Why is losing weight so hard? Ugh, I'm back, again!
Seriously, I don't know what my issue is. I KNOW I'm overweight. I KNOW I need to lose it. I know HOW to lose it. I just can't lose it. I always have "something" I let stand in the way. Perhaps my love of flavorful foods might be the biggy!
I can always start strong, lose 10 pounds... then amazingly, I fell right off that wagon into a bag of cookies. Cookies would be my downfall.
After my second child 3 1/2 years ago, I just couldn't lose the weight I had gained. I had PPD after him, and also, I c-section which didn't allow me to do anything for almost two months! So, 3 1/2 years later, I'm still looking 6 months pregnant.
WHY can't I stay motivated? WHY??? I WANT to be smaller, I just can't find the energy or willpower. Willpower, that is my MAIN problem. I have little to none.
I guess I'm just here venting... I really would like to do a 30 day plan, and being May 1, it seems like the the right day to start a mini goal. I just wish I had someone to kick my butt into gear everyday!
Are we related) I feel the same way. Its like I can see my self looking sexy in a size 10, but I just cant get there. I will do very well for about a month and then I fall off. I two need someone to kick my butt into gear. Are you located in Atlanta GA by any chance? We could kick each others butt!!
I feel the same way! I wish I could give you some motivation... but I havn't felt very "motivational" lately Sorry.
Do you have any girlfriends that you can walk with? It always helped me when I had a girlfriend.. we'd go on long walks, buddy up at the gym, walk around the mall for hours trying on clothes that we didn't actually buy.... any type of exercise with friends is so much easier and lots more fun!
There's also a couple motivational weight loss videos on you tube that I watch sometimes =) I type in weight loss... I hope you get back on track... I know how it could impact the rest of your life.
Last edited by jillnicole03; 05-01-2008 at 01:04 AM.
You say that your love of flavorful foods gets in the way... well, there are tons of weight-loss friendly, flavorful options out there. If weight loss equates to eating cardboard-esque "diet" foods for you, then you're never going to keep it up. You need to find something that you can do, for life.
If your downfall is a bag of cookies, then don't buy bags of cookies anymore... it's perfectly fine for you to have a cookie once in a while, so buy yourself a single cookie when you want one.
If you need motivation, you can do something like- post a picture of your dream outfit(that you would only wear at your ideal weight) near your computer monitor... or tape up an unflattering "fat picture"(I know we all have them) that would remind you of what you need to do.. anything that keeps your goal in mind. Or, you could look at the 'Goal!' board. Tons of motivating inspiration there.
I totally understand how you feel. I make Cookie Monster look like the epitome of self control when I'm around fresh baked cookies...or fast food...or any food for that matter!
Seriously, I don't know what my issue is. I KNOW I'm overweight. I KNOW I need to lose it. I know HOW to lose it. I just can't lose it. I always have "something" I let stand in the way. Perhaps my love of flavorful foods might be the biggy!
I can always start strong, lose 10 pounds... then amazingly, I fell right off that wagon into a bag of cookies. Cookies would be my downfall.
After my second child 3 1/2 years ago, I just couldn't lose the weight I had gained. I had PPD after him, and also, I c-section which didn't allow me to do anything for almost two months! So, 3 1/2 years later, I'm still looking 6 months pregnant.
WHY can't I stay motivated? WHY??? I WANT to be smaller, I just can't find the energy or willpower. Willpower, that is my MAIN problem. I have little to none.
I guess I'm just here venting... I really would like to do a 30 day plan, and being May 1, it seems like the the right day to start a mini goal. I just wish I had someone to kick my butt into gear everyday!
The same thing stood out for me - there are plenty, plenty of delicious, healthy low cal foods out there. Lemon Garlic Chicken Breasts, Pesto Salmon. European salad greens with mango, strawberries, raspberries with a honey mustard dressing. And on and on. I would never "stick" with this healthy lifestyle if I didn't love and adore what I was eating. I am a true food lover and I MUST/NEED to get full pleasure from my food.
