When I try - I do worse

i would suggest that you give the bad food away - i read once "you are not a garbage disposal, dont treat yourself like one"
once i start eating unhealthy foods its all a slippery slope from there. for example...last friday i got ice cream. and now i have had it 3 out of 4 of the last nights! and its not even house staring at me!

I am the exact same way! I think what has always worked for me in the past is to not put too much pressure on myself. I still track what I eat and try to exercise when I can. I have a one year old and he keeps me really busy. I give myself credit for yard work, laundry and running after him. Afterall, it's movement. I know it's not a true workout, but it's better than sitting on the sofa with a bag of chips.

I still haven't found a reason why I fail when I put too much thought in to it, but I'll take whatever I can get. If I can just monitor things and do the best I can, I'll be happy with myself.

I understand, we bought cupcakes over the weekend and i ate three of them yesterday just trying to get them ate so that they are not in the house anymore so that i can start to eat better..... but what i should have done is throw them in the trash or better yet not bought them at all... i can say no to them at the store but once they make it into my house i cant seem to say no.... So maybe we just dont get them at all or look for alternatives. We buy crap for our little ones when they really dont need it either.... So i plan on having the talk to the family tonight.... So if i am not on fitnesspal tomorrow, it means they drug me out back and decided they wanted their cupcakes and not me and my idea of healthy eating..:laugh:

This is certainly a hard conundrum... I have been there, done that with feeling motivated but not actually doing enough. Few things:
I have found that I have the most success when I just think to myself that I HAVE to work out most days... So if I didnt hit the gym yesterday, i put pressure on myself to go today!!
I also have 2 small children so it becomes difficult to find time. Sometimes I just leave bedtime duties to my hubby and hit the gym in the evening (even though I would rather not!) Anyway..You gotta find a time that WORKS for you. You may end up waking early before the kiddos : )
I had plenty of days that I did not care for my eating choices. I log everything anyway, and start again next day. Even when I was losing the most, I have never been pristine in my diet if that's any relief.
Give it your best TODAY...then tomorrow DO THE SAME. When you're feeling low...WATCH THE BIGGEST LOSER.. Ha Ha
Boy this was long winded... : ) Feel free to add me for support. Nathaly

make a plan, and stick to it. It takes a minimum of 2 weeks to really start to develop a new habit, so you need to stick to your plan solidly for a few weeks and then you may discover your body is starting to crave healthier foods, and that you just dont feel right without your exercise, etc.

being obsessed and addicted to being healthy is not so great. I see in myself I get obsessed the same way I was obsessed in the other direction. Balance is the key.

You already know- throw the junk food in the TRASH and do not eat it. But you have to reach the point where you really want it to be able to do that. I have been where you are now for a LONG time. I wanted to want it. But only once the doctor scared the crap out of me was I able to finally get there. I guess that was my "rock bottom." I have to do this to stay alive so my children have a mother.

Once you get started and you have a little progress, which does not take long at all, then your will will be strong because you will not want to throw away all the hardwork you already have done

You will get there. You are getting there now!

You are NOT a human garbage disposal, so throw it away, don't eat it to get rid of it. If you want something good (and bad for you) go ahead and eat it and be done. The second, third, or however many more you eat will NOT taste better than that first bite....you will just be full and miserable and mad at yourself. Open your diary. Mine is, so my good and bad is there for anyone to look at, and I"ve learned people do look at your food diary. If you look at mine, I had a great big chocolate chip cookie for breakfast. It's there so I can't deny it....just move on.

Eat enough food....the more calories I allow myself, the less I feel like I'm on a diet. Starving just makes you miserable and it's not sustainable.

Well, it sounds like you are trying to change your lifestyle in one day. So you think to yourself, it is ALL or nothing... Well... this approach doesn't seem to be successful (not for you, me and many other people.) My brother went from a hard core beef loving Nebraskan to a vegetarian Oregonian hippie (no, I'm not stereotyping at all!!), but it took him like 3-4 years to revamp his diet. I used to be a hard core sugar lover (oh...I'm still in recovery and attend weekly Sugaraholics Anonymous meetings) but now I can go a few days without a cookie. My goal is to become a clean eater. When I try to wipe out my old habits they come attacking with a vengeance. So instead, I try to take on one thing a day. Instead of thinking I can never ever have a cookie, ever again, I think...I'll go this week without cookies and then on Friday on a date with my boyfriend I can have desert or something special instead of a salad or whatever.

