need some help =/

scordob1
scordob1 Posts: 10 Member
edited December 2024 in Motivation and Support
hey everyone,
well...its about about 23-ish days or so since ive started MFP. I was thrilled when i came across the app on my phone and began doing it instantly. The first week was great for me. I was loving how i felt and was loving the motivation i had to keep going. but unfortunately, after that first week, i seemed to have lost that motivation and i cant figure out why. maybe stress? maybe im just thinking about way too much right now? who knows. the problem is, without that motivation and drive to really wanna keep going on with this, i seem to cheat here and there on my choices of foods. although sometimes even with the bad choice of foods i stick to my calorie count, i still would rather not make the wrong choices (or even stop myself in general from not eating those foods at all). can anyone tell me how this site has worked for them and what theyre done to stay on track? that would really be helpful. thanks y'all!

-barb

Replies

  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    A website isn't going to make you change your life. The people who've been successful who happen to be on here are successful NOT because of MFP. It's a tool, like my gym membership or my hand weights. It's not why I lost weight.

    If you're cheating, you're not committed and you don't want it bad enough. It's pretty simple. We all see people or have friends or have been there ourselves.........we know we SHOULD lose weight and we know how to do it, but we just haven't reached that tipping point that pushes us over the edge.

    I honestly can't tell you what did it for me........I was getting more and more tired of being fat and I finally just went for it. Seeing results REALLY helped keep me on track, but that requires being honest about long term goals and knowing that results are instant. I started off on a 3 week program with my gym. If you really want to lose weight, maybe try out some specific goals and specific, realistic time frames. I think one thing that discourages folks is the lack of instant results because they don't make long term goals. Maybe set a goal to lose 10lbs in 30 days and start there. You can do anything for 30 days, right? That kind of goal setting and realistic time frame setting has helped me.

    My original goal was to just lose 30lbs this year. It's only April and I've lost 27lbs. Almost to my goal. So I upped it to 40lbs by the end of the year, which is something silly like 2lbs a month. I can stick with 2lbs a month between now and December.....right? You could do that too.
  • Tari_D
    Tari_D Posts: 121 Member
    One thing thought that has kept me going on bad days is thinking about the efforts I've made so far and how those will have been a complete waste of time if I give up now.

    I also try not to get too stressed about it. With other weight loss attempts and at the start of this i was obsessively counting every calorie and getting super stressed about every calorie over. That is just not worth it. It just requires a sensible approach. I went a bit over today, i knew i would when i ate that icecream, but i controlled the portion so it wasn't over by much and I know i am off to the gym tomorrow so I'm not having a panic attack about it. The way I do it I almost always stay under my weekly goal and so far i've lost each week but I also generally still feel like i have a life outside dieting. When you're not thinking of it as this huge, restrictive part of you as a person and just incorporate it into your life then it seems easier.

    I hope that helps a bit :smile:
  • scordob1
    scordob1 Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks a lot for the replies Tari_D and IveLanded. I really appreciate youre responses. I agree, IveLanded that i need to set small, ,realistic goals for myself. I think Ive been putting way too much emphasis on thinking "20 pounds...20 pounds...20 pounds..." that it kinda had me going a little nuts. And Tari_D, thank you for the advice. I think for a while, even going over 10 calories drove me absolutely insane. That kind of made me feel like i totally screwed up my day's hard work and figured. I think i put too much pressure on myself. Im going to try my best to ease up a little bit, considering this weight loss is constantly on my mind. Maybe a bit obsessive? Who knows. But i need to relax a bit, and remember to make it more of a life goal/change rather than thinking the way should come off instantly.
    Thanks you guys!
    -Barb :smile:
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