I REALLY need help

PeaceLoveVeggies
PeaceLoveVeggies Posts: 673 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
I joined MFP back in September, and I had lost 12 lbs. I felt GREAT. I recently moved back to New York for numerous reasons (one being a mental health illness) and I gained 5 lbs. At first I was determined to get rid of the, now, 25 lbs I had left to lose to get to my goal weight, but now, I am just always hungry and frustrated because of everything in my life - and before people get smart, I am not trying to play the sympathy card or anything. Anyway, I just really need friends who will motivate me to get into that "go get it" state of mind.

I am usually very helpful and very motivating with friends of mine, so if you feel that we can motivate each other, please feel free to add me.

Thanks.

Replies

  • deliak2010
    deliak2010 Posts: 88
    I lived in NY for a period of time as well and I can understand why you may have gained some of the weight back as life there can be very stressful and fast paced. What I used to do to stay in shape when I was living there was the most obvious thing (to me)- WALKING! I was actually forced to walk since I had to take the train to work, school, etc so it kept me on my feet constantly.. but what I would suggest is try to take the train from one stop away from the nearest one to your house (so walk 5-6 blocks to the next stop on the train) and I promise you will be happy you did. And although I would be tempted to grab quick fixes like bagels and chips and candy from the millions of delis on every corner (lol) I eventually started to realize that I needed to think in advance about the TYPES of foods that I wanted to eat and, of course, the portions I would be eating. I began eating 3-4 snacks a day and, though I didn't CUT out chips and donuts and things like that, I just learned to portion them correctly and add in the HEALTHY snacks like the fruits, veggies and fibers. So a typical snack list for me on any given day would be 1. clementine, 2. baby carrots with hummus 3. 100 calorie pack chips or crackers and 4. fat free gummy bears or a donut. My breakfast would be a bagel or hard boiled egg, lunch would be something light like a turkey sandwich, and then dinner would be some kind of meat (chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, etc.) and veggies or rice. Doing this, I managed to consistenly lose weight in NY when that was not even my goal.. and when I would gain I would still be in the healthy range and always maintain my weight. I never gained while I was living there as I maintained an extremely healthy lifestyle with little effort.

    My problems started when I moved to the midwest and began driving everywhere, eating everything, and just being lazy since it's much less common to walk here. But that's why I have taken it upon myself to work harder in actively living a healthy lifestyle while I fight the temptations of junk and lazyness all around me. And you can do the same thing too.

    So try to make these tiny lifestyle changes little by little and I promise you will be happy you did. And feel free to reach out to me for support or advice about anything and I would be more than happy to help.

    Good luck and God Bless <3
  • Missnurse89
    Missnurse89 Posts: 6
    I am a nurse and my previous job was in a mental health/substance abuse inpatient facility so I can understand the struggles with that. A very stressful thing to go through especially if you are doing it alone. I am here though if you ever need anyone to talk to, completely judge free :) Also if you are taking any medications, the ones for mental health specifically, can cause signifigant weight gain. Just a thought if that could be a possibility, something you can talk to your Dr about.

    I can understand emotional eating also. Something that is very hard to overcome, especially once you are in that state of mind of "I am already eating it so who cares" and next thing you know you have eaten 3 bowls of cereal ect. Something that helps me is to make small goals for myself, I have a seperate calandar I keep for these weight loss goals. For example my goal for the week of Jan 1 was not to eat any fast food at all for an entire week. Once I accomplished that, It became easier to resist the urge for longer periods of time. Another one I had, while at work drink at least 3 bottles of water. Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. Right now I am trying to be as Paleolithic as possible and it is going pretty good, I have not had any bread/wheat/gluten since Jan 1. (Though I cant bring myself to cut out dairy yet - i love cheese & yogurt too much) If you want some more information on that I have some great websites I would love to share. Livestrong website is another GREAT one to look @ for motivational tips. Def helps to get some people close to you (boyfriend, mom, dad, friend?) that can help you in your daily struggles when you dont have internet and need some extra "oomph" to get you through.

    I am always up for a motivation buddy - we can motivate each other and check in on how we are doing with our most recent goals. Good luck to you, keep your chin up!
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