Monday blues!

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I just feel like I need a time out from MFP. I've been so bad lately, I've been going over by about 200 cals every day, I'm not as committed as I was a few weeks ago and I feel like I need a few days of not logging food so that I can start fresh again in a week. I know this sounds silly cos this is meant to be a lifestyle change not a diet but I'm really struggling with 1200 cals a day, I exercise every day and I end up eating about 1600-1700 cals a day. I hate seeing all the red in my diary it makes me feel like Im failing. I'm 63kg and I'd love to loose 3 more kg but I think I've hit a hall!

Sorry for the rant but I needed to get it out. I know alot of people are very dedicated to this and I know it works but I'm having a bad week!

Replies

  • seekingstrengthX2
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    If you are exercising every day, you SHOULD be eating more than 1200. Log your exercise and MFP will allow you eat all of your exercise calories.

    Which #'s are red? Let us help. Don't give up! It's do or die time.... first you think you'll take a 2 day break, then it becomes 4, then it becomes a month. Let us help you get past this.
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
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    If you are exercising every day, you SHOULD be eating more than 1200. Log your exercise and MFP will allow you eat all of your exercise calories.

    Which #'s are red? Let us help. Don't give up! It's do or die time.... first you think you'll take a 2 day break, then it becomes 4, then it becomes a month. Let us help you get past this.

    ^^THIS
  • sarajo16
    sarajo16 Posts: 142 Member
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    I do log the exercise, I do the JM dvds so I get back about 160 cals but I still end up eating about 200 more on top of that! I had a seriously bad weekend, I logged everything and the amount of chocolate is embarrassing. I'm such a comfort eater, I need to cop on. I know people will comment on the amount of snacks but I suppose I need to hear the hard truth to get a kick up the *kitten*!
  • seekingstrengthX2
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    Evaluate WHY you need food as a comfort. What is going on in your life? I'm not asking you to tell me, I'm just asking you to figure it out yourself. Find other ways to alleviate whatever stress is causing you to eat.

    Throw away the Cadberry Eggs. Seriously. If you're staying within your calorie goals, its fine to indulge. But when you're going over every day, they need to go out the window.

    Portion control seems to be key: Yesterday you had 1,000 calories for lunch. I cannot imagine eating that much food at one time. That's nearly your entire days goal. Cut down your portions. Measure.

    Saturday over 700 of your calories came from snacks. Are you HONESTLY hungry every time you snack? NO. You've already said you're a comfort eater. EAT WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY. This is a critical thing to learn and new for most people here (including me). If you feel the urge to eat, sit down for 10 minutes and say: Am I really hungry? Really? Probably not. Chew some gum. Drink some water. Have some tea. Go for a walk. Do some sit ups. Do ANYTHING, but do not eat unless you are hungry.

    Friday you skipped lunch entirely then had a 700 calorie dinner. Again, way too much food. On 1200 calories/day, breakfast and lunch should be your largest meals. Dinner should be much smaller. And too many snacks again, over 500 calories worth of snacks.

    Ok. I won't keep going back in the diary. We could be here all day, LOL. :) Chin Up. Do what's best for you and that little girl in your profile picture. STAY HERE and fix what's wrong. Don't give up.
  • tinydancer24
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    Don't give up now. You need to find out why you are emotionally eating. From what I can see, you need to up your protein intake especially in the morning. It will help keep you feeling full through out the day.

    This isn't easy, if it were, everyone would be healthy. Focus on your health and what the junk food is doing to your body. Nourish your body and give it the fuel it needs to get you through this life. This isn't about today, its about the rest of your life. I pray that you find peace within yourself and stop with the emotional eating. It's a tough road but you can do this and this is the place you will get the most support.

    You can do this, you are stronger than some stupid Cadbury egg. :wink: Good luck and feel free to friend me if you wish.
  • flsl
    flsl Posts: 75 Member
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    Just to take another approach, Well Done!
    63kg is probably a normal BMI weight, and you have lost alot of kilos already.
    (and if you have a child, like your pic suggests, thats even more amazing!)

