Reaching Out

andysamuelson
andysamuelson Posts: 1
edited October 4 in Introduce Yourself
I've been attempting to use this site on my own simply for tracking food intake, etc., but I find myself being dishonest quite a bit. I'm rebooting the process today and am now reaching out to the MFP community for inspiration and encouragement. I'm a bit of a loner but I realize that community support is invaluable for this sort of thing. Any advice from you more successful people out there?

Looking forward to hearing from you. Best of luck to you all.

Replies

  • Itsallbs15
    Itsallbs15 Posts: 262 Member
    Being dishonest with yourself is only going to sabotage your journey. Just keep pushing through the tough times and stay vigilant of the choices you are making.
  • zontuin
    zontuin Posts: 72 Member
    It's absolutely great that you recognize some of the issues going on and that you're willing to step up and change. Reaching out is a really hard thing to do. Feel proud of yourself! Take pride in the little successes you have during the day. Move from one success to the next. If you slip up, no worries, pick yourself up and move on to the next little thing you can do on your journey to success.

    That, and drink lots of water water water! :drinker:
  • a little advice from me:

    Keep it as simple as you can; if that means you need to clear everything out of your house and do a new shopping - try to make it fun for yourself - you reward your self with a small token when you reach your mini goals. My suggestion is to not make a reward food, well for me this was my problem, is "rewarding" myself... then a "reward" became a daily thing for me... so i would say a necklace, a new scarf and new hat.... a walk to a local park for the afternoon... something. But do take time to take in your victories!
  • MarlaChandlerBarton
    MarlaChandlerBarton Posts: 141 Member
    I'm new here, but I'm here to support and be supported. Thanks for reaching out! If there's anything I can do please let me know. I think the more we are there for each other the better we can do for ourselves.
  • rubyrenga
    rubyrenga Posts: 402 Member
    It's good that you reached out, and that you are being honest with yourself and everyone on here. That shows that you are serious about reaching your goals. I find that if I log even on my bad days, MFP works best, because I think twice about eating things that I will have to log and acknowledge later, and watch that calorie count grow. So, try to force yourself to log everything and be completely honest about it. Just making this a daily commitment was a huge help for me--although don't get me wrong, I skip days sometimes--but the accountability of it makes me much more conscious of my choices. Also, if you stay involved in the forums and supporting friends on here, it keeps your goals at the forefront of your mind. Actually, that is what I'm trying to do now--I was so much more successful when I was on this site every day, and have been slacking lately. Best of luck. You can do it!
  • SherleeTxn
    SherleeTxn Posts: 24 Member
    Once you are honest and get your calorie intake under control and start to see results, it will cure you of wanting to be dishonest with your daily postings. You will want to do your best and see results on paper and in your body! I have lost 37 pounds in 4 months of using MFP. You CAN do it!
  • cutiepie2628
    cutiepie2628 Posts: 415 Member
    hey u.... u just completed the first step to any process... admitting that something is wrong and trying to fix it.... u will just fine.....:wink:
  • cutiepie2628
    cutiepie2628 Posts: 415 Member
    Once you are honest and get your calorie intake under control and start to see results, it will cure you of wanting to be dishonest with your daily postings. You will want to do your best and see results on paper and in your body! I have lost 37 pounds in 4 months of using MFP. You CAN do it!

    i agree.....
  • Niveous
    Niveous Posts: 294 Member
    It's absolutely wonderful that you recognize some of the problems and that you're taking steps towards changing them - that's honestly the hardest step and you've already done it. Be proud of yourself. :) Being dishonest about your food intake only hurts yourself in the long run, so it's great that you're working on changing that.

    Since you asked for advice, I'll suggest what has helped me, and hopefully some of it might be of some help to you as well. I would just start by logging my intake honestly and finding 1-2 habits that I want to improve upon and focus on those until I feel comfortable with them (and then find 1-2 more habits to improve upon). Changing everything at once can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. So for example, I might focus on increasing my water intake and walking for 10 minutes a day. Those are just some arbitrary examples, but hopefully it gets my point across. Personally for me, taking small and realistic steps at first were the keys to success. It helps if your goals are realistic as well and something that you feel you can maintain long-term.

    And of course, if you need/want more friends or support... feel free to add me. Wishing you all the success. :flowerforyou:
  • Amazingday
    Amazingday Posts: 682 Member
    Rebooting is a great step, no one is perfect! When I have these moments I tell myself, "Okay, I really didn't have a great day today.... but tomorrow is a new day, and I will try again." Own it. And move on and try again! In my case, because of some health reasons, I look at a food I shouldn't have and weigh the options. Candy Bar...... Emergency Room......... ( I have a food allergy that triggers Gallbladder attacks)...... and I walk away. Be proud of the things you did right and don't dwell on the couple of things you did wrong! You can do this!
  • AureliaCotta
    AureliaCotta Posts: 99 Member
    I've been attempting to use this site on my own simply for tracking food intake, etc., but I find myself being dishonest quite a bit. I'm rebooting the process today and am now reaching out to the MFP community for inspiration and encouragement. I'm a bit of a loner but I realize that community support is invaluable for this sort of thing.

    Been there, done that, got the saddlebags :ohwell:

    I had to learn this lesson the hard way too: you need to be absolutely honest about recording all of your food intake. I don't think you have to go as far as measuring every single thing to the 1/4th oz...but if you had two cookies, then two cookies get listed. If you snuck a few bites of something, guestimate how much you ate. If your glass of wine at home is 8 oz, don't try to sneak it in under the 5oz "glass of wine" listing. If you had fried chicken, own up to the calories in frying; don't claim it was grilled. You get the picture.

    Learn to be honest. No one else has the see the diary except you :wink: Being honest about what you're eating does work...it's worked for me in the past, and it will work for me again this time!

    Support does help...because a lot of us have been in the same place and we face the same struggles. Also, we're ready to listen and encourage anytime, especially when RL friends and family are tired of hearing about your dieting/exercising/weight loss and you need a friendly ear.
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