or quitting entirely. It's never too late to pick your self back up after a stumble, it's not having to start from scratch, it's pushing through and carrying on what you started.
That change in my mindset has meant I'm kinder to myself, less riddled with guilt for every mistake and have more motivation.
I could go on about trying one small change at a time but I'm sure that's not what you need to hear rn. If you do want ideas I have plenty that have worked for me that I've built up over time that I'd be happy to share.
Also treats aren't in themselves the enemy. I incorporate homemade pizza, ice cream, chocolate etc. into my daily calorie count, I've just learned to portion them properly and make sure they're incorporated with healthier foods throughout the day.
It's definitely easier said than done and it may not be the best advice as I'm still barely into my weight loss journey but definitely be kind to yourself. No one's going to succeed if they come to hate themselves in the process.
Hope it helps. Good luck!
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I find that unless I have some sort of accountability, I cannot stick with it. Whether it's a challenge or a silly bet with a friend, or lately, a goal tracking spreadsheet, it has to be something.
I hate tracking my food. Hate it. But I also know that because of counting cals, I cannot eat three handfuls of chocolate almonds and still have normal food the rest of the day without losing ground. It sucks to realize just how much you're eating, and how easy it is to blow your cals
Perhaps it's worth not worrying about a deficit for the first two weeks and just get used to logging everything. Every. Thing.
Then look at working towards a deficit. And if you can get a friend (or a spreadsheet) to keep you on track, even better.3 -
Thanks to everyone for your really helpful replies to my post. You have given me some really positive hints and tips to take forward. I am trying to visualise the reasons why I want to lose the weight which is to be able to walk our dog Mable without feeling out of breath. She is a rescue dog and a real cutie x I hope you like the photos
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I found that being in a hurry and overwhelmed is my biggest enemy. I don't know why I have to lose weight so fast. 1 pound a week is alot for me. It gives me no more than 1300 calories a day to eat. Talk about discouraging. I have to exercise for a couple of hours to at least bump that total up to 1500 calories. So I think 1/2 a pound is much more realistic. I think people are so focused on losing a great amount of weight by a specific date and they end up getting so disappointed when things are not going as planned.2
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Visualise it and then write it down!! That’s what got me going. Write it down and read it every day. Flash cards, reminder on your phone, whatever you want, but be reminded of your WHY every day 😉2
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What is your motivation for losing weight? Consider this very careful for yourself. Just wanting to lose weight is hardly ever a reason to actually pull through, you know. You might as well start the next day and have a snack today, or the next. Much better motivations might be to be able to play with the (grand)children and see them growing up, a huge health scare might work, wanting to run a marathon or walk up that mountain outside of town, basically something more tangible than being xlbs lighter.2
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Antiopelle wrote: »Visualise it and then write it down!! That’s what got me going. Write it down and read it every day. Flash cards, reminder on your phone, whatever you want, but be reminded of your WHY every day 😉
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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That is an absolutely adorable dog. She will enjoy more walks, and - if she's like dogs I've had - as those walks become easier for you, she will sense your ease and your own increasing enjoyment, and that will add to her enjoyment. Our dogs can be quite sensitive to our feelings and mood, in my experience.
What I'm going to say isn't a new thing vs. what others said above, but I want to pull out an underlying concept and emphasize it: Don't think about how to lose weight fast. Think about how to lose weight as easily as possible.
Eat food you enjoy (just a little less, and maybe in different portion/proportions). Tweak your eating habits if/as you need to, to feel full most of the time, stay energetic, etc. But do that eating foods you actually like. You don't need "diet foods" "superfoods" or any of that other much-trumpeted stuff. You can have treats, though you may need to find ways to moderate them.
Same deal for exercise: Keep it enjoyable and practical. Walking with the dog is excellent!
Being fat isn't a sin we need to expiate via suffering: Miserable, restrictive deprivation diets; intense, punitive exercise. It's just a practical problem to be solved, and we can chip away at it in small steps, It's like a fun, productive science fair project for grown-ups: We do some experiments with our habits, find which ones succeed, keep those, discard the ones that don't help, and keep going. Progress results. We don't have to "perfect our lifestyle" all in one go.
You can do this. I'm cheering for you. The results are worth it!2 -
I think most of us have been there, and I feel you as cakes/biccies/sweet things tend to be my worst temptations as well.
Things that have helped for me are:
distraction techniques - I used to eat snacks at certain times, eg when I was sitting down to watch a movie in the evening. I try and do something else with my hands, like playing with beads, messing with my phone, painting my nails.
not having certain things in the house. I'm doing quite well in terms of portion control, but there are still certain things (like one particular kind of biscuit!) that I cannot have in the house without eating the whole packet in one go lol.
not denying myself completely. This needs to be a long term thing for me so I've looked for ways to do moderation. Something that helps me a lot is I will go to a bakery or a cafe, get a really nice, home-made slice of cake etc. Eat it slowly and enjoy every bite. So, I'm not missing out, I'm still getting a taste of something I like, but it's helping break those habits of just munching through a pack of biscuits, barely even tasting it, and then feeling horrible when they're all gone.
Good luck and hang in there x0 -
@debbiebyf ,, these are all terrific hints!! Also, I'd to add when we truly have support and are a part of something bigger than we are (While getting smaller or the way I love to put "getting healthier") having the SUPPORT and being Needed helped me to go from 188 to 172! I now am in congestive heart failure, my Dr when I asked "Would I of lived if I'd not lost the weight?" Replied, "We do not think so." I am so thankful I HAVE!!! I'm not young, there are 2 little boys of which one calls me "Grandma" and the other one will join his sweet brother once he can talk in doing so!!
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AFTER you join please go to this feed and post you'd like a team 📣We Will be Adding New Members Throughout the Challenge📣 It is listed under the ANNOUNCEMENT section.
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I was just reading in “Badass Habits” that it helps to have an idea in our minds of who that person is that wants these changes and to begin to identify with that person. This new person wants to be comfortable in a healthy, graceful body. If we keep the idea of our old self who is maybe comfortable with overeating to soothe emotions, that old self WILL sabotage because it’s not at ease with the new behaviors. I dunno, it made sense to me. ☺️3
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