Oh, also I taught my daughter that certain things can make you fat if you eat them too much. Now if I eat ice cream she tells me I'll get fat. That works for now...but I might have some issues to deal with when she is 13.

The reality is that you probably don't really want it enough to do anything about it yet.The idea of the results of eating healthy and exercising sound good long term, but right now, chowing down on a delicious big bags of chips or having a pizza delivered vs. cleaning fruit or veggies and eating that is a lot more appealing. It's EASIER, especially when you're exceptionally busy raising kids.

The only way this is going to happen is if you put the energy into planning it and making it happen.

Re getting the unhealthy stuff out of the house -- if it drives you crazy to throw away "perfectly good" food, then find a way to give it away. Or, if it's not possible to completely get it out of the house (e.g. the kids get snacks that are okay for them but not okay for you), then set aside a cabinet and/or a fridge shelf that becomes the "not for me" section of the kitchen!

Pick a day and a time that you're going to start. Make a plan for that entire week and do your grocery shopping based on that plan. If you don't have a food scale, get one, so you can measure portion sizes and KNOW how much you're eating, and journal everything you plan to eat BEFORE it goes into your mouth, so that you know EXACTLY how much your intake is vs. calories allowed so that you know when you HAVE to stop! Inform everyone you interact with on a daily basis that you're starting this plan and when, and ask them for their patience and support. Recognize in advance that those first few days are going to be very difficult as you reduce portion size.

Recognize in advance that you're NOT going to see huge results right away, that there will be no instant gratification, that this is a long-term effort, so you CAN'T expect daily results! PLAN your cheat days so that when your brain tries to rationalize unhealthy food based on ease and convenience or craving, you can rationalize right back and say - sure, I can have that, just not today, I have to save that cheat for the Memorial Day picnic, for the dinner out with my hubby, for the upcoming vacation, etc.

FWIW, after yo-yo-ing back and forth and being at my heaviest ever at the end of 2011, I restarted on New Year's Day this year. I've lost 21.5 pounds so far -- a little more than a pound a week -- and a couple of inches in my waist and hips. My cholesterol has dropped from nearly 300 down to 191: my doctor is thrilled. My clothes don't fit and I'll be going shopping for replacements this weekend. The first three days were really hard, as I forced my brain and stomach to recognize realistic portion sizes, but with my family and friends' support, I got through them. The first three weeks were depressing because i worked SO hard and saw so little return for my efforts. But as I stuck with it, and kept track of everything I did, I got more and more motivated, not less. I wanted to exercise more so I could eat more and then I didn't always eat as much as I was allowed to. The number on the scale started to come down - slowly, but steadily.

There is no "magic" wand, nothing that's going to make it easy. This is hard. It's work. But it CAN be done.

there are days when i am the most awesome person on the planet. and there are days where i have to pretend to be the most awesome person on the planet.

then their are days i pretend to be batman.

what i'm trying to say is to always be batman.

no, seriously, sometimes it's all about the mindset. you have to tell yourself to do something, and sometimes you have to pretend to be what you are not, until you are that person

Fake it til it's real

I know exactly how you feel. I have been there, and I still go there from time to time. A few things have worked for me. Setting a diet start date a week in advance helps. It gives time for mental weaning to get any cravings, etc out of the way. Eat normally for the week leading up to the diet day and start to eliminate bad foods and shop for the good. Find ways to eat the foods you love, more healthily. That way, on your start date you are both mentally and physically ready to go.

I also put up motivational reminders in my office and around my home to keep me focused. In addition, I set a reminder at 5pm every day to go off on my phone so that I don't go home from work and snack. lol So stupid, but it helps me!

Just don't buy the junk food in the first place. Then you'll only have healthy foods to eat.

There is nothing to do than to just do it. Keep yourself motivated by looking at other people's success stories. The more I sat around the more my stomach bulged leading me into more depression and discouraging me. Finally I decided I couldn't take it anymore and I had to STOP WISHING and actually doing it. MFP makes it easy by taking it one day at a time and eventually you will get there. You need to sabotage those snacks so you won't eat them. Remember in the end this is for you. You can't just sit around and pray that your weight will go away. That just doesn't happen. If you and your husband take on a healthy life style it become easier. Eating right doesn't always mean you have to eat just salads. Just watch what you eat and make healthier choices. Instead of a candy bar pick up a fruit. Only you can decide this for yourself. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!

I don't have any great advice...everyone else's was good...I just wanted to say good luck! It is a lifelong journey and we will slip but we get back up and keep going!!