Why is it so hard?
 

Why!? Why is it to difficult to keep going at times, when the 'going' feels so great! I feel amazing, I can't wait to start exercising again next week....but...I know that time will pass and I will slip and it will take everything I've got to get going again.

ARGH! I don't understand why it's so hard to do something that makes you feel so great???

i second that lol..i think its more of a mental thing at least for me-i think of all the things i COULD be doing u know? :) hope you feel better soon! ::hugs::

Because our old "ingrained" habits prefer the status quo...this tests our character to see how bad we want it. What are we willing to do for something that we truly want? We are tested on a daily basis. Which you are you going to support? The old you or an improved version of yourself?

Don't get me wrong, I'm in a good place right NOW...but I know that will change sooner or later and it will be such a struggle....like the last few months! they were so hard. :(

just keep putting one foot in front of the other-you'll get where you need to go-im sure of it! :) cheer up buttercup!!

U need to tun that negative thinking into a pep talk. Tell yourself that u can do this or else u are already setting yourself up for failure. When I think I can't do this, I ave to remind myself of what I have done!!!! Good luck!!!!!

Oh I always have to talk myself in to working out- it's just boring to me.

yes, it does strike me that part of weight loss is all the head games.

all those messeges are messages we plant in our own brains, about the struggle, and exercising. when we say it to ourselves, we're helping to make it true.

I think for me, too, I've found that the program I choose to follow and my lifestyle have to mesh. it can feel a whole lot harder for me when I hate what I'm doing. When I get tired of an exercise, I change it. I mix up what I do at the gym on a regular basis, and working with the trainer helped me learn new ways to exercise.

there are so many things out there to eat that are low cal and healthy, so many ways to bring exercise and activity in my life, I feel like what I do can go a long way in making this effort as exciting and followable or as difficult and challenging as I want it to be. (that goes for my habits too like constantly weighing myself!! that ISN'T making the process easier!)

This is very well put.

You have come a long way, you can do this!!

Maybe it won't be hard-- at least for a while. If the past few months were really tough, maybe you've risen to a new level and you're brain has learned its lesson.

I started this journey in December and had a heck of a time finding a plan I would stick too. Now I have, and I don't plan on slipping. Really. Maybe I'm naive or idealistic, but I do believe it's possible to stay on track and not fall off the wagon.

Of course I have a looong way and many pounds to go, so I could end up eating my words (along with a bunch of other crap :lol:) but at least for the moment I feel like slips are a thing of the past.

I'm currently reading a book called The End of Overeating and it's about how the food industry deliberately manipulates the fat/sugar/salt content to make some foods harder to resist (studies on rats show they will eat and eat sweet/fatty foods). Additional creepy stuff, like puncturing a chicken breast with lots of needles so it gets broken down and easier to swallow, or adding fat to foods to make everything easy to swallow.

I'm already in maintenance, but I'm always interested in trying to figure out what drove me to eat like I used to. Pastries when I wasn't hungry, a whole bag of chips when I just wanted a serving. Reading this book (and remembering my old reactions to these foods) has made me a believer.

It makes me feel a little better about "old me." A lot of foods are made to be hard to resist, so it's no wonder I found it hard to stay on plan when presented with food temptations. When I changed my life, I concentrated on whole, healthy foods, so most of the food industry manipulated foods were just cut out by default. After living without them (for the most part) for 5 years, the cravings are broken. I can stand in front of the pastry case at Starbucks and order my tall, skinny latte without desperately wanting a muffin to go along with it.

Just a caveat - I do have occasional indulgences, but it's NOTHING like my old life of huge muffin for breakfast, pizza for lunch, chocolate croissant, yogurt pretzels for afternoon snacks and Taco Bell for dinner. And now, I'm living my life as a thin person!

Maybe, reading the book would help you figure out strategies to fight going off plan. I think it might have helped me back in the day. I definitely do not want to be spoon fed some kind of easy to swallow, sugary, salty, fatty adult baby food! I will take REAL FOOD thank you very much.