Struggling:(

I frustrate myself!!! I know I need to lose weight, and every night I tell myself I'm ready to feel good and I'm ready to watch what I eat, but then the next day it's like food will be right in front of me and I don't even think about not eating it or what it is! UGH!!! Then I come on here to log what I eat and I get so frustrated with myself! The good thing is that I'm being honest with myself with what I eat so I am logging what I'm actually eating, but I just wish I had more self control! Anyone know of any tricks to help recognize what I'm about to eat so I stop myself from eating it or so I start making better choices?

Don't eat the food until it is logged (use your cell phone). Usually by the time I get done logging something I know I shouldn't have, I feel guilty enough to remove it and choose something better. :-)

Sorry for the repost, didn't see it earlier...

Also don't let yourself get hungry, you will have more control if you snack on something low in sugar and high in protein or fiber. If your not starving, it is way easier to choose whats good for you instead of what is quickest or easiest.

It's hard trust me. I still have my cravings myself. I really love the website myplate.gov it will guide you and help you stay on track.

Drinking water with lemon has a lot of advantages. One of them is that it boosts your metabolism. fyi

I was like you. The whole thing seemed so overwhelming when I got up on the first day, I just couldn't do it. What I had to do: I got rid of EVERYTHING not healthy and planned a few days ahead on my menus. That way at least you have a direction and all you have to do it take it. Not easy, but better than not having a plan. Good luck!

Edit: After the fist week it gets a lot easier. Then later it just seems natural after you learn the basic good foods and get some recipes you like. MFP isn't your typical starve-yourself diet. You shouldn't be all that hungry if you use your "calorie bank" wisely.

I was struggling too until I stopped eating foods for flavor and starting eating foods for function. The foods I eat might be bland, but they serve their purpose, and I don't crave them in excess. If you start eating purely for function, as if your body is a machine, you will have success, but like everyone else says, you have to really want it, and commit to it. It must become your religion. Eat to live, don't live to eat.

One thing that helps me is that if I snack between meals, I force myself to enter in the calories I'm about to eat right BEFORE I eat it (like from my phone). Then I look at where that leaves me for the rest of the day, and this often helps me decide not to eat it. Also, this rule is such a pain, it's often not worth it to me to spend the time on it, so I give the snack a miss.

I think mealtimes would be a little more difficult, the best way is to plan way ahead what the meal is going to be, before you get hungry.

Same thing I do. Log things before they go in my mouth, and then decide if I really need it or not.

I use to be the same way and no diet would work for me. We were always going out with friends and eating on the run....Then we had kids so I said I would go on a diet but we were still going out all the time. For some reason this time, I woke up in August and decided I needed to do this. I looked at both my girls and realized that I need to be there for them. That hit a trigger in me as I fear something would happen to me and I wouldn't see my girls grow up. Now I'm so addicted to it because I get results every weigh in that I can't stop. I think it won't work until you finally get to the point where your serious about it. I totally get where your coming from and it's very normal. It will kick in for you soon and you will do great!!

The only way to do it, is to do it.

About 7 years ago, I was successful in losing about 50 pounds. I did it by planning all of my food for the day the night before. I would spend time in front of the computer, calculating the calories and the types of food i wanted to eat. So i basically knew exactly what i would eat the next day... not the most exciting, but that was not the goal... the goal was to stay within my calorie allotment. I would take all of the food I would eat everywhere... that way, i always had it when i was tempted to have something else or if i got hungry before it was "lunch time". this technique worked really well for me.

Good luck! Dont be discouraged... we have all been (and still have days) where the self control just isnt what we want it to be...

I plan my meals for the week, write a list and go and do the shopping. I only buy what i intend to eat. i dont buy crisps/biscuits/sweets because if I have them in the house I will eat them. While I am eating my breakfast I log all the food I INTEND to eat into my food diary and this helps me to keep on track for the day. Also, I can see if I am going to eat too much or too little and make adjustments before it's too late.

Good luck - we all find this journey difficult sometimes. You do need to have to be in the right frame of mind though!

Hi there,

I'm going to give some straight laced pointers.....ulimately, it is down to you what you do next. The ball is always in your court as you are responsible for your actions, no one else.

You literally need to have a word with yourself and ask, "What do I want to achieve here?", We always have a choice in what we do, We may not like the options but we always have them, we always make the choice and there's always consequences.

Think about why you want to lose weight and by how much. If you have a date in mind, great. If not, you need to be thinking along the lines of SMART gaols...specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time based!

For all I agree with cutting out certain things to remove temptation, this is not an effective long term measure and this is how you need to look at your health, fitness and weight management. It's long term and you need to look after your body now to prevent poor health down the line.

I started paying privately to see a nutritionist in Jan and it's the best thing I could have done. After months of a few lbs off, then a few more on.....my body is now working properly. I eat x amount of cals, limit refined carbs, high sugary foods (as these help me hang on to my weight), have a treat each week and do regular exercise. I do this not because it's what I think I should do, it's because I choose to nourish my body and fuel it for each day.

My advice to you is wipe a clean slate under what has happened from today. Take your weight and measurements and start afresh. Friday is a good day to weigh in each week, it takes the stress off you for the weekend, say if your weigh in day was on a Friday.

Weight management is a long term thing, you must remember this. This isn't a diet or a quick fix and it really is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

Work out on MFP what your TDEE is (this is your BMR x your activity level). Check out Jillian Michaels's calculation and use the advanced part of the goal setting. I would personally set your macros to 50c,40p and30f OR 40c,30p and 30f. Then, my advice to you is to eat 10-20% under this totaly amount each day. If you do exercise, great...get it logged but save up for HRM if you haven't got one. You need one that gives you your calorie burn so you can be specific about what you're achieving each work out.

Food wise, go back to basics...........carbs, proteins and fats. Aim for wholegrains, lean meats and fish, plenty of fibre enriched foods. Pulses and legumes are great. Aim for 3 meals a day and two snacks along with at least 2lts of water. If you work out, aim for another 250ml per 15mins of exercise you carry out! Do not go more than 4hrs without eating.

A lot of how we tackle things is positive attitude. You need to be saying you can do this, you can eat well and so, ultimately you will do.

If you need any other help, just ping me a message!

Sarah