I've been struggling with my weight since early high school. Im at 166 lbs right now and 5'5. I was at 186 last October so Im doing alright. Recently I broke up with a boyfriend and have just wanted to become better for myself and my confidence. Ive moved on emotionally, its been 4 months now, and Ive met someone new. He thinks I look fine but I cant help feeling like he deserves someone smaller than me. My weight makes me so self concious. I feel like all my problems would be solved if I was skinny.
Every morning I say Im going to start my diet today. Then I get a craving and head over to the local Mexican restraunt for some cheese dip and chips followed by enchiladas supreme and a diet coke.
He left for 2 weeks yesterday and I decided I was gona kick start my weightloss. Yesterday I ate everything in the world. Today I started off well with oatmeal for breakfast, then a friend called to go to lunch. I ate better than normal but cheated alot. I just went to the YMCA and did 40 mins of cardio which I feel great about.
Heres the kicker and to sum all this rambling up: I feel like no matter what I do, my body is not going to change. I feel like one day of working out isnt going to change anything. I have absolutely no motivation to get my *** NEXT DOOR to the gym ever. Im so sick of the way I look (body wise) but I cant make myself change. Any advice?
Also it is possible to make any difference in my body in just 2 weeks?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also Ive been reading a book and so far its kinda inspiring. Jemima J:
Get over it and just go work out. That's all I can offer. You have the ability and you just need to make it a habit to work out. One day of cardio is NOT going to change your world - you are right. So go 5 days a week and see a change. I am a bad eater too, so I can only offer this - try not to stop and eat anywhere if you are out. Make it home and make sure home doesn't have junk to eat. Personally, once I am home I don't feel like leaving again, so if I can make it home w/o stopping for fast food or restaurant food, then I do better.
Cakses is right. You've just got to do it. There is not a lot of other advice. Exercise is great for cardio and toning but eating less is, in my opinion, even more important to lose weight.
Think of all the money you'll be saving by having a nutritious low-fat breakfast at home. I also alwaystake water and something to eat with me when I go out just incase I'm longer than I thought I'd be. Sometimes I just take a baggie-ful of cereal but if I am hungry and don't have something I'll either stop somewhere for junk food or be so ravenous when I get home that I eat anything in sight.
I guess what I'm saying is plan ahead for your day. What/where you'll eat, when/where you'll exercise and a contingency plan if something comes up.
The last thing - remember to reward yourself when you succeed.
I always thought I couldn't change the way I ate, that I would never enjoy exercise, and that I could never be "normal" when it came to my BMI. It seemed like a pipe dream. Then one day I made a little change. Someone at work implied that I wouldn't be able to do 3 sets of 25 push-ups every night for a week. Well, I don't back down from challenges. Once I dedicated to doing that task, I thought to myself "well, if I'm doing this, I probably could eat at least a little better".
Now, 2 years later, I've dropped over 100 lbs, I love exercise, and I am in a normal, healthy BMI range.
You may have part of the problem that I had, which was that I would always say, "I'm starting my diet today". That would make me dread it, and I would end up feeling like I was starving and I would sabotage myself. Instead of starting a diet, start a change. Change one thing about the way you eat for the next month. Instead of the enchilada supreme, go for the plain enchilada. Something as little as a portion change, can make a huge difference over time. As you eat a little less, you'll eventually be less hungry, and then you can drop your portions again. This way you're not really denying yourself anything, you're just having less of it.
You may also want to take a look at calories. I always say I'm not a calorie counter, I'm a calorie watcher. I've gotten to the point where I pick up certain items in the store I used to love, look at the calories an instantly stop loving them. When I realize I could have 4 lean cuisine dinners for the calories of a single serving of somethings, it makes me feel a little sick that I used to shove my body full of that stuff.
It takes time, but it can happen. Believe in yourself.
I really like Christine's post. That does seem like it might be a better way to start! Make small changes instead of trying to do it all on one day. And then proceed, one small change at a time.
Maybe you'll go to the gym just one day for just ten minutes--ride an exercycle or walk on the treadmill for only 10 minutes. And then the next week you could try two days.
Like that! And don't worry about the rest of it. Just one small step at a time.
I agree wth what the others have said. I've read Jemima J and it's a fun novel but it is only that - a novel so don't go thinking you should be able to do everything the same.
I just read a good quote from thinnythigh: "2. i'm too old to take orders from a cookie."
You can use that for your other weaknesses...
You are in charge of your WL and you can do this! You just get out there and workout 5 days and you will see a difference in 2 weeks. And then even more in another 2 weeks, and so on. You're not punishing him, just yourself really, and YOU ARE IMPORTANT!
Small steps as has been said! You've done so well and it's going to get better.
I've been where you're at. At age 20, I weighed 160 pounds and every day I would tell myself that was the day I would start to lose weight ... and about four hours later I would mess up and be at a Mexican restaurant eating deep fried cheese.
For me the answer has been planning ahead. If I don't plan, I KNOW I'm going to mess up. I always do! I sit down on Saturday and plan out my meals for the entire week. I go to the grocery store on Sunday and make sure I have foods for my menu plan. I've told my husband we can go out to restaurants occassionally, but he has to give me several hours warning so I can go online and look up what they have on their menu. That way, I can plan ahead to order something that will be healthy and fit into my calorie limit. I'm still not perfect and I definitely cheat sometimes! But now that I plan ahead and always have a healthy meal planned and waiting for me, I do much, much better.
As for exercise, the key is to make it a habit. You just have to do whatever is necessary to start doing it regularly until it becomes a habit. I found that I had to schedule exercise FIRST THING in the morning, or I would find an excuse to not do it.
im not sure if someones already said this but..... you cant sit there and fondle on wether or not to go the gym just put on the outfit and walk down the street and wey hey! there you are no going back now! lol. i have to do that to with my workout vids i just put some shorts and a vest top on and then i cant say no then! it was always like that wen i would jump of diving boards.... once im there .... cant go back .... i have to do it.... and i do!
so just do it (god i sound like a nike advertiser lol) hope it helps
I totally agree with the other comments - forget about the word and concept of "dieting" and set smaller achievable goals to get started.
I put off for a couple years "dieting" -- the thought of how much weight I had to lose was overwhelming. What got me going was to set a very reachable goal of losing 20 lbs. within five months.
It's easy to overwhelm yourself with work out goals, too! Maybe just begin with "I'm going to the gym 3 times in the next seven days", than go from "zero to 60".
One thing that worked for me is: Today I'm going to walk one mile. Tomorrow I'm making a huge green salad with lean meat (no or lowfat dressing). This week I'm buying two donuts for the week, not 3 packages of them!
Helpless feeling... and a good read!