    Re comfort eating. Someone advised that we all need our little comforts, but if you are watching calories try and find a low cal substitute.

    Coffee is my treat, and a latte in a cafe is a special treat. Helps that its not readily available at home.

    Also trying more herbal teas, so as not to become over reliant on the one treat. If you associate something with a break, it will become a treat of sorts.

    (ps chocolate/sugar can be addictive, the more I eat the more I want. (Maybe not for everyone, but..) I try to limit chocolate to weekends or my period :)

    Pps, its great you are honest too. It suggests you are realistic about it.
  • llee1024
    llee1024 Posts: 16
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    I agree - don't give up!

    I agree with a previous poster - drink a glass of water or chew a stick of gum if you think you're feeling hungry - being dehydrated can make you feel hungry.

    Try incorporating more fruits and veggies in your diet as well - replace some of your snacks with more natural, whole foods and less processed ones.

    If you find that you are snacking in the morning, try adding some lean protein to your breakfast - it will make you feel full longer!
  • alise_lmx
    alise_lmx Posts: 292 Member
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    I've taken a break from mfp before too. It lasted almost 2 months I think. I know what you mean, its almost like you want to reset everything and start again. If you think that you will definitely come back, then maybe go ahead and don't log your food for a while. But I would still log in and try to stay active in maybe the forums or at least just read your news feed and get inspired by your friends. When I wasn't logging my food, for the most part I still logged into the site bc I knew if I kept reading about my friends workouts eventually I would be back!
  • flimflamfloz
    flimflamfloz Posts: 1,980 Member
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    Increase the calorie allowance... You're halfway through your goal, and normally the closer from your goal, the higher your calories allowance should be.
  • whalomgirl
    whalomgirl Posts: 35 Member
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    Look at the Monday Blues as a MONDAY FRESH START!

    Even if you ARE over by 200 cal a day, you are doing better than you were before you were trying at all. Just being AWARE of your calorie consumption is a huge step in the right direction.
  • Luvmyboxerboy
    Luvmyboxerboy Posts: 130 Member
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    I was on 1200 a day and just upped mine to 1500+. I had my weight loss goal set at 2lbs a week but was losing only 1 lb a week. I read about people upping their cal intake and they ended up losing more than when they were on 1200. I know what you mean about going over....it's not a failure....take a peak at my diary....there's red everywhere and I'm still slowly losing.im not worried about it much at all. I like tracking because it gives me a pretty good idea of what I eat in a day and I'm a lot more aware of what I put in my mouth.
    Please don't give up! You can do this, don't stress out over seeing some red!
    Try upping your cals too, it takes a lot of the pressure off....trust me! Lol
  • Stazed
    Stazed Posts: 55 Member
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    Rather than having a break from mfp why not try eating maintenance for a week or two. You are probably at a healthy weight now anyway and eating some more calories, continuing to log and work out and not seeing the red for a bit may motivate you again. You can then resume and lose the last 3kg after that if you want to. 1200 cals seems too low if you are working out. I also snack alot so wouldnt worry too much about that.
  • wjpeterson71
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    I'm feeling so much the same. I'm not going to quit but feel very disheartened as my scale has jumped 5 pounds this weekend. I'm hoping it is some bloating and not just me being a pig. I have walked over 10000 steps each day and stay active but organized excercise doesn't fit me right now. I wish I felt more motivated.
    Wendy
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Don't give up! At 1600-1700 cals a day, I'm sure you'll still be eating under the level you need to maintain anyway. Do you know what your BMR and TDEE are? If you've only got 3 kg to lose, you shouldn't be set to lose 2 lbs a week. People who have a lot of weight to lose can sustain bigger calorie deficits, but when you only have a little, it's better to aim for say half a pound a week (not sure what that is in kg!)

