Baby steps all the way for me! There have been so many times when I've jumped wholeheartedly into a plan and gave up after a short time because it was "too hard" when in reality it was just "too hard for me!"
When you have to exercise and you're not used to it, say no to sugar when you've lived on it, say no to carbs and yes to veggies when you've lived on crap food for years, when you have to plan and you never have, when you have to be accountable and you never have, and thousands of other new things. . .you can become overwhelmed very quickly.
First thing I did was take an HONEST look at what I was really eating, calorie wise, for a week. I used to think "I don't eat that much, why am I so fat???" because I only ate 2 meals and one snack every day. Well, when that consists of over 5000 calories daily, no WONDER I was so fat!!! So then I picked the major deal breaker, soda, and completely cut it from my life.
It took a long time for it to become a habit to reach for water instead of soda, but when it got to be easier, I picked another thing to change. Veggies instead of pasta/potatoes/rice. When that got to be easier, I started moving more. Walking for now, but hopefully soon will graduate into something more strenuous. And I will continue to change things on a small scale so that I'll be able to live with it forever.
What use is it to change your lifestyle if you can't sustain the changes and it only makes you feel guilty? Hope you can find your key.
I think it is different for everyone as you can see from the responses.
For me, it was not knowing what was wrong, then finding out it was PCOS, then being pregnant -- there's always another reason to keep going in my health journey.
And although I wish the pounds would move faster, what I've learned along the way give me more tools (emotional coping, cooking skills, fitness knowledge, etc) so that each time I recommit, I go further.
haven't changed a thing
haven't worked out in months
continue to eat trash.
borderline diabetes; worried that I'm now over the border
never get enough sleep
never have any energy
severe pain in my legs when I walk.
in denial that something might be seriously wrong
fear and anxiety I feel just make me want to eat.
I just want a cookie to take away the pain like it always does.
Then after I eat the cookie I sit around feeling pity for myself because I don't have control.
self esteem is so low that it's hard for me to even think I'm worth taking care of.
I pulled phrases from your post. You have a lot going on, but for me the biggest one is the last. I'd start there, and seek a counselor. If you don't think you are worth the bother, you won't bother and I see from other items that you are a big emotional eater. You may benefit from a professional to help you rebuild your emotional toolbox so you have other ways to cope than to self medicate with food.
Next I'd tackle the sleep because that seems doable along side the first main issue. Getting to bed earlier and developing a better bed time routine. Also get checked for sleep apnea.
The rest ought to fall into place one at a time as you learn to manage your health conditions and gain the skills.
Maybe the all-or-nothing approach isn't for you. Have you considered dieting "backwards."
I've been trying to lose weight for most of my life (since I was 5 - I'm now 44), and I always did it "all or nothing," because that's the only way I ever saw any one attempt it. I was always either losing weight rapidly or gaining weight even more rapidly.
This time is different, in that I decided to diet "backwards." That is instead of trying to do whatever it took to lose the weight as rapidly as I could - I decided to only make changes I could see myself doing forever - whether or not I lost any weight as a result. The first few changes didn't even result in weight loss, but they did result in health improvements that helped make more changes possible.
It's not for everyone, but it is an option worth considering.
I so agree with this. I feel like when it comes to weight loss, no matter how hard you start, you're going to have to end up doing twice as much in the end. I start out at the minimum and go to the maximum.
Ditto to what's been said by the previous posts. I'm trying to find one thing to change consistently while I read about other things to work on, food plans, and exercise plans. I'm renting exercise videos to see which ones I'd like to do. I'm buying/borrowing books others on this site have recommended.
Find one thing to change and come on over to the 21 day challenge thread and commit to the change for 21 days.
You came back here and that's a GREAT place to start.
Gosh, I know we all wish we had a magic wand and a lot of answers, but it is so much more complex than that and so simple at the same time. I gained a LOT of weight when I quit smoking, so I have to say I can't speak from the perspective of having always had a big weight problem. I probably needed to lose 20 lbs pre-quitting.
For me, I couldn't stand feeling awful physically and being unable to do things the way I used to. I knew that I couldn't sustain a "diet" for any length of time, so I decided to just quit with most junk food and eat better food in smaller quantities while doing more physical activity. I am still working on acquiring a healthy lifestyle, which will kind of take care of the weight loss needed in and of itself.
I know that I can't eat like a pig and expect to look like a gazelle. So for me, it's an "economy of calories" or "getting my money's worth". I can eat anything I want, but there hs to be a limit to the calories I consume in a day or I will just get b igger and my goal is to get smaller. So, even though I still like to have dessert, I typically will have a small Frosty maybe once a week at 16-ish calories, instead of a 675 calorie blizzard every day. It isn't about starving myself, it IS about making better choices. I have found I really, really, really like to have 1/2 cup low fat yogurt with 1/2 cup fiber one cereal and 4 oz of sliced strawberries with a tablespoon of fat free nojn dairy creamer in hazlenut flavor for dessert or a snack, and it's just under 200 calories, plus has a lot of nutritional value. It makes me feel fuller, it tasestes good, etc. so it s a much better "value" for my plan than that blizzard.
I hope maybe that helps you to see what I mean. You don't have to "give up" everything, you just have to elarn which tings you can do without and find ways to fit in the things you can't do without. find healthier alternatives. Be a little more active. Make small chanfes little by litte and eventually they all add up.
Good luck to you!
Barb
Last edited by angelskeep; 04-14-2010 at 03:55 PM.
Hope you can find your key.
