Paralysis by Over-Analysis
 

Does anyone else get this? I'm sitting here at the beginning of my journey and I know...I KNOW it's going to take time, patience and determination, but I feel like I can't get my head straight (over thinking a LOT). I'm not trying to sound like a 'negative nancy', but I think it's just feeling overwhelmed with everything. I've sifted through 3FC older threads and I know there's plenty of people who have gone through this. As I was reading, many people had such comforting words of encouragement (even if they weren't directed to me).

That being said...Does anyone have any advice they can share for someone who's JUST starting? And I don't mean what foods you ate, or what methods you used (I'm comfortable using MFP and P90X regimen), rather what did you do that didn't make this whole thing feel SO overwhelming and daunting?

Take it one day at a time! Every morning, get up and tell yourself, "I'm going to do the very best I can today." Example: "I can't give up sweets for good, or even for a week. But I think I can do without them today." Focus on the day at hand, work on that day, do your best on that day, and then leave that day behind when the next day comes and do the same thing. Pretty soon all those single days of focus string together to form a week, a month, a year, and you will have made some pretty terrific progress!

^This :)

Also, when I first started, I told myself (actually, I still keep telling myself ;) ) "I have to lose one pound. Just one single pound. That should be doable". Then, when I had lost said pound, I told myself "Wow, that went well. Now let's go for another, just for giggles!" And so on. To my own surprise, all those single pounds really do add up :D

Oh, and I try to stick to my doctor's advice: "Make this fun!", he said.
So I suppose I picture this journey as a real, actual journey, like traveling to a foreign country (or something ;) ). An adventure with lots of new things to discover and to try out along the way (including the occasional setback ;) ).

This is a very good question! We all were at the very beginning;-) Well, there were the words that helped me: "Hang on just one day! Hang on today and tomorrow you can quit with everything if you want". But tomorrow comes and you feel good in the morning and say this again: "Ok today isn't so bad too, so hang one this one more day and tomorrow you can quit everything"))) After week or two you see the result and you do not want to quit everything any more! you want to continue and get more and more results!;-) Change your attitude to the diet: make it tasty, fun and colorful! Do the sport you like (i love swimming and bike), eat the food you like, add spices, cook more! and be positive;-) Best of luck!

The first part is hard, but I love being able to eat food without guilt. Unless I am restricting, I always feel a little bit of guilt about my food. When I am on plan, I know that what I am eating is to benefit me. And when it's planned, even if it's chocolate or something equally calorie-dense, I know that I can still meet my goals while indulging in it. I genuinely enjoy being on plan.

One thing that helped me was to realize that it really will take a lot of time and at least a decent amount of effort to lose all the weight I need to (it won't happen in a week or a month). And knowing that feeling overwhelmed sometimes (especially at the very start) is normal.

Then I make a goal. For example, if I want to go down 1 BMI point (BMI is one of many useful tools for me), that's about six pounds. That might be a mini goal. So I figure out how I can lose those six pounds, and what would be fun to incorporate (exercise, learn a recipe, go hiking, etc.).

For me, having small, medium, and an overall goal helps. It breaks the huge goal down into pieces I can process better.

But seriously, you can definitely do this. And congrats for realizing you wanted to make a change, and then making it! :yay:

It is very overwhelming in the beginning so give yourself a break for feeling this way! One of the biggest reasons I stayed morbidly obese for decades was because I felt so overwhelmed by needing to lose more than 100 pounds. It just felt much too difficult.

As others have suggested it will help to take it one day at a time and one pound at a time. For me when the going got tough I often had to take it one meal at a time.

I also found it really helpful to reward myself for every ten pounds lost. It was always something really small; usually only costing around ten dollars but it gave me something to look forward to.

You can do this!

My advice would be to just keep trying. I had a million 'first days' and a couple thousand 'first weeks'. I even had a few first months and once lasted three months and lost 25lbs but I kept falling off the wagon and gaining even more.

I really really enjoy reading the latest studies and nutritional books though. I was only stuck on fad diets for a little while before I realized what I really needed to do.

Just keep trying. Keep reading. Keep researching. Be objective. Check sources. Beyond that think good thoughts about yourself at any weight and love yourself now. Don't fall for diet advertising fallacies and keep on your toes. You got this!

:carrot:work on today. You can't undo yesterday and you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. But today is all on you :) If today is too long to keep it under control, work on this hour. It gets easier, but never easy.

:wave:Start over with the next bite of food. If you overendulge, don't use that as an excuse to keep eating (I will start tomorrow, or Monday or after "insert eating holiday here" )

:cp:Give yourself the grace to make mistakes, but not the excuse to keep making them.

:flow1:Figure out YOUR plan and then stick to it. I don't count calories because it makes me food obsessed. I spend all day trying to figure out what I can have and whether I've exercised enough to have more. Sometimes I get impressed by the calorie counters and I think I'll try it again... nope- it always ends up in disaster for me!

:strong: Move everyday. Exercise feels good after awhile but you have to start slow, and keep going! I started walking to the end of my street (and I was a sweaty mess at the end) now I regularly walk 5 miles. At 55 I feel better than I did at age 20, but I know that yesterday's walk isn't going to carry me today. I do take a rest day, but stay active on my rest day with the family.

:dancer: I weigh everyday, even the days I know I'm not going to be happy with the number. The scale is a tool that I use, but I know that it isn't the boss :) I tend to be in denial when I'm off the scale and I make bad food choices, then when I do get on the scale and it shows I start a cycle of bad food and not weighing. Everytime I've gained the weight back, was because I wasn't weighing.

I never had any 'guilt' feelings associated with food (maybe that's a bad thing ha ha) The notion of eating a certain way makes you a "good" person, or eating another way that makes you fat makes you a "bad" person. That's nonsense. I kept that in mind at the beginning.

Everyone struggles with 'stuff' whether they're thin or fat or rich or poor. I tried working on THAT before I bothered with food. I was mindful at first, just eating ONE plate instead of getting seconds. Getting an afternoon coffee alone, no treat with it. Little things like that, while I got my MIND in order. Figured out WHY I got so fat, why my habits are the way they are, and how best to change them.

it didn't happen fast that's for sure. My advice is try mindfulness - be aware of what's going on, what you're feeling and thinking, stress in your life that causes you to act certain ways, and figure out different strategies to cope. Do things for that DAY, not life. I can't give up chocolate forever, but I can go without it for a day