So far, not a huge fan.

MFP will become your new support base

Explore the actual website more, it will become an obsession. A healthy one though. =]

There are no factors supporting me. Genetics are against me. My environment is against me. I have recently moved away from my base of support. All that said, I have to do something. Bad weight-related health problems run in my family.

It sounds like you're against yourself. Stop thinking of all the things stopping you and start thinking about all the opportunities you have to succeed in getting healthy and losing weight. Getting in shape is as simple as you want it to be.

That is assuming I ever get to my target weight...

And with that attitude you won't get to your target weight. Just start making little changes one day at a time. Being healthy isn't an overnight thing, it's a long process of relearning proper eating and exercise habits. You can do it if you really want to do it.

"You deserve what you settle for."

I have lost about 14 lbs on my own, but it has taken almost a year. I have avoided dieting, but I'm afraid that is what it will take. I hope to get to under 200 by the end of the year. I am only about 4 lbs away.

You're trying to get under 200 lbs and you've avoided dieting, why?

It does make you realize what you are eating, but as you add friends we are all here to help you make you journey to your ideal weight... Once you hit it and get used to the maintenance part...your portion size you will know by heart.. you over all health will be great and you will feel fit... don't give up so easy....I am one to talk.. I started this journey in June recorded maybe one or two days and gave up...Then in September I realize I need to get healthy.... you can do it
add me as a friend and I will be the first of many support people you will find here...give it an month and you will love it..
Angie

There are no factors supporting me. Genetics are against me. My environment is against me. I have recently moved away from my base of support. All that said, I have to do something. Bad weight-related health problems run in my family.

It sounds like you're against yourself. Stop thinking of all the things stopping you and start thinking about all the opportunities you have to succeed in getting healthy and losing weight. Getting in shape is as simple as you want it to be.

That is assuming I ever get to my target weight...

Are you reading my mind?


And with that attitude you won't get to your target weight. Just start making little changes one day at a time. Being healthy isn't an overnight thing, it's a long process of relearning proper eating and exercise habits. You can do it if you really want to do it.

"You deserve what you settle for."

i hope you stick with it. i've only been doing it for 3 1/2 weeks but i've lost 11lbs! yes it is a pain having to log everything you eat, but i've found it really helpful to be able to plan what i'll have for dinner then decide on breakfast and lunch to fit in with the calories. i've still been able to have cake, chocolate, wine, cheese and still lose weight, you just have to be careful what else you eat in the day or how much exercise you do. its the first 'diet' i've been on where i haven't felt deprived, just more aware. xxx

This site is what you make of it .Look around the site. Lots of information, some really great success stories,and alot of people that will cheer you on. Take it 1 day at a time. Only you can do this for yourself. Think positive.

Tracking what you eat is a very important element of any diet. If you don't write it...you won't hold yourself accountable for it.

For me, this site is how I am accountable to myself. It has become a part of "conscious eating" that I need to stay on track. I know that at some point I won't "need" to do this, but it has served me very well in staying on track-and getting back on track when I gained back 20 pounds last winter, as well as just recently to see that my eating habits were slipping. Use the tools and support. You are worth the small amount of time this takes, and gives you a history to look back on to see what you want to change.
Adding you for mutual support,
T

Really, it's no different than tracking your expenses. Every responsible adult should do that accurately. How much harder is it to track macro nutrients?

I'm too tired to write a well thought out response to your post, so I'm going to pass and take the easy way out by simply referring you to my profile page with helpful information...including a blog on how to create your own will power pill.


you see what I did there...I made an excuse for not doing more to help you (and sure, I'm tired right now and sure, my profile does have useful information)...but what I wrote was pretty dang lame. You did the same thing. You identified at least half a dozen excuses for not helping yourself. Stop with the dang excuses. Its going to take some time to settle into a routine. Its going to take time to learn to eat the right way. Its going to be a journey to find good health (and reach your desired weight). Accept that these things will not be easy. I've been in and out of the zone during my journey this year. Fortunately, I've been in the zone more often. However, its still not easy when I'm in the zone. easier, sure....but I still have to fight cravings at times, fight the complacency creep other times, and review the goals and inspirations that are part of my journey. With that said, read my profile....read the will power pill blog...do that activity. in all honesty, if you don't find powerful enough reasons for not liking your current lifestyle, you're not going to stay on the journey. sooooo...dig deep and find those reasons.