    It would be better for your body to eat less sugary stuff, but it can take time to change habits like that. It's good that you're logging it all though, so at least you are aware of it. Perhaps change your diary settings so that you can track sugar as well. Try and gradually cut down on the chocolate - one less item a day, or only have chocolate every other day, something like that. As well as cutting down, try to add in a few more healthy snacks. I don't mean low cal/weightwatchers stuff but nutritious things like nuts or seeds, things that have protein, good fats and micronutrients. They do seem boring compared to the chocolate, but if you can gradually add them in, while gradually cutting down the sweet stuff, you'll be surprised how much you can change things.

    Comfort eating is something I am very familiar with, but it is something you can get yourself out of the habit of doing. It's not easy, but it can be done. Try to think about why you turn to food and when you get the urge to eat, ask yourself whether you're really hungry or not. If its not physical hunger, is eating that bar of chocolate really going to change what's making you feel like that? It can be hard to sit with negative emotions (even boredom) without using food to cope, but it is possible. Try to tell remind yourself also of how much better you'll feel without all that sugar in your body. Your moods will probably be a lot better with better nutrition.

    Why don't you find out your BMR (you can do this under "tools" on this site) and your TDEE (how many cals you burn during a normal day) and set your goal at somewhere around your BMR (or even higher). Most people struggle to stay within 1200, so it's no wonder you're finding you want to eat more. Check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/510406-tdee-is-everything Increase so that you still have a deficit, but you're properly fuelling your body, and you don't have to worry about feeling guilty about the red numbers. As long as you still have a small deficit, you should still be able to lose fat.

    If your goal now is to look better, it might also be worth focussing less on what the scale says and more about what your body looks like in the mirror, and how clothes fit. Strength training could help you change your body composition so that you fit into the clothes you want, even if the scale doesn't change much. Have a look at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore

    I also agree with the comment above that rather than having a complete break, it might be better to eat at maintenance (TDEE) for a bit, still logging, and concentrate on improving fitness.
  • blissmanifesto
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    I pretty much agree with previous posters. It looks like you need to be eating more in general, and in particular more real food. Fruit, tasty veggies, meat, fish, chicken, eggs. If you are more satisfied and full with real food you will slowly need less of the unwholesome, processed snacks. I do find that getting plenty of fat is key in feeling satisfied.

    Why not try out a little challenge this week? Try to have 2 servings of fresh fruit and 2 servings of any vegetable that is not a white potato every day this week. You will feel so full! If you have the fruit for your snacks, you'll also knock out the bad snacks simultaneously.
  • Nika_gomez001
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    If you are exercising every day, you SHOULD be eating more than 1200. Log your exercise and MFP will allow you eat all of your exercise calories.

    Which #'s are red? Let us help. Don't give up! It's do or die time.... first you think you'll take a 2 day break, then it becomes 4, then it becomes a month. Let us help you get past this.

    So right! If you train everyday you need to eat more. You really should feel bad. Everyone cheats a little. It's finding the strength in you to stop. And why wait till the new week? Start now. Maybe with the type of training you doing you body requires energy, because its not replenishing fast enough so you can recover. For you to receive max result you need to train min 3 days a week min time is 60mins. If you really wanna survive on 1200 then you need to cut down on physical activity. After MFP suggest that in order for you to survive you need AT LEAST (this means min) consume 1200. Also try some variation in you exercise. You need to keep you body guessing. That's another way of eating with out feeling guilty.

    Just remember you are awesome. Keep reminding yourself of the goal. And you'll get the soon. Besides you have all of us to give you that extra boost of confident and a kick in the *kitten*, to keep you going. C'mon you almost there :wink:
  • sarajo16
    sarajo16 Posts: 142 Member
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    Thanks everyone. The sugary snacks are gonna be replaced with fruit! I know how to eat healthy I think I've just been lazy lately.
  • lisa28115
    lisa28115 Posts: 17,271 Member
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    Thanks everyone. The sugary snacks are gonna be replaced with fruit! I know how to eat healthy I think I've just been lazy lately.

    i agree...i just upped my calories
    i want to lose but not make myself miserable
    MFP had me on 1200 calories and i was killing my self exercising just to be able to eat
    Do you know what your BMR and TDEE numbers are?
    even if you ate at 1400 a day i am sure that would still be low