As far as willpower. That's not what you need, per se'. IT's willingness,. What are you willing to do to get to your goals? What are you willilng to change? How hard are you willing to work?
And the motivation part, well my friend, motivation is all fine and dandy. There are loads and loads of reasons to get to a healthy weight and be all that you can be. But for me, motivation comes and goes and is never around when there's chocolate, cheesecake and bread nearby. It's commitment that is needed. Once you make that commitment to a healthier lifestyle, the commitment to losing the weight and staying there, THAT sticks around, no matter what.
What kind of plan are you following? Eating healthy does not happen by chance and MUST be planned out in ADVANCE. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. And that planned food must be yummy and filling and satisfying. No need to venture off plan when on plan is so good.
You CAN do this. You really, really can. Losing weight IS a doable thing. You just must want it badly enough & then of course, set yourself up for success, by making that commitment and having a good plan in place. Best of luck to you.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 05-01-2008 at 10:08 AM.
Hey! Many people have done this sort of thing--including me! Thinking I'll have "a cookie" (or whatever) and it turns into lots more of them.
Glory87 has a great mantra that she uses: "My hand, my mouth." It reminds her that no one is holding her down and forcing her to eat high-calorie foods or to overeat anything... it's all her choice.
What you're learning is that 30 days isn't a change of habits. If you can't control yourself with cookies, you have to not buy them and not have them around. Maybe not forever--but certainly for now. Don't try to rely on "will power" or "being tough." Those dangerous foods need to be temporarily banned from the house--or at very least from your hands and your mouth! "Step away from the cookie."
You can eat many tasty foods while losing weight! But your tastes may also change over time. Many of the foods I used to find appealing and "fun" just seem icky to me now. That's a good thing!
I have to agree with Robin about motivation (as well as everything else she posted ) ... motivation is vastly overrated and it's not what's going to get you to your goal. So forget it, you don't need it and it's going to disappear somewhere along the journey anyway.
Like Robin said, it's all about commitment, not willpower or motivation. Make up your mind and DO IT. Weight loss is a choice and it's all about the choices we make. Check out Heather's signature:
Commitment to conscious control, with the understanding that choices have consequences.
Those five "C"s are what will get any of us to goal -- and there's not a word there about motivation.
So don't worry about willpower and motivation. Just focus on your choices and you'll get there. Best of luck to you!
Rockinrobin, JayEll and Meg bascially summed it up. Listen to them and heed their advice for they are wise, wise women.
Here's a link on motivation that I put on here all the time (sorry if it's old news to many!). Go about 1/2 way down the page till you get to the '20 Questions' heading. Its the 5th question. It really puts motivation into perspective. http://skwigg.tripod.com/blog/index.blog?from=20071231
You also need to get out of the mindset of 'I'll do great for 30 days then . . .' Its taken me many tries at this to finally, finally get that this is for life, not just till I lose the weight. I've gone up and down too many times and I'm done w/that. If you fall off the wagon, get back up the very next meal or snack you have. DO NOT fall ito the mindset (or stay in the mindset?) of 'oh well, I blew it . . . may as well eat the rest of it'. Thtat will get you nowhere fast.
I make mini-goals for myself all the time. Sometimes its xx wt off by xx date -- but I allow myself to tweak these goals along the way. I just changed my Mother's Day goal. I wanted 4 lbs off by then but I can see that it just is not going to happen so I changed it to 3 lbs off. No, I don't feel 'guilty' or anything of the sort; life happens and I go with it.
I will also set mini-mini goals -- sometimes even a one day goal of just staying OP! Nothing is set in stone and if one thing doesn't work, try something else. Change up what you eat if what you're eating now doesn't do it for you. Change up your exercise all the time; don't get stuck in the 'same old, same old'. You'll burn out.
Your frame of mind determines your outlook on everything. Get your head into the right place and the rest will follow. If you think you can do this, you can. If you think you can't do this, you can't. Stick with it and good luck!!
I should clarify two things. When I said flavorful foods... I really meant my love of junk food, ie: cookies. Like I said, I know how to lose weight and eat flavorful foods... but nothing beats a brownie or cookie...