EDIT: in all fairness, my profile has quite a bit of useful information. take the time to make your profile page meaningful to you.

There are no factors supporting me. Genetics are against me. My environment is against me. I have recently moved away from my base of support. All that said, I have to do something. Bad weight-related health problems run in my family.

It sounds like you're against yourself. Stop thinking of all the things stopping you and start thinking about all the opportunities you have to succeed in getting healthy and losing weight. Getting in shape is as simple as you want it to be.

That is assuming I ever get to my target weight...

And with that attitude you won't get to your target weight. Just start making little changes one day at a time. Being healthy isn't an overnight thing, it's a long process of relearning proper eating and exercise habits. You can do it if you really want to do it.

"You deserve what you settle for."

^ This. I couldn't agree more.

Here are my thoughts. First of all, there's nothing wrong with slow weight loss. You didn't put on the weight overnight. For me, MFP has been a way to learn how to eat healthy. Read the forums and you can learn a lot. I still digress, but I'm looking at this as a way to modify my eating habits into something healthier that I can personally live with.

It's more difficult when you don't have support around you, but it's still doable. The only support I've had has been from folks here at MFP, although that was by my own choice. I didn't tell anyone I was trying to lose weight because, to be honest, I really didn't think I could. My family saw me logging online but pretty much thought I was being a tad foolish. They didn't berate, but they didn't encourage, either. In fact, my husband - the cook in the family - would get a little insulted when I wouldn't take large portions.

The bottom line is, you have to want this. If you really do, you'll find a lot of people on this site who want to support you. Feel free to add me as a friend, if you'd like.

Bev said it...and so nicely, too!! The negative thoughts will sabotage you EVERY time!! Every time you have a negative thought such as the ones you mentioned, you really need to stop yourself. I am taking an 8 week course for healthy lifestyle/weight management. Last week we discussed "cognitive restructuring". We talk to ourselves ALL day long and what we say to ourselves influences our moods and for most of us, I would guess, our moods affect our eating habits. This is a wrap up from the instructor of last week's course:

"Last week we talked about “Cognitive Restructuring.” The purpose of this session is to help you better understand how your thought patterns influence your feelings, lifestyle choices and ability to achieve your goals. The goal is to help you find strategies to help change unhelpful or unproductive thought patterns into more helpful and productive ways of thinking."

A quick Google on "Cognitive Restructuring Weight Management" led me to this site:
http://www.freedomfromfear.org/viewtopic.asp?topic_id=188

The dietitian running our class doesn't have a website for me to list here, or I would have.

And, I don't like to think of using this tool as a "diet". That term has gotten a bad rap. Diet is what we eat, period! This tool helps us to realize the calories of the foods we eat. Obviously most of us have been eating too many calories than our bodies need to survive. I think it is important to learn this about ourselves. There is no need to completely cut out all the "fun" foods you eat. You just need to find a way to fit the foods you like in with healthier options. In 6 weeks, I have lost 8 pounds (I've set my weight loss to around 1 lb a week) and I have had things like pizza, chicken fried steak and some of my kid's Halloween candy. But you just can't have that stuff everyday.

I get tired of measuring and weighing my food, but I do it so I can know how much I am eating and am not doing it so I will feel bad about myself or feel like I am punishing myself. If I don't weigh it, how am I going to know how much I am eating? Then I can't log it.

Give it time...and really think about your thought processes and see if you can't try to redirect them when they get negative. Also, you can't know how you will feel when you reach your goal (until you get there)...but you already know how you feel this far out from it. I don't see how it could be worse.