Do you ever feel like giving up?

it will all be worth it in the end good luck!

Hey there! Don't set yourself up for such a huge hurdle! I had a hard time with seeing the overwhelming number I need to see on the scale, so I made my goals smaller, much more likely attain. Others members have written similar things. Start with goals like 5 lbs to lose, or walking 2 blocks, or cutting back on your weakness food.

Although I didn't start with the obstacle you have presented yourself, I know losing weight just sucks. I've lost over 40 lbs in the past 4.5 months by having almost no social life. All I do is obsess over this website with counting calories and trying to get in some sort of exercise. I was active and healthy as a teenager and kept thinking, "Oh well, I've been in shape before, I can do it again easily" ....it turns out that's just not true. It takes work and sacrifice. I had a TON of fun putting on this weight and now I pay the price.

I've replied to others with the same advice: drink a TON of water (it has easily become second nature and I get crazy if I have to even run an errand without my water in the car and my skin has never looked better, I get tons of compliments, which is nice since I spent my teens and 20's looking like a "before" Pro-Active commercial")
2nd: get an Heart Rate Monitor. It is my ultimate motivator. Knowing how many calories I can burn doing simple things and even a super hard workout is amazing.
3rd: If you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. It's going to happen and that's ok. I saw a cheesy (but true!) poster: the only thing standing between success and failure is giving up on success. You will have fail days, but what matters most is to KEEP TRYING!!

Good luck and keep us posted! You can do it; but only YOU can accomplish it.

Yeah - it seems like weight loss follows the laws of diminishing returns - twice as much effort to lose half as much weight (

The temptation is always there. I'd love to grab a huge bag of chips, some full-sugar soda and a bar of chocolate and sit down to a few hours of Playstation...

So I deal with it by looking at the least flattering photo of me from when I was...bigger. Thinking about how it felt to be the big guy, how awful it was. Then I talk myself through all the wins along the way, how awesome it was to hit 5kg loss, then 10kg, then 15kg, then 20kg. Fitting into all the clothes I bought on speculation. Suddenly being able to feel my pelvis again. Running out of belt loops.

I don't wanna go back, and the chips / chocolate / soda = the first steps.

I have 80lbs to lose and I get discouraged every day. My S/O always tells me to stop focusing on the big number and make mini goals - 5lbs, 10lbs at a time. That's what I do and it's helping. I want to quit every day. It's hard. Being sore, working out. fighting my old binging habit, making time for 4-5 mini meals a day, it's HARD.

But it will be worth it. I remember how unhappy I am like this and how I want to be healthy and I want to be STRONG.

Absolutely I feel like giving Up sometimes. But I truly believe that the way I will feel when I get healthy, will greatly outweigh the tough times. Hang in there. U can do it. Btw, I have well over 100 lbs to lose also. We can do it.

Sure, it happens to me a lot. It is a difficult battle. And there are days I overeat a bit... but then I remember there is tomorrow and I can start over. Trying to move everyday really helps keep it in mind and I find it helps my appetite.

I also remember that when I give up, I feel absolutely ****y. When I eat right (at least better than when I give up/in) and even exercise just a little bit that I feel so much better. It feels nice to actually be moving towards something. And it feels great that my desires for junk have waned a lot, and I snack a lot less. When I do snack it's on healthier things. This doesn't mean I don't have those unhealthy things, I just allow for it when I log in my food for the day (I usually log what I plan to do in the mornings).

You'll get there. You will find what works for you. When you do you'll feel great!

I have SO much weight to lose and sometimes I just feel like giving up, pigging out, and forgetting about it. When you feel like this, how do you keep going? What motivates you?

I would change your ticker from how much you need to lose to how much you have lost for one.There is something so exciting about seeing those numbers go up. Every kilo is a victory and a statement of my new habit of success. When you have a large number representing how much you have to lose it still looks huge even after a ten kilo loss.

Write down every small success and savour it.
4 days into changing my diet I woke up and my formely swollen feet that were painful to walk on and returned to a normal size.
Every day I go for a walk I time myself and I walk a little further each day for the same amount of time. Imagine how fit I will be after 365 days in a row of doing this. A year goes so quick. Thats the one good thing about being really unhealthy and having alot to lose you see improvements quickly.

Food effects mood. Have a look at your food choices and replace unhealthy foods with ones that will give you long lasting energy and health. Every day that I see a healthy based food diary it tells me that I am changing as a person and breaking free from the old ingrained habits of quitting.
Make sure you are eating enough so you dont feel deprived. If you eat veg and fruit its bulky enough to keep you full through the day.

I have 100 pounds to lose and if I think about that it seems like an impossible mound of flesh to discard so I focus on my future success instead. When I walk I imagine myself as already muscled and athletic looking and I attach an emotion to this. Feelings of achievement, power, and happiness.
I think about when I was fit and young and use to swing my feet off the bed in the morning and into a pair of runners and I was out the door running with my favorite running buddy the family dog. I tell myself stories about my adventures as a fit person. the bush walks I am going to do, the travel, the interstate shopping trip for new clothes with my sister to celebrate my goal size. So I work up a sense of excitement about my future.

You are going to be so happy that you persevered.

I agree about not being consumed.. you will slip up.. fact of life.. Put it behind you and move on. Can't change the past.. no sense in being depressed about it. Tomorrow will be better!!

I have SO much weight to lose and sometimes I just feel like giving up, pigging out, and forgetting about it. When you feel like this, how do you keep going? What motivates you?

It can be really hard when you focus on the end goal, since that can make things seem overwhelming and impossible. Instead of focusing on that, focus on the process itself. Fitness is really not going on a diet and forcing yourself to do hours of cardio or resistance training, it's about building good habits.

Focus on building good diet habits. Focus on building good exercise habits. Then the fitness part will take care of itself... you don't need to stress about it, once the habits are in place and reinforced, you have "set the cruise control" to accomplishing whatever goal you may set for yourself. This also makes the whole process a heck of a lot more enjoyable!

When it comes to creating new habits (or breaking old ones), the biggest mistake I see people make is trying to do too many things at once. For me, I try to change one habit per month (not necessarily fitness related... this works in all areas of life!). A month is long enough to let a new habit become well established, and focusing on one thing at a time lets you be successful at it, since you can devote all of your mental energy to just that one thing.

Thinking "if I lose 2 pounds a month, then it will take me... OMG GRUAAAAAAAAH" is the opposite of helpful. Thinking "here is what I can do about my diet" and doing it is INCREDIBLY helpful, AND you can feel good about your choices and yourself right then and there, and every time you choose to stick to it you can know that you are being true to yourself and your goals. Focusing on some distant goal is just depressing, so I don't blame you for feeling the way that you have!

In short, focus on the process, enjoy the journey, and the destination will take care of itself in time.

Hope this is helpful