Also, I was looking at 30 days as a mini goal. Not an ultimate goal. Hey we all need goals, and I think 30 days is a good start. I just want to be able to stay on plan for longer than 10 days! I seem to always make it those first 10 days... but after that, I fall to pieces. I don't understand why that it. So, I'm aiming for 30 days and allowing myself a few "off plan" meals, as I know I have some events coming up this month. Overall, I'd like more success than failure.
You can eat many tasty foods while losing weight! But your tastes may also change over time. Many of the foods I used to find appealing and "fun" just seem icky to me now. That's a good thing!Jay
I have to second that one - and stuff I thought I didn't like (like broccoli and sweet potatos) I now just adore. I also second all the other good advice and just want to add come to 3FC anytime you hit that 10 day wall - the people here are wonderful support.
I should clarify two things. When I said flavorful foods... I really meant my love of junk food, ie: cookies. Like I said, I know how to lose weight and eat flavorful foods... but nothing beats a brownie or cookie...
Also, I was looking at 30 days as a mini goal. Not an ultimate goal. Hey we all need goals, and I think 30 days is a good start. I just want to be able to stay on plan for longer than 10 days! I seem to always make it those first 10 days... but after that, I fall to pieces. I don't understand why that it. So, I'm aiming for 30 days and allowing myself a few "off plan" meals, as I know I have some events coming up this month. Overall, I'd like more success than failure.
I don't know about that. I mean the cookies, brownies and whatever your thing is (mine would be cheesecake and ice cream amongst plenty of other things) DOES taste awfully good. But really after a while, the longer you do without them, the less you want them. Really, really, really. And we must always remember, as hard as it is sometimes, that nothing, absolutely nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
30 days IS a nice place to start, but you're kinda scaring me a bit. You say you've got a plan to start with 30 days, but you're already planning some "off" ones in there. Is that really gonna help you to get to your 30 day goal? I would hate for those off plan meals to spiral into off plan days... and weeks and so on and so forth.
RockinRobin, yes I have to plan for my off days. If I didn't plan for those off meals, I know me. I'd get to the party, eat some cake and then feel like, "what the heck why not two or three pieces".
This way, if I plan on a "bad" meal every once in a while, I'll feel more inclined to stay on my plan after that meal. I already know the menu were I'll be at the first event... and I feel confident in the mixture of good/not so good foods I'll be consuming. I'm not about depriving myself. That just leads to frustration and me falling back on the cookie wagon. If I allow myself a piece a cake in advance, I won't feel guilty afterwards. If I don't plan for it, and eat it anyway... then I feel guilty. Make sense?
RockinRobin, yes I have to plan for my off days. If I didn't plan for those off meals, I know me. I'd get to the party, eat some cake and then feel like, "what the heck why not two or three pieces".
This way, if I plan on a "bad" meal every once in a while, I'll feel more inclined to stay on my plan after that meal. I already know the menu were I'll be at the first event... and I feel confident in the mixture of good/not so good foods I'll be consuming. I'm not about depriving myself. That just leads to frustration and me falling back on the cookie wagon. If I allow myself a piece a cake in advance, I won't feel guilty afterwards. If I don't plan for it, and eat it anyway... then I feel guilty. Make sense?
Make sense? Sure, it's all the way you look at it. What makes perfect sense to me though, might make zero to you and vice versa. And that's 100% okay. Lighthouse, without a doubt there is more then one "correct" way to lose weight. And of course, we all need to figure out what works best for each of us. That will vary greatly from person to person.
Good luck to you in reaching your goals.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 05-01-2008 at 02:45 PM.
Why is losing weight so hard? Ugh, I'm back, again!
) I feel the same way. Its like I can see my self looking sexy in a size 10, but I just cant get there. I will do very well for about a month and then I fall off. I two need someone to kick my butt into gear. Are you located in Atlanta GA by any chance? We could kick each others butt!!
Sorry. 
"Step away from the cookie." 
